News
In the media – 1. After sixteen years in the art world, pioneering internet art publication Artnet Magazine is ceasing its publishing operations due to financial problems; all three of the sites, and its editorial staffers (Walter Robinson, Rachel Corbett and Emily Nathan) are leaving. Roberta wrote the Philadelphia Story column for artnet from 2000-2005 and then occasionally after that. Find the full report here. 2. Locally, Annette Monnier of One Review a Month is writing for City Paper–a terrific reason to read it! Annette was our sponsorship coordinator for a while and contributed some wonderful criticism to the site. Find out more here.
The Institute of Contemporary Art has named Amy Sadao their new Daniel W. Dietrich, II Director! She replaces the departing Claudia Gould, who now heads the Jewish Museum in New York. Sadao is presently Executive Director of Visual AIDS in New York City, and has an accomplished history as a public speaker, moderator, juror, and consultant ; she assumes her new position this fall. Get the full story here.
Pennsylvania Historical Society is taking historical documents to the digital age. The “Preserving American Freedom” project, supported by a grant from Bank of America, will, among other things, scan a hand-written draft of the Constitution. Visit HSP’s site to find out more, including which invaluable documents are to be preserved.
The Shaft Space has announced the grand opening of two new galleries in collaboration with the University of the Arts. And as one would expect, they’re far from prosaic: Co-founders Maiza Hixson and Lauren Ruth are giving MFA students at UArts a true challenge by having them build two open-air galleries, where they’ll then learn curatorial practice. The SHAFT: Intensive Six-Week Curatorial Training School for Artists runs July 6 to August 3, 2012. The opening reception is July 6, from 5-9 PM at University of the Arts, 320 South Broad Street. Hixson and Ruth produced a rather fun commercial for the occasion, which you can see here. For event details, visit the Shaft’s website, and to request a tour or for more information, email TheShaftSpace@gmail.com.
Ad Valorem Coalition, a new collective spanning disciplines and experience levels begun by Doreen Garner and Lyric Prince, is having their next show Saturday June 30th 2012 at The Window Factory at 2301 N 9th street (9th and Dauphin), from 8pm – 1am. There is a $10 cover with an open bar and refreshments served. The show features work from Garner, Lyric Prince, Jonifin Marvin, Ben Simon, Beth Lewis, Jon Swartz, Kitakiya Dennis, Ebony Collier, David Solan, Bryan Guglielmi, Lorna Williams, Marquise Burns, Timothy Caison, and Gabe Tiberino. Be ready for some vibrant work by these guys; and check out their event page here.
Ann-Marie LeQuesne, an American-born, British-based artist using social practice and citizen participants in her works, has won a Franklin Furnace grant to do her Fanfare for Crossing the Road project on 23rd and 7th in NYC. Dates are forthcoming. We’ve been admirers of LeQuesne’s work since we met her in 2006 at a re-enactment of the 1867 execution of Emperor Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph (most famously painted by Eduard Manet); she also had a concurrent show at the Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery. She’s done Fanfares in Europe mostly up until now, so this is encouraging – here’s to hoping Philly gets a Fanfare!
An impromptu visit up to Manayunk sounds like a good idea right about now — the Mural Arts Program’s temporary art project Escaped Infrastructures, is only on display until July 29. Located on the Manayunk Canal and towpath on Main Street, it uses motion-sensitive water pumps to let passerby interact with the water’s movement, with LED lights illuminating water flowing through the installation’s PVC tubes, allowing the artwork to light up the night. This installation is a commentary on how important the Manayunk Canal once was, as well as its aquatic life, and is a nice collaboration between Mural Arts, Austin-based design team Thoughtbarn and the Manayunk Development Corporation. Funding also came from the Manayunk Special Services District. Find out more about Escaped Infrastructures via Mural Arts. We love that Mural Arts is doing temporary public art projects!
Fleisher Art Memorial’s Wind Challenge artists have been announced for next year’s series. Each artist participates in one of three three-person exhibitions at Fleisher, and they must create a public art event; all receive a $750 stipend. Congratulations to the winners! Here’s the list:
Wind Challenge 1: September 14, 2012 Bohyun Yoon, Ryan Kelly, Erin Murray
Wind Challenge 2: Dec 7, 2012: Micah Danges, Tim Portlock, Bill Gerhard
Wind Challenge 3: Apr 5, 2013: Jake Kehs, Elizabeth Hamilton, Julianna Foster
Learn more about the Wind Challenges here.
Opportunities
The Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCada) is calling for curatorial submissions for exhibitions in their main gallery space. They’re interested in work that deals with contemporary subjects related to Africa and the African Diaspora, and are open to submissions from emerging, mid-career and established curators alike. Their next review period begins August 15. Take a look through their previous exhibitions here before submitting, and find the submission guidelines here.
Wharton Esherick Museum’s call for wood jewelry makers lasts another two weeks, so artists act fast. Entries must be postmarked by Monday July 2, 2012; the Woodworker’s Competition Rules & Application are on WEM’s website. The judges include Albert LeCoff, Executive Director of The Center for Art in Wood, Mansfield Bascom, the Curator Emeritus of the Wharton Esherick Museum, and Special Guest Juror Helen Drutt, owner of Drutt Gallery in Rittenhouse Square. If you have any questions, please email business@
Via GPCA – PAFA’s Portfolio museum shop needs a part-time sales associate. Find the listing on the GPCA’s job bank, here.
via NYFA – Richard Feigen Gallery in NYC is looking for a full-time art handler. For more information, visit the listing at NYFA.
Artist News
We’re always enamored of anything by Nadia Hironaka and Matt Suib. They’ve released a music video for blues guitarist Chris Forsyth’s “Boston Street Melody No. 2.,” which you can jam out to here!
K-Fai Steele, one of our past contributors, has created a video for MSN’s Re:discover website that can be seen here. In this video, called “An Artist’s Retreat,” she and web developer/rowing coach Chris DeFelice visit the Wagner Free Institute, Village of Arts and Humanities and Franklin Fountain. Not a bad itinerary, hope to see more!
Big congratulations are in order for the Wexler Gallery, who have seen five of their artists included in 40 under 40: Craft Futures exhibition at the Smithsonian Renwick Gallery in D.C.! Vivian Beer, Melanie Bilenker, Brian Dettmer, Andy Paiko and Stacey Lee Webber are the lucky young talents. The show is at the Renwick Gallery, 1st floor, Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street N.W., from July 20, 2012 – February 3, 2013. More information on this exhibition and the gallery can be found here.
Artblog Paris correspondent Matthew Rose has a show, “After the Flood,” opening at Converge Gallery in Williamsport, PA. The opening reception is today, June 29 at 6 PM, and the address of the gallery is 140 West 4th Street. The exhibition is up until August 25th. A visit to either Matthew’s blog or Converge Gallery will fill you in on more details.
