Clara Gould Art Fund, Hudson Invitational Exhibit and Talk at Van Brunt....and touching hands.....

Van Brunt Gallery and the Howland Cultural Center are hosting an event to launch the Clara Lou Gould Fund for the Arts. This fund, named for Beacon's previous Mayor of 18 years, Clara Lou Gould, under the auspices of the Community Fund of Dutchess County and BACA, will "fund Beacon projects not generally supported by other area arts organizations, including individual artist’s projects, unique exhibitions, performance or public art projects, arts education programs, and community projects that promote area artists and arts activities and that draw attention to the valuable role of arts and culture in our community." Tickets for Friday's event are $100. For more information, and to order tickets online, click here.


Part of the events for the evening will include a preview of the Hudson Invitational exhibit at Van Brunt. The exhibit, which is being presented by Van Brunt Gallery in association with Curcio Projects, and which is co-curated by Jennifer Mackiewicz, relates to the Sitelines Art Fair program that was scheduled for last May but cancelled shortly before.
The art fair was/is intended to highlight contemporary art venues, both commercial and non profit, active throughout the Hudson Valley.

The panel discussion that is accompanying the Hudson Valley Invitational Exhibit is scheduled for Sept 14 at 3pm - at Van Brunt Gallery - and it will touch upon the topic of the present and future of the arts in the Hudson Valley.

The discussion will be moderated by Almanac Weekly Art Critic Paul Smart. Participating panelists include: Benjamin Krevolin, board president of the Dutchess County Council on the Arts, Norm Magnusson, known for his allegoric paintings, his faux historic roadside signs, and his Funism.com website, Tom Roe, founder of Wave Farm in Greene County and a leading proponent of the new Transmission Arts movement, currently on view at the SUNY Purchase's Neuberger Museum. Also on the panel are Sparrow, author/poet/critic, Robert The, Kingston-based conceptual and book artist with a background in philosophy, Christina Varga, Woodstock gallery owner and Brian Wallace, curator at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at SUNY-New Paltz. The panel will be streamed live on free103point9 Transmission Art Radio via a link at www.free103point9.org, or tune in by pasting http://comm.free103point9.org:8000/vanbrunt.mp3.m3u into your media player. to have

I've written a bit in previous posts about how I though the art fair could potentially set certain conditions serve to feed and connect the region's artists and venues in a way that would bridge the distance between the HV art communities. By that I mean that the corollary events and projects that would pop up around a successful fair might create a gravitational force that would draw more people into a collaborative relationship. I'd heard of gripes about why this thing was happening in Beacon. Why not? Of course, there's no reason that it couldn't happen in Peekskill, Hudson or Kingston, it just never has. Of course it hasn't happened in Beacon yet either. A possible remedy to assuage this griping might be to organize the fair as a series of contemporaneous events that would be happening in a number of communities up an down the river. However, I think it would prove to be a poor strategy for it would simply disperse the energy of such an event over such a large footprint as to dilute the potential impact of a shared moment and place and it would reinforce the art community breach as exists now. If maximum impact, participation, and variety desired effects, I think a better solution would be to hold such an event in a different city every year. Logistically, this would be more difficult, but the potential for collaborative creativity, as well as dynamic, evolving presentation could create that cultural gravity and excite and equally dynamic of artists/venues to participate. To some extent, the concept would be that of an annual nomadic convention, or model of the Olympic Games.


In the spirit of cross community interaction, a panel talk was held last Saturday as part of the recently completed 2008 Windows on Main St. project. The talk, which looked at the aspects of artists working in the public sphere, covered WOMS in context with the Peekskill Project, represented by Michael Natiello, and the 10x10x10 project in Ellenville with the creator of that project Judy Sigunick . The talk was scantily attended, and virtually all in attendance were either on the panel, or in some way affiliated with the projects discussed, but what occured, was an excellent discussion about the artists' experiences of working among the public in traditionally non art locations. Basically was a sharing of the obstacles, the rewards and the discoveries common among the projects. It was also enlightening to learn about the artists' activities that so closely parallel one another, demonstrating some wonderful affinities.

The fact that Sunday's talk at Van Brunt will be streamed live on the internet (thanks to Free 103point9)alone is exciting. I'd like to see more talks/art events in the area streamed or otherwise shared more profusely online. It's hard to make it out to too much, and there's not a lot out there that represents the goings on in the various communities. I wish there was more.

May 17-18, 2008: Beacon's unSitely afFair

So the Sitelines Art Fair has been cancelled, but you really had your heart set on making it up to Beacon for the day or for the weekend. What's a body to do? Come what may, come mid-May, we're here for you, and you're welcome. There's plenty of other stuff on tap for the weekend. Here's the shakes on, hopefully most, of what's happening.


View Larger Map>
Here's a map showing what's going on where. Green pins indicate what's happening on Saturday, Red pins represent Sunday.
Saturday May 17th:

Dia:Beacon
10:30am - 2pm Dia:Beacon will be closing at 2pm for its annual benefit.
Two new installations are opening
Kamp Maykr
10:00am-5pm. Welcome to Kamp Maykr, we're hosting a pot luck brunch in the morning and an exhibit of yardwork at 1172 North Ave. Start your day off right, bring a dish, hang out for a while, and build your strength for the adventure ahead. Work on view by the likes of Michael Natiello, Steve Rossi, Kathy Feighery, me. The brunch will run til noon or so, but the artwork will be on view both Sat and Sun 12-5pm. Stay tuned right here for further details
Beekman Banner Project
noon - There will be a ceremony featuring Mayor Steve Gold and Dutchess County Art Council President Benjamin Krevolin to inaugurate a series of banners featuring work of local artists lining Beekman St.
Electric Windows
12:30-through the day. Electric Windows is bringing together 24 artists near and far to create
Artists will be painting through the day while accompanied the entire day by music provided by a range a selection of bands and DJ's. Check the above link for line up and schedule info.
Beacon Studios
1-5pm The many artists of Beacon Studios will be hosting an open house.
In addition, in the building's library gallery, there will be a preview of The Media Church, an installation by a guy named Russell, which will officially be opening on May 31.
Habitat for Artists


1-5pm Habitat for Artists will be celebrating the launch of the studio cum sculpture (or sculpture cum studio) project which has been taking shape in the parking lot of Spire Studios for the last several weeks. Participating artist will be on hand in their temporary digs, working and hanging out.
Donald Kimmel of Flying Swine will doing performance piece at some point in the afternoon.
Spire Studios
6pm - on. Spire Studios will be hosting open studios.

If have some yawing need to hang with an artist, this is the day. I can't say that I'm much good for company, but given the multitude of them roaming about on this day, you're bound to meet one with some charm.
Hermitage
7:30 Allan Kaplan reads from his new book "Like On Of Us."

Next Step
10:30pm - on. The Piggy Bank, Open Space, Burlock, and Break Beats will be bringing us this NonSecondSaturday Edition of Next Step complete with DJ's, dancing, and live painting at the Piggy Bank, 448 Main St. (I still owe Tom Moore $5 from the Next Step of a couple months back. I ain't forgotten ya Tommy.)

And that's just Saturday.
On Sunday:
Dia:Beacon
Dia's got several things going on this day in conjunction with the two sold out performances being presented by the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. There's a family day kicking off at noon that includes a movement based tour of artwork. A selection of items relating to the work of John Cage will be on view. There might be a few other things going on, but I can't quite decipher them, and they may be applicable to members only, like a reception for a Tacita Dean projection based on footage of Merce Cunningham performing.

Electric Windows
The pieces that were created through the day Saturday will be installed in the windows of the Electric Blanket Factory at 1 E. Main St. I don't know what time.

Country Folk @ Zahra's Studio
noon - on. If you simply can't get enough live painting, stop by Zahra's at 496 Main St. and catch the Country Folk crew creating a wall piece that will be part of their June exhibit at the gallery.

Kamp Maykr
12-5pm. Someone will still be hanging out, so stop by and check out what's been done in our yard.

That's what I know at the moment. Check back for updates.

Sitelines Art Fair: The Extended Horizon

Today I received word that the Sitelines Art Fair will not be taking place as scheduled for the weekend of May 16-18.
As I understand it, potential issues with the selected venue, a low number of confirmed participating institutions and the sands of time have all conspired against the fair being held right now, although perhaps something can be rescheduled for later in the year.

I was skeptical when I first heard about the plans to organize an art fair here. The viability of plopping an art fair in the area didn't make sense to me, but I began to see the potential a couple of months back I heard Carl briefly discuss some of his ideas about the concept of this fair that, in my interpretation would seek to frame a context for art activity endemic to this region. When I talk about activity endemic to this region, I'm not talking about a cultural isolationist, root for the hometown "Aw man, our artists are just as good as those bigshot snots and if they won't let us join their party, we'll throw one of our own" kind of backyard boosterism. I just think there's a case for place which can hold water in this current state of affairs. Given the seemingly ever more homogenized traveling art circus that is wearing grooves into the global art circuit, a Hudson Valley-centric gathering that includes galleries and institutions from around the area can have import. It's ironic that so much contemporary art deals with the importance of place, and experiencing the specificity of a site while a major driving force of the marketplace has such an opposite relationship to engaging with space. Hello Cleveland! er, Detroit? you rock.
I'm envisioning Dr. Who travelling around in art fair booth.


I can see where an event such as Sitelines could serve as a gravitational point for the artistic activity in the region; a chance for the semi isolated cultural outposts dotting the valley to convene and connect - And do so without necessarily reverting to an orgy. (I lived in South Beach for 3 years. I've seen parent-teacher conferences revert to orgies down there.)
Imagine, part art fair, part comic con, part plushie parade all right here. That'd be so hot. (Indeed, if such a wonderous convergence were to happen, I hope we'd be ready. Just in case, Art Fag City has a test to sharpen your senses.)

What adds vibration to many of these convergences are the activities that orbit the fairs. Ultimately, I think the success of Sitelines, when it does happen, will depend on the multitude of energies of many independent efforts that speak to the level of esprit d'art in the surrounding environment.
In any case, there's still certain to be loads of that esprit d'art being spread thick that mid-May weekend, as Habitats for Artists will have some doings going on over at Spire Studios. I imagine that the Electric Windows will still be on tap, and who knows what else.
Hell, we're even planning a Maykr potluck Brunch, and yer'all invited.

Update: here's the latest on events in Beacon for the weekend of May 17 &18.

Your Post Title Here......*

black and blue: the birth of an art fair.

There is now some general information on the SiteLines website. Schedule and admission information mainly. Details are slim, but we now know there will be a video lounge curated by Bart Bridger Woodstrup, a couple of panel discussions and an invitational exhbition accompanying the fair.

On the Sitelines site, I found a link to the Electric Windows event that will be taking place on the same weekend. Details for this project which is being sponsored by Open Space Beacon, the Beacon Art Supply, and Sabotaz 80 are also forthcoming, but the gist is that 24 street artists from all over will be invited to create work on vinyl that will be mounted in the windows of 1 E. Main St., the former Electric Blanket factory. As I understand it, the pieces will be created and installed all on the same weekend, and then the pieces will remain on view for 12 months. Heads up: there may be a need for assistance in housing some participating artists for the weekend. Keep it in mind; if you have a place in your heart and possibly on your couch, you too can make the difference in some artist's day.
Open Space will be hosting a companion exhibit of work by artists that will include: Ron English (NYC), Above (San Francisco), Ripo (Barcelona), Lady Pink (NYC), Michael De Feo (NYC), Jim Darling/Tina Andersen (Los Angeles), Rick Price (Beacon), Peripheral Media Projects (Brooklyn) and Dan Funderburgh (Brooklyn) and many more...

*I tried coming up with something cute. I just don't have it in me tonight.

Ahh Spring, Part 2: May Daze in Beacon

Months of speculation and talk have been leading up to the SiteLine Art Fair scheduled to happen here in Beacon on May 16-18. This art fair being organized by Carl Van Brunt of Van Brunt Gallery and Robert Curcio, one of the founders of the Scope Art Fair, will feature galleries and art institutions located along the Hudson Valley. The Sitelines Art Fair is mentioned in a recent discussion between Curcio and Leah Oates at NYARTS. There is no information as of yet on the Siteline website, but I do understand the event will indeed be happening, although perhaps not in the old Tallix Foundry building as originally planned. Stay tuned for information as it becomes available, both regarding Siteline, and other projects and events that are being scheduled to coincide with the art fair.
One such co-incidenting project is Habitat for Artists, a collaborative project conceived and curated by Simon Draper and sponsored by Ecoartspace, Curator Amy Lipton. The project consists of the construction of artist studio/sheds that artists will work in, and modify to fit their needs for a month leading up to the SiteLine Fair when the'll be open for viewing. These artist habitats will be placed in locations around Beacon including outside Spire Studios, and outside of the SiteLine locaton. Thus far, confirmed participating artists include: Dar Williams, Christopher(me)Albert, Matt Kinney, Marnie Hillsley, Sara Mussen, Lori Nozick and Roy Staab
Below is a video of Simon constructing a structure for musician and neighbor, Dar Williams.

Also coming up in May, Spire Studios will be hosting a group show set to open the weekend before, on Second Saturday.
The folks at Open Space and the Beacon Art Supply are concocting a window based project on the East End of Main St. I don't have information on dates and details yet, but I'll be posting that soon.
I'm considering holding a wee project here at maykrhq to coincide with the Fair Weekend. Stay tuned.
Of course, all of this revolves around the fifth anniversary of Dia:Beacon which will be observed with the annual Gala being held on May 17 ( the museum will close at 2pm that day.) Additionally, the Merce Cunningham Dance Company will be giving a pair of performances on Sunday, May 18 at 2 and 4:30 pm. This pair of performances is the third in a series of works presented in different galleries of the museum. In Sept 07, a work was staged in the Warhol Gallery, and in January of this year, two stages linked by a narrow passageway traversed the De Maria Galleries. Alistair Macaulay penned reviews of each (1 and 2) performance for the Times.