1) Artomatic
I'm one of the two Steering Committee co-chairs (in other words, executive planning committee) for this year's event. We've got about 1100 visual artists and probably a good 500 or so performing artists participating in this year's 5 week event. It's been like having a second full-time job (and my paying job is very demanding) and I admit that it's been a balancing act, and one that has been challenging to manage at times.
I've learned a ton about arts events planning and management, artist management, working with arts organization executive leadership... from logistics to marketing to security to public art... These are experiences and lessons I'll absolutely carry with me for a long time.
I'm excited to be showing some new photographs (I have 8 in mind, but most likely will be showing 4 or 5) and hope to have a really cool looking exhibit. Check it out on the 7th floor!
2) artdc.org's 12' x 12' show
At the last minute I felt that I should participate in this quirky local exhibit. All artists could buy a foot of space in which to hang their artwork, which couldn't be any larger than 12' x 12'. I admit that I was in a bit of a panic, trying to find existing prints to exhibit, and then figure out how to frame them. I ended up buying Ikea frames that were 3" too small (did I mention I'm horrible with numbers), and then at the ring of the buzzer, got some discounted frames at Plaza Arts, who were really nice and totally hooked me up. I'm hanging two black and white prints that were made back in 2002, and are the first set of photos I took with my medium-format camera.
The show is up until June 6, and the main opening is on May 16 in conjunction with Hyattsville Arts Festival.
3) First gallery rejection
I'm usually very thin-skinned to the point where I don't always share my photographs even with my friends but earlier this year I submitted an RFP to Flashpoint Gallery in DC. I did it for the experience, I even went to the workshop, and of course hoped that my project would be accepted by the judging panel. Eh. Didn't quite pan out. I'm not really upset which was surprising. What I was surprised by was that my project revolved around DC's creative community, and Flashpoint's mission - and it's panel of locally based arts people (I'm not going to call them arts professionals because I have some reservations about some of their qualifications)I'll probably contact the gallery director to get feedback on my proposal, and I'm still going to pursue the project and see how it turns out.
On a related note, my favorite saying at the moment is quoted one by Steve Lazarides during an interview with The Art Newspaper:
It’s hard to know who the tastemakers are. Is it three people sitting in a room deciding what’s going to last a long time or is it the five million who go and look at a video online?
