Endless Opportunities (Or Something)

This week was sort of weird. No one sent us much about opportunities – locally, nationally or otherwise. I did manage to catch a few things with highlights including Texas awesomeness, your daily ACRE reminder, performance –centric things and a prize opening at Gold Star Bar.

 

Calls for Entry

 

National:

 

New American Paintings

West deadline: April 30^th

Juror: Bill Arning, Director, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston

New American Paintings is a juried exhibition-in-print. Each edition results from a highly competitive juried competition and presents the work of 40 painters. Working closely with renowned curators such as Lisa Philips of New Museum of Contemporary Art and James Rondeau of the Art Institute of Chicago, in order to select those artists whose work deserve to be seen by a wider audience. From post-modern pastiche to the landscape, recognized artists to recent M.F.A. graduates, New American Paintings does not discriminate against style or yield to art world trends.

http://www.newamericanpaintings.com/competitions.html

 

Chicago:

 

Synapse Arts – New Works open call for creators

Deadline: May 1

New Works is an annual program that supports emerging artists by providing the resources needed  to make an original piece.

For the first time, Synapse is offering one position to a new creator by way of application. This creator (choreographer, director, deviser, etc.) will be an independent artist who requires resources such as rehearsal space and performers in order to explore their work. The creator need not be entirely new to Synapse, but applicants who have not worked within the New Works program previously will be a priority.

The selected creator will receive:

-Paid performers (up to 4)

-Free rehearsal space

-Free weekly company class

-A costume budget

-A place on a fully-produced final concert (including public performance(s), tech time, lighting design, stage management, box office management, public relations, and marketing) in October, 2012.

See more about the company at www.synapsearts.com or contactlauren@synapsearts.com

 

Texas:

 

Auora Picture Show

Early deadline: 11:59PM April 16, 2012

Late deadline: 11:59PM May 1, 2012

Started in 1998, the Extremely Shorts Festival is a juried competition of adventurous three-minute or shorter films and videos from around the world. Each year a different juror (esteemed filmmaker, film programmer or arts curator) selects 20-25 mini-masterpieces to be shown at a two-day screening event in June. Audience Choice cash awards are given for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. The short format of the festival encourages innovative approaches to filmmaking in a range of genres including narrative, art, experimental, documentary and animation. Started in 1998, the Extremely Shorts Festival is a juried competition of adventurous three-minute or shorter films and videos from around the world. Each year a different juror (esteemed filmmaker, film programmer or arts curator) selects 20-25 mini-masterpieces to be shown at a two-day screening event in June. Audience Choice cash awards are given for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. The short format of the festival encourages innovative approaches to filmmaking in a range of genres including narrative, art, experimental, documentary and animation.

http://aurorapictureshow.org/pages/extremely_shorts_film_festival_154.asp

 

Residencies

 

Midwest:

ACRE Reminder!

Deadline is April 20^th

http://www.acreresidency.org/

 

Harold Arts & threewalls

SURVIVAL III: August 10th – 24^th

Survival is a three-year collaborative residency project between Harold Arts and threewalls. Held each summer at Harold Arts in Morgan County, Ohio near the town of Chesterhill, Survival is an ongoing discussion about the continuation of existence, in spite of obstacles or advantages in the landscape, economy or community, in public or private that hinder or facilitate endurance.

The project combines long-term relationships with commissioned projects and returning visiting artists, writers and curators with short-term residents and temporary visitors to create a collaborative program facilitated by its participants. Over the last two seasons residents have produced films, embarked on research projects and conducted workshops on themes relating to survival – whether physical, psychological or social. Past residents Sara Black and Conrad Freiberg are both working on new commissions for the Hub & Tack program, part of The Placemaker Foundation, our sister organization which seeks to invigorate Morgan County through arts and culture with a focus on site-specific works in architecture, earthworks, performance, sculpture and sound. We invite your proposals to cap off the third year of Survival with a special invitation to those who would like to conduct workshops or make presentations in conjunction with the theme. Of course, we still invite individual research and private exploration.

This session is open to musicians and artists working in performance, film/video, architecture and three-dimensions. This year, residencies at Harold Arts are awarded by invitation only. However, if you would like to invite yourself, we encourage you to submit a letter of inquiry to info@haroldarts.org

http://haroldarts.org/

 

New York:

 

Watermill Center Residency

Applications are due June 1, 2012

The Watermill Center Residency Program began in 2006, when the Center officially opened as a year-round facility. Over the course of the program, up to twenty collectives or individual artists take up residence at the Center to create collaborative works that critically investigate, challenge, and extend the existing norms of performance practice. By June of 2012, the Center will have hosted over 89 residency groups.

The Residency Program, which runs from September  to June, gives young artists the opportunity to utilize the Watermill Center as a home and a workshop to create and develop their own work.

http://watermillcenter.org/programs/residencies

 

On another note, an entire B@S email thread from was dedicated to how great this press release was…

 

In the early part of 2010, Mike Rea and I were drinking in a relatively empty Gold Star during a winter storm. As usual, we were a bit bored with each other so Susan, our favorite bartender, asked if we wanted some paper and markers to draw. It reminded me of drawing sharks from a book that my dad had while I was growing up so we started casually doodling some sharks. It quickly began spiraling out of control. Mike drew a shark sniffing cocaine alongside a fighter jet and I drew one with a dick and three balls attached. I believe the first night produced around ten drawings which Susan hung on the refrigerator. The next time we came in Susan said people loved them but unfortunately some were stolen off the refrigerator by people waiting in line to piss. She asked if we wanted to draw more.

 

For months we kept adding more filth trying to shock each other. We decided they should be made quickly with little attention to skill and great emphasis on vulgarity. Other patrons started coming in when we weren’t there and asked if they could draw them too. Susan kept collecting them, eventually accruing around 400 drawings in addition to all the ones people kept stealing. Many artists participated while Mike and I heckled them for being pussies. We met a lot of people we didn’t care to meet and a few whose company we really enjoyed. Most people asked, “Why sharks with dicks and drugs?” Mike just thinks it is a stupid question. I always answer by saying they are three things from our childhood that movies and media taught us to be afraid of.

 

One night Susan introduced us to her mother Maryann, who owns Gold Star and picks artists for the walls. She said she normally doesn’t like nudity or violence in the work they show but asked if we would like to show our sharks because she thought they were funny. We agreed but only if we could pick the best ones (our own drawings) and blow them up to large poster size. “Sharks, Dicks and Drugs” opens Saturday, April 14th at 6:00 p.m. at Gold Star Bar.