City Hall Art Collection - Opening Reception Night Photos

The City Hall Art Collection Reception "HeArt of DC" on October 31, 2006. Check it out. I hope you like the photos! My cityscape painting, "Westminster Street" is on the Fifth Floor in the Ceremonial Hallway, Special Collection. The work of 113 well-known and emerging artists is on view from the ground to the fifth floors. John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC. Open to visitors, photo ID required.

The opening reception was well attended with over 1000 folks coming to support the arts. Mayor Anthony Williams, Council members Linda Cropp and Vincent Gray, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Chair Dorothy McSweeney and Executive Director Anthony Gittens gave welcome speechs to visitors and lots of applause to the many artists whose works now adorn the halls. As Mayor Williams said, Art is not just necessary; it proves vital to the economy of Washington, DC. Mayor Williams reminded us that after September 11, DC was desperate to bring economic recovery to the city. With the help of the arts, through whimsical projects such as the Party Animals and Pandemania, the city made an economic recovery and is strong today! As he was speaking to the many guests, I thought G--! I’m going to miss this Mayor who is a strong supporter of the arts in DC…and his mother, Mrs. Virginia Williams. I hope they will continue working to keep the forward momentum for the arts. I’ve seen amazing changes through the partnership of the city with the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities in the last decade and I like the current art climate. Now, with the newly installed City Hall Art Collection, Washington, DC is coming of age as a vital arts destination showcasing its finest creative talent. 80% of the artists in this new City Hall Art collection live in the Washington, DC area.

Artist Sondra N. Arkin was the Collection's Curator with Exhibition Selection Panelists: Betty Akers, Patricia Elwood, George Koch, Jack Rasmussen, Jacquelyn Serwer, Alec Simpson, and Ira E. Stohlman. Weighing in with essays on the art, in a handsome commemorative catalogue, are F. Lennox Campello, David Furchgott, Johanna Halford-MacLeod, Jack Rasmussen and Claudia Rousseau. The catalogue was designed by Mary Beth Ramsey with editorial assistance by Julia Morelli. The staff at the DC Commission including Charlotte Hoffman, Lisa Thomas, Rachel Dickerson, Carolyn Parker and Ebony Blanks did an exemplary job of coordinating the event and facilitating the installation.

Lots of folks put in time and effort for this amazing collection to come to life. City Hall is a cavernous building, albeit beautifully redone, which has more uncovered walls just waiting for art. Council Member Linda Cropp commented how wonderful to enter the building on the D Street entrance now and see a beautiful painting (Freya Grand’s Haute des Forets). As well, the main entrance on the ground floor showcases 13 artists and the art continues on every level up to the fifth floor. "All the artwork makes the building come alive," says Cropp. And I agree that roaming through the vast halls with open spaces and long corridors feels more like “home” now with “our” artists hanging on the walls. Great job everybody!

The City Hall Art Collection is one of many projects brought to life by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.
Contact: Charlotte Hoffman or Rachel Dickerson
202.724.5613
Email: cah@dc.gov

Anne Marchand's Larger Slide Show - view here photoset

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Upcoming Bethesda Painting Awards

Bethesda’s 3rd annual juried art competition and exhibition honoring painters. This competition will award $14,000 in prize monies to four selected painters. Artists must submit 5 slides of original work that has been completed in the last 2 years, and will be available for the duration of the exhibit (June 6 - July 7, 2007).

A panel of jurors will be selecting the finalists; Dr. Brandon Fortune, Associate Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the National Portrait Gallery; W.C. Richardson, Professor of Painting and Drawing at the University of Maryland and Tanja Softic, Associate Professor of Art at the University of Richmond.

Artists must submit 5 slides of original artwork, $25, and the application form to apply.

For a submission form download at www.bethesda.org, call 301/215-6660 ext 17, or send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the Bethesda Painting Awards, c/o Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, 7700 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, MD 20814 to receive an application.

Contact: Carly Meyers
Marketing and Communications Coordinator
Bethesda Urban Partnership, Inc.

Mayor's Arts Awards on the Horizon

(Click image for larger view)
Who do you want to nominate?
Contact Lisa Richards at the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities for a nomination form.
202.724.5613

Arts Council of Fairfax County Partners with GRACE to Present Annual Exhibition

Opens this week...a great group show juried by Jack Rasmussen, Director and Curator of the new American University Museum at the Katzen, Washington, DC.

Arts Council of Fairfax County Annual Juried Exhibition
at the the Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE) in Reston, Virginia,
a first time collaboration to present this annual exhibition

November 3 - December 1, 2006

Opening Reception at GRACE
Friday, November 3, 6 - 8 p.m.
Awards and Juror's Remarks, 7 p.m

"As I approached this portrait, I kept thinking about how Papa looked over his lifetime. A handsome man, I wanted to capture that as well as show the signs of time that now mark his features. ..I saw the face that I wanted to portray: a portrait stripped of the usual accouterments of status associated with traditional portraits, yet conveying a man of dignity and distinction." "Portraits are posed figuration. But what is most important is who is doing the posing. Is the subject posing, is the artist inventing the pose, is the pose meaningful or an accidental glimpse of life that communicates on a personal level. It can be all of this, and I think that is why figuration and portraiture are so compelling and continue to be relevant in today’s art. " -Josephine Haden www.josephinehaden.com

Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE)
12001 Market Street, Suite 103
Reston, VA 20190
Telephone: 703-471-20190
www.restonarts.org
GRACE Gallery Hours
Tuesdays - Saturdays, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.

New life comes to once gritty capital streets

Meeghan Truelove of Travel Leisure Magazine writes about D.C's Mid City burgeoning art and city scene with a mention of several new galleries including Project 4, Nevin Kelly and Irvine Contemporary.

"New life comes to once gritty capital streets, as shops, restaurants, galleries, clubs, and scenesters take up residence." Read here

Conversation with Collectors Hugh and Marie Halff

Illustrated Lecture--Barbara Guggenheim
and Conversation with Collectors Hugh and Marie Halff
4:00 PM
Reynolds Center--McEvoy Auditorium
Smithsonian American Art Museum

Discover how personal art collections evolve from a conversation with collectors Hugh and Marie Halff, moderated by Chief Curator Eleanor Harvey. Expertise will also be offered in a lecture by Barbara Guggenheim, an internationally known art consultant.
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The Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery—two museums that tell America's stories through art, history and biography—share a newly renovated National Historic Landmark building in downtown Washington D.C. The Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture, named in honor of a generous gift from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, includes the two museums and their special-purpose facilities: the Lunder Conservation Center, the Luce Foundation Center for American Art, the Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium and the Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard.

The museums are located in the heart of Washington, D.C.’s vibrant new downtown, a few blocks from the National Mall. The main entrance is at 8th and F Streets, N.W.

Admission is free
11:30 a.m.-7:00 p.m. daily
Closed December 25

In today's WaPo "The Heart of DC"

The District
Saturday, October 28, 2006; Page C14

Today
"EXHIBIT Looking Into "The Heart of DC" We spied a few big local names, including Sam Gilliam, William Christenberry and Jiha Moon, among the 100 artists whose works have been acquired by the District for the John A. Wilson Building's very own collection of art. The 175 pieces, amassed this year in what officials say is only the first phase of the collection, will be unveiled Tuesday in their new home during a reception, with hors d'oeuvres and music by the Duke Ellington School of the Arts Jazz Combo. Free, but ID required. 5-7 p.m. (After the opening, the works can be seen weekdays 9 a.m.-5 p.m.) 1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. RSVP to 202-724-2042."

Links: Iron Works Sculpture Exhibition

Hillyer Art Space
9 Hillyer Court NW
Washington, DC 20008
(Dupont Circle Metro Station on the Red Line, North, Q Street Exit)

November 2, 2006 – January 25, 2007
Opening Reception: Thursday, November 2, 2006 from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm

Orna Ben-Ami's 19 iron sculptures "convey thought-provoking contrasts: war and peace, memory and forgetting... Critically acclaimed for the surprising contrast between the material and themes of the sculpture, Links presents a collection replete with personal content that intersects with collective memories."

DUPONT CIRCLE FALL FINE ARTS & CRAFTS FESTIVAL

Saturday, October 28, 10am - 4pm

Church of the Pilgrims
2201 P Street, NW, Washington, DC

Please come out tomorrow to the Dupont Circle Arts Festival. Over 80 artists and artisans will be exhibiting and selling their crafts including Mary D. Ott and Michele de la Menardiere.

For details please visit Church of the Pilgrims Fall Festival This event is happening RAIN OR SHINE (there will be booths inside and outside!) So come out either way. The church is conveniantly located just 3 blocks from the Dupont Circle Metro (walk down P Street towards Georgetown).

Meat Market Gallery Opening, "Urban Sight"

November 2 - 26, 2006
Opening Reception: November 3, 6-9pm

Have you seen the new gallery in town? (North of the Safeway on 17th Street between Church and R Street NW). It's a bright interior open space and a welcome addition to the art galleries.

Meat Market Gallery
1636 17th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
202.328.6328

Want to Find Out How To Design Your Walls With Art?

Design Scheme Interiors is partnering with Authentic Art Consulting and Roxanne's Artiques to bring you a workshop about incorporating art in your interior decorating and design. See information below!

Saturday, November 4, 2006
Workshop: Collecting and Displaying Art in Interiors
Co-Sponsored by Roxanne's Artiques, Authentic Art Consulting and Design Scheme Interiors , LLC
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Cost: $20.00 per participant
Location: Roxanne's Artiques, 3426 9th Street, NE, Washington, DC
Metro: 1/2 block from Brookland/Catholic University -Red Line

This interactive workshop will help you identify the right kind of art for your interior decorating needs; choose a theme to bring continuity to art displayed in your home; and, display art in unique ways in your home.

For more information and to register contact Roxanne Carter at Roxanne's Artiques at (202) 526-7020 or e-mail: Roxannesartiques@hotmail.com

Review of Inga Frick @ MPA

Thinking About Art has pictures of the exhibition.
The exhibition is on until November 4, 2006.

llusion: Now, Mind and World
New Work by Inga McCaslin Frick

Curator's Statement

Inga McCaslin Frick creates large and complex works that deftly combine painting, assemblage and digital images. Exploring far reaching ideas that include the nature of spatial perception and how subjective and objective reality combine to create experience, these pieces speak clearly to both intellect and imagination. In addition, they also draw the viewer into an engaging and often arresting dynamic based on a visceral reaction to the interaction between materials and technique.

McLean Project for the Arts
located on the second level of
The McLean Community Center
1234 Ingleside Avenue
McLean, VA 22101
Phone 703-790-1953
E-Mail mpaart@aol.com

The word is out! - New Bloggers in town

Julia Morelli, deputy director of the gallery and Nevin Kelly, owner and gallery director of Nevin Kelley Gallery are new bloggers, the first gallery to join the ranks in Washington, DC.
Check them out often, http://nevinkellygallery.blogspot.com

An Artist's (and Others) Worst Nightmare

So much for gestural articulation. Oops, that hurts.

Wynn Punches Hole In $139 Million Picasso.

"Steve Wynn was showing a group Picasso's "Le Reve" when... "He raised his hand to show us something about the painting -- and at that moment, his elbow crashed backwards right through the canvas. There was a terrible noise. Wynn stepped away from the painting, and there, smack in the middle of Marie-Therese Walter's plump and allegedly-erotic forearm, was a black hole the size of a silver dollar - or, to be more exactly, the size of the tip of Steve Wynn's elbow - with two three-inch long rips coming off it in either direction." Read more here...Huffington Post

Employment Opportunity / Studio Manager for Public Artist Studio

Office/Studio Manager: Weitzman Studios - MD

Weitzman Studios, Inc. creates some of the largest and most remarkable public art and highway infrastructure projects across the country. Please visit website, www.weitzmanstudios.com , to see examples of the exciting sculptures and interactive environments. They are looking for a resourceful person with at least one year of office experience, including a strong knowledge of Microsoft Office and normal office equipment, to assist with general office maintenance. This position is full-time. The employee (salary commensurate w/ exp.) should be a strong writer and have great organizational skills. He/she will do project support, copy writing, finance tracking, and general office duties. Email resume, cover letter, salary requirements and two writing samples to Weitzman Studios, Inc. at creativedesignresolutions@hotmail.com or fax them to 301-699-0389. This job is located in the Washington, D.C. metro area in Brentwood, MD. No phone calls please.

Free Hugs Campaign (here)

Interesting...Do you need a Hug? "All The Same" music by sick puppies.

One Way To Rip Money (Click here)

Banksy does Kate Moss. "A series of Kate Moss paintings in the style of Andy Warhol were sold at a Sotheby's art auction for a record £50,400."
How's that for a haul?

Best Seller: CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD, Opens In Movie Theatres This Week.

"CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD opens in theaters this coming Friday, October 27, 2006 and in Canada, November 10.  I highly recommend that you go see the film this weekend. We need more films like this in theaters and the best way for us to support the filmmakers is to show up on opening weekend! Let’s show the media and the studios that we will turn out to see a movie about love and compassion, not the Hollywood formula of fear and violence." - Hale Dwoskin
“An incredibly emotional journey.”
--Deepak Chopra

Watch the trailer: www.cwgthemovieonline.com

Adapted from the books by Neale Donald Walsch that inspired and changed the lives of millions worldwide, CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD tells the true story of Walsch (Henry Czerny) who, at the lowest point in his life, asks God some very hard questions. The answers he gets from God/within become the foundation of an internationally-acclaimed book series that has sold over 7 million copies and been translated into 34 languages. The film chronicles the dramatic journey of a down and out man who inadvertently becomes a spiritual messenger and bestselling author.

PRODUCTION DETAILS:

Industry veteran and producer/director Stephen Simon had long aspired to bring CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD to the screen.

“My film career has been dominated by the quest to make films out of three extraordinary books, the first two as a producer and the third as producer/director,” he says.

“First, it was SOMEWHERE IN TIME, which took almost 5 years from the time I first read it until the film was released. Next, WHAT DREAMS MAY COME took almost 20 years. Now, CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD has been in my head and, most importantly, my heart for almost 10 years.

For the past decade, I have dreamed of making Neale’s very emotional, provocative and surprising journey into a movie. As a filmmaker, my guiding principle has been that this film had to be from and of the heart.”

Over the past ten years, Neale Donald Walsch received offers to turn his book and life story into a film. He turned them all down. However, due to Walsch’s enthusiasm for WHAT DREAMS MAY COME, the Academy Award-winning film that Simon produced in 1998, the two became friends.

Walsch says that Simon has an “extraordinarily high level of artistic integrity, vision and willingness to collaborate,” and therefore, he finally agreed to have his story told on the big screen.

Principal photography on CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD began November 7, 2005. It was shot over the course of five weeks in and around beautiful Ashland, Oregon and the nearby Rogue Valley.

The Starbucks Experience

An interesting observation by Canadian Artist Robert Genn

Recently I wrote a letter about the similarity of running a business and being an artist. As usual a whole bunch of artists agreed with me, and a whole bunch of others told me I'd been drinking my turps. Then yesterday I picked up a reading sample--that's book-talk for a preview of an upcoming book. "The Starbucks Experience, Five Principles for Turning Ordinary into Extraordinary," by psychologist Joseph Michelli will be out next month.

Michelli was granted unlimited access to the inside workings of Starbucks. In case you didn't know, Starbucks is the biggest chain of coffee shops in the world. There are now more than 11,000 outlets in 37 countries--five new ones start pouring coffee every day. Howard Schultz, the founder, began in Seattle, Washington in 1971 with one shop. If you'd invested $10,000 when stock was first offered in 1992, you'd now have $650,000. Starbucks is regularly voted one of the best run companies. Starbucks has changed coffee culture from dullsville 50 cent mugs of murky brew to $4.00 specialties like "quad, two-pump vanilla, one-and-one-quarter sugar-free hazelnut,ristretto latte, half soy, half nonfat, extra hot, with whip." Staff at Starbucks are real friendly taking dough out of your pocket, and customers love the custom treatment. Who would've thought? Even Howard Schultz was surprised. His second big idea had been to open another shop in Portland.

Michelli found the Starbucks culture to be an overflowing cup of empowerment. All employees, from the top brass to the 20-hour-per-week "baristas" are offered a stake in the company. But this is only part of what makes the company so different and so successful. When I read the five principles I almost gagged:
1 Make it your own
2 Everything matters
3 Surprise and delight
4 Embrace resistance
5 Leave your mark

I'm inviting you to take a look at those principles and see if they don't apply every time you go into your studio and pick up your tools. Think about those principles, and then let's meet at Starbucks. It's just down the road.

PS: "The Starbucks Experience reflects tenets that are simple, yet not simplistic. They are results-oriented and can be deceptively powerful when applied." (Joseph Michelli)

Esoterica: Starbucks goes to a lot of trouble to train employees to be both skilled in the culture and happy in their work. Unlike most companies, Starbucks spends more on training than advertising. Job satisfaction translates into an emotional customer connection. For example, when "Surprise and delight" happens during the making of something, the effect is transferred down the line. In any creative endeavor, "How can I delight myself?" is a most important question. It's hard for some of us to believe, but more than one person has a stake in the outcome of our work. "Double double, please."

City Hall Art Collection - Opening Reception

SAVE THE DATE: OCTOBER 31, 5:00-7:00PM


The City Hall Art Collection at the John A. Wilson Building in Washington, DC will make its debut with a reception for the artists and the artwork from 5-7PM.
John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC

The artwork of 113 artists is on display in the Wilson Bldg. on the Ground floor through the 5th Floors in public hallways. The new public art collection of Washington, DC area artists showcases 100 artists including Bill Christenberry, Freya Grand, Sam Gilliam, Steven Kushner, Maggie Michael, Marie Ringwald, Robin Rose, Renee Stout, Lou Stovall, Alexandra Silverthorne, Renee Stout, Tim Tate, Yuriko Yamaguchi, and many others. The Collection is representative of the enormous creative talent in Washington, DC. You can see my painting and 12 other artists work including Sylvia Snowden, Betsy Damos, Gene Davis and Walter Kravitz in the Fifth Floor Ceremonial Hallway, Special Collection. 80% of the artists reside in DC and it is the largest collection of local art open to the public. Established and emerging artists are represented in this important City Hall Art Collection.
Hosted/sponsored by DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities

Reception Details:
City Hall Art Collection
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Remarks @ 6:00 p.m.
General Public is Invited
Photo ID required to enter this building
Free Admission
Music by Duke Ellington School of the Arts Jazz Combo
Food provided by Whole Foods Market
RSVP Requested to Carolyn.Parker@dc.gov or (202) 724-2042

Congratulations to Curator, Sondra Arkin for bringing excellence to light in the halls of Washington, DC with the City Hall Art Collection. Sondra has put in a lot of hard work over the year to make this exhibition a top notch collection. Come meet and congratulate her at the opening reception! Read Jessica Gould's (she's the new and welcomed WCP reviewer) article "If These Walls Could Gawk"
With over 4000 works to choose from in the first call, and 153 purchased by the Selection Panel, the arts commission is committed to adding work every couple of years. This will be the largest collection of DC artists on exhibition downtown open daily for visitors.

There are a number of parking garages nearby, but they highly recommend public transportation.
Enter through the Pennsylvania Avenue entrance.
Remarks begin at 6:00 —There will be "maps" of the collection at the Opening Reception and at the Security Desk in the future to help visitors find where the art is hung. Art will be on the Ground Floor through the 5th Floors in public hallways.

Read more at Nevin Kelley Gallery Blog