ArtSake

If you own artist space in Massachusetts, you might be interested in the latest news from Massachusetts Cultural Council’s ArtistLink Initiative:

ArtistLink is announcing up to four Systems Replacement & Maintenance Planning Grants to owners of artist live-work or work-only buildings in Massachusetts. The goal of the Planning Grant is to provide owners of artist buildings with the tools they need to prioritize their capital maintenance needs.

Proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis. The RFP is available online. Contact Jay Paget to confirm eligibility and to discuss any questions.

ArtistLink is a program of the MCC that promotes the development and maintenance of affordable artist live-work spaces and studios in Massachusetts.

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Artists and creative individuals are often asked (or decide) to make their work available for free. ArtSake guest blogger Bren Bataclan, for instance, gives away all of his Smile Boston Project paintings; playwright Charles Mee makes the full texts of his plays available online for other artists to “remake.” Others might choose to not share any work without direct remuneration.

So, where do you draw the line? Do you donate art to good causes? Share excerpts to build interest? In our conversations with artists in numerous disciplines, we’ve asked: How much art do you give away?

Jendi Reiter, poet
Good question! I hardly ever give my poetry books away, because I think it’s important for creative writers to be recognized as professionals, and unfortunately in our society that means getting money for our work. However, since the publisher of my first chapbook is going out of business, and I still care about this work reaching an audience, I plan to ask her for the right to create and distribute an e-book version for free.

Alice Bouvrie, filmmaker
I often donate a DVD to a relevant, non-profit organization to be used as a fundraiser – either as an item in an auction, or for a screening with a paying audience.

Suzanne Strempek Shea, writer
The question once could have been “How much art don’t you give away?” Early on, I used to give away a lot, between stories, talks, classes and book donations. I was grateful for anyone’s interest in my books, and appreciated any opportunity to spread the word. I’m still grateful for anyone’s interest (no readers/audience/students and I don’t get to do this for a living) and the chance to spread that word, but as I’ve been lucky enough to get busier and busier, I’ve had to pick and choose when and where to donate work and time – because I have only so much time. In recent years I’ve become my family’s primary breadwinner, so I’ve actually been soliciting more paying work to fund dog kibble and other household necessities. I do try to donate work when I can, in continued gratitude for that all-important interest from readers.

Lilly Cleveland, painter
I have given away work for worthwhile causes and fundraisers (mostly silent auctions). This always generates another request from the same group each and every year. I still donate original art work but the donation is NOT tax deductible (Ed: in MA, only the cost of materials is tax deductible for the artist). Once, I heard an interesting solution from Kathy Bitetti of the Massachusetts Artists Leaders Coalition. Give a 20% off coupon as your donation so that the art buyer can come to your studio and pick out a painting and receive the discount. Raffle off the coupon or donate to silent auction.

Elizabeth Searle, writer
“A gift;” you are “gifted.” These are the somewhat lofty terms we use to describe any sort of talent. I once heard a poet advise his students, “If you write for money, money is your God.” Or as Jon Stewart put it, talking about show biz: “You don’t go into it for the health benefits.” In the theater world, while the profit motive is strong, I’ve found there is still at heart a playful spirit of: “Let’s do a SHOW! My Dad’s got a BARN!” These days, I enjoy all the outlets – online and elsewhere – that writers can make “free” use of in today’s topsy-turvy literary world. Of course I prefer pay. But I also like jumping into the mix and giving some of my work away, sometimes in connection with a good cause or two. I have spent over a decade working (and playing) within the group PEN/New England, trying to find ways for writers to use our particular gifts to “give back.” Art for art’s sake – wisely, the MCC named this blog for that creed. Whether or not you eventually luck out money-wise, I think that’s what it comes down to, “art-wise.”

Eric Hofbauer, composer and jazz guitarist
When art became monetized it forever changed the public’s relationship to it. For better or for worse, art and especially great art gets much of the attention and respect it deserves by the price tag it wears. This was the status quo for decades and it worked in all artistic disciplines quite well until the internet flooded the world with free “amateur art” of all kinds. Now the artist must be willing to give something away to reach potential buyers, agents, venues, critics, and most importantly audiences. Personally, I give away full recordings to critics, and all other music industry people, including my musician friends and colleagues without hesitation. I also give away “teaser” or sample tracks via online outlets, like my website, soundcloud, spotify, etc. to my fan base and potential audiences. There is still a vivacious audience in the world who respect great art by placing a financial value on their relationship with it. The 21st-century artist must find ways for “free art” to reach these audiences and pique their curiosities and passions without diminishing art’s reputation by being associated with amateur art outlets.

Jendi Reiter’s most recent book is Barbie at 50; Alice Bouvrie’s film “Thy Will Be Done” screens at First Parish of Watertown on Feb. 10, 7 PM; Suzanne Strempek Shea’s most recent book is Sundays in America; Lilly Cleveland teaches watercolor painting at South Shore Art Center; Elizabeth Searle’s most recent book is Girl Held in Home; Eric Hofbauer will perform at the Lily Pad, Feb. 3, 7 PM and at Longy School of Music Pickman Hall (w/Charlie Kohlhase’s Explorers Club), Feb. 4, 8 PM.

Image: Joe Wardwell (Painting Fellow ’12), NEVER BE STRONG (2011), oil on canvas, 18×32 in.

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Artists and Photographers Submissions are now being accepted for a highly public, large-scale projection event for Photo Nights Boston, a four-night event to occur in October 2012. Finalists will receive a $1,000 proposal development fee. The project budget is $10,000. Learn more.
Deadline: February 3, 2012

Residency Fellowships The Vermont Studio Center has multiple residency fellowships available. The Educational Foundation of America Fellowships are three merit-based fellowships available to emerging and mid-career artists and writers of color from the United States and the Harpo Foundation Native American Fellowships which are two fellowship awards open to Native American artists living in the U.S.  Learn more.
Deadline: February 15, 2012

Request for Exhibition Proposals Proposals to produce exhibitions at the Coconino Center for the Arts (main gallery) and the Jewel Gallery are now being accepted. Successful proposals will meet the criteria, complement Flagstaff Cultural Partner’s mission, and be a collaborative endeavor with Flagstaff Cultural Partners.  Learn more.
Deadline: March 2, 2012

Painters over 45 Provincetown Art Association and Museum has applications now available for the Lillian Orlowsky and William Freed Foundation Grant, a source of funding for mature American painters. Grants are offered to American painters aged 45 or older who demonstrate financial need. Questions: 508-487-1750 or gryderomalley@paam.org
Deadline: April 2, 2012 (postmarked)

Collage Artists Kolaj Magazine seeks submissions. Submit 3-5 images for publication online and/or the print edition. The selection of images should be cohesive and demonstrate an aspect of the artist’s collage making practice or conceptual approach. Artists should first complete the online submission form on which they will be asked to enter a statement (100 words) about the work and a brief bio (100 words). Questions: submissions@kolajmagazine.com. Learn more.

Image credit: Photograph of stained glass depiction of the Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by ArtSake.

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The deadline for Artist Fellowships applications in Choreography, Fiction/Creative Nonfiction, and Poetry is this Monday, January 30, 2012.

If you are a Massachusetts choreographer, writer, and/or poet who meets the eligibility requirements, apply! (Monday is a postmark deadline.)

The fellowships are anonymously-judged competitive grants for Massachusetts artists. Fellowships of $7,500 and finalist awards of $500 are awarded based solely on the artistic excellence of the work submitted. Check out our tips on applying.

Read full program guidelines, eligibility requirements, and application instructions and apply online.

Image and Media: photo of books by past MCC Fellows (l to r) SUCCESS OF THE SEED PLANTS by Leslie Williams, THE FOREIGNER by Francie Lin, CLOISTERS by Kristin Bock, MRS. SOMEBODY SOMEBODY by Tracy Winn, excerpt from DEEP by Ariel Cohen and Kellie Ann Lynch.

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This January-May, a group of artist-entrepreneurs will hold a series of workshops in Jamaica Plain called Focusing Your Art Career. We’re delighted to welcome one of the workshop leaders, Jessica Burko, to share keen insights into optimizing your online presence as an artist.

Getting More Out of Getting Online by Jessica Burko

So, you make stuff.

You are an artist/designer/craftsperson/artisan. You also have a blog/website/online shop and frequently update your Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn/Pinterest feed/page/profile/boards. You stay connected with your fellow creative professionals using your MacBook/iPad/smart phone and you feel like you are doing everything right, but the sales/press/shows aren’t increasing like you thought they would by now.

Huh.

It sounds like you are keeping up with the latest greatest technology, but not really utilizing it to its full potential to maximize your full potential. Don’t get lost in an avalanche of meaningless chatter while you engage, just be sure to update regularly, make targeted connections, and create significant dialogue. Closer attention to what you are doing online, in addition to where and when you are doing it, will help you focus and make the most of your time.

Instead of… spending all day tweeting your every move
Try… tweeting consistently but meaningfully by sharing relevant news and links about your work and the work of others in your field.

Instead of… posting photos of your nephew’s birthday party on Facebook
Try… creating a fan page that you update several times a week with new work.

Instead of… blogging about irrelevant topics
Try… publishing articles related to the type of work that you do, or a how-to article with step-by-step photos.

Instead of… friending every unknown who sends you a request
Try… just friending people you know personally, would like to know, or people who are in your field.

Instead of… following everyone who follows you
Try… to follow only those people who tweet items meaningful to you, and make sure to occasionally retweet what they share.

Having a strong online presence can be extremely beneficial to your art, no matter what type of media you explore. The key is to make the most of your time online, and not get distracted by the everything swirling around you. Falling down a rabbit hole is very easy to do with so many connections leading here, there, and everywhere. If you find that you’re spending too much time friending your pals from kindergarten, and not enough time in your studio making your actual artwork, try setting a timer so that you spend only a specified amount of time online, and the rest of your day using your hands for more tangible endeavors.

Generating opportunities takes effort, and marketing what you do to the right audience is more than half the battle. Online networking is an excellent way to increase your visibility, create buzz, gain sales, and expand your circle to lead to any number of exciting new paths. You may be the master of your virtual domain, but there are lots of other ways to market your work and develop your professional muscles while you flex your texting thumbs. There’s a new series of marketing and business workshops for creative entrepreneurs called The Focusing Series.

Developed by Boston artist Anna Koon, this series includes such pertinent topics as, How to Setup and Sell Online, Time Management for Creative People, The Art of Branding and Photo-Documenting Your Art. For a PDF with full details on this series click here.

Jessica Burko is a professional artist, independent curator, and the Executive Director of Boston Handmade. Beyond exhibiting, selling, and promoting her own artwork she has worked as a professional Arts Marketer since 1997 and since 2002 has operated Burko Design offering marketing and PR services to artists and arts organizations to assist them in achieving their professional goals. Burko is located in Boston, MA, has a BFA in Photography from the Rhode Island School of Design, and an MFA in Imaging Arts & Sciences from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

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The Massachusetts Cultural Council is honored to announce the 2012 MCC Artist Fellowship awards in Drawing, Painting, and Traditional Arts. Fifteen artists will receive fellowships of $7500 and another 16 will receive $500 finalist awards. See a complete list of this year’s fellows and finalists.

The awards are anonymously judged, based solely on the artistic quality and creative ability of the work submitted. Applications were open to all eligible Massachusetts artists. A total number of 866 eligible applications were received; 317 in Drawing, 531 in Painting, and 18 in Traditional Arts.

Hear Irish-American button accordion-playing by Traditional Arts Fellow Joe Derrane.

The Drawing panelists were Dina Deitsch, Jan Howard, Kate McNamara, and Evelyn Rydz. The Painting panelists were Margaret Burgess, Masako Kamiya, Al Miner, and Susan Stoops. The Traditional Arts panelists were Winnie Lambrecht, Rebecca Miller, and Lynne Williamson.

Learn more about the fellows/finalists at Gallery@MCC.

Later this year, we will award artists in Choreography, Fiction/Creative Nonfiction, and Poetry. The deadline to apply in these categories is Monday, January 30, 2012.

Images: August Ventimiglia, UNTITLED (YELLOW RADIAL) (2010), yellow snap-line chalk on paper, 22 1/4×22 in; Joo Lee Kang, BOUQUET OF NATURE #1 (2010), Ballpoint pen on paper, 55×43 in; Daniela Rivera, GROWTH (2011), oil on canvas on board, 8x30x30 ft; Elaine Spatz-Rabinowitz, UNTITLED WAR RELIEF (2011), oil and cast pigmented Hydrocal, 20x9x2 in; Yari Livan, ELEPHANT POT (2006), White stoneware clay, glaze, 9x10x10 1/4 in, photo by Jason Dowdle.

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Choreography, Fiction/Creative Non-fiction, and Poetry Fellowships  The MCC is accepting applications for artist fellowships in choreography, fiction/creative non-fiction, and poetry. Fellowship awards are $7,500 and finalist awards are $500. Learn more.
Deadline: January 30, 2012

Call to Artists The  2012 Monson Arts Council’s Spring Art Exhibition & Sale called Imagine That! is now accepting entries. Learn more.
Deadline: February 10, 2012

Artists and Writers The Vermont Studio Center is now accepting applications for their annual fellowship deadlines. Learn more.
Deadline February 15, 2012

Choreographers Applications for performing companies (student, amateur, and professional) and workshop teachers will be on the Massachusetts Dance Festival web site soon for their annual Massachusetts Dance Festival. Learn more.
Deadline: March 1, 2012

Studio Fellowship The Women’s Studio Workshop in Rosendale, NY is now accepting applications for their studio fellowship. The WSW opportunity is designed to provide concentrated work time for artists to explore new ideas in a dynamic and supportive community of women artists. The cost to fellowship recipients is $200 per week plus materials. The award includes on-site housing and all-hour access to their studios for intaglio, silkscreen, hand papermaking, photography, letterpress, and ceramics. Learn more. Questions: sandra@wsworkshop.org.
Deadline: March 15, 2012

Call to Artists spaces Gallery, the Cultural Center at Eagle Hill is now accepting proposals for their exhibition Fundamental Composition. spaces Gallery seeks proposals from artists who can’t escape the right-brain, left-brain metaphysical lure of geometry. “Mighty is geometry; joined with art, resistless.” – Euripides. Exhibits are being arranged for the 2012–2013 school year. Works in all media and sizes will be considered. Learn more. Questions: pbock@ehs1.org or 413-477-6000.
Deadline: April 2, 2012

Image credit: Der Maler in seiner Werkstatt, oil on oak panel, by Adriaen van Ostade, 1663

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Recently, the multi-disciplinary performing arts troupe Sleeping Weazel marked its dramatic arrival to the New England theatre scene. We checked in with the group’s leader, playwright Charlotte Meehan, about the company, its past/future, and its fascinating Artistic Director.

Why Sleeping Weazel, the org.? Why Sleeping Weazel, the name?
Sleeping Weazel was originally founded in 1998 by my late husband David G. Hopkins to produce independent films, live and audio theatre, and a multi-genre experimental web magazine based in Bristol, UK. After David moved to New York to live with me, we continued our collaborations until his untimely death in 2004. This iteration of Sleeping Weazel, which we just launched with a festive party/performance night at The Factory Theatre in Boston, is a brand new endeavor I have taken on with three of my former Wheaton College students, Adara Meyers, Amanda Weir, and Jess Foster. We are producing live performance and music in Boston and presenting art works online for viewing across the globe on our Vimeo channel.

The name Sleeping Weazel alludes to the idea of “dreaming awake,” or being in a productive state of unconsciousness wherein the artist works to imagine and manifest what was previously outside the realm of possibility. In extending the invitation to join a work of art finding its way to new dimensions, the imaginary becomes a place of enchantment, growth, and abundant potential for all participants. In today’s economy, this is not an idea to “sell” and so the weazel himself is our wily little mascot slipping his way into the leaky system that is the American arts establishment.

What’s the most surprising response to your art you’ve ever received?
Someone once said to me after seeing four of my short plays in an evening that I had to decide whether my plays are funny, or sad. I politely responded that I’d decided to leave that up to each audience member.

Share a surprise twist in the Charlotte Meehan story.
I’m a 9/11 refugee. If the tragedy of that day had not occurred, I might still be living in my fifth floor walk-up on Grand and Mulberry in Little Italy. Shocks me to say this as a die-hard New Yorker, but I’m very glad to be here in New England where the sky is endless and there’s time to dream. I’m also very excited by the explosion of new theatre companies in Boston right now, and recently joined the Small Theatre Alliance through getting to know Meg Taintor and seeing the wonderful work of her company, Whistler in the Dark. It’s taken seven years to circle back to Sleeping Weazel after losing David, but I’m very proud to have reclaimed our company and look forward to sharing exciting new cross-disciplinary performance with the greater Boston community.

Like, what does your work MEAN?
Though perfectly capable of being charming and entertaining, my plays are stubbornly idiosyncratic in form and philosophical in nature. Others have described them as surreal fables, multimedia dance theatre, operas, performance plays, and choreopoems. Whatever form each play takes, the full array of circumstances that “ruin” people – childhood trauma, unexamined privilege, mental illness, frailty of character, war, poverty, etc. – make up a significant part of my theatrical landscape. I’m also very interested in how American culture in this late stage of Capitalism encourages all forms of predation upon the neurotic masses for profit and in the impossibility of communication that ensues. Fortunately, this can all be quite hilarious.

What do you listen to while you create?
Sometimes nothing, but I was greatly influenced by Erik Satie’s Les Inspiration Insolites and Nick Drake’s Pink Moon while writing Ceci n’est pas une Pièce (this is not a play), a sound performance version of which can be heard on my website.

What’s next?
Next up is an evening of performance and song by our affiliated artists on March 13 at The Factory Theatre. Erik Ehn, Head of Playwriting at Brown University, will present one of his puppet plays from Soulographie, a commemorative performance cycle, that will premiere at La Mama in New York in November. Also performing will be the incomparable Magdalena Gomez and a few other surprise guests. You must come and see…

Images: all photos by David Marshall. Pictured, from top: Amanda Weir, Charlotte Meehan, Adara Meyers, Jess Foster (Charlotte is Artistic Director and the others are Associate Artists of Sleeping Weazel); Loretta Pope and Jacob Richman perform RATS! (LYDIA SHERMAN, ARCHMURDEROUS OF CONNECTICUT) composed by Kirsten Volness (Kirsten and Jacob are Affiliated Artists of the company); Stephanie Burlington Daniels performs Ken Prestininzi’s BIRTH BREATH BRIDE ELIZABETH, a pseudo-lecture to young brides by Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein; Adara Meyers chats with Provost Linda Eisenmann and Dean of Students Lee Williams of Wheaton College.

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The DocYard is a film and discussion series running at the Brattle Theatre every other Monday January 23-April 16. The series is an integral part of the LEF Foundation‘s mission to highlight and foster New England as a center for documentary film. The series screens diverse, pivotal documentary films and hosts the filmmakers to discuss the work with the local community.

It also hosts some of the most fascinating filmmakers at work today – some of them past awardees from our Artist Fellowships Program. This Monday, January 23, 8 PM, Ross McElwee (Film & Video Fellow ’05), will be on hand for the screening of his 1979 film Space Coast, along with his collaborator on that film, Michael Negroponte. (The two were fellow students at MIT.)

The film explores the community of Cape Canaveral, Florida, after the phasing out of the Apollo moon missions. It’s an early film for McElwee, done cinema verite style, before his work turned toward the more personal, autobiographical style of films like Bright Leaves (for which he won the MCC grant).

By the way, you can get a season pass for the DocYard, plus support its ongoing work, by pledging a donation through its Kickstarter campaign.

Image and media: Still from SPACE COAST (1979) by Ross McElwee and Michael Negroponte; excerpt from Ross McElwee’s BRIGHT LEAVES.

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Call to African American Artists under 40 The Art Gallery at Bunker Hill Community College is now accepting entries for their exhibition That’s A Fact: Young, Gifted and Black, an invitational group exhibition of Massachusetts and Boston-area African American Artists under 40 years old. Work should address themes of race, injustice, identity, and aspiration. For guidelines and application, contact  lmontgomery@bhcc.mass.edu or 617-228-2093.
Deadline: January 30, 2012

Photographers The Center for Photography at Woodstock is now accepting entries for their annual call to artists. From traditional to digital, all photographic techniques and approaches are welcome. Learn more.
Deadline: January 20, 2012

Call for Artists OKW is now accepting entries for their 3rd Annual Small Works Show. This year’s theme is Endurance. Dates of show: February 17 – April 2, 2012. Delivery of art: February 3 – 10, (10am – 5pm, closed Feb. 5). Artist may bring 1 or 2 pieces of work. Each piece cannot exceed a 64″ perimeter, including outside of frame. All art will be for sale: 75% to artist, 25% to OKW. Label all art on back of work with your name, e-mail, title of work, medium, and price. OKW is located at 631A Tremont Street, Boston, MA. Store hours: 10 – 6:30 M-F, 10 – 5 Sat, closed Sun.
Deadline: e-mail Arlene with your intent to participate by January 20, 2012.

Choreographers The Movement at the Mills at the Boston Center for the Arts is currently accepting applications.  Movement at the Mills is an exhibition of dance by local and national choreographers and companies. The program follows an annual schedule of three sessions per season, hosting a variety of dance artists: national, regional, and local. Performances occur in numerous areas of the space while audience members are invited to walk through the gallery and observe dance as artwork. Questions: ablesso@bcaonline.org. Learn more.
Deadline: January 30, 2012

Call to Artists The Monmouth Museum is now accepting entries for their juried exhibition The Art of Illusion. Illusionist art is represented in a variety of styles including but not limited to trompe l’oeil, photorealism, surrealism, 3D, hidden elements, and optical illusion. Artwork will be considered in all media except film/video. Learn more.
Deadline: February 15, 2012

Call for Artists The Young Masters Art Prize 2012, a not-for-profit initiative presented by the Cynthia Corbett Gallery is now accepting entries. They welcome artists working in a range of practices including painting, sculpture and installation, printmaking, drawing, video, and sound. Their aim is to encourage emerging and newly established artists to apply, as well as those who are perhaps established abroad but less well-known in the UK. Questions: info@young-masters.co.uk. Learn more.
Deadline: April 30, 2012

Free Screenings Wednesday Night Art Flicks at the Concord Art Association. Art of the Steal, 1/18 at 7 PM; What Remains, The Life and Work of Sally Mann, 2/15 at 7 PM; Rembrant’s J’Accuse, 3/14 at 7 PM. Email gallery@concordart.org to reserve your space.

Image credit: The Moneylender and his Wife by Quentin Matsys (1514), Oil on panel, 71 x 68 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris.

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