|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Great Pause This newsletter arrives to you with a completely new set of circumstances--social conditions that are unprecedented, although not impenetrable given modern technology. Lucky for us and our members, we set up this platform specifically to connect online. We also planned our fall show to be presented digitally, including billboards, without knowing that these alternative formats would be the future of the arts in 2020. We've heard numerous reports of exhibitions being canceled and arts workers being laid-off, and realize with a lack of government support for the 57 million creative people who rely on the gig economy to survive, that artists will be taking a big hit. Hopefully, the new loophole created through The CARES Act stimulus, allowing independent contractors to apply for unemployment benefits, will provide much needed relief.
There are so many emotions that arise from the physical isolation including being separated from loved ones and the fear and worry about who will take care of us when and if we contract the virus? And for many artists there's a lack of stability with live/work spaces, rental properties that cannot be maintained financially with the lack of income. These are all situations we know some of you are experiencing.
In an effort to provide an outlet for expression, last week almost 50 members gathered on ZOOM to share some of the negative and positive outcomes they've experienced during the lock down (see below). We received great feedback and are planning to do another gathering on Thursday, April 9 at 11am MDT. We currently have 130 members and 95 subscribers. During the month of March, our new memberships unfortunately slowed down considerably. We're looking into ways we can supplement artists who do not have the resources to pay the membership fee, as well as the application fee for our CaFE Call for Artists fall show (DEADLINE: May 31). We encourage our subscribers to contact us if you would like to join and need assistance. And, ask that our members who have the means, please consider sponsoring a membership. We're building an international community and can figure this out together! In the meantime, we're applying for emergency funding for our fall show, and will continue to support our members on social media, as well as provide resources on our website. We will also give access to members to watch three recently edited video interviews with pioneering eco artists.
Be well and be safe.
Patricia Watts, founder |
|
|
|
|
eco consciousness CALL FOR ARTISTS l DEADLINE: MAY 31, 2020 Applications are open on the CaFəwebsite for international artists in all media. Approximately 100 artists will
be selected for the exhibition which will be presented online in a digital catalogue. Three finalists will also be selected to show their work on billboards
in the Midwest, September through November, during the run up to the
General Election. The exhibition juror is Eleanor Heartney, New York art critic and writer who has written on ecological artists such as Mel Chin, Agnes Denes, and Alan Sonfist. You can read a recent interview with Heartney by Barbara Rose in the Brooklyn Rail discussing her new book Doomsday Dreams: The Apocalyptic Imagination in Contemporary Art HERE.
Portrait of Eleanor Heartney, pencil on paper by Phong H. Bui. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 26, 2020 11:30am MDT
At least 46 ecoartspace members gathered together last week to share in a conversation about the effects of COVID-19 on their arts practice and the environment. This was a trial run using ZOOM, so please forgive the clunkiness. Artist members Basia Irland, Arlene Goldbard, Tim Collins, Olivia Hallstein, John Sabraw and eas curator Amy Lipton started us off with prepared talks. The recording runs for almost one hour, although we stayed on for two hours and everyone who stayed on the call had a chance to speak. We're going to become experts at online video communications very soon. Click on the Vimeo button below to go to the recording: password is EASGUEST. Members will receive an email soon for our next Zoom space event on April 9.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
articles of interest: readings
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
featured ecoartspace artist
|
|
|
Itty S. Neuhaus, multi-media artist and educator, addresses the relationship between humans and the natural world in drawing, sculpture and photographic media. She is Associate Professor of Art at the State University of New York at New Platz. Her artistic production is informed by a broad range of sources, from glacial geology, botany, and biology to concepts from film editing, philosophy, and history. More about her work HERE
NOTE: Talkback with Itty Neuhaus, a conversation with eas curator Amy Lipton at Hudson Valley MOCA is cancelled until further notice. Check back for updates on the Events page.
|
|
|
|
|
Performative Ecologies
CURRENTS 826 Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico NEW: Virtual Opening + Tour, Sunday May 10, 2020 5-6pm
Includes members: Alicia Escott, Basia Irland, Cherie Sampson, Dominique Mazeaud, Fern Shaffer, Jenny Kendler,
Shana Robbins, and Minoosh Zomorodinia.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
about ecoartspace: Conceived in 1997 by Patricia Watts, in 1999, Watts partnered with Amy Lipton to create a nonprofit platform for artists addressing environmental issues. Together they have curated over 60 art and nature exhibitions, have organized and participated on dozens of panel discussions, and have given over 50 lectures, nationally and internationally. Since 2010, Watts has created Action Guides of replicable social practice artworks and has conducted video interviews with over twenty-five pioneering ecological artists. After twenty years, Watts and Lipton have decided to transform their organization into a membership platform.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PO Box 5211, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87502
|
|
|
|
