Below is an advocacy alert from Virginians for the Arts. If arts are important to you then please take a moment to read the message below and contact your senator and thank them for supporting the arts:

“Advocacy Alert, February 20, 2012

The House and Senate Money Committees met yesterday to adopt amendments to the Governor’s proposed budget for 2012-14.

No additional funding for the Virginia Commission for the Arts was included in the House of Delegates’ budget, which was approved unanimously by the House Appropriations Committee and will most likely be approved by the House on Thursday.  The Senate, however, included $149,793 in each of the next two fiscal years to restore the cut to the VCA that Governor McDonnell proposed in his budget.

Please take a moment this week to reach out to your Senator to thank him or her for supporting the arts, and to voice your support for the Senate’s budget.  The Senate budget passed the Senate Finance Committee on a party-line vote, but its future is uncertain.  Since the Senate is split 20-20 between Democrats and Republicans, and Lt. Governor Bill Bolling will not vote on the budget, at least one Senate Democrat will need to vote for the budget in order for it to pass the full Senate.  We will continue to update you as events unfold.

For more information about this advocacy alert and Virginians for the Arts in general, please visit their website HERE.

The National Printmakers Gallery has officially opened it call for entries for its annual juried Small Works exhibition. This is the sixteenth year since the first exhibition in 1997 and in the past jurors have included:

Calm Day at Fort Stark-Hannah Phelps

Robert K. Newman (owner and director of the Old Print Shop in New York, NY); Eric Denker (Senior Lecturer National Gallery of Art); Linda C. Simmons (Curator Emeritus, The Corcoran Gallery of Art); Katherine L. Blood (Curator of Fine Prints, Library of Congress); and Helen Frederick (Founder and longtime director of Pyramic Atlantic); to name a few.  This year’s juror is Brian Gardner, founder and master printer of Litho Shop, Inc in Baltimore, MD.

Eligible works must have been created within the past two years, must be no larger than 170 square inches, and must have been created by an artist over 18. Digital prints and photographs are not eligible.

Prizes include a solo exhibition in 2013 for the winner and cash prizes for the next three runners up. If works are submitted before April 19th a discount will be applied to the submission cost. More information can be found HERE and work can be submitted HERE (follow instructions in previous link for registration and image requirements).

Don’t miss out on this great opportunity!

Muñoz has seen a recent crossover into to Europe and North America since his participation in the 52nd Venice Biennial. His work has been featured at the “Tate Modern, L.A. MoCA, the Miami Art Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and La Caixa in Barcelona, among others.”

The featured installation at 1708 will be Ambulatorio, 36 black and white aerial photographs of Cali, Colombia, Muñoz’s home. The photographs are mounted on security glass and installed on the floor, inviting visitors to literally traverse the city, becoming participants in the construction of meaning surrounding the work.

The Visual Arts Center of Richmond will feature  an overview of Muñoz’s creative process as a whole, with twelve works spanning a variety of media.

More information about the exhibition can be found at our website and also in this week’s issue of Style Weekly which is a free publication distributed widely across the city of Richmond. Again, save the date March 2nd for the First Friday openings and we look forward to seeing you there!

Jennifer Sullivan-Adult Movie

1708 readers and Richmond Art-Goers,

This coming First Friday (Feb 3) is our second-to-last screening of Telling Tales. If you haven’t had a chance to see all of the videos this is a great opportunity to do so. We also have one final screening along with artist talks on Saturday February 4th if you are unable to make it out on Friday. Our hours on Friday are 5-9PM and the films will be shown on a loop throughout the evening.

Ray Kass-Horsetail

Additionally, we have an opening reception at Linden Row Inn for our satellite exhibition Constructs XI. This reception will also be from 5-9PM and is located only six blocks away at 1st and E. Franklin so it will be easy to make it to both locations. This exhibition will run until April 22nd.

Thank you all for your continual support of contemporary and local art in Richmond and we hope to see you out this Friday to enjoy these two receptions with us!

-1708 Gallery

Join 1708 on Saturday, February 4 at 11:00 AM for the final screening of all 4 artists’ works, including a Q&A with Sara Pomerance and Lydia Moyer.

Sara Pomerance, Everything is Under Control (Running time: 27:11)
Part home movies, part staged scenes, Sara Pomerance’s string of mundane, everyday exchanges between family members poignantly combines humor and pathos.

Followed by a 10 minute Q&A with Sara Pomerance.

Lydia Moyer, Paradise (Running time: 36:09)
Lydia Moyer examines five sites of societal and environmental disasters, from Jonestown, Guyana to post-Katrina New Orleans, and hints at, though often without fully revealing, the dark stories that inhabit these locations.

Followed by a 10 minute Q&A with Lydia Moyer.

Jennifer Sullivan, Adult Movie and One-Week Walden (Running time: 35:00)
In Jennifer Sullivan’s videos, the artist turns the camera on herself in two semi-autobiographical works that address, in tongue-in-cheek fashion, an artistic struggle for depth of purpose and authenticity.

Keren Cytter, Four Seasons and Konstruktion (Running time: 20:08)
Drawing from an archive of influences that includes soap operas and Michelangelo Antonioni, Keren Cytter’s fragmented, non-linear style conveys situations of anxiety and distress in relationships, often imparting a sense of anxiety in the viewer.

We are pleased to announce that this year’s honorary chair is artist James Prosek!

Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more details about the auction.

Night Canal, Martin Mc Fadden, LRPS

1212 Gallery is currently accepting submissions for its Juried Photography Exhibition. The criteria for submissions are that artists must be 18 or older, and
photographs must have been taken in the Richmond, Virginia metropolitan area. Any photographic processes are acceptable. Artists may submit up to three
images and those previously exhibited at 1212 are not eligible.

This is a Juried exhibition that awards up to $500 in cash prizes as well as a solo exhibition for the best-in-show. The juror is Scott Elmquist, “the Photography Editor and staff photographer at Style Weekly in Richmond, Virginia, a position he’s held since 1999. Style is the well known weekly publication that covers regional political and social issues, as well as arts and culture.”

Questions regarding submissions and the exhibition can be addressed to 1212 gallery by email (1212galleryrichmond@gmail.com), by phone (804.301.6971), or by visiting 1212’s website at www.1212galleryrva.com. Further terms and conditions as well as formatting information can also be found at 1212’s website.

The deadline is 11:59 PM January 30th so get clicking away and get those submissions in!

1708 readers and all creative people alike, this sunday 1708 is hosting Feast RVA!

For those of you who do not know about Feast RVA, here is a brief summary of the events and the organization:

“Donate $25. Enjoy a delicious dinner and drinks at a local venue. Listen to short presentations by local creatives. Chat with those creatives and other attendees. Vote for your favorite project. Watch your money make someone else’s creative dream come true. Go home happy…Feast RVA connects Richmond’s creative talent with creative enthusiasm. A not-for-profit, community-driven organization, Feast RVA funds local projects through a process that’s both democratic and delicious.”

January’s Feast RVA features food by 821 Cafe and music by Frankzig. As usual proceeds will go to presenting the winning submitter with money to help fund his or her project. Tickets can be purchased HERE for $25 apiece. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to support local creativity in Richmond and get fed as well!

“Artists Wanted has partnered with SCOPE Art Show to present the 2nd annual Year in Review Competition, awarding a $25,000 Grand Prize package and more, including an Exclusive Featured Booth at SCOPE New York this March 2012 and One Month in a New York City luxury loft.

In addition to the Grand Prize winner, six category winners will be selected to receive $3,000 in grants and inclusion in a Group Exhibition at SCOPE New York. These Category winners will be chosen in the following areas:

• Painting
• Sculpture & Installation
• Works on Paper
• Photography
• Design & Illustration
• Motion & Sound (Film, Video, Performance & Sound)”

Artists Wanted is a collaborative project between several artists and creative organizations whose goal, as they state themselves, is to “get your work seen in the most powerful way possible.” This is an excellent opportunity for all artists to have a chance to show their work in a world renowned show in New York City. HERE is a detailed breakdown of exactly how the competition works. Additionally, questions may be asked from 9-5 EST by live chat at the previous link, or at any time by emailing info@artistswanted.org.

Again, the deadline is Jan 31st so time is running out! Submissions are accepted through the Artists Wanted website which can be found HERE. Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity!

In September 1978, 1708 Gallery was born and the art scene in Richmond, Virginia, would never be the same. Richmond’s artists needed a space that could act independently without concern for commercialism, censorship or the vagaries of political agendas. They wanted a space that was courageous and fearless and that would advocate for art work that, because of content, size or politics, was being excluded from Richmond’s other exhibition venues.

So a group of artists (myself included), made the commitment to create what has become one of the oldest artist-run non-profit galleries in America. One of our proudest early moments came when the state’s Attorney General shut us down for displaying a work of art he found to be obscene!

The excitement generated by this bold new venture provided the spark that led to the rebirth of Shockoe Bottom.  Similarly, our move to 319 West Broad Street helped spark a movement for the designation of this area as an Arts and Cultural District.

Location is the only thing that has changed about 1708 since that 1978 opening. We’re still a vibrant place for artists to show their works and for the public to engage with new art.  We’re still an artist-run gallery. We still educate audiences about new art by presenting work they would not see elsewhere. And we still push the parameters of what’s “expected” in the city.

Perhaps most important of all, however, we still treasure the relationship between the gallery and our supporters.  We could not have survived for 33 years without the support of so many people. And we cannot survive in the future without that continued support.

I’m asking you today to support 1708 Gallery by becoming a Member and help us continue to expand the understanding, development, and appreciation of contemporary art as well as the incubation of new art and new artists.

The many great benefits of Membership are listed on our website www.1708gallery.org. Selfishly however, I think the greatest Membership benefit of all is the opportunity to not only see some of the most exciting new art created in the country but also to establish relationships with the artists who are creating it!

I hope you’ll accept this invitation to join 1708 and I look forward to seeing you at the next opening!

Sincerely,

Joe Seipel
Dean, VCU School of the Arts