In Memoriam: Jeanette Ingberman

It is with tremendous sadness that we mark the passing of Jeanette Ingberman, co-founder and Executive Director of New York’s Exit Art. Jeanette’s impact on the non-profit arts field was profound and her influence widespread. Over the course of nearly thirty years at Exit Art she provided opportunities to hundreds of artists early in their careers, nurtured a new generation of curators and inspired colleagues around the country with her bold and inventive programs.  Her unyielding determination, her optimistic vision and her generous spirit will be greatly missed.

The New York Observer’s article on Jeanette’s life can be found here.

Image: Founders Papo Colo and Jeanette Ingberman at Exit Art, 578 Broadway, Manhattan, 1986 (via Exit Art)

Hand-in-Glove Conference: Register Now

Registration is now open for the October 2011 Hand-in-Glove conference, organized by threewalls. The conference focuses on arts administration as creative practice.

From the official website: “Hand-in-Glove is a four day event featuring keynote speaker Nato Thompson, panels curated with guest respondents from artist-run culture around the nation, and artist-designed events, parties, food experiences and tours around the city of Chicago. In conjunction with the conference, threewalls will award the 2011 Propellor Fund awards as well as release the third edition of PHONEBOOK.”

Image via threewalls: Works Progress, Minneapolis-St.Paul, Minnesota

A Sors: Entry 3

A special thank you to the entire cast of characters that brought A Sors, the performance/dining experience at the Masonic Lodge at the Regency Center, to brilliant life. This magical evening represents a new chapter in an ongoing exploration of history and cuisine by artists Julio Cesar Morales and Max La Rivere-Hedrick and was executed in collaboration with Rebecca Jean and Natalia Bushyager of Seasonal Elegance, and the knowledgeable Norma Listman.

Special thanks to everyone involved, including Rocket Caleshu, Arpad Dobriban, Jennifer Frederiksen, Andria Lo, Paolo Salvagione, Brian Scott, Mark Weidenbaum, Miles Ake, Carmen Benavides, Tina Dang, Alexandra Franco, Conrad Meyers II, Jennifer McCabe, Bailey Nakano, Kim Silva, Ian Treasure, Erik Wilson, Jenifer Wofford, Jonathan Wong, Kathryn Williamson, and Danielle Cronis and the Regency staff.

For more on the project as it continues to develop please visit the Engine43 blog.

Image: Photo of the goat oven, by Andria Lo.

New to the Initiative: MoCADA

This is the first in a series of posts highlighting organizations and journals that are new to the Initiative. Ballroom Marfa, Diaspora Vibe Gallery, Elsewhere, Filip, Maryland Art Place, Rhizome, Slought Foundation, Storefront for Art & Architecture, Triple Canopy, Watts House Project, and the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art were all welcomed into the Initiative in the years following the 2008 Convening in New Orleans. This year you’ll have the opportunity to hear from each of these organizations during the Pecha Kucha sessions. Please visit the Foundation’s main site for a list and links to all current Initiative organizations and the Arts Writing Initiative Page for links to the arts journals.

MoCADA
Located in Brooklyn, MoCADA is committed to fostering a greater awareness and appreciation of the arts and cultures of the African Diaspora as it relates to contemporary urban issues. The experiences and cultural contributions of people of African descent have been marginalized throughout history and MoCADA’s mission is to undertake the responsibility of rewriting that history in order to give a more accurate portrayal of the contributions of people of African descent to the artistic and global landscape.

Two programs that exemplify the activities of MoCADA are listed below:

From Africa to Brooklyn: From Great to Great
Through June 26, 2011 MoCADA presents the student exhibition From Africa to Brooklyn: From Great to Great, organized by Ruby Amanze, Director of Education. The exhibition showcases the work of students from six Brooklyn schools: P.S. 3/The Bedford Village School, M.S. 57/The Ron Brown Academy, M.S. 265/Dr. Susan S. McKinney School, Bedford Academy High School, Benjamin Banneker Academy and Brooklyn Community Arts and Media High School. This exhibition is created through MoCADA’s Artists-in-Schools (A-I-S) program where teaching artists work in K-12 schools throughout Brooklyn to initiate and blossom young student’s artistic talents. From Africa to Brooklyn culminates twenty-five weeks of hands on art explorations, field trips and presentations by visiting artists. The participating students created artwork as an interpretation of their African and Diasporan roots in connection to contemporary Brooklyn.

Soul of Brooklyn Week 2011
Soul of Brooklyn Week 2011 runs this summer from June 18 through June 25. Over 20 events in 8 days, from Fort Greene to Bed Stuy, Clinton Hill to Brownsville, Soul of Brooklyn Week 2011 highlights the arts and cultures of Brooklyn’s African Diaspora. Dance parties, fashion shows, concerts, outdoor film screenings. The Soul of Brooklyn is a quintessential resource for discovering the unique cultural and business renaissance currently taking place throughout Brooklyn’s African Diaspora. Soul of Brooklyn’s goal is to promote neighborhood businesses, cultural institutions, and special events that reflect the borough’s vibrant roots and contribute to the growth of stronger communities.

Attendees from MoCADA in San Francisco include Executive Director, Lauri Cumbo; Exhibitions Director, Kalia Brooks; and Board Chair, Kevin Johnson.

Spotlight SF: Regional Regranting Program

In 2007 Southern Exposure launched Alternative Exposure, the first iteration of a national, regional regranting program supported by the Foundation.  These grants have reached more than 70 non-incorporated organizations and artist collectives in the Bay Area. During our closing night dinner a select number of recent grantees will be on hand during to present their activities. Many thanks to the staff of Southern Exposure and the participating artists for putting this together.

Here is an advance look at some of the projects that have been designed for this event:

ALULA EDITIONS (2009 Alternative Exposure Grantee)
Alula Editions works with artists to create hand silkscreened textiles, which are then made into an edition of objects. Much like a CSA (community support agriculture), subscribers provide the funds needed to make the editions and receive artworks in return for their investment.

Alula will lead an interactive screen-printing demonstration inviting participants to print with discharge paste. This activity will be a fun and easy way to learn through hands-on participation about the process of removing color from dyed fabric to unveil a repeating pattern.

ART PRACTICAL (2009 Alternative Exposure Grantee)
Art Practical is an online magazine that enriches critical dialogue for the Bay Area visual arts by providing comprehensive analysis of events and exhibitions. Since its launch in October 2009, Art Practical has worked with a network of partners to promote the Bay Area’s role in the international art scene, to create a historical record of contemporary artistic practices, and to foster artistic production through critical writing and public programming.

Art Practical is creating a fold-out poster that functions as a field guide to San Francisco. It will include descriptions of Art Practical contributors’ favorite places in San Francisco, and a map noting their locations.

CRITTER (2009 Alternative Exposure Grantee)
CRITTER presents cultural events that focus on the way science is practiced in everyday life, taking form as talks, classes, demonstrations and workshops.

CRITTER will present an abridged version of Clone-Home, which is an informal plant cloning and cultural drop-in center. People can partake in the joys of making many plants from one with hands-on demonstrations and activities. Friends of CRITTER will guide the curious through several related projects, including phyto-photographic prints, tisane tastings, succulent quilt making, and sounds from the secret life of plants.

INVISIBLE CITY AUDIO TOURS (2010 Alternative Exposure Grantee)
Invisible City Audio Tours is a fiscally sponsored community-arts non-profit that introduces new ways of experiencing literature, art, and geography by producing alternative self-guided walking audio tours. Each tour leads participants through liminal neighborhoods and forgotten or unknown histories, creating heretofore unseen realities through original works of fiction, poetry, music, sound, and visual art.

Invisible City Audio Tours offers two listening stations for their tours Heliography and The Armada of Golden Dreams. The Heliography station includes a display of the “souvenirs” designed by twelve Bay Area artists for the tour’s landmarks. The Armada station includes two 3×3 feet paintings by artist George Pfau, a container of edible gold coins designed by Rebecca Ebeling, and free maps of the route.

INVISIBLE VENUE (2008 Alternative Exposure Grantee)
Invisible Venue collaborates with artists to present art in unexpected settings.  It is a one-person organization, founded and directed by Christian L. Frock since 2005, that supports artist’s ideas and explores alternative locations for the presentation of contemporary art, outside of conventional gallery and institutional settings.

Institutional Critique Flair Button (2011) by Charles Gute is a public art project in the form of a freely distributed button.  A deceptively simple object, the text democratizes art discourse while playfully suggesting the co-optation of critique through scripted marketing.  Originally presented as part of a series of conference badge interventions funded by an Alternative Exposure Grant at the College Art Association Conference (Chicago, 2010), this project will be distributed at Southern Exposure and on Invisible Venue’s website.

KROWSWORK (2010 Alternative Exposure Grantee)
Krowswork is a video and photography gallery in Oakland, California, founded by director Jasmine Moorhead in December 2009.

The program at Southern Exposure will include a cross-section of video work being made currently in the Bay Area by both emerging and established artists. The program can be loosely characterized as process-oriented work that avoids narrative and instead seeks transcendence through elliptical, humorous, and often dark means. The vision of Krowswork is to promote the specific power of video to get into the cracks of things, to flow between and beyond, in contrast to other mediums that rely on physical form. This program reflects Bay Area video makers who are realizing and acting on this potential.

RIBBONS (2009 Alternative Exposure Grantee)
David Wilson/Ribbons uncovers spaces of surprising inspiration and draws together a wide net of collaborators to craft spirited experiences of place, performance, and participation.

Ribbons will share a collection of maps, invitations, books, and other ephemera from past explorations and gatherings.   The production and dissemination of this printed matter has been deeply supported by the Alternative Exposure grant.  Wilson has also cooked up a small journey for the Warhol Foundation friends: look for the map and share in a group walk to a secret, wooded courtyard to hear the song of thirty voices.

ROYAL NONESUCH (2009 Alternative Exposure Grantee)
Royal NoneSuch Gallery is an artist-run alternative art and event space located in Oakland, California. It is dedicated to creating community around art-based experiences that are thought provoking and conceptually rigorous, while also being accessible and fun.

Royal NoneSuch Gallery and artist Matthew Cella will present Balloon D’Art! Originally presented as part of 21 Projects x 21 Hours x 21 Days, a community-based event series at Royal NoneSuch Gallery, Balloon D’Art is a re-envisioned version of the classic carnival game complete with a taunting dart carny, exploding black balloons, and of course, bizarre prizes. Participants will be encouraged, chided, and then rewarded after just three attempts.

SIGHT SCHOOL (2009 Alternative Exposure Grantee)
Sight School is an artist-run storefront in Oakland, California, that began in November 2009 from a desire to create dialogue around new modes of living and being in the world in order to reveal connections between art and life.

Sight School is organizing a small curated show, which will be displayed on a tabletop. The exhibition will focus on the theme of community and sight, and will feature artists who have previously exhibited at Sight School.  Sight School publications and tote bags will also be available.

Image: Work by David Wilson/Ribbons.