Public Art Calls:
 
Takoma Metro Public Art Project
Deadline: Friday, August 14, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Budget: $250,000
 
The DC Creates! Public Art Program at the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH), in collaboration with the Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority, Art in Transit Program (WMATA) and the Takoma community, seek an artist or art team to design, create, and install artwork that will be located within the Takoma Metro underpass. The goal of this project is to create a vibrant and inviting gateway to the Takoma DC community. The colorful artwork will provide an “avenue” for residents, commuters and visitors to enjoy, admire and revitalize the community as well as express the unique story of historic Takoma.
 
 
For more information, email rachel.dickerson@dc.gov or call (202) 724-5613.  To download the applications please go to www.dcarts.dc.gov (Public Art – Current Calls for Entries).  Artists wishing to collaborate, needing assistance with submission proposals, or needing organization assistance can contact Shauna Lee Lange Arts Advisory.
 
 
____________________________
Rachel Dickerson
DC Creates Public Art Manager
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
1371 Harvard Street, NW
Washington DC 20009
(202) 724-5617 direct
(202) 213-9943 cell
(202) 724-5613 main
(202) 727-4135 fax
www.dcarts.dc.gov

The Arts Council of Fairfax County invites the arts community to participate in the 39th annual International Children’s Festival at Wolf Trap on September 19 & 20, 2009 from 10 am – 4pm. This is a brand new initiative and a great opportunity for our local artists!  The deadline for applications is August 1, 2009. 
 
Participate in the Arts & Crafts Village!  We are looking for artists to give educational demonstrations in their disciplines, once a day.  Artists are welcome to sell their work as well. It is a great opportunity to expand your audience and take part in a global arts festival.

The International Children’s Festival at Wolf Trap is the premier international arts education experience in the United States.  Arts & Crafts Village 
We can accept up to 30 individual artists or artist groups. Artist applications will be reviewed by a panel of art professionals. 

You can download the Word document at: http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=wq6ys7cab.0.0.ccasrsbab.0&ts=S0400&p=http%3A%2F%2Finternationalchildrensfestival.org%2Fdownloads%2FArts%26CraftsVillage_Application.doc&id=preview 
and e-mail us at artsandcrafts@artsfairfax.org 

For more information on the call-out, please visit http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=wq6ys7cab.0.0.ccasrsbab.0&ts=S0400&p=http%3A%2F%2Finternationalchildrensfestival.org%2Ffestival%2Fapplications%2Fvisual-artist-application&id=preview.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Jamel McKelvia, International Children´s Festival Intern, at jamel.mckelvia@artsfairfax.org 
or by phone at (703) 642-0862 x5.  If you are a metropolitan DC artist and need help submitting to this event or organizing for it, call Shauna Lee Lange Arts Advisory.

Open through September 20 – “Living Legends” Exhibition

The latest class of Living Legends of Alexandria is profiled in an exhibit at The Lyceum, Alexandria’s History Museum, 201 S. Washington St. This photography exhibition, featuring the work of Nina Tisara, celebrates people who have made remarkable contributions to the quality of life in Alexandria. “Living Legends of Alexandria 2008-09” showcases 26 nominees who have worked to improve life in Alexandria. The museum is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sundays, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The suggested admission is $2. For more information, visit http://www.alexandriahistory.org or call 703.838.4994.

Nina graciously hosted me for breakfast where she shared the photo documentary record of the Living Legends of Alexandria 2008. I have long admired Nina’s dedication to this project and I will be adding to this post in the near future with more details about the project, how you can nominate someone for this prestigious honor, and what Nina’s organization needs in terms of support from the community.

One of the legends, Mel & Donna Bergheim, has part of their story here.

Annie Waldrop sent us over her unsolicited image files on cd and her artwork papers, and although many art agents will not review these materials, I always look at whatever comes my way – more often than not, I’m surprisingly rewarded.  Such is the case with Waldrop who is a talented mixed-media/assemblage artist from Salem, Virginia and also a teacher.  She is working in themes of women’s abandonment, domesticity, fertility, women’s labor and the discarded.  She explores both positive and negative aspects of domesticity and the issue of women’s labor and its place in society as demonstrated through her need for obsessive sewing and in the repetition of various elements of her work.  Featured below are three of our favorites that all have an element of insight, originality, and depth of thought.   “Detail Scorched” (2004); “Baggage” (2005); and “Steel Wool Christening Gown” (2005).

Barbara Lussier is an accomplished plein aire artist/colleague we’ve been watching for some time. Her Morning Fog oil painting below is honored with an award at the 78th Annual Exhibition of the Hudson Valley Art Association at The Ridgewood Art Institute, 12 East Glen Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ. Awards Ceremony Sunday, July 12, 2-5 p.m. Congratulations Barbara – nicely done.

Holloway Ventures is, among other things, a school of visual arts and an academic institute designed to integrate academic classes into visual arts. We lecture and conduct workshops on how to teach regular academics classes through visual arts. This non-profit has some pretty strong backers and the newly forming board will provide great debate about how to be creative and push visual arts and academics further into the 21st century. Shauna Lee Lange is thrilled to accept board membership. Lange’s Art Advisory has served the Washington DC metropolitan art community since 2006.
http://www.hollowayventures.com

The Military Rape Crisis Center is working with the law firm of Burke O’Neil in developing a class action lawsuit against the military. The lawsuit seeks to reform the culture that permits constant assaults and sexual abuse/harassment.

At present, the team working on the suit seeks to interview anyone who has suffered from sexual abuse of any sort while connected to the military by service, marriage, or otherwise. Anyone with those experiences is invited to join the class action. The team wants as many participants as possible.

The Burke O’Neil firm is developing the case on a contingency basis, which means that it will pay for all the costs associated with the lawsuit. Costs and attorneys fees would be collected if a monetary judgment is won from a jury.

This type of lawsuit will take several years and may not succeed, but bringing a lawsuit will help reform military culture.

Anyone interested in participating in this or has any questions contact our director, Panayiota, at 617-381-4795 or via email at panayiota@stopmilitaryrape.org.

For more information about the attorneys at Burke O’Neil, please go to http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.burkeoneil.com.

As always the Military Rape Crisis Center is here to help all MST survivors – Melissa Obrien can be reached at
melissa@stopmilitaryrape.org.

Thursday, July 9 – SOHO Orientation for Volunteers

The Space of Her Own (SOHO) program is an art-based mentoring program for pre-teen girls. The orientation for prospective adult female volunteers who are interested in mentoring preteen girls will take place from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Hammond Middle School, 4646 Seminary Rd. Mentors and participants will attend workshops and engage with team-building activities, complete community service, and learn life skills and artistic concepts, techniques and processes. This year’s program runs on Thursday evenings throughout the school year. Each mentor commits to a year-long relationship with her mentee, Thursday evening sessions, a weekend spent on a room renovation, and 8 hours of community service with her mentee. For more information, visit www.alexandriava.gov/soho. To be added to the mentor orientation Evite list, send an e-mail to SOHO@alexandriava.gov.

DC Creates! invites artists from the DC Metro area to submit works available for purchase. Selected works will be added to the Art Bank Collection. Over 2000 works are displayed in Dc Government building corridors, conference rooms and office space open to the public. Deadline: Wednesday, July 8 at 5:30 pm For assistance preparing your application, the workshop was highly recommended: Wednesday, June 24 7:00-8:30 pm at Artomatic. More information at www.dcarts.dc.gov.

Join our book club webinar!

May we make a hot suggestion for your summer reading list? Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry, the award-winning book by Stacy Malkan, is a light – yet thought-provoking – read. It’s even better shared, which is why Stacy and the Campaign invite you, your book club and friends to our first-ever Safe Cosmetics Book Club webinar on Tuesday, August 25 at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET.

With a journalist’s clear voice, Not Just a Pretty Face tells the story of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, including our discovery of toxic chemicals in personal care products, how the Campaign was founded, our efforts to clean up the U.S. cosmetics industry and company responses – both good and bad.

Stacy has traveled North America and shared her knowledge of safe cosmetics with thousands of people on her book tour – and her next stop is your living room. She’ll walk participants through key chemicals to avoid, explain how you can make safer personal care purchases, answer your questions and reveal how you can help give the cosmetics industry a makeover.

Here’s how to make Not Just a Pretty Face your summer book club selection:

1. First, RSVP for the call via ReadyTalk by August 18. Only the host will need to RSVP for the webinar. (see www.safecosmetics.org)

2. Invite your book club to read the book by forwarding this e-mail to them. Don’t have an organized book club? No problem! Forward this e-mail to friends, family or neighbors and ask them to join us, or simply join the webinar on your own and be a part of the virtual book club.

3. Purchase the book online through our Web site, and 15 percent of the sale will benefit the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (please allow for 10 days for shipping). Or check your local independent bookstore or library.

4. If you plan to join our live webinar on August 25, make sure you and your book club members read the book in advance. Your book club host must have a computer (for the visual presentation that will accompany Stacy’s talk) and a phone that you can put on speaker.

5. If August 25 doesn’t work for your group you can still participate in this national book party. Register your event on our Web site, and we’ll hook you up with discussion questions, the webinar recording and anything else you need.

RSVP to ReadyTalk and a reminder will be sent to you with call-in details. If you have further questions, please contact grassroots coordinator Genevieve Roja at groja@breastcancerfund.org.

The Geena Davis Institute on Gender Media seeks to improve gender portrayals in children’s media.  It works with entertainment creators and companies on the need to increase the number of girls and women in media aimed at children and to reduce stereotyping of both males and females.  The Institute’s work is based on the largest research project ever undertaken in children’s entertainment.  A 2008 inaugural conference on children and gender in film and television helped the non-profit board crystalize their future direction. 

The gift of the artist is the way she gives us the opportunity to experience and reflect upon the world around us from a novel and unconventional perspective. Within their chosen medium, today’s women artists continue to share their unique viewpoint on the material, personal, global, political, and cultural landscapes that surround us. This exhibition commits to giving women artists a forum in which to share their singular position and outlook on the inner and outer worlds we all share.

The Womencenter’s national annual women’s juried art show, From Our Perspective: A National Women’s Art Exhibition, will be held September 17 – October 9, 2009 in the Smith Theatre Gallery at Oakland Community College’s Orchard Ridge Campus in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The event is a juried exhibit featuring two- and three-dimensional works of art and is open to all women artists nationwide. Recent original works only. All media (excluding video and performance). All entries must be submitted online at www.oaklandcc.edu/womencenter. There are purchase and cash awards.

To view and print the 2009 entry brochure, please click here.

To submit your entries for the 2009 Art Exhibit by July 31, 2009, please click here.

Susan Goethel Campbell, our 2008 juror, had this to say about the show:

“The process of selecting work for this exhibition was a great opportunity for me to view multiple perspectives by women artists across the country. I spent a good deal of time reviewing the submissions and examining the technical, conceptual and aesthetic aspects of all the work and chose to highlight several of them for this exhibition. These themes include ideas about the body, identity and loss. In addition, I selected work that underscored for me a love of process and creating. Several of these works employed
non-traditional materials such as sugar, crochet and q-tips allowing for new associations to be made with the everyday.”

View a slideshow of the 2008 exhibit. NEW!

View a slideshow of the 2007 exhibit.

View a slideshow of the artwork displayed in the 2006 exhibit.

View a slideshow of some of the artwork displayed in the 2005 exhibit. You will need flash player to view the slideshow.

For more information on From Our Perspective, or to be placed on the mailing list, call (248) 522-3642 or email womenart@oaklandcc.edu

Teresa Mears of the Miami Herald wrote the below excellent article on How to get in touch with your inner beauty, posted on Tuesday, Jun. 30, 2009:

Presented with patients who were suffering from emotional problems and thought liposuction was the answer, or stunningly beautiful women who felt ugly inside, psychiatrist Dr. Eva Ritvo of Miami and
dermatologist Dr. Debra Luftman of Beverly Hills started thinking about the connections among physical beauty, health and self-esteem. They came up with The Beauty Prescription: The Complete Formula for Looking and Feeling Beautiful (McGraw Hill, $24.95)
http://www.amazon.com/Beauty-Prescription-Complete-Formula-Beautiful/dp/0071547630/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246364928&sr=8-1. They advise women on how to make the best of all their assets — physical, emotional and cosmetic — to be as beautiful as they can be, inside and out.

We discussed the psychology of beauty with Ritvo, who is vice chair and associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami, where she also has an appointment in dermatology. She is also chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach. Her answers have been edited for space. You can find more details about the brain-beauty-body connection at www.thebeautyprescription.com.

Q: Why does beauty matter?

A: The things that we call beauty now I believe are really things that told our ancestors which genes would get to the next generation. I believe that beauty is really just a marker of health and fertility and vitality. And that’s our concept of the book: a redefinition of beauty, that it’s not a surface quality. It’s important to our species and it’s a worthwhile goal, but it cannot be the one dimension that we see with the air-brushed, retouched magazine photos.

Q: How beautiful do you have to be?

A: We believe that every woman is beautiful and that every man is handsome. But it’s up to the individual to do what it takes to preserve that beauty as you get older and also to enhance that, because we live in a very visual and a very competitive society. Since people do make rapid judgments, it does help to be your most beautiful.

Q: What’s the importance of inner beauty?

A: Inner beauty, to me as a mental health professional, is what it’s all about. Part of the way this book came about was Dr. Debra and I comparing notes. She would have these women going through crises, going through divorce, going through cancer and they’d come to here and say fix that wrinkle, put this Botox. Then I would have these stunningly beautiful models that just look perfect here on South Beach and yet they felt awful inside. Our concept was to try to help women from both angles. Yes, it’s great to have Botox and your fillers and look fabulous. But if you don’t have that inner beauty, that inner confidence, that inner strength going with it, your life’s not going to go anywhere.

Q: How do you develop inner beauty?

A: Inner beauty is something that comes to us in childhood when we have positive experiences as we’re growing. For many people it’s not that simple. As they reach adulthood, they may find there are holes in their inner beauty, that they don’t feel as confident as they should. We start out by telling every woman she’s 20 percent more beautiful than she thinks. Inner beauty can come from people giving you positive feedback and you giving yourself positive feedback. And that’s best done when you recognize your own strengths and weaknesses.

Q:If you have inner beauty, why do you need Botox or plastic surgery?

A: Nobody needs Botox or plastic surgery. Everybody out there is a social human being. We naturally feel good when people respond positively to us. That’s why people do it. Because we’re visual. We do make snap decisions. If you can walk into a room and light up a room without Botox and fillers, go girl. On the other hand, it is a little bit easier to light up a room when you can also get people to respond to you visually. What we’re very much against is plastic surgery, Botox, fillers for the wrong reasons.

Q: Why does outer beauty seem to be so important here?

A: Beauty is a competitive business. If you’re the one woman standing, you look good to every guy. Once there are two, your odds go down. Once you get into a community like Miami, it is vicious. Travel & Leisure just voted us the No. 1 city for attractiveness. In all the major cities, where the competition is fierce, beauty is a currency. You’re going to have more beautiful people in your big cities, particularly your cities that are visual. You’ve got Miami, you’ve got Los Angeles, because of Hollywood. You’ve got New York, which is very international. In Boston, they compete more intellectually, so beauty is not as important a commodity in that that city. I also think that people here inspire each other. You walk around and you see all these beautiful women and you say, “Oh, my god, I’ve got to go to the gym.”

Q: What happens when you reach a certain age, and things don’t stay where you want them to anymore?

A: As we leave those fertile years, we cannot do [nothing] and still look beautiful. So what we have to do is we have to trick people into thinking, hey we’re still strong, we’re still vital, we’re still fertile. So if you look at women that are older that are considered beautiful, these are powerful strong, vibrant women.

That starts with health. You MUST eat properly, you MUST sleep properly, you MUST exercise if you want to be beautiful as you get older. Women who stay healthy can look sexy, beautiful and hot for a long time.

Q: Why don’t young women think they’re beautiful?

A: It’s very hard to have that inner beauty. And when you talked about women getting older and outer beauty frays, here’s the good news: inner beauty soars. Women who are older, who’ve done more, who have confidence, who know who they are, they are the most beautiful women because their inner beauty is soaring.

Heavy Hitterz, an annual group art show that features emerging artists from the lowbrow and graffiti art scene, is heading to Art Whino Gallery in the Washington DC Area for a July 25 opening.

Presented by gaNyan, Art Whino, and fabric8, this third annual showcase of emerging artists will feature 60+ international painters and illustrators from around the globe including Josh Taylor, Angrywoebots, MUNKONE, Ursula Xanthe Young, Estria, Phoneticontrol, and Stuter.

The concept for the show was first developed and executed in 2007 by curator gaNyan, who wanted to bring together the up-and-coming artists he admired in the character-based and underground art world. It debuted at Age Song Gallery in San Francisco with over 80 participants and much acclaim. In 2008, Heavy Hitterz Manila was presented in the Philippines at Pablo Gallery, complete with a block party featuring live painting and DJs in the streets.

For its third installation, gaNyan teams up with Art Whino and long-time collaborators fabric8 to bring Heavy Hitterz Maryland. All three have been long committed to the street art scene and are excited to join forces from West Coast to East.

Saturday, July 25th, from 6pm – Midnight

Location:
173 Waterfront St.
National Harbor, MD 20745

Show end date: Aug 15th

The event is FREE and open to the public.

Participating Artists:
Adrian Roman
Alice Koswara
Alli Good
Andre Simayan
Angry Woebots
2H
Auks
bounce
Chase “Cachi” Moreau
Chris Granillo
Guy Mckinley
Dan Fleres
Daniel Goffin
Downer
Dramaone
Estria
Ganyan
Gem Mateo
Ian Hill
Jason Coe
Joey Potts
John Felix Arnold III
Josh Lawyer
Josh Taylor
Joshua Herbolsheimer
Krayola Eater
King 157
Liz Corbett
Luis Lorenzana
Marikina
Matt Cipov
Matt Linares
Max Kauffman
Megan Kimber
Minette Manghas
Mr. Penfold
Munk One
Ninjagrl
Pablo Cristi
Pancho Abalos
peabe
Phoneticontrol
Rey Ortega
Robert Bowen
Roots
Safety1st
Sam Ramos
Seamo One
Sjors trimbach
Skinner
Stuter
Tenfold
TXLW
Ursula Xanthe Young