We are excited to offer a new opportunity at Main Line Art Centerfor contemporary artists that includes $1000, a solo show, and the Meyer Family Award for Contemporary Art.
Presented by Main Line Art Center in conjunction with the Betsy Meyer Memorial Exhibition, the Meyer Family Award for Contemporary Art and associated exhibition program is an effort to support the talented contemporary artists in the region, to honor deserving artists in the field, and to encourage excellence and experimentation in artistic practice, presentation, and community involvement. Adult fine artists, who are not full time students, living in the Mid-Atlantic Region are eligible to apply. All mediums are welcome. Artists selected to receive this award will be notified in December 2014 and the exhibition will take place in March/April 2015.
Approximately three artists are awarded annually. The 2014 recipients of the Meyer Family Award for Contemporary Art were Nic Coviello, Tim Portlock, and Jenny Thwing.
“Indigo Blue Design Concepts (IBDC) is a diverse, Philadelphia based, company specializing in design, brand management, business and product development, and event planning. Working with a team of leading industry innovators, IBDC works to build consumer and client awareness through creativity, logic, visual impact, and strategic positioning. IBDC is also recognized as a community advocate — partnering with several non-profit and charitable organizations.” – Indigo Blue Design Concepts
“Although, my creations are ultimately my strongest vehicle of change, I find it undoubtedly necessary to have a hand in helping to change the world by impacting young people’s lives.For the past few years I have assisted in instructing art class for the Mill Creek Community Partnership in addition to mentoring young men who have found their creative niche in the world but are still combating life growing up in the urban Philadelphia.” – Jerry Adam Puryear
THE CANVAS COOLER PROJECT: EMERGING PHILADELPHIA ARTISTS COME TOGETHER TO CREATE CUSTOM ART WORK AS PART OF THE RED BULL CURATES: THE CANVAS COOLER PROJECT
Red Bull Curates: The Canvas Cooler Project is coming to Philadelphia for the first time ever, tasking 20 talented, emerging local artists to transform a blank, canvas-wrapped Red Bull cooler into a piece of inspiration art in their own style. The 20 up-and-coming local artists are handpicked and curated by the Arts Fund and include notorious prankster street artist Kid Hazo, popular instagram sketcher Dessie Jackson, neo-pop painter Thomas Buildmore and local arts activist and portrait artist Caryn Kunkle.
The artists will work on transforming the coolers into works of art on Sunday, September 21st and Monday, September 22nd from 12pm to 4pm (open for media documentation), and reveal their finished product to the public on Thursday, September 25th at a one-night-only gallery exhibit and celebration at the Arch Enemy Arts. During the gallery event, two artists will be chosen by the public and a panel of judges to have the opportunity to sell and display their art this December during Art Basel Week at Scope Art Fair in Miami Beach in December.
WHAT: Red Bull Curates: The Canvas Cooler Project is coming to Philadelphia where it’ll task 20 talented, emerging local artists to one single challenge: to transform a blank, canvas-wrapped Red Bull cooler into a piece of inspirational art in their own style.
Handpicked and curated by Arts Funds, the 20 up-and-coming artists from the Philly area – including street artist Kid Hazo, painter/sketcher Dessie Jackson, neo-pop painter Thomas Buildmore, portrait artist Caryn Kunkle, and more – will work on customizing their coolers on Sunday, September 21 and Monday, September 22 in a two-day open studio workshop where media can attend and witness the evolving pieces of work.
On Thursday, September 25, all of the coolers will be unveiled to the public in a one-night-only gallery exhibit and celebration where guests and a panel of judges vote for their favorite pieces. Two selected artists will be given the opportunity to show and sell their art during Art Basel Week at Scope Art Fair taking place on Miami Beach in December. All the coolers will be given to select local Philadelphia bars and restaurants to display.
WHO: Twenty emerging Philadelphia-area artists from various disciplines. The full list can be seen at http://redbull.com/canvascooler
WHEN: Sunday, September 21 & Monday, September 22, 12 PM to 4 PM– Artists work on their coolers, and media are invited to interview artists and document their works in progress. Thursday, September 25, 8 PM – 11 PM – Gallery exhibit opening
WHERE:Arch Enemy Arts 109-111 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA 19106
You ART What You Eat, The Plastic Club, 247 South Camac Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19107. Juried group art show September 7th through September 25th, artists reception and awards Sunday, September 7th, 2:00 – 5:00pm. New! Open Gallery Hours Sundays 12:00 – 5:00pm.
You ART What You Eat is a group art show, each artist has one entry, with works based (loosely) on the theme of food. Of course there are still life paintings and drawings, photographs and sculpture but there are Dada-ist twists like flying toast, lacquered mushed food, and a portrait titled, ‘Food for Thought’. Tasty!
“Social practice is a theory within psychology that seeks to determine the link between practice and context within social situations. Emphasized as a commitment to change, social practice occurs in two forms: activity and inquiry. Most often applied within the context of human development, social practice involves knowledge production and the theorization and analysis of both institutional and intervention practices.” – Wikipedia
An artist friend of mine asked, “You’re really into this ice bucket challenge thing. Aren’t you?” Yeah, I am. In June I learned that a friend from college was diagnosed with ALS. Jay Smith is young, smart, creative with a successful business and a beautiful family, the news was unbelievable and incredibly sad. Have you ever wept so hard tears literally shoot out of your eyes? The feeling of helplessness, the unfairness of the diagnosis, the mystery of what had happened was shocking, stultifying and confusing. There is no known cause for ALS and no treatment. Jay needed a miracle.
Then, something miraculous happened. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge became a social media phenomenon like nothing else before. Within a few weeks people all over the world became aware of this insidious disease through social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter with silly, wacky and funny videos of people dumping a bucket of ice water over their heads, donating money and challenging their friends to do the same. The modern miracle of the internet and social media has raised awareness and money to unprecedented levels not since Lou Gehrig, the baseball heart throb, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in 1939.
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is one of the biggest Social Practice art projects the world has ever known. And like other art movements there are enthusiastic early adopters and those who doubt the authenticity of the art form. Even when some of the greatest minds on the planet opt in to dump ice water on their heads and gasp, there are some who are annoyed by the pervasiveness of the project and choose to throw a wet blanket on the idea.
Imagine if you as an artist create an art project that is so successful, so pervasive, so entertaining and popular that critics will pounce on it with lies, fear and distrust from out of nowhere? The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is like the Jeff Koons of Social Practice art, either you love him and get it or you don’t. Either you delighted in the expressions of support or you doubted. I was kind of shocked when the signs of social media fatigue started to set in, the first complaint I noticed was a popular Philly DJ who’s voice reaches far and wide on the radio and internet. I tried to explain to him that dumping ice water on your head is a metaphor for living with the disease that literally takes your breath away. He decided to double down on his gripe and said he had already donated and was tired of the videos in his facebook newsfeed, with a smily face emogi 🙂
Facebook rage and rants, charity envy, misleading info-graphics, religious interference and science deniers have emerged from the social media troll layer like crazed zombies eating brains. From Pam Anderson placing the life of the poor little mice, worms and fruit flies used in efficacy testing over the lives of suffering humans to supposedly charitable institutions like churches spreading lies about stem cell research the disinformation being spread is stunningly ignorant. I can only imagine the rage in the minds of people trapped inside a non-responsive body while adrenaline surges though their brains listening to uninformed, narcissistic boneheads blabber and mouth off. I’m talking about you Bill Maher. But many ALS patients can’t speak for themselves and their advocates and caregivers don’t have time for this shit from the haters because they are too busy caring for their loved ones.
Now is a time when art, creativity, performance, science and technology have shined a light on what is hard to look at and not shy away. The ugly/beautiful Social Practice art movement called The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is challenging the people of our world to open their eyes to a very difficult sight to see. Some are wondering what the next gimmick, meme, trick, game or challenge will be? Maybe a cure for cancer, heart disease, autoimmune diseases, autism, Alzheimer’s…? Through Social Practice art we can make real miracles happen in the real world. Suck it ALS!
