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Liverpool Art Prize 2010 - Shortlist Announced
Artinliverpool.com, the top British art blog and founder and organiser of the annual Liverpool Art Prize, are delighted to make some exciting announcements concerning this year’s events.
The Shortlisted Artists
The Judging Panel
In this, the 3rd year of the prize, we have another knowledgeable, experienced group of judges:
New Venue
This year Artinliverpool are working in partnership with Metal. The exhibition will be taking place at the exciting new space for art, Metal at Edge Hill Station (the World’s oldest passenger railway station still in use).
The Exhibition
The 2010 exhibition opens on Friday 4 June (Viewing on 3 June) and ends on Saturday 10 July with the Awards Ceremony taking place on Wednesday 30 June.
The exhibition will be curated by Jenny Porter, the Project Manager at Metal.
The Prizes
The overall winner will be awarded £2000 plus (new from this year) the opportunity to exhibit their work at the Walker Art Gallery at a later date. There will also be the £1000 People’s Choice Award (Sponsored by Arthur Diamond Design) chosen by the public voting at the gallery.
Peripheral Events
Now that the Liverpool Art Prize is firmly established we are building on its success and working with the other visual art organisations to highlight other events involving locally-based artists during the period of the exhibition. There will be a Liverpool Open Studios weekend 12/13 June, a Liverpool Junior Art Prize, artist talks, workshops, craft markets and other events. Full details will be announced later.
More details at www.liverpoolartprize.com
Press release for Thrown Forth Art and Art History Grad Shows at Blackwood Gallery at University of Toronto Mississauga Campus.
The new issue of Flaneur art zine is now available. Artists and writers from around the world have contributed to the latest issue, which has grown and is now Europe’s newest arts newspaper!
University of Ottawa Department of Theatre
Drama Guild Presents
MOURNING BECOMES ELECTRA – THE HAUNTED
By Eugene O’Neill
Directed by André Perrier
The University of Ottawa Department of Theatre proudly announces the Drama Guild production of Mourning Becomes Electra – The Haunted by Eugene O’Neill, directed by André Perrier
Celebrating 79 years since its first appearance on Broadway, Mourning Becomes Electra – The Haunted adapts the Greek myth of Orestes into a story that delves deep into the lives of the Mannon family during the American Civil War. Inherently a melodramatic script, this intriguing play, acted by a young cast, explores the themes of adultery, murder, and incestuous love and revenge.
Actor, director and playwright André Perrier studied at the Conservatoire de Québec from 1979 to 1982. In 1992, he wrote and directed Signal d’alarme, which won best play at the Ottawa Book Festival. He was artistic director of Triangle Vital from 1990 to 1998 where he wrote and directed most productions. He became the Artistic Director of Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario in 1998, throwing his creative energies into the development of new plays, including Du pépin à la fissure and Univers (winner of the Masque de la meilleure production franco-canadienne 2001). André teaches part-time at Ottawa University where he has directed La Maison de Bernarda Alba and Ubu roi and has also taught at l’Université du Québec à Montréal where he has recently directed Coulson P.M. Lately, Sexy béton 1 and 2 which he directed for Porte Parole Theatre, made the Montreal Ici newspaper’s best ten list of 2009.
The Drama Guild Production of Mourning Becomes Electra – The Haunted also features a set design by Normand Vandal, costumes by Judy De Boer, sound design by Kevin McCagg, and lighting design by Margaret Coderre-Williams.
The University of Ottawa Department of Theatre invites you to experience the genius of Eugene O’Neill’s Mourning Becomes Electra – The Haunted, which opens Tuesday, March 9 and runs through Saturday March 13, 2010. Showtime is 8:00 p.m. Performances take place in the theatre of Academic Hall, 133 Séraphin Marion, University of Ottawa.
Reservations: Secretariat, Department of Theatre, 613-562-5761
Tickets: General Public, $15, Students/Seniors: $10
From: Tuesday, March 9 to Saturday, March 13, 2010
Venue: Academic Hall, 133 Séraphin Marion
Publicity: Marilena Gaudio, 514-827-3161, marilenag_87@hotmail.com
Online gallery promises a Kultural revolution!
KounterKulture, the brainchild of Newcastle-based gallery Opus Art, promises to revolutionise the art market by giving art lovers an unprecedented level of access to contemporary artists, their work, and a location for collectors to trade their pieces commission free.
For the first time ever, KounterKulture will enable collectors and art lovers to watch artists creating new works live on the Internet, while simultaneously interacting with them in various dynamic ways. Collectors are able, as never before, to communicate with an artist through various stages in the production of an artwork, following an idea from its inception, gaining insight into inspiration and method, to the completion of a unique work. This offers viewers all the benefits of a gallery setting while completely overcoming the geographical limitations of conventional galleries.
KounterKulture’s unique new collector’s forum allows collectors to communicate with one another, access unbiased art market research, analysis and advice from ArtTactic, and privately trade pieces from their own collections. This last feature will allow collectors to completely avoid the added expense of gallery commissions, which traditionally swallow up a large chunk of the sale price.
Collector Paul Hammond after previewing the site had this to say, “I am completely blown away by what KounterKulture is offering: a commission free zone; ArtTactic analysis of the latest auctions and buying trends; a chance to see works as they are made; first pick of art work, it’s unbelievable.”
Art lovers and collectors are not the only ones who will benefit from this new venture, artists are also going to have incredible new advantages. Because KounterKulture features a much smaller number of artists than traditional galleries and commercial websites, each individual has a significantly greater, more exclusive presence, allowing them the opportunity to build more in-depth relationships with collectors, communicating their own unique approach more effectively.
Hush, one of the artists launching with the site, believes, “this is an incredible experience. It’s like having an invisible documentary film crew following me as I do my work. No more trips to the galleries, the galleries have come to me.”
Chris Kettle another artist involved said, “Its amazing being able to communicate and receive feedback from my audience. This has allowed me to take my work in directions that I hadn’t been able to in the past.”
kounterkulture.org is now available for browsing and is launching with an exceptionally diverse group of emerging artists, including the award-winning Royal College of Art graduate Hector de Gregorio, New York based Crash, who is collected by the likes of Eric Clapton and John Mayer, and Becks Canvas Award winner Charlotte Bracegirdle. Other artists exhibiting with Kounter Kulture are Chris Acheson, Carolina Ambida, Charlotte Bracegirdle, Teresa Duck, HUSH, Chris Kettle, Josie McCoy, Lex Thomas and Karl de Vroomen.
Image attached:
HUSH, ‘Passing Through’, 2010
Mixed media on gallery box canvas
Signed by the artist
39 x 59 inches
£6,382.98 (£7,500 inc VAT)
February 4-March 6,
547 W. 27th St, 5th Floor (suite 500)
Hrs: 1-6 pm
NY, NY 10001
Opening Feb. 4 6-8 pm
What will you offer?
Participation Installation Project
“But, art as a practical precedent is forever young and physically here with us. Works of art, as theoretical constructs, hold their place in a field of knowledge. As historical artifacts, they speak of ancestry and parental origins. As practical precedents, works of art are orphans, ready to be adopted, nurtured and groomed to the needs to any astonishing new circumstances.”—Dave Hickey, “Orphans,” Art in America, January 2009
Orphans Offered Up is participation installation in a space that was formerly an art gallery that is now empty.
Orphans that I’m offering up are a series of conceptual oil paintings that are very small, 4” x 4”, and intimate. They are fragments that appear to be abstractions. They are offered up in several different ways.
Offer is defined as: act of worship or devotion: sacrifice; to present for acceptance or rejection; to propose or suggest; to try or begin to resist; to threaten; to make available; to present in performance or exhibition; to propose as payment; to make an attempt; to present itself; to make a proposal.
What will you offer me? Offers will be document accepted. Some will be accepted. Suggestions: Stocks, bonds, a house, another painting, a manuscript, or something else? Something that is much less tangible? What are you willing to sacrifice? If you insistent on money, then the price will be determined by random walk, and that price will be a number between one and five hundred, that will be generated randomly by RANDOM.ORG, Trinity College. They provide a “random number service that generates randomness via atmospheric noise.”
The inspirational sources for the paintings are the invisible engraving marks found in old postage stamps that belonged to my late father. These painting were first started in 2002. They are not studies. They are not miniatures. They are finished paintings. I have completed more than fifty.
Or simply suggest a name. Come by and post it during the exhibition. Names maybe also submitted by email. Peter Selz has already done just that.
I would like to thank the Pinetree Group for the offer of the space for this project.
Holly Crawford, NYC 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
West Harlem, NY … The West Harlem Art Fund and The City College of New York are pleased to announce the finalists for the “In Dialogue” exhibition. All of the proposals are being reviewed by the City of New York for final approval. The winners are:
Ø Scherezade Garcia – Unity Ribbon
Ø Brett Seamans – Home Ground
Ø Mary Sweeney – Respite
Ø Marcie Revens – Closer: In Conversation
The exhibition is being planned for early May, 2010 with City approval. Three finalists are graduate students in the Fine Arts program and one finalist is a graduate student in the Landscape Architecture program at the college.
According to Executive Director, Savona Bailey-McClain, “The collaboration that The West Harlem Art Fund and The City College of New York have formed is extremely important for both the West Harlem community and the City at large. Think tanks around the country have stressed the need for colleges to interact more in cities and spur entrepreneurship, production and new technologies. The partnership we have created shows that the “arts” is an important industry too that can affect tourism, land use and economic development.”
To listen to the panel discussion “A Conversation with Public Artists” that was apart of the student exhibition held in December; visit the website Art on Air. The link to that recording is below:
http://www.artonair.org/archives/j/content/view/2881/147/
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For Immediate Release
LEVERAGING INVESTMENTS IN CREATIVITY AND METLIFE FOUNDATION RECOGNIZE INNOVATIVE ART PROJECTS NATIONWIDE
$100,000 in total awarded to six organizations for developing space for artists
New York, NY – Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC) and MetLife Foundation announced the six winners of the nationwide, competitive 2009 MetLife Innovative Space Awards. The awards recognize outstanding efforts in the design and development of affordable space for artists, which is an integral part of LINC’s Space for Change: Building Communities Through Innovative Art Spaces program. These spaces provide a stable foundation from which artists may pursue their works and shape the neighborhoods they inhabit. The winning programs were selected from more than 90 applications from 29 states; awards range from $10,000 to $50,000.
“The MetLife Innovative Space Awards recognize exemplary artist spaces for their innovation, affordability, sustainability and positive community impact,” said Dennis White, president and CEO, MetLife Foundation. “These winning programs serve as models for other communities interested in creating and benefiting from sustainable art spaces.”
“The development of affordable living and working spaces for artists plays a powerful role in the production of their works. The award recipients reflect the diversity of America, while sharing excellent programming, socially progressive development and the ability to provide creative and economic sustenance. Each model has elements replicable in other locales,” said Judilee Reed, executive director, LINC.
The grand prize winning organization, the International Sonoran Desert Alliance (ISDA), received a $50,000 grant in recognition of its development of the Curley School, which serves as the anchor for an arts-based revitalization movement in the border town of Ajo, Ariz. and neighboring Tohono O’odham Nation and Sonora, Mexico. The 7.5-acre, school campus, developed by ISDA, features the award-winning rehabilitation of two historic buildings into 30 affordable live/work rental units for artists, as well as an auditorium with an indoor/outdoor stage. Adjacent buildings contain a retail gallery, business incubator, and work, classroom, and collaboration spaces. Artists have access to professional development programs that provide business planning and means to capital financing. In the future, ISDA plans to develop an international artist retreat center and the inclusion of an art space in the town plaza, which is in close proximity to the Curley School.
The other winning organizations each received a $10,000 award:
“Artist spaces should be fundamental to well-planned communities. We hope a broader set of stakeholders, including policymakers, planners and other civic leaders, will embrace arts and culture as significant components of effective development strategies,” said Susan Silberberg-Robinson, associate project director, MetLife Innovative Space Awards and lecturer in Urban Design and Planning, MIT.
Space for Change: Building Communities Through Innovative Art Spaces was launched in 2009 by LINC in partnership with MIT’s Department of Urban Studies, through a funding collaboration between the MetLife Foundation and Ford Foundation. To learn more, visit www.lincnet.net/artist-space.
About LINC
Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC) is a 10-year initiative to improve artists’ ability to make work, build social capital and contribute to democratic values. For more information, visit www.lincnet.net.
About MetLife Foundation
MetLife Foundation was established by MetLife to continue the company’s long tradition of corporate contributions and community involvement. Grants are made to support health, educational, civic and cultural organizations and programs. The Foundation contributes to arts and cultural organizations, with an emphasis on increasing opportunities for young people, reaching broad audiences through inclusive programming, and making arts more accessible for all people. For more information, please visit www.metlife.org.
Contact:
Judilee Reed, 646-731-3275, judilee@lincnet.net, LINC
David Hammarstrom, 401-827-2273, dhammarstrom@metlife.com
www.thebecafoundation.org www.curatethis.org
CURATE THIS! 2010 is going global!
…on the ground AND in cyberland.
A Global Exhibition of Emerging Contemporary Art + Design | An Experimental, Cross-Pollination of New Ideas for Progress + Possibility
January 1, 2010 – CURATE THIS! 2010, the second chapter in the evolution of the CURATE THIS! exhibition series created by BECA: Bridge for Emerging Contemporary Art, is evolving from a one city-wide event location into a global arts + cultural exchange event involving multiple venues located in multiple cities around the world. The global art + design exhibition will take place from July 1 – December 31, 2010.
Through the exhibition of works of art + design by emerging artists, designers, duos, groups and collectives around the world, The BECA Foundation aims to facilitate an experimental, cross-pollination of new ideas for creative innovation in diverse locations around the world. The title, ‘CURATE THIS!’ reflects a departure from the familiar large scale exhibition model, typically curated by a singular vision with one head curator, to an exhibition with components and related events ‘curated’ by the public and professional and independent participants residing in multiple cities around the world. The first ‘CURATE THIS!’ experiment took place in early 2008 and led artists and directors, Melissa Roberts and Kurt Schlough to begin brainstorming the expansion of the experiment to bring about greater benefits to a larger number of participants.
BECA is an acronym for Bridge for Emerging Contemporary Art and the core belief system at The BECA Foundation is that “New art + new design fuels the best of what’s yet to come on this planet.” To help mix that fuel and kick start new possibilities, the expansion of the CURATE THIS! exhibition project will facilitate a broader exposure of new art, new design and new ideas through both a physical and online network of participating venues in multiple cities around the world. The aim of building the network is to create international arts + cultural exchange opportunities, broaden arts education opportunities, build appreciation for emerging contemporary art + design, facilitate introductions and lay the foundation for future collaborations toward the realization of a progressive, meaningful and fulfilling future for everyone. Global online content delivery of exhibition events and related special projects will enable global participation by millions around the world. The BECA Foundation is pleased to welcome the participation of Helen Pheby, PhD, Curator of Yorkshire Sculpture Park, UK whose research and curatorial work spans the globe including the US and Iraq and Ellen Lupton, legendary design educator and Curator of Contemporary Design at the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Each has a unique insight which will add further depth and diversity to new CURATE THIS! 2010 exhibition components.
Upcoming participating venues in Boston, New Orleans, Miami, Denver, Los Angeles, Santa Fe, New York and London have been the first locations to sign on. Venue participation proposals have also been submitted by exclusively online communities. Organizations, artists, designers, independent and established curators, gallery and art space directors as well as lease-holders and owners of other event and non-traditional exhibition spaces located anywhere in the world may email Melissa Roberts at mail@thebecafoundation.org for venue participation information. The BECA Foundation is building a global network to achieve a positive impact on the future of the residents of cities around the world. The formerly unimaginable, previously impossible and the creative ideas and proposals that may run counter to the current status quo are most welcome. Artists and designers may register to participate at: http://www.thebecafoundation.org/global/calls-to-artists.html
“Free your mind and the rest will follow.” – Thomas McElroy and Denzil Foster
www.thebecafoundation.org www.curatethis.org mail@thebecafoundation.org
CURATE THIS! 2010 is going global! …on the ground AND in cyberland.
December 14, 2009 – CURATE THIS! 2010, the second installment of the CURATE THIS! exhibition series created by BECA: Bridge for Emerging Contemporary Art, is evolving from a one city-wide event location into a global arts + cultural exchange event involving multiple venues located in multiple cities around the world. The global art + design exhibition will take place from July 1 – December 31, 2010.
Through the exhibition of works of art + design by emerging artists, designers, duos, groups and collectives around the world, The BECA Foundation aims to facilitate an experimental, cross-pollination of creative innovation and new ideas in diverse locations around the world. The title, ‘CURATE THIS!’ reflects a departure from the familiar large scale exhibition model, typically curated by a singular vision with one head curator, to an exhibition with components and related events ‘curated’ by the public and professional and independent participants residing in multiple cities around the world. The first ‘CURATE THIS!’ experiment took place in early 2008 and led artists and directors, Melissa Roberts and Kurt Schlough to begin brainstorming the expansion of the experiment to bring about greater benefits to a larger number of participants.
BECA is an acronym for Bridge for Emerging Contemporary Art and the core belief system at The BECA Foundation is that “New art + new design fuels the best of what’s yet to come on this planet.” To help mix that fuel and kick start new possibilities, the expansion of the CURATE THIS! exhibition project will facilitate a broader exposure of new art, new design and new ideas through both a physical and online network of participating venues in multiple cities around the world. The aim of building the network is to create international arts + cultural exchange opportunities, broaden arts education opportunities and appreciation for emerging contemporary art + design, facilitate introductions and lay the foundation for future collaborations toward the realization of a progressive, meaningful and fulfilling future for everyone. Global online content delivery of exhibition events and related special projects will enable global participation by millions around the world. The BECA Foundation is pleased to welcome the participation of Helen Pheby, PhD, Curator of Yorkshire Sculpture Park, UK whose research and curatorial work spans the globe including the US and Iraq and Ellen Lupton, legendary design educator and Curator of Contemporary Design at the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Each has a unique insight which will add further depth and diversity to new CURATE THIS! 2010 exhibition components.
Upcoming participating venues in Boston, New Orleans, Miami, Denver, Los Angeles, Santa Fe and London have been the first locations to sign on. Venue participation proposals have also been submitted by exclusively online communities. Artists, designers, independent and established curators, gallery and art space directors as well as lease-holders and owners of other event and non-traditional exhibition spaces may email Melissa Roberts at mail@thebecafoundation.org for venue participation information. The BECA Foundation is building a global network to achieve a positive impact on the future of the residents of cities around the world. The formerly unimaginable, previously impossible and the creative ideas and proposals that may run counter to the current status quo are most welcome.
“Free your mind and the rest will follow.” – Thomas McElroy And Denzil Foster
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Come take a look at my work at http://stephaniebak.ca . Drop me a line, I would love to hear what you think. Don’t forget to check out my event page for the latest going-ons.
For immediate release
New York, NY – Despite the recession and its severe economic toll, artists across the country are overwhelmingly upbeat. While most have a second job just to get by (and one in five has a third job), a significant majority of artists believe “it is an inspiring time to be an artist in America.”
Despite intensified hardship, relatively low income levels, rising debt and growing worries about health insurance, 75% of those surveyed believe this is an inspiring time to be an artist. In addition:
These are among the findings of the largest and most comprehensive survey of artists ever conducted in the U.S. The survey reached artists working in the visual, performing and literary arts and other fields. More than 5300 artists participated in Artists and the Economic Recession Survey, commissioned by Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC) in collaboration with Helicon Collaborative and Princeton Survey Research Associates International. The survey was conducted in the summer of 2009, and the sample closely approximates the demographic characteristics of the national population of artists, allowing generalizations about the findings by age, race/ethnicity, arts discipline, educational level and other characteristics.
The survey was undertaken to provide reliable information about this diverse population of creative individuals. Most prior analyses have been based on Census counts, which are quickly dated and overly broad in their categorization of artists’ sub-groups. The LINC survey sought to understand artists’ financial circumstances, their strategies for adapting to the current economy, and their outstanding concerns.
“Artists are known for their ability to innovate and improvise. They have made a risky career choice to begin with, and most have learned to cope with economic stress as a matter of course. Artists find ways to be creative, flexible and productive under duress, and some of their strategies may serve others in this climate” said Judilee Reed, Executive Director of Leveraging Investments in Creativity.
Artists typically have low incomes, most earning less than $40,000 from all sources, according to the survey.
Chief among the artists’ current worries are:
Health care is especially challenging for many artists, who do not have the prospect of most other professionals for long-term employment that comes with health care and other benefits. Even those artists who are covered are worried: 61% of artists report they have adequate insurance, but 50% are concerned about losing it.
LINC is working with the Actors Fund and other partners to address artists’ health insurance issues. The Actors Fund’s AHIRC provides information about health insurance options designed to meet the explicit needs of artists in all disciplines and in all states, and provides resources, tools and information about health care policy issues. LINC also works with diverse partners, including urban planners and municipalities, to increase live/work opportunities for artists. The survey confirmed that this is another priority issue for artists.
“Addressing the needs of artists is important because art, in its thousand daily manifestations, matters to the health of communities,” Ms Reed said. “We demand and value excellence in design, graphics, performance and other arts. If we value art, we also need to value the artist. How do we tell the dancer from the dance, the painter from the painting? That dancer, painter, poet, actor and other artist whose work products you value need health insurance, places to live, and opportunities to work as much as anyone,” she said. “We have more than 2.5 million artists in this country, most of them contributing dynamically to our creative economy without the benefits of regular employment or standard benefits. If we want access to the ideas, products and services of artists in the future, we need to address their needs today.”
About LINC
Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC) is a 10-year initiative to improve artists’ ability to make work, build social capital and contribute to democratic values.
Selected Toronto art dealers featured in a suite of portraits by artist Viktor Mitic
In this remarkable portrait-survey of thirty-six of Toronto’s most distinctive and influential art dealers, artist Viktor Mitic has captured and illuminated the unique individual personalities of his subjects. Depicting by turns their passion, insouciance, vivacity, shrewdness, eccentricity, geniality, and more, these portraits successfully reflect the rainbow of human emotion and expression. As Gary Michael Dault says in his insightful introductory essay, “there isn’t a portrait here that doesn’t provide not only a fine likeness of its subject, but also a telling, charming, incisive route into the sitter’s essential nature.”
Tightrope Books and Odon Wagner Contemporary are pleased to invite you to a ground breaking art show/book launch at the Odon Wagner Contemporary, 198 Davenport Road in Toronto, 6pm to 9pm December 10th 2009. The show will continue until December 24th 2009.
For more info please call 416-962-0438 or email info@odonwagnergallery.com
The world’s first entirely Twittered murder mystery novel has started on Twitter. Reading it is completely free, readers just have to sign up for Twitter.com and then follow @whodunit140.
‘I love the idea of people being able to read the story without having to pay for it,’ said the author, ‘as well as the freedom to write whatever I like.’
The story will develop every day, and is being written directly on Twitter. ‘Some people have claimed to write a Twitter novel, but all they have done is rewrite and abbreviate a manuscript they have already written. Whodunit140 is being written especially for Twitter.’
Readers can get involved by sending replies to @whodunit140.
‘The interactivity is amazing, it is instant, whether it is praise or criticism. Most novels are published once, but I have to publish everyday. It is stressful, but exciting!’
Whodunit140 is a murder mystery novel written entirely in 140 character chapters on Twitter.
Sign up to follow completely free at :http://www.twitter.com/whodunit140
More details can be found at http://www.aesthetes.com/twitter-novel.php
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