Panel talk on the Role of Art and Media in Hudson Valley communities, today in Poughkeepsie

The Dead Hare Radio Hour is among the sponsors of a panel talk happening today from 5:30-7 on the role of media and contemporary art in communities.
It's happening at the Cunneen Hackett Theatre at 12 Vassar St in Poughkeepsie, NY
I'll be moderating the talk. and the panelists include Kiese Laymon from Vassar College, Karen Michel of Marist College, Edward Summers of Marist College, Decora of the Readnex Poetry Squad, Nichole Fenichel Hewitt and Maria Marewski of the Children's Media Project, Matthew Slaats my Dead Hare co-host and director of Pause and Leonard Nevarez of Vassar College.

Small Talk @ Hudson Beach Glass

An informal panel discussion will be happening at Hudson Beach Glass on Saturday March 12 @ 5 pm.  The talk is being held in conjunction with the exhibit Small, on view now through March 20.  Most of the participating artists; myself, Claire Lofrese, Kazumi Tanaka, Kirsten Kucer, Deb Davidovits, John Allen, Susan Walsh, Greg Slick, Jill Reynolds should be in attendance and the talk will be moderated by exhibition curator Jennifer Mackiewicz. 

The non-archival orifice: panel discussion on Carolee Schneemann, Apr 10, 2010 2-4pm

On a trip to LA back in 2007, we visited took in the Whack! Art and the Feminist Revolution exhibit at MOCA.  I regret not having seen the exhibit when it later traveled to PS1 because my impression of the installation in LA was of an un-congealed mess and I may have had an improved perception of it in another venue.  There was a lot of great work by a range of notable artists which suffered by the wholesale lumping together of it with less successful work, all in the broader interest and exhibit.  Certainly, the purpose of the exhibit was to chronicle of the development of the Feminist movement through works of the time; perhaps more appropriate fodder for a book than an exhibit.  Nontheless, walking through the exhibit was an experience; one that was oddly like that of  visiting the Vietnam Memorial in DC.   Along with us in the galleries were visitors - obvious veterans of the time- walking through the exhibit with the air of making a pilgrimage to remember their comrades and their own experiences from the time of this struggle.  Although I found the exhibit overly nostalgic, I appreciated the programming choice in pairing Whack! with Andrea Zittel: Critical Space, and a MoCA organized exhibit of pre-fab housing at the Pacific Design Center called Some Assembly Required.  The web of domesticity/gender roles/lifemaking issues that ran through the three exhibits was broad, brilliant stroke -BTW, the Zittel show was majorly engrossing.
The one moment that highlighted my experience in Whack! which will stay with me forever is beholding the actual scroll that Carolee Schneemann used in her piece Interior Scroll from 1975.  I have often seen photos documenting the performance piece in which the nude artist reads from a long thin scroll of paper that she pulls from her hoohaa,  but was the first time I had privilege of seeing (and even pondering) this piece of ephemera.  It was impressive.
Narrow, yellowed and brittle looking and, if my recollection serves, with bits of clear tape to join pieces of paper to achieve the length of three to four feet; I was stunned by the decrepit nature of the artifact.  I don't know how long it rested up there inside her body, but the condition of this scroll immediately brought to mind the Dead Sea Scrolls - and they sat in their respective caves for nearly 2000 years and don't look much worse for wear than this holy relic from the 70's, which reveals much about the climatic differences between the vagina and the Dead Sea region.

Carolee Schneeman and her work, which is the subject of a survey exhibition entitled Carolee Schneemann: Within and Beyond the Premises at the Samuel Dorsky Museum in New Paltz, NY will also be the subject of a panel discussion tomorrow afternoon from 2 to 4 pm at the Rosendale Theater in Rosendale NY (408 Main St.)  The panel, which has been organized in connection with the exhibit will be populated by:  Emily Caigan (SUNY New Paltz Women's Studies), Maura Reilly (American Federation of Arts), Brian Wallace (Dorsky Museum), Linda Weintraub (independant scholar), Kenneth White (Stanford University) and moderator Patricia Phillips (RISD).
A screening of select film and video works by the artist will follow the discussion at 5 pm.  Admission is $6, $4 for students.  Call 845.658.8989 for more info.

Steven Evans participating in Public Art and Alternative Space Panel discussion tonight in NYC

Steven Evans will be participating in a panel discussion called Public Art and Alternative Spaces Reconsidered tonight at No Longer Empty.

The discussion is taking place tonigt at 6:30 pm at the Caledonia Retail Space at 447 W 16 St at 10 Ave, which is the site of NLE's current exhibition "Reflecting Transformation".

The full list of panel participants are:

Tom Finkelpearl, Director, Queen's Museum of Art
Lauren Ross, Curator, High Line
Anita Durst, Founder, Chashama
Steven Evans, Dia Art Foundation Assistant Director for Beacon
Peter Marcuse, Professor Urban Planning Emeritus, Columbia University
Sean Slemon, Featured Artist, Reflecting Transformation
Asher Remy-Toledo, Curator, No Longer Empty
Moderator Manon Slome, No Longer Empty

T is for Thursday. T is for Talking.

If you like talking, and if you like listening to talking, then Thursday is your day. 

The habitat at Old Main Circle on the SUNY New Paltz Campus.

The Dorsky Museum will be hosting a Habitat for Artists round table panel discussion which will relate to the ongoing HFA project that has located several mini artist residencies in structures around the city of New Paltz.  The discussion will be moderated by Wall Street Journal writer Wendy Bounds and will include artists Simon Draper, Mercedes Cecilla, Sarah Haviland, Todd Sargood, curators Brian Wallace of the Dorsky Museum and Amy Lipton of ecoartspace, Shari Osborne, Trustee, Village of New Paltz and Richard Heyl de Ortiz, Director Historic Huguenot Street, New Paltz. 

This discussion will kick of at 7pm in the museum.

Also on Thursday night, I'll be among six Beacon artists who will be discussing various aspects of our work at the Barrett Art Center's monthly Artist Salon series which takes place the final Thursday of every month.  I'll be discussing the kork project space.  Also speaking on Thursday are Steve Rossi, Peter Iannarelli, Jim Zellinger, Kirsten Kucer and Lee Price.  The salon starts at 7pm.  The Barrett Art Center is located at 55 Noxon Ave in Poughkeepsie.

Dutch Artists on Panel talk tonight in Peekskill.

Nine of the some sixteen artists featured in HVCCA's exhibit Double Dutch will be speaking tonight at the museum in Peekskill from 6 - 7:30 pm tonight.  HVCCA is located at 1701 Main St. in Peekskill.  The artists participating tonight are;  Martha Colburn, Fendry Ekel, Job Koelewijn, Maartje Korstanje, Alon Levin, Serge Onnen, Daan Padmos, Jennifer Tee and Rob Voerman.

In other Dutch artist news, the Muroff Kotler Gallery at the SUNY Ulster Community College is hosting an exhibit through Sept 25 called Verbindingen featuring work by Willem Bergert, Greta Cune, Marit Kik, Janus Eijnden, Helma Kujper, Pe Okx and Marja Vieugel..

Gallery Goings On in Beacon NY, Saturday August 8

Here's a bit of what's going down tomorrow.

First of all, there's the WOMS panel discussion on Public Art happening at the Learning Lab at Dia:Beacon.  That is happening at 2pm.  Also, residents of Orange County, with proof of residency, get free admission to Dia:Beacon on Saturday.

The opening reception for Windows on Main St. will commence at 6pm at Chill at 173 Main.

Tomorrow will be the grand opening of Dream in Plastic with the group show Analog.  Dream in Plastic is located at 177 Main St.

Fovea has a new exhibit called American Youth.  Opening reception is happening from 4-8pm, and the exhibit will be on view through Nov 8, 2009.  Here's the lazy man's click, drag and paste manner of sharing  info:

Fovea opens "American Youth", an group photography exhibition that examines the newest generation of 18 to 24-year-olds, looking at young couples and missionaries, debutante balls and drunken tailgate stupors, Iraq war widows and wannabe models,street kids and lobstermen. How are they different, and how are they the same as the generations that came before them? Poignant in their ability to reveal the strength of rebellion alongside the inevitable vulnerability of adolescent existence, the photographs stand in both contrast and correspondence to each other. The lives of teens are shown with an edgy empathy. Moments from our youth's love, life, work and play are all addressed through the documentary images of 24 photographers. "American Youth" presents stories by an acclaimed group of photographers belonging to the agency Redux Pictures of, and will open Saturday August 8th at Fovea Exhibitions,The exhibition features photographs by national and regional photographers Marc Asnin, Ben Baker,Nina Berman, David Butow, Peter Frank Edwards, Danny Wilcox Frazier, Eros Hoagland, John Keatley, Andy Kropa, Erika Larsen, Gina LeVay, Joshua Lutz, Kevin J. Miyazaki, Darcy Padilla,Mark Peterson, Michael Rubenstein, Greg Ruffing, Q. Sakamaki, Erin Siegal, Angie Smith, Ben Stechschulte, Brad Swonetz, Nathaniel Welch, and David Yellen. An accompanying book of the same name published by Contrasto is available in conjunction with the exhibition.

 Floor One is hosting an intriguing curatorial project called Price Check. Roslyn Esperon and Courtney Rile are responsible for the project which has gathered artists from Beacon, NYC and Syracuse and examines the perceived and actual retail value differences in the three different markets.  The pair have been documenting the project on a blog.  Participating artists are:  Michael Barletta, Carol Flaitz, Carla Goldberg, Novado Cappuccilli, Jason Varone, Fred Wellner, Laura Wellner and Lea Wolff.  The opening reception will be happening from 6-10pm.   

Gallery G is hosting an exhibit of Pete Crotty's photography called dharma.  The WOMS after party will also be happening there, and Pete's band NCM will be performing along with Cormac and Annabelle.  If I had more time, this would be where I'd insert one of the disarmingly goofy picture of Pete I've snapped over the years.

Open Space will continue showing We are Familia through Sept 6.

Gallery 506, the summer long, full frontal exhibition frenzy, which I have not yet checked out will be opening Time and Place, featuring work by Mark Lyon, John Waldie and Jason Torres.  Reception is at 6-9pm.

Bau is hosting an exhibit by Lisa Zukowski called Beneath the Surface. Reception is 6-9pm.

RiverWinds is showing work by Ellen A Lewis called Air-Water-Fire

Over at Go North,.....PSYCH! There's no more Go North...not locked down on  Beacon's Main St, anyway. I don't mean to be cruel, but we all have to get over it and move on.  You can check out the gallery's show archive online at http://gonorthgallery.com/, and if you like, leave flowers, teddy bears and other memorialia on the doorstep of 469 Main.  

Ok, that's it for now..

Reeling it in: March bookended

My virtual desk is piled high and spilling over with items I've meant to post, but have missed, like the slide slam that was held last night (March 31) at the Rosendale Theater. The slide slam was sponsored by the Women's Studio Workshop and consisted of 20 artists, some of whom are currently visiting artists in residence at WSW and others selected by three guest curators (Brian Wallace, Emily Putoff, Mimi Graminski ) and who each had 5 minutes to show and discuss their artwork. Deb Davidowits, Peter Iannarelli and Simon Draper were among the participating artists which also included Tricia Wright, Arthur Hash, Itty Neuhaus-Schuck, Anat Shiftan, Rena Leinberger, Jennifer Swenson, Elena Sniezak, Joy Taylor, Johanne Renbeck, Bibiana Huang Matheis, Tilly Strauss, Mimi Graminski, Emily Puthoff, Ellen Kucera Amanda Kalinoski and Ruth Wetzel. By the accounts I've received, it was a real whirlwind.
Earlier in the Month, (March 7) a trip down down to the city was bookended by visits to Pulse, which had a bunch of art, most of which I didn't have the energy to see, and a visit to Volta, which I enjoyed more.
I headed down to the Habitat for Artists installation at Ecoartspace project space in SOHO....HFA has also gotten recent attention online at Daily Green.com, Shedworking, and a video interview with Chuck Leavell on the Mother Nature Network.

From SOHO, I headed up to the Art Blogger panel discussion at Denise Bibro Fine Art. The panel was organized by Olympia Lambert, was moderated by Joanne Mattera, and was populated by Hrag Vartanian, Roberta Fallon and Libby Rosof, Bill Gusky and Brent Burket. The panel discussion was held as part of the Blogpix exhibit at the Bibro's Platform Project Space. The talk offered me the opportunity to finally meet Martin Bromirski in person. Martin has the distinction of a: maintaining an entertaining, photo laden blog for several years without actually having a computer of his own, and b: being defriended by Jerry Saltz on Facebook. Martin introduced me to Bill Gusky who upon learning I'm from Beacon said "Oh, so you get to visit Dia anytime you want." "Yeah" I said, "it's great." "Actually, I was being sarcastic." oh.
above: Sharon Butler's work, below: that of Steven Alexander included in the Blogpix show.

Panel talk on the Floating Foundation of Photography at Dorsky Museum, March 12, 7pm

A view of the Taking a Different Track.....exhibit from Feb 13, 2009
The Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art in New Paltz will be hosting a panel discussion on March 12 at 7pm. The discussion is titled Taking a Different Track: Maggie Sherwood and the Floating Foundation of Photography and accompanies an exhibit of the same name curated by Beth E. Wilson on view through April 8.
The panel will be moderated by Wilson and will include critic A.D. Coleman, photographers Bob D'alessandro and Eva Rubenstein and Stephen C. Shoen, former education director for the FFP.

Videos footage from Feb 22, 2009 Panel Discussion at Van Brunt Gallery

The live online MAYKRvision feed of the panel talk held at Van Brunt Gallery on Sunday went off pretty well - with a few glitches along the way, but considering the lo-fi setup, the sound is very clear. It was a good test run. Thanks to Ty and Derek at Floor One Gallery for cluing me in on the possibility of broadcasting like this. Below are embeds of the talk, in three parts. You can also directly the each part's url on ustream.tv: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. There was a pre-Part 1 part which included Dorsky Museum curator Brian Wallace's opening statements, but that segment, unfortunately, was sans sound, so I've omitted it here. The videos below contain the raw footage of the talk which ran about 2 hours.
Joseph Meisel, Amy Lipton, Simon Draper, Beth E. Wilson and Brian Wallace spoke on the potentially expanding or evolving role of the artist in the 21st Century.
Part 1:

Video clips at UstreamPart 2:
Video clips at UstreamPart 3:
Free TV : Ustream

Feb 22, 2009 in Beacon: Lynne Cooke conversation with Zoe Leonard & Panel Talk at Van Brunt Gallery, which will be streamed live via MAYKRvision

Tomorrow at 12:30 at Dia:Beacon, Lynne Cooke will be in conversation with Zoe Leonard as part of the museum's Conversation series. Leonard's You See I am Here After All will be on exhibit through September 7, 2009. The talk is free with museum admission, however if you haven't made reservations already, I'm not sure you'll be able to get in on it.....The Merce Cunningham Dance Company is holding another duece of Events this weekend, but if you didn't grab up tickets some time ago, you're definitely s.o.l.

Another talk happening tomorrow is the panel talk on the expanding role of the artist in the 21 Century. The panel is happening at 3pm at Van Brunt Gallery. The subject of the talk is particularly timely considering the shifting state of the global economy, and that farting gash that has vented much of the hot air out of the artworld's bubble which has prompted speculation on the charactar of an altered artistic ecology that may shake out of the change.
The panel talk will be streamed online right here at MAYKR tomorrow, so you'll still be able to catch it if you can't make it in person - and you won't necessarily need to wear pants. Online viewers will be able to comment live during the discussion, and, if I'm on top of everything, questions will be relayed to the participating panelists:
Amy Lipton Curator, Ecoartspace NY
Joseph Meisel Program Officer,
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Brian Wallace Curator,
Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, SUNY New Paltz
Beth E. Wilson Writer and Art Critic,
Professor, SUNY New Paltz

Progress Report: HFA Goes Inside at Van Brunt Gallery, through March 2

Here's a wee update on the HFA exhibit at Van Brunt Gallery.
Several days after the opening, the gallery was reconfigured as a workspace and exhibition space. For the past two weeks, participating artists....and anyone who wishes to be a participating artist have been in the space working on projects including. I've been spending Saturday afternoons in the gallery working.
Above: the b/w painting is by Mr. Richard Bruce, the piece on the right edge is by me. Below, a painting by Todd Sargood.

Amy Lipton introducing Christopher Kennedy and Christopher Neidl for the Solar 1 presentation on Jan 25. There's description of the presentation on the ecoartspace blog.....EcoartSpace is a sponsor of the Habitat For Artists. A screening of John Sullivan's Hues of Hudson was followed by a discussion about the role of art in community took place this past Sunday.
Here's the view from my work area. You can see the stocking cap of my studio-mate Carl peaking up from behind his monitor.
The gallery configuration will be changing abain this week with construction starting on a new habitat in the space which will likely be installed in a semi permanent home after the exhibit.
The next event scheduled as part of the exhibition is a panel talk on February 22 at... The discussion "Art in the 21 Century- Expanding the Artist's Role" will bring together the following panelists:
Amy Lipton, curator, Ecoartspace NY
Joseph Meisel, Program Officer, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Brian Wallace, Curator, Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, SUNY New Paltz
Beth E. Wilson, Writer and Art Critic, Professor, SUNY New Paltz

Talk it out people, talk it out.

There are a number of gallery talks, panel talks, and general in person type events coming up all over. Here's a quick rundown:
Saturday, Jan 17 1pm:
Gallery talk by Paul Chan & The Front at Winkleman Gallery, 637 W 27 St, NY NY. This talk is happening in conjunction with the exhibit Things Fall Apart which is curated by Joy Garnett and opens at Winkleman on Jan 16.
Sunday, Jan 18 4pm:
Artist talk by Richard Dupont and Grimanesa Amoros
at HVCCA in Peekskill, NY.
Also on Sunday, Jan 18 at 4pm, Sharon Butler and Austin Thomas are hosting a salon "to discuss art-making, art-blogging, and world-making at" Pocket Utopia in Brooklyn.
Saturday, Jan 24 1pm:
Gallery talk by Tatjana von Prittwitz und Gaffron on Joseph Beuys at Dia:Beacon.
Sunday, Jan 25 3pm:
Artist talk by Donald Alter at Garrison Art Center.
February 14
A panel discussion on Burma and the case of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi currently under house arrest in Burma at Mt Beacon Fine Art. The talk is being held as part of the Freedom and Art exhibit at the gallery. 1/3 of gallery sales will benefit Amnesty Intl.
March 7 1-4pm
Panel Talk: “Curating the Documentary” with Anne Ellegood, Okwui Enwezor, Eduardo Thomas, visual artist and curator. The panel will be moderated by artist, Hito Steyerl at the CCS Bard Hessel Museum

Peekskill Project discussion at HVCCA, 2pm Nov 2

HVCCA is hosting a round table discussion on Sunday to accompany the Peekskill Project which is on view through November 23.
The discussion is scheduled to begin at 4pm and speakers include Peekskill Project Curators and Artists; Michael Foley from Foley Gallery, Ombretta Agro’Andruff, Evonne M. Davis and Emma Wilcox from Gallery Aferro, Joyce Manalo from ArtForward, Michael Anthony Natiello from Collbrative Concepts and artist Deborah Fisher, Ryan Schroeder, and Stephanie Lempert.

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.

Windows Panel Talk, Saturday Sept 6 1pm

This is the final week of WOMS 2008.
On Saturday, September 6 at 1pm, a panel discussion will be held at the Howland Public Library (313 Main St.) to coincide with the closing of the exhibit. The discussion will revolve around the artwork of the WOMS project, and aspects of art sited in situations outside of the isolated gallery setting in other projects like Ellenville's 10x10x10 and the Peeksill Project.
WOMS 2008 participating Theresa Gooby and Steven Walls will discuss their projects, and previous WOMS artist and current Peekskill Project participating curator Michael Anthony Natiello will speak about his experience in both projects. 10x10x10 curator, Judy Sigunick will discuss the nature of her project in Ellenville.

The discussion is free and open to the public.

sponsored by:
BACA, Rhinebeck Savings Bank, The Ann and Abe Effron Fund of the Community Foundation of Dutchess County.
This project is made possible (in part) through a grant from the Dutchess County Arts Council, administor of public funds through NYSCA's Decentralization Program

Arts as Impetus for Successful Redevelopment Pt. 2 at HVCCA March 30

On March 30, HVCCA will be hosting a second panel discussion examining Art as Impetus for Successful Redevelopment. The panel will be held from 4-6pm with a reception to follow.
The panel will be moderated by Janet Langsam, Executive Director of the Westchester Arts Council and former Deputy Commissioner of Cultural Affairs for the City of New York.
Panel Participants are Richard Sennett, Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics, and at New York University. Ralph DiBart, City re-development consultant and currently Executive Director of the New Rochelle BID. For more information on the talk, click here.

I attended HVCCA's first discussion on this subject held on Oct. 5, 2007. That talk was sparsely attended, but it did draw individuals from a range of Hudson Valley communities on both sides of the river.
Panelists in that discussion included Maider Bilbao, the museum's artist in residence at the time, who gave an enlightening account of the effect of the Bilbao Guggenhiem on the cultural life of Bilbao. From Maider's point of view, the economic effect of the tourist draw of the museum has primarily focused on the tourist sector, and there has been little benefit to the broader cultural or even economic activity in the city.
Also on the October panel were Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz, Art Consultant & Director of Works of Art for Public Spaces and Linda Lees, Founder of Creative Cities International. I really wanted to hear more from Ms. Lees as I felt she has a particularly strong comprehension of the mechanisms within these processes, unfortunately there wasn't enough time for her to really dig in. The most clarifying and striking thing she said was that it is the development of culture, which may include the arts, but not only the arts, that can bring about a successful redevelopment of a community. It's an easy, cliff notes assumption, particularly after Bilbao, to think that all a community need do is plop an art institution in its midst and let the healing begin. Any such endeavor, if it's intended to turn the fate of a city must take into account the existing population, and work to create programs and institutions that serve that population in addition to drawing visitors with destination attractions. Both Maider's reflection on Bilbao from a local artist's viewpoint and Linda Lees comments demonstrated the nuanced complexities of revitalizing communities.
Conversations on this subject are difficult. At once, it's a fascinating topic, and a potentially frustrating one. There are now and have been many groups of people in stagnant cities around the country placing their hopes on such a culture/art centric strategy for the betterment of their own situation and that of their respective cities. The topic is interesting from an analytical standpoint, but when coupled with the peoples' hope and desperation for improvement, such a discussion becomes stunted by the pressure of frustration and impatience. Frustration flared at one point during the Oct. panel as a couple of Peekskill residents vented about Peekskill's intransigent government and that city's long floundering attempts to engender an art driven economic renaissance.
This art thing simply is not a panacea, and in some locations perhaps, hope may float, but art don't. That's where Linda Lees comments on the development of cultural institutions that are both attractive to visitors and new residents, but support the traits of the community as it exists.
I just get this sense that some folks think, well, if it worked there, it's gotta work here. Well, no not necessarily, and perhaps that city whose success on which their basing their expectations may not be as successful as expected for those anticipated reasons.
I equate this to people who read Malcom Gladwell's book The Tipping Point and come away with the empowered sense that "Yes, I understand the dynamics of trends, and I know I have the power to make this such and such trend happen for me." I enjoyed the book greatly, and reading it makes you (me) feel like everything is so clear and obvious. I see references to the book made to tout the potential of one scheme or another, but I've yet to see the roster of companies which have boomed or trends that have skyrocketed precisely because the producers of those efforts applied the examples from the book to engineer series of conditions to make the right bubbling processes happen.

DCAC workshop on internet marketing for artists and small organizations, March 15

The Dutchess County Arts Council will be holding a seminar on Arts Marketing and internet social networks on March 15 at Suny New Paltz, in Lecture Center 110, SUNY New Paltz, 75 S. Manheim Boulevard, New Paltz, NY. Driving directions are available online at www.newpaltz.edu.
The program will be an all day affair lasting from 9:00 to 5:00 with a panel discussion in the morning and in the afternoon, an opportunity for hands on computer time, to create profile pages in a number of the social network sites. Attendees are encouraged to bring a disc with images of artwork to upload during the hands on session.
The fee for the program is $30 for DCAC members and $40 for non members. The fee includes a continental breakfast and box lunch. Registration deadline is March 7. A registration form is available at www.artsmidhudson.org or by calling the Dutchess County Arts Council at 845-454-3222.

The workshop will provide an overview about these popular sites, what their strengths are, how to include them in marketing strategies, and other practical
issues involved with file sharing, messaging, viral marketing, e-chatting, blogging, and more. This full-day program will feature a panel discussion in the morning and an afternoon hands-on session where participants will have an opportunity to develop a page of their own. Represented on the panel will be the Children's Media Project, individual artists Matthew Slaats and Christopher Albert, as well as marketing specialist Dean Temple of Drake Creative, and attorney, Gary Schuster, Esq. of Jacobowitz & Gubits, LLP.

"News to Art" Panel Discussion at Fovea Exhibitions, Feb 16 4pm

Fovea Exhibitions Beacon Gallery will be hosting a panel discussion at 4pm on Saturday, February 16.

Robert Stevens, faculty from the School of Visual Arts and former Time
Magazine photo editor moderates a discussion contextualizing the journey of the
function of a photograph from news to art. Guests include media and photography
professionals including Danielle Jackson, Cultural projects director at Magnum
photo agency, magazine editors and curators.

Design Dialogues Panel Discussion at Ulster CC., Feb 12, 7pm

Ulster Community College in Stone Ridge will be hosting a panel discussion tomorrow evening at 7pm at the Vanderlyn Hall, Rm 203. The panel is being held in conjunction with the exhibit Design Dialogues on view at the Muroff Kotler Visual Arts Gallery through Feb 23 and will discuss the influence of design on society.

The panel discussion, which will be hosted by the exhibition's curator, Sean Nixon, brings together designers from the fields of architecture, print media, furniture, exhibition and industrial design. The members of the panel include the architect Michael McDonough of Michael McDonough Architecture, Woody Pirtle, print and graphic designer and consultant of Woody Pirtle Design, Inc., Fred Spector,
industrial designer of furniture, lighting and tabletop ware representing Frederic Spector Design Studio, Serena Furman, an exhibition designer with Christopher Chadbourne & Associates and the industrial designers, Robert and Granger Moorhead, of Morrehead and Moorhead.

For more information about the Panel Discussion, contact Sean Nixon at nixons@sunyulster.edu.