Showtime: Michael Portnoy @ Wilfried Lentz Gallery

Also in Rotterdam the new art season is approaching. Wilfried Lentz will open next Thursday with a solo show of American artist, musician, actor, and director of behavior - Michael Portnoy whose practice spans dance-theater, vocal power-tools, Relational Stalinism, reptangles, abstract gambling, the improvement of biennials and Icelandic cockroach porn. Pretty impressive stuff, if you ask us.



The show's title is Script Opposition in Late-Model Carrot Jokes, referring to a specific genre of jokes, which have been first proposed by cognitive linguists Chlopicki and Petray in early 80s to undermine then emerging computational models of humor analysis. These jokes, further developed by others in the field, depend on a preponderance of background incongruities, blunt omissions, faulty script switch-triggers, “gray” implicature, and missing links in inferencing.



During the opening there will be a presentation starting at 5:30 pm sharp with Michael Portnoy and humor theorists Olivier Brems and Tim De Mey. Reservations for the presentation are recommended since there is limited space to attend.



The show is running through October 8th - don't miss it!

Brussels Art Days IV

The 4th edition of Brussels Art Days will take place during the weekend of 10-11 September 2011, throughout which galleries will be open from noon to 7 pm and shuttle service will make sure that your eagerness to absorb as much visual stimuli as possible isn't diminished by any other physical or mental activity than the absolutely necessary one. If you still have any energy left at the end of the day - might be doubtful -, you can join the art crowd at The Egg for one hell of a party.



And what are the must-see shows?

You obviously should not miss any of the big names:

Almine Rech will present solo of Richard Prince's, called The Fug;

Jan Mot will be showing new works by the Mexican born and LA-based artist Mario Garcia Torres;

and Charles Riva Collection will have on display selected works by Paul McCarthy.



Artists - photographers will fill many of the other renowned galleries:

Xavier Hufkens will present the London-born and NY-based photographer Adam Fuss,

Rodolphe Janssen the young LA-based rising star Walead Beshty;

Baronian Francey shows landscape photographer Florian Maier-Aichen;

and Barbara Gladstone presents solo of French artist Jean-Luc Mylayne.



Amongst the other very promising shows are certainly:

I've got you under my skin, Carlos Aires' solo at Aeroplastics;

Kabul Time and Other Works by Jens Haaning (whose Turkish Mercedes is shown above) at D+T Project;

Little did they know by Antoine Bouillot at Alice;

and

Charlotte Beaudry at Aliceday,

Steven Baelen at Elaine Levy Project,

Michael Van den Abeele at Elisa Platteau & Cie,

Jonathan Callan at Hopstreet,

Gintaras Didziapetris at Tulips and Roses.



(For full list consult the Brussels Art Days website)

Art Nocturne in Antwerp

The holiday months are as good as over and the autumn art season is about to begin everywhere. In Antwerp, the galleries are getting ready to present some of their best race horses during Nocturne on Thursday 8 September from 6 to 9 pm.



We're looking forward to see "The Bermuda Triangle Is A Fraud" a project from Berlin-based artist Steve Schepens, on view at Galerie Van De Weghe.

Next door at Maes and Matthys, Lieven Segers' "iamleaving" triggers equal interest.

Couple of streets further Tim Van Laere presents the great Rinus Van De Velde (see image above), together with Peter Rogiers.

The American Kim Jones can be found at Zeno X.

And finally: don't miss Mark Luyten at Micheline Szwajcer.



For the more adventurous, willing the explore beyond the obvious territory of the Antwerp "south", there's Base Alpha in Borgerhout - showing Michèle Matyn - which should not be missed; and Fifty One Fine Art Photography with a solo of Saul Leiter.



Enjoy and get in the mood for the adjacent weekend event: the Brussels art parade!



(The complete program of all the galleries can be consulted via the Nocturne Calendar)

Thanks Everyone

Hey Everyone,



I hope you all survived the terrible hurricane/tropical storm that hit the east coast of the US this weekend. We only lost power and had some nearby trees fall down but that was it. Friends in VT and NC were much more hard hit. :-(



Anyway, thanks to the few of you who donated to Mira's List after my last post. I really appreciate any donation, even if it is small, like $5. It all helps to keep this blog going.



I have some new things to tell you about but will save that for later this week or weekend....lots of deadlines coming up in September and October so if you are thinking about applying for a residency or grant, now is the time to get those applications out there.



More later....love y'all!

Mirabee

Showtime: V&B @ Galerie 10

"The Study, The Work, The Oeuvre and The Collection" is a show of artistic duo V&B, opening this Friday at Galerie 10 in Utrecht.

V&B is the shared working name of Alex Jacobs and Ellemieke Schoenmaker, who started their collaboration in 2007 in Los Angeles. Their work deals with the relationships between the artist, the gallery and the collector. Ideas are transformed into photoshop collages and then turned into paintings, sculptures and installations. Using themselves and their friends as models, V&B try and comment on the art world in the broadest sense of the word.

"All we wanted was to be able to try things and to make mistakes. And if it didn't work out or if people didn't like it, it wouldn't matter because V&B are already dead."

Photography: Carl Wooley

We came across some fantastic night photographs from Brooklyn-base photographer Carl Wooley. In 2008, Wooley was one of the 3 American photographers invited by the FOAM museum to explore and to capture the spirit of night Amsterdam, a project resulting in an exhibition called NY Perspective. You can see Wooley's Amsterdam pictures on his website, together with equally compelling night photos of his homeplace, Williamsburg, NY, plus another series called In the Rose Garden.

Ai Weiwei compares living in Beijing to Kafkaesque nightmare

Cities really are mental conditions. Beijing is a nightmare. A constant nightmare. - with these words Ai Weiwei concludes his commentary against the Chinese government in an online editorial for The Newsweek.

Weiwei describes the article simply as “a piece about the place I live in”. Yet for how much longer remains a question, he himself doesn't know the answer to:

They always tell me, “Leave the nation, please.” Or “Live longer and watch them die.” Either leave, or be patient and watch how they die. I really don’t know what I’m going to do.



Read the article on The Daily Beast and consider making a donation to support the production of the first feature-length film about the Chinese artist and dissident, titled Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry.



Ai Weiwei on Twitter

Photography: Anoek Steketee

"Dream City" is a common project of young Dutch photographer Anoek Steketee and writer Eefje Blankevoort. Together, they visited amusement parks in Iraq, Lebanon, Rwanda, China, some parts of the USA and other countries, with Steketee taking photographs of visitors, employees, the equipment and the surroundings . The fantasy world of the parks and the reality of the daily life within the places where they're located can be seen either as strongly contrasting or as sharing virtually the same absurdities, depending on how you look. Either way, you'll be amazed.

The title of the project originates from a name of amusement park in Iraq. Kurds, Arabs – Shiites and Sunnis -, Christians, Muslims and American soldiers, they all visit the park. Segments of the Iraqi population that were submerged in a deadly struggle outside the gates. In the park they amuse themselves next to each other in the Ferris wheel.

Must-see: Jake or Dinos Chapman @ White Cube

New bad-art-for-bad-people style solo show of the Chapman brothers, titled "Jake or Dinos Chapman", is on display in London till September 17th. It runs simultaneously @ Hoxton Square and Mason's Yard - the 2 locations of the White Cube gallery.



The "or" in the title is not a typo, but refers to the concept of the show, for which the otherwise inseparable brothers and partners-in-crime decided for the first time to work individually. The exhibited works are however presented without author's attribution, leaving the viewer guessing whether he might be facing a genuine Jake or genuine Dinos.

And to be honest, it'd be difficult guessing. The variety and media of the artworks is vast, yet all pieces bear the characteristic signature of the artists' duo: absurd, disturbing, in-your-face and created with great sense of craftsmanship.

Unfortunately the gallery has a strict no-photo policy during the exhibition and photos we could find online all mostly depict the same (= the art-admiring nazi mannequins & the kids with animal masks pictured above), but apart from these striking pieces, there are countess other gems to be be found on both locations.

So if you go, don't miss the "Somewhere between tennis elbow and wanker's cramp" cardboard sculptures, the sets of mysterious drawings and etchings with equally mysterious titles and "Oi Pieter, I k-k-kan see you house from here", an installation combining (adjusted) 17th century painting and a Chapman-made one hell-of-a-confused identity mannequin (K-K-K cape, hippie socks and a huge hard-on...) or the cabinet of religious violence @ the first floor of Hoxton square.

Seeing the show alone was already worth a trip to London, but adding Tracy Emin @ the Hayward Gallery & Matthew Day Jackson @ Houser & Wirth to the list made our short stay even better!

(Emin & Jackson are unfortunately already finished but some photos will be on Flickr soon)

Photos courtesy The Guardian & Elias Daniel.

Han Hoogerbrugge joins forces with the Church (of the First Day)

You might have noticed that the regular Tarantino/Lynch chitchats & the portraits of Hoogerbrugge fans on Prostress have been infiltrated by the whereabouts of three mysterious brothers from "The Church of the First Day". Han Hoogerbrugge (alias CEO of Prostress) has teamed up with these Dutch rebels with a self-proclaimed cause and created their "crusade to save all our unspoiled hearts" in a fantastic comic version.

For those who want more, the Church will be doing live performances during the first half of September in Amsterdam. Go-see!

artists who blog in Vienna: Manuela Buxer

Designer Manuela Buxer of good morning midnight in Vienna suggested that we meet in her lively, multi-cultural neighborhood to take a stroll through the Brunnenmarkt - a colorful open air market selling everything specialty foods to clothing and household items.

Manuela was very friendly and enthusiastically described what she loves about the 16th District in Vienna, "Lots of artists and designers live and work here because the rent and cost of living is not so expensive. I love the lively, multi-cultural atmosphere."

After our walk, we had a lovely Turkish inspired breakfast at the very cool, minimalist Cafe An-Do, and Manuela told me more about her creative process.

Manuela and her design partner Lucas Eckhart at good morning midnight create full collections of clothing for women and men, playing with colors, textures, geometrical and asymmetrical forms. The titles for the pieces are phrases taken from songs, and she told me that many of their designs are inspired by independent music and film.

Manuela explained, "We want to stay small, in the spirit of DIY, and we make everything ourselves - from the labels and the tags to our photos and our homepage. We want to sell what is from our heart and not just do it for the money. Our design work should remain pure and not just be focused on the marketing."

She told me that they start the design process by making sketches and keep drawing and drawing until the finished design evolves. "We are starting to use ecological, organically produced fabrics, but it is sometimes hard to find good suppliers."

"Our color scheme is mostly monochromatic, but we are thinking about possibly adding a bit of color to some of our collections in the future."

"Our focus is on creating classic styles rather than trendy collections. Our collections are always works in progress, and the next things we'd like to do are make scarves and buttons."

She went on to share, "This year our big focus is to do more fashion and handmade shows and markets. We'll be participating at the design exhibition Blickfang in Vienna and at the hello handmade Markt in Hamburg this fall."

Manuela is delighted with the development of Etsy and many designer blogs, "Etsy brings the whole world into your living room. Nearly all of the blogs I read are people I found via Etsy - people who have interesting lives and exciting photos. Sometimes the blogs make you feel overwhelmed. I wonder "How do they have the time to make so much?"

She gave me the links of a few of her favorite blogs (and they are all inspiring, I've already checked them out!)

mustard and sage
calivintage
16 house
bookhou at home
hello handmade
rennes handmade
graceful lady
hpunktanna

I find good morning midnight's clothing collections so dreamy and beautiful - while preparing this post, I have been falling in love with their designs all over again. You can find all a large selection of their designs for women and men online in their Etsy shop. Enjoy gorgeous photos and Manuela's musings on the good morning midnight blog.

Thank you so much for your time and hospitality Manuela! I truly enjoyed meeting you and I adore your designs :)

xoxo
Stephanie

artists who blog in Vienna: Patricia Vincent

Designer Patricia Vincent is another creative spirit I was lucky enough to meet while in Vienna. I felt Patricia's warmth and charm immediately when I met her at her beautiful studio in the suburb of Sievering in Vienna. 

Patricia showed me around her lovely studio - well stocked with handmade, unique clothing and accessories for women that she makes individually using natural materials like silk, cotton, and leather. She told me that it is very important to her to use the very best quality materials in all of her designs.

Patricia just moved into her studio about 15 months ago after working for 4 years in a shared studio near the MuseumsQuartier in Vienna. She is very happy to have much more space and natural light now. If you are in Vienna and would like to see her designs, you can visit her at  Sieveringer Str. 18/4. Although Patricia is usually there working long hours, it is best to call ahead or email to make an appointment. Contact information is available here on Patricia's portfolio website.

Her bags are all so lovely - how can one choose? I am happy to say that I now own one of Patricia's bags, and I love it. I'm carrying it with me on every trip of my 12 Countries project! Each extremely well made bag is one-of-a-kind and is made using a different combination of materials and colors. You can find a big collection of her bags online in her new Etsy shop here.

Patricia told me that the inspiration for her pieces comes from watching people and films and thinking about what she would like to wear personally. She wants her bags to be "practical, yet eye-catching" and describes her style as "understated and feminine." She makes every piece herself by hand - from the patterns and design to the cutting, sewing, and stitching.

Yet Patricia's path was not always an easy one. Patricia grew up during the Ceausescu dictatorship in Romania. As the daughter of a Ukranian mother and Nigerian father, Patricia and her twin sister suffered extreme discrimination because of their mixed racial background during the regime. 

Patricia's mother even lost her job as a teacher and Patricia and her family were victims of violent racially motivated attacks during the dictatorship. However, her mother was very strong and Patricia says. "She was a fighter and this is what I took from her, the spirit of justice."

After the dictatorship, conditions improved dramatically for the family. Patricia's mother regained her teaching position and Patricia went to an prestigious high school and later studied Business Management in Bucharest.

However, a trip to Vienna in 2002 changed everything. Patricia fell in love with the city, and she is now very happy to call Vienna her home. She told me, "Vienna is peaceful, green, the air is fresh, the streets are clean, the architecture is very beautiful and individual, and each district has a special atmosphere." She went on to say that she feels, "Women are very respected here and Vienna gives me the freedom to be creative."

Patricia has started a wonderful new blog called Seams and Chronicles, where she shares more about her fascinating life story as well as her creative work process.

She writes, "My profession is one of the best things in my life and I feel so blessed having the opportunity to discover and start to love it at a relatively early age. My love and passion for it gives me strength, confidence... and nobody can take it away."

Thank you Patricia for sharing with us! I know your new Etsy shop and blog are going to be a success!

xoxo

Stephanie

Last chance to see "A Midsummer Night's Dream" @ Zic Zerp

Last weekend we had a pleasure to visit Zic Zerp gallery in Rotterdam. In a great space - adjacent to Frank Taal Gallery - Zic has put together an interesting group show featuring young Dutch and international artists. Next to several fantastic pieces from Jeroen Eisinga (don't miss his upcoming solo this fall), you can see work by Alle Jong, Bert Frings, Mark Outjers, Niels Smits van Burgst, Roza Stegeman, Tjalling Visser and Jak Beemsterboer. The last artist has a background in graphic and interior design and creates some pretty intriguing collages.

The show will finish already this Sunday, so hurry up!
(Image: Jeroen Eisinga's "Die Menschen sind töricht, sie können nicht fliegen", 16mm-film transfer to SD video color, sound, 4'15)

Some Random Advice from Mirabee on Grants, Fellowships, Residencies and Contests

Hi everyone,



Lately I have been getting a lot of mail—actually, I always get a lot of mail—and much of it the last month has been about some of the same things so I thought I would just post a list of some FAQs that keep ending up in my inbox. It is almost September, after all, and Sept. 15th is a big date for application deadlines. October is the big month for Fulbright deadlines.



Before I go into that though, a reminder, if you write me at:

mirabartok@yahoo.com, please make sure you check ALL my FAQs before writing, okay?

Here is the FAQ link for applying for grants and Fellowships: http://miraslist.blogspot.com/2009/07/faqs-grants.html

Here's the link for residencies, art colonies and retreats: http://miraslist.blogspot.com/2009/09/faqs-residencies-artist-colonies.html

For Fulbright Awards: http://miraslist.blogspot.com/2009/04/fubright-grants-inside-scoop.html



Okay, on to those random questions of yours:



1. HELP ME PLEASE! I am desperate! I need a grant right now! Can I apply for a grant that would start next month?



No. For most grants or large fellowships you must apply nine months to a year in advance. However, if you need emergency funding, check my sidebar on the right hand side for some links to emergency funding organizations.

Also--PLEASE DO NOT SOUND DESPERATE in your application. No foundation wants to give money to people who sound like victims. It is better to present yourself as a resourceful person. Tell them how many other places you are applying to and what you are doing to get out of your unfortunate situation.



2. If I write a nice letter to you, asking you to help me find a grant or a special residency, will you help me?



Nope. PLEASE DO THE WORK. I do this for free. I know I am crazy. I get barely any donations. I think I make less than two cents an hour doing this. Actually—not even that much. Basically, I bring you to the water but you have to fish for yourself, okay? There are special circumstances where I do help individuals, like a couple people who have limited internet access because they are living in countries like Iran and China where important sites are censored and blocked from view. Otherwise—do the work yourself.



3. I run a residency (or a grant foundation) and want you to post my deadline announcement. What's the best way to send you info?



NOT in a pdf. NOT in a word doc. Please send a BRIEF announcement in the body of an email to mirabartok@yahoo.com and include deadline date, cost if there is on, stipend or award if there is one, location and something descriptive about the program. Also, which disciplines can apply. And please send me info way in advance. Thanks.



4. I am a poet who is nearly sixty years old (or an artist, composer, etc.) and have been rejected by every place I apply to. Can you help me figure out why?



Sorry—I can't. I just don't have time to critique people's work. I suggest you get involved with some kind of community—writing group, artist critique group, etc. and get feedback that way.



5. What is your opinion about writing contests that charge a fee to submit my piece?



I think some contests are good and some are bad. Here's my opinion, for what it's worth: Look to see what the big prize is. If the entry fee is, say, 10-25 dollars and the biggest prize is only 200 dollars, well, that's pretty bogus to me. That means they are just making money off you. And do they mention who the judge is? ONLY send work to contests if the judge is a reputable LITERARY writer, not some hack and if the contest is run by a literary magazine or a reputable literary online journal. The Council on Literary Magazines and Small Presses (CLMP) helps to set standards for good ethical practices among literary magazines. You can acquire a great list of presses and journals from their site: http://www.clmp.org/about/dir.html.



You can get a great listing of contests that are worth applying to on the Poets & Writers website: www.pw.org. And if you are a writer and don't subscribe to their inexpensive but invaluable magazine, I do believe you are a doody head.



By the way, you can apply this info to art and music and film contests. Just because someone is offering you money out there doesn't mean they are legit.



6. I'm a writer. Some of my friends say I should send my work to literary journals—ones like Ploughshares, Kenyon Review, Yale Review, etc. But I notice that most of those journals don't pay you a cent! They just give you two free copies and publish your work. So why bother?



Good question. Well, here's the long answer: Many great writers started out in those smaller circulation literary magazines. And many acclaimed authors (and I'm talking LITERARY authors here, not the Danielle Steele kind of commercial bestselling blockbuster author) still send pieces to these magazines because they believe in them and they also respect the audience who reads them. That audience really loves great literature and brilliant, exquisite prose. They read the harder books, the ones you actually have to use your brain to read, not your basic page turner. i.e. We are not talking The DaVinci Code, okay? Nothing wrong with that stuff for entertainment but let's face it folks—it's not great literature.



Case in point—an earlier version of one of my chapters from The Memory Palace (which just made the New York Times bestselling list in paperback for next week :-)) was first published in Kenyon Review. And from there, KR submitted it to be in the Best American Essay series where it was mentioned as a notable essay. That stuff means something to agents and editors at larger houses who are looking for literary writers. And it meant a lot to me. You can't put a price tag on that kind of thing. These journals barely limp along financially. It is a labor of love. I used to work at one as an intern and certainly didn't do it for the money. Okay....I'm done ranting now....



A couple last things:



To people who run international residencies and want me to post deadlines: PLEASE have someone check your grammar and spelling. I spend a lot of time rewriting posts that are too hard to understand. PLEASE tell me WHERE you are located exactly. You'd be surprised how many people ask me to post about a residency with no info on what country it is, even on their website.



And, last but not least.....a reminder: if you are looking for a residency in a specific country, please don't write me and ask. Please check out my residency links on my sidebar because the places I list are amazing and you can search for each individual country.



Thanks....and hey, I'm going to bug you guys for donations soon, just so you know. Although my book is doing really well, I haven't made my advance back yet (a long and mysterious process that even I don't completely understand). I will actually run out of money in November with nothing on the horizon. I do this for free. I do not charge you. People say I am insane because I do not ask for a yearly subscription. I don't want to because I believe in a Gift Economy at heart. So pay it forward—send a donation if you can (see my sidebar for information on how to do that) and if you can't, spread some helpful information to a friend.



Thanks...I love you guys.

Mirabee



p.s. I forgot to mention this one:



I DO NOT POST ABOUT CONTESTS, PUBLISHING OR EXHIBITION OPPORTUNTIES, etc. unless they also offer a residency or there is some fellowship involved. So to all you wonderful places asking me to post about your upcoming artist call for an exhibit or for your writing contest, please go to my facebook MIRASLIST page and post it there, okay? If you write a short announcement it will also be tweeted on twitter.



By the way—I really, really try to post residencies that either don't cost money or that offer a stipend or that are pretty inexpensive. So if you send me an announcement for a residency that costs a lot of money, don't be surprised if I don't post it, okay? Thanks.

artists who blog in Vienna: Valerie Tonus & Ally Michelle

My first artist interview in Vienna was with Valerie Tonus, a warm and wonderful creative spirit from California who has lived abroad for many years and truly seen the world. I knew I wanted Valerie to be a part of this project after I saw her colorful work and read her profile description on Etsy:

"I live in the land of Klimt, Schiele, and Hundertwasser - Vienna, Austria. This is a place of gilded cupolas, florid patterns, and textures so delicious that you want to eat them.

I experiment with shapes - cubist bags, round spiral baskets, diagonal strips - and color relationships - triads of reds, blues and yellows, and tetrads of yellow-orange, red, blue-purple, and green. 

I have an earthy bohemian side. I am a traveler. Each place I have lived has shaped my senses."

Isn't that wonderful?!

Valerie was very enthusiastic about my art + travel project and suggested that we meet at the Kunst Haus Wien designed by the artist Hundertwasser.

This is a front view of Kunst Haus Wien. In the back, there is a lovely garden cafe. After a challenging first morning in Vienna that you can read about here, I was very happy to meet Valerie and her artist friend, Ally Michelle, who was also in Vienna for a visit. Ally Michelle has recently opened an Etsy shop recently featuring her handmade sea glass jewelry. Click here to see more of her unique designs.

Valerie brought along many of her beautiful, hand-coiled cloth bowls and even shared her process. She told me that her sister who quilts got her started using textiles to create art.

"Making the coils for the bowls is a lot like using clay," Valerie said. "Forming the shapes is an organic process. It is somewhat similar to gardening - the result is always different from what you expect."

Valerie has lived in Vienna for the past three years, and has especially enjoyed the beautiful Jugendstil architecture, museums, rich culture, and the public transportation that makes it so easy to get around.

She finds the ornamental, coiled designs in Klimt's work a particular inspiration for the designs on her bowls. "Did you ever notice the beautiful textures in the women's dresses in Klimt's paintings?"

Valerie has been lucky enough to find an international artist's group in Vienna that meets every Friday afternoon to work together and exchange ideas. Her description of the group sounded so open and friendly, it makes me wish I could attend their meetings too.

She demonstrated for me the time intensive wrapping technique of making the coils before she stitches the bowls together. Each bowl is handmade and one-of-a-kind.

Her use of color is mostly intuitive, but sometimes she experiments with new color families using a color wheel. Valerie has experimented using various types of fabrics, ranging from extra strips from her sister's quilting projects to recycled materials.

More recently, she has been using stamps to create her own fabric designs which could then be incorporated into additional textile projects.

Valerie sells her work in shops and markets in Vienna, as well as online through her Etsy shop. She told me that she first found out about Etsy through an alternative website called Rat Race Rebellion. After working for many years in corporate management training, she is happy to be celebrating her creative voice. Valerie has her own blog and is "inspired and motivated by the many creative people expressing themselves now on the Internet." I couldn't agree more.

Ally Michelle added wisely, "Finally more and more people are out there following and marketing their passions - it is so much better than people doing jobs that they don't like."

Ally went on to say: "Every single person in this world has a story to tell, and they should tell it by all means. Blogging has returned the voice to the people - it is a big crowd, but everyone can speak."

At the close of our lively conversation together, Valerie shared a quote from Hundertwasser that she finds particularly inspiring, "Our real illiteracy is our inability to create."

See a charming collection of Valerie's lovely handmade bowls and bags in her online shop and be sure to visit her blog for wonderful recipes, tutorials, and a closer look at her creative process. You can also visit Ally Michelle at her urban gardening blog here.

Thank you Valerie and Ally Michelle for your time and encouragement! I hope we will meet again!

xo

Stephanie

Going Green - Smart Moves in Your Studio

Painting by Leslie Saeta

Scheduled Air Date: Thursday, August 25 at 9:00 am PST, 12:00 noon EST
"Going Green - Smart Moves in Your Studio"
Join artists Leslie Saeta and Dreama Tolle Perry as they highlight ways to sell your art on-line. It is time we all focused on going green in our studios. So join us on today's show for tips for "going green" and also how to be safer in your studio.
Click here to listen to this show. 

New Artist Residency in India for Visual Artists, Performing Artists and Art Critics

Hi everyone...this new residency in India just contacted me—I have no idea what they are like but they seem worth checking out.



(ARTISTS & PERFORMING ARTISTS) Call for Artist Sowing Seeds 2011—International Artist Village Residency in India—



Visual artists, performing artists, art critics and local community will collaborate to create work about environment and social development in rural Rajasthan (INDIA). There will be opportunities for collaborative work that interacts with the rural environment.



“Sowing Seeds” is a project that intends to create dialogues and exchanges amongst artists beyond their national identity and serves as an opportunity for rural artists to meet, share and exchange ideas, visions, and diverse views in order to create a deeper understanding of art. It acts as a social environment developing and improving the artistic impressions of experts as well as emerging artists. As an alternative art space in INDIA, “Sowing Seeds” is geared to exchange the challenges required to organize such a contemporary artist village residency within rural areas and thus giving rise to a new era in art.



Link: http://kamanartfoundation.com/programme.php

http://sowingseed.wordpress.com/artist-residency/



The key to our Artist residency projects will be creating local community collaboration to create works related to environment and social development in the village Gelawas, Barmer, Rajasthan (INDIA). The artist residency will bring together 15 international artists practicing in a wide variety of media, collaboration, outdoor sculpture, documentation, or performing to bring benefit to a specific site and share ideas and methods for a period of 14 days in the village Gelawas, Barmer, Rajasthan (INDIA).

The artists residency will provide the selected artists with full lodging and food, work space, local transportation and a small material stipend.



Residency period—20th December 2011 to 2nd January 2012 [14-days]



Eligible applicants

* Young and emerging visual artists, performing artists and critics - Artists who are able to stay at village Gelawas for the designated period of time



* Artists who are able to produce results of his or her residence activities, e.g. exhibitions, performances, concerts or presentations



* Artists who are able to communicate and collaborate with local people and participate in the exchange program,



How to apply



* Applicants should fill in all the required fields in the application form



* We will accept applications via e-mail



* Submitted information is only used for selection and not for any other purpose.



Deadline



* Applications must be received by 30th September 2011.



* Applications received after the deadline will not be accepted.



* Results will be announced in the beginning of 15th October 2011



* All applicants, both successful and unsuccessful, will be informed of the results. A total of 15 artists will be selected.



Applications & inquiries should be addressed to



Email: kamanartfoundation@gmail.com



MOBILE NO +91-9892672877 or +91-9314722004

Street Photography at the Museum of London

Photo courtesy of and copyright Museum of London

Amidst fascinating displays of maps, timelines and London ephemera, the aptly-named Museum of London features an amusing and historically captivating display of street photography, from the 1850s to our times.

Aptly mixing the lucky output of Sunday snapshotters with the carefully composed works of professional street artists, the exhibit provides a unique look into the daily life of a bustling city most of us know through the distorting lens of BBC serials and tourist guides.

Small enough to « check out » on a rainy day, the show is informative, entertaining and well documented. One regrets the absence of a driving force, or central question, that would have gone beyond the somewhat superficial visual stimulation it offers, but it still comes highly recommended in every way.

Deeper insights into the role of photography and the life of its adepts are briefly provided by the filmed interviews opening the exhibition. Be sure to give yourself enough time to sit through the reel (about 20 minutes), which is guaranteed to put the visit in sharper contrast and perspective.

Entrance free.

Artist Residencies in Italy, Germany, Nebraska and Slovenia for Artists, Writers, Composers, and More!

Hey there...a couple new things for you today...I'm trying to get as much out as possible when I'm home because I go off on my book tour starting tomorrow and will be gone a lot this fall. Anyway, here you go (the first three are from www.re-title.com)

(VISUAL ARTISTS) Lo Studio dei Nipoti Calabria Artists Residency—Seeking: Southern-Italian-American & native Southern Italian visual artists;

various ages and areas of specialization April 1-June 30, 2012 residency period

1-3 month stay; 6 artists at a time, Cost: $0-$300/mo

Lo Studio dei Nipoti (studio of the grandchildren, nieces, nephews) has established a pilot artists' residency in collaboration with the town of Monasterace, on the Ionian Sea in Calabria, Italy. An important facet of the residency is the rich potential for positive engagement in the community. Exhibition opportunities, collaborative opportunities; contribute to workshop for the community. Application Deadline: Sep 10, 2011 for the spring residency. For complete prospectus, email roseart@iinet.com

For more info visit www.lostudiodeinipoti.com

(ALL) Artist in residence stipends—Kuenstlerdorf Schoeppingen Foundation Fellowships—Kuenstlerdorf Schoeppingen Foundation, Germany Guiding principle of Kuenstlerdorf Schoeppingen Foundation is to support writers, visual artists, artists in the field of new media and and interdisciplinary projects as well as composers by the way of artist in residence stays in the Foundation Kuenstlerdorf Schoeppingen (NRW, Germany) accomodation.

These stays go along with monthly stipends and can last as long as four months in total. The fellows can work highly focused during this period of time in the Foundation Kuenstlerdorf Schoeppingen (NRW, Germany) studios, apartments and flats on their respective art, book or score projects. With in total 14 fellows being on site at the same time and coming from different sectors of work a comprehensive and inspired exchange of ideas takes place. Application for the artist in residence stays is internationally open. There is no limit of age existent.

Grants: Grants for visual arts, new media art, interdisciplinary projects, literature and composition will be awarded each year. Different juries of experts decide on the incoming applications. Deadline for applications is 15th of September of the current year. The monthly stipend amounts to 1025,- Euros. An amount for the operating expenses of the apartments or studios of about 100,- to 200,- Euros has to be payed of this. There is an obligation to spend the artist in residence stay on place.

Facilities:

The studios and apartments of the artist village Schöppingen are in two completely renovated farmhouses dating from the early 19th century. A total of eight apartments for authors and new media artists and six studios for visual artists is available. There are a gallery space and a wood/metall workshop available.

For more information, go to: http://www.stiftung-kuenstlerdorf.de/english.html

Stiftung Künstlerdorf Schöppingen Feuerstiege 6 D-48620 Schöppingen Germany

tel: +49 2555 93810 fax: +49 2555 938120

info@stiftung-kuenstlerdorf.de

Deadline: 15 September, 2011

(MEDIA, SOUND & VISUAL ARTISTS) Artist in Residency - Museum of Transitory Art MoTA, Ljubljana—MoTA Residencies

Deadline: 15 September, 2011

MoTA is the first Artist in Residency program in Ljubljana for media, sound or visual artists, who can live and work in the capital of Slovenia for a period of one month. MoTA accepts applications for production residencies for artists interested in transitory art. MoTA offers the opportunity to produce and exhibit art projects which research and experiment with: -transitions in space and time, transitions in legal, moral, ethical, political positions, transitions of digital into analog world.

Artists selected through this open call are offered full production support and a public showing of the work produced according to the nature of the project.During the residency, a public presentation of the artist is required. Each resident artist is also asked to donate an artwork to the MoTA museum collection.

More Information

http://www.motamuseum.com/RESIDENCY/open-call

About

http://www.motamuseum.com/About/museum-transitory-art

MoTA, Rožna dolina cesta II/36, 1000 Ljubljana

mota.artists@gmail.com

ALL) The Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts—Artist Residencies in Nebraska City, NE offers 2- to 8-week residencies year-round for writers, visual artists, and music composers. Housing, studio space, $100/week stipend are provided.

Approximately 50 residencies are awarded per year. The upcoming deadline is September 1 for the following January through June 15 residencies. $25 application fee. See website for complete information, guidelines and application: www.KHNCenterfortheArts.org. The Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, 801 3rd Corso, Nebraska City, Nebraska 68410. 402-874-9600,info@KHNCenterfortheArts.org

Undeniably me @ Galerie Rudolfinum

(photo above is from Richard Billingham's series "Ray's A Laugh" which documents the life of his alcoholic father Ray, and obese, heavily-tattooed mother, Liz)



During our summer trip to Prague we visited the "Undeniably Me" exhibition at Galerie Rudolfinum, focusing on the phenomena of perception and identity and featuring a great selection of pieces from a number of international art heavyweights.

The - mostly 2 dimensional - works include photographs from Christian Boltanski, Richard Billingham, Andreas Gursky and Thomas Ruff, paintings by Marlene Dumas, Luc Tuymans and Elizabeth Peyton and videos by Fiona Tan and Bruce Nauman.



The masterpiece of the show is an installation by Gerhard Richter, consisting of 48 photo-realistically painted portraits of influential men from the past (artists, women and politicians excluded), based on black and white encyclopedia images from the 70s. Richter's installation is juxtaposed with a reply from Gottfried Helnwein: 48 watercolor portraits depicting exclusively women of historic influence.

Showtime: "No Maps for These Territories" @ MX7 gallery

The concept for group show "No Maps For These Territories" in Antwerp's MX7 gallery takes inspiration from the life and work of author, visionary and father of cyberpunk, William Gibson - as documented in Mark Neale's film from 2000. Group of artists, including Tom Tosseyn, Andy Wauman, Lieven Segers, Xenia Faizoulova and others, work around Gibson's concept to transform the walls of the gallery into one big artwork. On view till August 29 and not to be missed!

Showtime: "The City We Love" @ 941 Geary

The City We Love is a large-scale group exhibition featuring artists from the San Francisco Bay Area's graffiti and street art culture. Co-curated by Justin Giarla and SF graffiti practitioner APEX, the participating artists include Casey Gray, Chad Hasegawa, Chor Boogie, David Ball (see image above), D Young V, Ezra Li Estmont, Jesse Hazelip, John Felix Arnold, Teen Witch, Vogue, APEX himself and others.

On view through September 3, 2011 @ 941 Geary, SF.

New Artist Residencies in Ghana and Mexico

Hey there....here are a couple new things that just came my way. I THINK that this first one is in Ghana but they didn't tell me. If you run a residency somewhere and send me info about it....make sure you tell me what country it's in, okay? Just a thought! Thanks!

Anyway....here's number one...number two is below.



Community Arts Project Residency CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

(in Ghana? Your guess is as good as mine. :-))



Nka Foundation invites submissions of creative projects throughout the year that in some way involve the communities we serve. Our Community Arts Project Residency is a part of our ongoing projects of tapping local resources for sustainable human capital development through a focus on the arts. Thus, we have an open door to the multiplicity of expressions in the arts that connect international contemporary practices with the local communities we serve. Artistic persons or teams in diverse fields of the arts (visual, theatre, music, literary, film/new media, arts education, arts therapy, philosophy, cultural history, etc), and intersections of the arts with architecture (arts+architecture) and engineering (arts+engineering) are all welcome to apply for residency at our Arts Village. Length of project residencies varies from a few weeks to several months, according to project.



Often, we collaborate with other organizations and schools, and host a collective project in our Arts Village. The cross-cultural collaboration may be in form of rural community service project, community arts research, or a workshop-residency, whereby the project starts with a workshop session or course session led by one or more experts in the discipline. The interactive session would be followed by independent projects. All these culminate in an exhibition/community day, or other means of project documentation and dissemination in evidence-based society.



COSTS: Join us! Cost of food and accommodation is affordable. Food is by cooperative kitchen in which we all work together in sharing the planning, cost, shopping and cooking; the estimate is $7-9/day per person. We provide accommodation at an Arts Village setting - to defray program costs we welcome donations from participant’s sponsors at $90 / €71 / £62 per week, or pay what you can. The international participants are responsible for own return air ticket, and other personal costs. If proposing / initiating a project, you will have to raise the funds for that.



DEADLINE: Ongoing but apply 1 month in advance of residency.



APPLICATION: To apply, e-mail detail on what your plan to accomplish with us, your CV, and examples of your work to info@nkafoundation.org. For detail our projects go to www.nkafoundation.org.



(ARTISTS AND WRITERS) Artist Residency for Visual Artists and Writers in Mexico—The Residency is located in Central part of Mexico. South from the City of Guadalajara/ "Lake Chapala" Jalisco.

Contact info: katusa55@hotmail.com

Website linked: http://tabachines.blog.com



Dates of Application:

September 5th first Application 2011 ( Of two to four week period)

September 12th second Application for October 2011 (Of two to fourth week period)



Tabachines Artist Residency is created for the purpose of having international artists come and enjoy a peaceful, beautiful and relaxing space to do their artwork. Exchange their culture and enrich their own by having and sharing what Mexico has to offer them in terms of Art, Food, and the possibility of meeting other visual artists from Mexico. The Residency also offers this to writers and poets as well.

Transportation, food, room and board, studio space, internet and a museum, studio visits and historical tour is included in the price. The cost depends on the period of time you would like to stay. Cost for two weeks is $1,500 dollars, for three weeks is $2,000 dollars and for the whole month is $2,250 dollars. We offer residencies to two artist at at time. Be sure to make in advance reservation.

***message from Mirabee....as you know, I try to mostly offer opportunities that are FREE or that offer financial aid. But this place is new and does not have sponsorship at the moment. It is still not a bad deal if you think you can swing it financially or get some grant funding to help pay for the trip. I am posting it because a friend of mine (a sculptor) recently went there and had a wonderful and productive time.