UPDATED: 1/5/2012

Starting this month, the Professional Development Program (PDP) at Creative Capital will begin offering an ongoing series of seven new webinars for artists working in all disciplines nationwide. The first two are:

Monday, January 16, 7:00-8:30 EST
Visual Arts Round Table: Critics, with Stephen Maine & Matthew Deleget

Monday, January 30, 7:00-8:30 EST
Real Life Budgeting, with Andrew Simonet

Creative Capital recently announce that they’ve started a new support program for individual artists. This new award, entitled the Doris Duke Performing Artist Awards, was launched in partnership with the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The Performing Artist Awards will support artists in contemporary dance, theater and jazz for professional and artistic development. They state that this new program is designed to “empower, invest in and celebrate notable performing artists, allowing for long-term exploration and research needs unmet by traditional project support.”

This is great news for individual artists! You can find out about additional funding possibilities on our 4Culture’s Opportunities pages. Check it out!

Paige Barnes from the 2011 Northwest New Works at On the Boards, photo by Tim Summers.

On the Boards brings the cream of national and international cutting edge performance to King County, sometimes delighting, sometimes infuriating, and sometimes perplexing their audiences—but even more important, at least for the local arts ecosystem, are the opportunities On the Boards provides for local artists.

First, there’s 12 Minutes Max, a  forum for short pieces.  Presented eight times a year, 12 Minutes Max showcases fledgling performers taking their first steps in front of an audience, as well as veterans testing new ideas or previewing material that’s growing into a larger performance.

Northwest New Works is a festival of slightly longer works, all no more than 20 minutes, happening over a couple of weekends in late spring or early summer.  And finally, interspersed with their Inter/National programming, is the Northwest Series, evening-length works by artists such as zoe/juniper, whose lusciously produced A Crack in Everything featured fuzzy red threads stretching into the wings from dancers’ mouths and naked performers barking and growling at each other, as well as elegant choreography exploring the threshold of perception.

Upcoming Northwest performances feature musician Erin Jorgensen and choreographer Mark Haim, both from King County. The Northwest Series is curated by OtB Artistic Director Lane Czaplinski, but auditions for 12 Minutes Max happen four to eight weeks before each performance and applications for Northwest New Works are accepted in the fall of the year before each festival, making these forums accessible to newcomers.

To learn about audition dates and more, go to www.ontheboards.org.

The Duke Foundation (with a mere $1.6-billion), announced this week that it’s committing $50 million over the next 10 years to a special Performing Artists Initiative that will provide up to $27.5 million to 100 well-established “leading artists” and up to $8 million for 100 emerging figures. The balance, about $14.5 million, will go to administer the program and to fund an initiative in which individual artists will pair with dance companies, theater companies and performing arts presenters for four months of residencies spread over two or three years.  At least 50 residency awards of $75,000 or $150,000 will be made, starting in 2013. This new resource, which the Duke Foundation states is “the largest allocation of cash grants ever given to artists in these fields,”  will be in addition to the Duke Foundation’s regular arts giving, which has totaled $13.1 million a year since 2009. This is actually down from about $18 million before the recession whittled its investment holdings.

Read more about this exciting new funding source for the performing arts.

© 2011, Curtis Taylor, White Days – 4Culture Individual Artist Project recipient

Click here to view the embedded video.

e4c, 4Culture’s storefront gallery for digital art, will show Rodrigo Valenzuela’s One Day and Bird Noise. One Day has a stuttering, stop-motion animation feel with images of two dogs playfully wrestling. The slow progression of play seems aggressive and violent.

In his video Bird Noise, clusters of birds vibrate and escalate in quantity and sound. Valenzuela writes about his work, “I use video and photography as a tool to capture and articulate images. Within this two-dimensional realm, the roles of space, characters and environment are interdependent. My pieces are brief descriptions of the moment and action from which phenomena unfolds. I am interested in this transitional zone between stillness and motion; between the purely pictorial and the cinematic. I often use digital interventions to play with the codes of representation; the narrative models are manipulated to affect the viewer’s sense of logic and reality. By modifying the pace of a video’s sequence, mood and atmosphere are also transformed.”

Seattle-based Rodrigo Valenzuela has been exhibiting his photographic and video work widely in his native Chile and throughout the Northwest. He studied photography and art history at The University of Chile in Santiago, holds a BFA in philosophy and art from The Evergreen State College in Olympia and is working towards the completion of a MFA in photo media from the University of Washington in Seattle.

Attempting to pull a rug out from under myself and Shuffling a deck of cards with one hand are two videos created by artist, Stephen Sewell, which are part of his ongoing work related to engaging in improbable actions. He writes, “Both videos are explorations of subversions and how its intentions are linked to self-destruction and failure. Through my work I explore this by attempting to undercut myself. In doing this I am simultaneously engaged in the act of wanting and not wanting to succeed. The resulting irony of the works questions the intentions and consequences of subversion.”

Seattle-based artist Stephen Sewell is an emerging artist who has presented work in Michigan, New York, and Seattle. He has a BFA in photography from Northern Michigan University in Marquette and is pursuing an MFA in interdisciplinary visual arts at the University of Washington in Seattle.

These works will join the ongoing rotation of pieces by other selected artists for e4c including: Anna Norton, Ben Houge, Brit Bunkley, Britta Johnson, Drew Christie, Eduardo Calderon, Evertt Beidler, Jonathan Monaghan, Joseph Farbrook, Julie Alpert & Andy Arkley, Miguel Jara, Piper O’Neill, Scott Shuldt, Tony Buchen & Jazzmean Goodwin and Longhouse Media.

e4c has received generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts and in-kind assistance from Mind Opera.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In early September, a peer-selection panel chose 16 artists/artist teams from a highly competitive pool of applicants. From creating a narrative using recycled film footage to a video about recycling, selected works represent a diverse sampling of electronic media. Projects will be presented as soon they have been adapted to meet technical requirements of the site, as early as November.

Selected Artists for e4c’s 2011-2012 Season:

Evertt Beidler — Portland, OR e4c will feature Moves Manager, a four minute experimental film by Beidler that features a custom walking machine, which integrates the human body. Beidler writes, “Generating objects and then using them in a fashion that is demonstrative of the ideals they embody allows me to explore the relationship between concept and function while asserting the importance of cathartic activities.”

Andrew Binkley — Mililani, HI Binkley will present a four-channel video work entitled, Crossings. He created this work by layering multiple videos of pedestrians, using an overhead perspective. Binkley shares, “The e4c venue is ideal form of display for this body of work, in that the videos echo the passersby along the street, offering a new insight into their own relationship with time and the crossing of paths around them.”

Betty Jo Costanzo — Seattle, WA e4c will show Topical Ointment, which Costanzo describes as a short, video poem. The layering of images of swimming-pool-blue water and text written on slips of paper creates a calm, contemplative video. Costanzo writes, “I work in layers. Each layer tells me where to go next. Like memory, each layer has a place, but only for an instant.”

Carol dePelecyn — Seattle, WA dePelecyn’s first video work entitled, Sort will be presented on e4c. This video was created with the intent to take the behind-the-scenes act of recycling to the public. dePelecyn writes, Sort reveals the reality of workers employed to sort our garbage already sorted before arriving at the recycling center.”  The mesmerizing flow of random materials is punctuated with hands combing through waste.

Salise Hughes — Seattle, WA Hughes will create a new short work, which utilizes the four-channel opportunity of e4c. She intends to reference the film Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, by F. W. Murnau by manipulating recycled film footage. Hughes notes, “I would like to make a video work…that says something about the cyclical nature or ‘ebb and flow’ of relationships and conflicts.”

Bradley Hyppa — San Francisco, CA e4c will present three experimental motion graphic videos by Hyppa that show dynamic prisms of color that move throughout abstracted spaces. He states he wants to “… allow the viewer to consider alternative narratives about space communicated by the impressions afforded from a distribution of sensation sequenced by the experience of color and form.

Ellen Lake — Oakland, CA e4c will show a collaborative project by Ellen Lake and Chris Green entitled, Seaworthy. This video is part of a series about urban bodies of water, later animated with people swimming, floating inner tubes and other recreational activities that may not be possible in industrial areas, much like the ports in the Oakland and Seattle areas.

Ronald Lambert — Nashville, TN Lambert has proposed a new site-specific work for e4c, similar to his past work City Order and Land Slices. He is interested in utilizing the imagery of the city and the grids of steel and concrete found in an urban area, as well has short bursts of landscape imagery. He is interested in the competing images of cities and landscapes.

Michael Lasater — South Bend, IN e4c will present Lasater’s Crossing, Berlin 1927. This single channel video presents multiple images of the same historic footage of a woman crossing the street in Berlin in 1927. Crossing, Berlin 1927 references memory and the notion of film as a cubist medium.

George Lee — Seattle, WA Lee will show his light-hearted, stop-motion animation of woodcut figurines entitled, When Wooden Sheep and Penguins Dance on e4c. These simple figures dance on a cupboard and form an animal friendship over a piece of hay.

Tess Martin — Seattle, WA 4Culture is pleased to welcome back Tess Martin to e4c. This season, we will feature Martin’s latest film, Plain Face. This stop-frame animation is created using back-lit paint and plastic cut-out materials. The story told is that of the arrival of an outsider to a fantastical land where she is met with prejudice, violence and ultimately, love.

Nichole Rathburn — Seattle, WA Alongside Rathburn’s existing work entitled, 1000 Ports, a collection of animations of slow-moving eyes, e4c will feature her new work, which will include faster-moving animations of arms and legs.  The subtle movement of body parts is both humorous and eerie.

Barbara Robertson — Seattle, WA Robertson is transforming her well-respected, 2D print artwork into digitally generated, abstract imagery for video. e4c will feature three of her short, non-narrative experimental animation works. She writes, “I am beginning to explore how to embed media art in an architectural space. I imagine that people will be attracted to it in the same way they are drawn to aquariums or planetariums.”

C. Andrew Rohrmann — Seattle, WA e4c will present Undone, Rohrmann’s experiment in ambient cinema. His macro video is paired with text, to form an abstract, yet somewhat narrative, tale of the universe. Colorful bursts of swirling liquids look like living cells, or possibly the solar system.

Stephen Sewell — Seattle, WA Sewell will show Shuffling a deck of cards with one hand and Attempting to pull a rug out from under myself, two short videos that depict the artist engaging in improbable actions. He writes, “Both videos are explorations of subversion and how its intentions are linked to self-destruction and failure.”

Rodrigo Valenzuela — Seattle, WA e4c will feature Valenzuela’s cinematic One Day and Bird Noise. Footage of dogs playing and birds in flight are abstracted by pace, desaturation, layering and perspective. Valenzuela shares, “I present narrative models that affect the viewer’s sense of logic and reality, often using animals and landscapes as allegories for human activities.”

This year’s panelists included Lisa Dixon, Program Director for the Alliance for Pioneer Square; Visual artist, Paul McKee; and filmmaker, Kaie Wise of Renton. Learn more about e4c, where to see it and how you too can apply to present video.

4Culture is pleased to host two presentations by Eleanor Whitney from Artspire, a program of the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA). Whitney will provide an overview of Artspire/NYFA’ssupport program for artists available nationally, including NYFA Source and fiscal sponsorship.

FOR ARTISTS: Monday, August 8, 2011, 6-7:30pm
FOR ARTS ADMINISTRATORS: Tuesday, August 9, 2011, Noon – 1:00pm
4Culture, 101 Prefontaine Place South, Seattle
RSVP (Free)

ARTIST FUNDING: 4Culture and Artist Trust welcome you to join fellow artists on Monday, August 8^th from 6 – 7:30pm, to learn about Artspire, a new national resource for artists seeking fundraising and professional development assistance. Learn how to find critical information about grant research, fiscal sponsorship and fundraising strategies. Emerging, mid and late-career artists working in the visual, performing, literary media and interdisciplinary arts are encouraged to attend this free, informal presentation.

ADMINISTRATORS, CURATORS, MANAGERS ORIENTATION: On Tuesday, August 9^th from Noon – 1:30 arts advocates and administrators who serve artists of all disciplines are encouraged to attend this free, brown-bag lunch presentation to learn about Artspire, a new national resource for artists seeking fundraising and professional development assistance. Bring your lunch, hang out with colleagues, and find out about NYFA’s services available to the artists you assist. Administrators, curators, managers, advocates and all who support artists are welcome.

Both presentations will be held at 4Culture, located at 101 Prefontaine Place South (at the intersection of Third Avenue South and Prefontaine Place South) in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood.

Presenter’s Bio: Eleanor Whitney is a Program Officer for External Affairs at the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) where she works to connect artists to NYFA’s extensive services and resources. She also provides technical assistance and fundraising support to artists in the NYFA’s Artspire Fiscal Sponsorship program. Prior to NYFA she worked at the Rubin Museum of Art, where she was the Coordinator of Educational Resources and produced audio tours, videos, and interactive websites. Previously, she was the Academic Programs Coordinator at the Brooklyn Museum where she planned and implemented public programs for adults, taught university students in the museum’s galleries, and oversaw a professional development internship program for university students as well as academic outreach. Whitney also plays guitar with an independent rock band and is a freelance writer.

4Culture, the largest annual funder of individual artists in Washington State, is pleased to have this opportunity to share information about NYFA’s resources to artists in our state. Please join us!

Hurry! There are only a few days left to submit proposals for the ArtSparks summer installation and performance series in Occidental Park, Pioneer Square, Seattle.  King County artists and organizations are encouraged to consider ways of integrating site specific art into this downtown public park creating in effect one of Seattle’s largest outdoor arts venues.  Deadline is May 6th. Visit www.sitespecificarts.org for more information.

4Culture’s Site Specific program in partnership with the Renton Municipal Arts Commission, Pratt Fine Arts Center and the King County Veterans Program proudly hosts Combat Paper, for their first visit to the Northwest.

Combat Paper is an arts organization that utilizes the traditional hand papermaking techniques to work with populations that have survived trauma due to conflict. Based in Vermont, they travel the United States to conduct workshops for civilians and veterans, which teach the craft of transforming cloth and military uniforms into works of art including, handmade paper, prints and books.

Combat Paper will be making two public demonstrations in Seattle and Renton in early May. They can operate their portable Hollander beater (to make pulp from fabric) with the human power on a bicycle. We need a bike (any type) that can be supported on an indoor bike stands that still allow for riding and pedaling. They will need to remove the rubber from the rear tire and run the belt to the beater from it.  If you have a bike we can borrow for the month of May, please let us know!

Click here to view the embedded video.

WLA is always in search of interesting topics that address the sometimes quirky problems that can come up in the art and performance world. Some issues that they speak on regularly are intellectual property, taxes, employment, copyright, contracts and many others.

Do you now, or have you ever, had a situation in your creative work that compelled you to seek the advice of a legal professional? Any topic is game. Tell WLA your story or concern, past, present or future, and if WLA helped you with an issue, they would love to tell your story in their newsletter (with your permission of course). Share your ideas, concerns, topics, and volunteer (or nominate someone else!) by e-mailing WLA.

Thursday, March 17, 5-7 pm
IDEA Space at the Bush Hotel, 409 Maynard Avenue S., Plaza Level, Seattle
RSVP; or
Friday, March 18, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm
Pratt Fine Arts, Paint/Draw Bldg, 1902 S. Main Street, Seattle
RSVP

When: Tuesday, March 15, 2011, 7:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.

Where: Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave, Seattle, Washington 98122

Register

Designed specifically to address the arts and entertainment issues, topics to be covered will include:
•    What deductions can be claimed
•    What tax forms to use and how to fill them out
•    How to keep business and tax records in an organized manner
•    How to minimize the chances of getting audited

This annual workshop is presented by Washington Lawyers for the Arts specifically for artists and the attorneys who represent them.

The EMDASH Award is a major opportunity for an emerging artist working outside the UK to realise a new work at Frieze Art Fair as part of the critically acclaimed Frieze Projects programme. The winner will receive a commission to make a new work to be shown at Frieze Art Fair 2011, an artist’s fee, a production budget of £10,000 and a three- month residency at Gasworks in London. Proposals for work can take the form of site-specific installations; performance; film; video or print work. The EMDASH Award is open to non-UK-based artists within five years of graduating from an undergraduate or postgraduate degree, or under 35 years of age.

2011 Kent Summer Art Exhibit
Deadline: March 7, 2011

The City of Kent seeks prints, photographs, paintings, works on paper and other types of artwork for the juried Kent Summer Art Exhibit. All accepted artwork is then eligible for City Art Purchase Awards and Kent Arts Commission Exhibit Awards. Purchase Awards: Total $5,000. Artworks will be purchased from several artists.Exhibit Awards: 3-5 solo or duo exhibitions in the Centennial Center Gallery during the 2012 season. Open to Washington State artists.

Signal Fire: 2011 Programming
Deadline: April 1, 2011

This year Signal Fire presents the 3rd annual Outpost Residency, in Mt. Hood National Forest from July 9-15, and July 17-23. Each summer we bring artists out to the forest and provide them with food, maps, a bicycle, battery power and shelter for work and sleep space. Artists are chosen by a panel of past participants. We host two, week-long residencies for eight artists. The artists stay in large 12×12 wall tents. The Outpost Residency is offered at no cost to residents.

Ibsen Awards
Deadline: April 15th, 2011

Scholarship funds amount to 1,000,000 NOK (approx. 125.000 Euro/160.000 US Dollars) will be awarded to Ibsen-related projects worldwide.We wish for as many relevant applications as possible, from projects throughout the world. The scholarships are meant to act as incentives for critical discourse in regards to existential and society-related subject matters concerning Henrik Ibsen.

Foster White Gallery: Summer Outdoor Installation
Deadline: April 24, 2011

Foster/White Gallery seeks 6 – 9 artists for three outdoor sculpture exhibitions during the months of June through September. Each exhibition is six weeks long and allows for one day installation and one day de-installation. All work must be weatherproof, free-standing, maximally 11 x 19 x 10-1/2 feet and minimally 6 x 3 x 3 feet (H x W x D).

Check out this recent, helpful article published in NWJobs that outlines how you can take advantage of this new insurance option.

You can be a group of one!

International Artists in Residency: Budapest 2011
Deadline: February 6, 2011

AIR/HMC, Budapest, International Artists in Residencies is now accepting entries for 2011. The jurors will select 4-10 artists for each session. Selected artists will exhibit their work, presentation, workshop, etc. Resartis will hold a meeting on May 23-26 in Debrecen, Hungary, hosted by the MODEM Centre for Modern and Contemporary Arts.

Artist-in-Residence:  Cornell University
Deadline: February 11, 2011

Risley Residential College for the Creative and Performing Arts at Cornell University is seeking working professionals from all creative fields for the position of Artist-in-Residence (AIR). The appointment is for 2011-2012 Academic Year (August 8, 2011 through May 31, 2012), with the possibility of renewal for the next academic year.

Artist Fellow:  Kulture Klub Collaborative
Deadline: February 20, 2011

The Kulture Klub Collaborative Artist Fellowship is an opportunity for an emerging artist who wants to develop a practice embedded within a unique community. The fellow will work with the KKC community of young people (age 16-21) experiencing homelessness. The fellow will assist with shorter term Artist-In Residence activity and develop her/his own project over the course of six months.

PUNCH Gallery: Call for Members
Deadline: February 12, 2011

PUNCH is seeking individual artists, curators or artist teams working in any medium to fill two available membership slots. PUNCH is an artist-run gallery located in the Tashiro-Kaplan building in Seattle’s Pioneer Square area. PUNCH is looking for people committed to the making and exhibition of innovative artwork and to the creative and administrative aspects of operating a member-run alternative art venue.

Artist Trust: Fellowship
Deadline: February 25, 2011

Emerging & Cross Disciplinary, Performing, Visual and Traditional & Folk Artists in Washington State are eligible to apply for the 2011 Artist Trust Fellowships. Fellowships recognize practicing professional artists of exceptional talent and demonstrated ability, acknowledging an artist’s creative excellence and accomplishment, professional achievement and continuing dedication to their artistic discipline.

Women of Color (WOC) Anthology: “Boundaries and Borders”
Deadline: March 1, 2011

The Women of Color (WOC) Writers’ Workshop and Community is currently seeking submission for their 2011 anthology titled “Boundaries and Borders.” WOC is accepting previously unpublished flash fiction, poetry, short stories, essays, nonfiction, one act plays, and original artwork. Authors may submit up to 5 submissions along with a $10 reading fee.

Naugatuck River Review: Call for Narrative Poetry
Deadline: March 1, 2011

The Naugatuck River Review publishes narrative poetry in their twice annual journal. Authors may submit up to 3 unpublished narrative poems of up to 50 lines in length through the online submission manager. There is no reading fee. Submissions must be made electronically.

Creative Capital: Film/Video and Visual Arts
Deadline: March 1, 2011

Creative Capital provides integrated financial and advisory support to artists pursuing innovative and adventurous projects. To apply for a Creative Capital grant, an artist must first submit an online Inquiry Form regarding his or her project.

Women in Film: Professional Grant
Deadline: March 1, 2011

Women in Film Seattle, announces the 2011 Professional Grant. The grant awards one deserving woman filmmaker’s project $1,000 in cash, along with in-kind donations from the Northwest film industry (valued at over $10,000 in the last cycle), promotional support through Women In Film (WIF) and a theatrical screening of the finished piece. The grant is open to current or new professional Women in Film members in the Seattle Chapter.

The Open Society: 2011 Audience Engagement Grant
Deadline: March 11, 2011

The Open Society Documentary Photography Project invites proposals for photography-based projects that use existing bodies of work to actively engage audiences on human rights and social justice issues. Projects must include a partnership between individuals and organizations that combines expertise in documentary photography with experience working on the topic or community the project addresses. 5-8 grants of $5,000 to $30,000 will be awarded.

MOHAI: History Is ____ Film Competition
Deadline: April 1, 2011

The Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) is pleased to announce History Is ____ Film Competition. Participants have the chance to win $1,000 – $2,500 in cash prizes in addition to having their winning entry screened at the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) and shown on KCTS 9.

DeVos Institute of Arts Management: Fellowship
Deadline: April 1, 2011

The DeVos Institute of Arts Management Fellowship provides mid-career arts managers with practical training and work experience. The Fellowship provides weekly seminars in strategic planning, marketing, development and financial management; three practical work rotations; and a series of professional development seminars. The nine-month, full-time program begins in September 2011. A stipend, health insurance reimbursement, and course materials are provided.

Dance & Performance Institute: 2011 Summer Institute
Deadline: April 15, 2011

The 2-week Summer Institute offers over 50 intensive master classes and workshops in contemporary dance, hip-hop, ballet, composition and repertory with an outstanding faculty of international dance artists. Institute programs will be held at the Academy for the Performing Arts, and dance and performances spaces throughout the Port of Spain.

© 2007, Trinidad, Simon & Vicki

Artists in Residence Program at I-Park
Deadline: January 11, 2011

The I-Park Foundation, Inc., a 450-acre natural woodland retreat in East Haddam, CT, announces its eleventh season hosting its multi-disciplinary residency program.  Self-directed artists’ residencies will be offered from May through November 2011, with possible off-season sessions in April and December.Residencies are offered to creative individuals working in the following disciplines: Visual Art, Music Composition/Sound Sculpture, Moving Image, Creative Writing and Landscape/Garden Design.

Aaron Copland Fund for Music: Contemporary American Music Recording Program
Deadline: January 15, 2010

The Aaron Copland Fund for Music seeks to encourage and improve public knowledge and appreciation of contemporary American music. The fund’s Recording Program provides grants to document and provide wider exposure for the music of contemporary American composers; develop audiences for contemporary American music through distribution of recorded performances in physical and online media; and support the production of new recordings of contemporary American music and the reissuance of significant recordings that are no longer available.

Seattle Erotic Art Festival: Call for Visual Art
Deadline: January 15, 2011

The Seattle Erotic Art Festival is now accepting visual art submissions for the ninth annual event, to be held May 20-22, 2011 at Fremont Studios. The Festival sells more art than any other erotic art festival,

and stands by its mission to support living artists with low submission fees and competitive commission rates. All exhibiting and invited artists are also featured in the popular Festival Store.All artists age 18+ are encouraged to submit up to five (5) works of erotic art of any medium. Sculptors, multimedia artists and painters are particularly encouraged to apply.

Eastside Association of Fine Arts: Call for Artists
Deadline: January 18, 2011

Calling all Abstract Artists interested in participating in the 2011 EAFA Abstract Open Show at the Seattle Design Center. The Show opens January 26 and will run through February 25. For purposes of this exhibit, we are defining abstract as either non-representational or artwork that is a literal abstraction; that is, the modifying or “abstracting” of an actual object in form, shape or color so that it becomes a part of the design rather than a literal depiction of the object itself.

SOIL: Proposals for 2011
Deadline: January 21, 2011

Soil, an artist cooperative gallery in Seattle is seeking exhibition proposals. Describe in a paragraph the themes and content of the show. It is imperative your description is clear and that it leaves us with a strong impression of what to expect from the exhibition you propose. Include project title, how many pieces in the show, media, and other important details on your plans for the exhibition. We are interested in compelling ideas, concisely stated.

Emerging Artist Fellowship at Socrates Sculpture Park
Deadline: January 24, 2011

Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City is calling for applications for its annual Emerging Artist Fellowship, a two- to six-month residency that provides artists with the space and resources necessary to create a work for public display in the Park’s annual Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition in September. The fellowship includes a $5,000 grant.

NEA Shakespeare in American Communities
Deadline: January 25, 2011

Designed to provide high-quality, professional theatre productions of Shakespeare plays and related educational activities to underserved high schools and middle schools throughout the country. Open to professional U.S.-based theatre companies with 501(c)(3) status and a minimum of three years’ experience working with schools or school districts to provide performances of Shakespeare or classically-based repertoire for middle and/or high school students. Standard grant award is $25,000; grants must be matched 1-1 with nonfederal funds.

IMLS: National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards
Deadline: January 31, 2011

Institute of Museum and Library Services invites nominations for the 2011 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program (NAHYP), which is the Nation’s highest honor for out-of-school, afterschool, and summer arts and humanities programs that celebrate the creativity of America’s youth, particularly those from underserved communities.

The Wassaic Project Residency Program 2011
Deadline: February 1, 2011

The Wassaic Project Residency Program has been created to cultivate and support community for emerging and professional contemporary artists. Housed in a historic re-purposed livestock auction barn, the Residency Program offers nine artists the opportunity to live and work in the heart of a rural community and offers two local artists studio space. Residency Dates: April 1st – October 31st, 2011.

French-American Fund for the Performing Arts
Deadline: February 1, 2011

Etant donnés, the French-American Fund for the Performing Arts is dedicated to encouraging French-American cooperation in theater in the United States and in France. The fund was created by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and CulturesFrance, under the auspices of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Etant donnés offers financial support in the form of grants to American nonprofit institutions producing or presenting theater projects (tours, residencies, translations) either of contemporary French playwrights or with French theater professionals. American institutions must have 501(c)(3) status.

2011 National Leadership Grant Guidelines Now Available
Deadline: February 1, 2011

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is accepting grant applications for the agency’s 2011 National Leadership Grant (NLG) program. The National Leadership Grants program provides support for innovative projects that generate transformative research, new tools, models, services, professional practice, and alliances that advance the awarded institution as well as the field.

Salon Video Prize: Call for applications
Deadline: February 5, 2011

The Salon Video Prize competition is open to Artists working in animation, documented performance, narrative, documentary or experimental film or video art. Applications are welcomed from university graduates, current students, and untrained professionals. Applications can be from anywhere in the world but work should be sent as PAL DVDs or viewable online.

Call for Proposals: Environmental Sculpture Installations in Taiwan
Deadline: February 11, 2011

Artists from all countries are invited to send a proposal for a site-specific outdoor sculpture installation that will involve working with local elementary school children to create an artwork focused on making the Cheng Long Wetlands a ‘greener’ place where biodiversity can flourish. This year the emphasis will be on sculpture installations in the waters of the wetlands that can improve the habitat for wildlife and increase biodiversity as well as provide aesthetic enjoyment and raise public awareness about the importance of wetlands.

Seattle Department of Neighborhoods: Large Projects Fund
Deadline: February 14, 2011

The Large Projects Fund provides awards up to $100,000 to support community members in building community relationships around a project. Large Projects Fund activities may be physical projects as well as less tangible but equally significant educational, cultural, and relationship-strengthening activities. All projects must demonstrate its capacity to build a stronger and healthier Seattle community.

Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs: Youth Arts
Deadline: February 15, 2011

Funds and technical assistance from this program help experienced teaching artists lead training programs and projects in all arts disciplines-from visual arts to theater to dance and film. These programs give young people a chance to shine, to express themselves and to develop positive goals for the future. Youth Arts prioritizes youth or communities with limited or no access to the arts. Funding awards range up to $10,000.

Artist Trust: Fellowship
February 25, 2011

Artists practicing in Emerging Fields & Cross Disciplinary, Performing, Visual and Traditional & Folk Arts in Washington State are eligible to apply for the Artist Trust Fellowship Program.  This program recognizes practicing professional artists of exceptional talent and demonstrated ability, acknowledging an artist’s creative excellence and accomplishment, professional achievement and continuing dedication to their artistic discipline. The award amount is $7,500.

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation/TCG: Global Communications Program for Theatre
Deadline: February 28, 2011

Designed by the Theatre Communications Group and funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Global Connections program will award travel grants and project development grants to U.S.-based theaters and individual artists. The program is designed to foster new relationships by way of cultural exchange and to further pre-existing international collaborations. Theater organizations and individual artists may apply to one of the two initiatives of this new program.

The Kresge Foundation: Arts and Culture Program’s Facility Investments and Building
Deadline: March 1, 2011

The Kresge Foundation’s Arts and Culture Program is inviting preliminary applications for its Facility Investments and Building Reserves grants. The opportunity is part of the program’s Institutional Capitalization focus area, which is designed to strengthen the long-term financial health of arts and cultural organizations.

© 2010, Socrates Sculpture Park, Long Island City

Proprietary Issues in Public Art
Wednesday, November 17, noon – 1.30pm
4Culture, 101 Prefontaine PL S, Seattle
Registration and tickets: Brown Paper Tickets
CLE Credit: 1.5 credits pending

Attorney and educator Robert Cumbow will provide valuable legal information on intellectual property issues specific to the field of public art.  He will be joined by City of Tacoma Arts Administrator Amy McBride who will offer examples of how complex issues play out in the real world.  Together, they will tackle topics including:

•    Fair use in public art of copyright, trademarks, names and faces.
•    Does the artist or commissioning agency/company own the copyright in the work?
•    What are works-for hire provisions?
•    What are proprietary differences between permanent and ephemeral public art?
•    Who can authorize and own derivative works?
•    What are the rights under the Visual Artist Rights Act and how do waivers work?

Have your own public art-and-the-law question? Send it in for the panelists to review

Getting and Keeping Health Insurance
Gibson Guitar Showroom
87 Wall Street, Seattle
Monday, November 8, 6:30pm to 8:00pm
Free

Getting and Keeping Health Insurance is offered by the Artists Health Insurance Resource Center, a program of The Actors Fund which assists visual and performing artists in understanding their options for finding affordable health insurance.  This free event will provide information about: finding affordable health insurance, fetting health care when you’re uninsured, government-subsidized program, and assistance in understanding health care reform.

Space is limited! You can register today by calling 1-800-687-4227 or e-mail your contact information.

Seattle 100: Portrait of a City – Exhibition
757 Dexter Avenue, Seattle
Friday October 22, 2010, 11am – 12 midnight
Saturday October 23, 2010, 11am – 12 midnight.
Free and open to the public

You are invited  to see an exhibition of the photographs included in in a book project entitled, Seattle 100: Portrait of a City. This book is the culmination of a two-year personal project by photographer, filmmaker, and activist Chase Jarvis. You can read more and see a video about the project by visiting our previous blog post.

This event is part of the exciting City Arts Festival taking place throughout Seattle this October 20-23rd. In addition to featuring some of our regions great cultural workers, proceeds from this project support 4Culture. Isn’t that grand?!

© 2010, Chase Jarvis, Seattle 100: Portrait of a City

Film Independent: Directors Lab
Deadline: October 4, 2010

Designed to help directors who are prepping their feature films, the Directors Lab is an intensive eight-week program running in Los Angeles in February and March. The primary focus of the Lab is on learning to work with actors and the rehearsal process. Under the guidance of the lab instructor, Directors Lab Fellows select short scenes from their scripts to workshop.

Eyebeam: Residencies Winter/Spring 2011
Deadline: October 14, 2010

Eyebeam is the leading not-for-profit art and technology center in the USA. Our unique collaborative environment fosters fellowships and residencies, research, education, public programming and a vital web space, eyebeam.org. Residents are granted a $5,000 stipend and 24/7 access to Eyebeam’s state of the art digital design and fabrication studios at our Chelsea (NYC) facility.

MAP Fund for Contemporary Performance Projects
Deadline: October 15, 2010

Submit a letter of inquiry to MAP, an organization that grants funds specifically for risk-taking performances. Up to 40 grants, from $10,000–$45,000, will be awarded. MAP supports most direct costs related to the conception, creation, and premiere of a new work. These include, but are not limited to commissioning fees and artists’ salaries, research costs, rehearsal and workshop expenses, promotion, audience outreach, and production costs up to and including the premiere run of the work.

MetLife Foundation: Museum and Community Connections Program
Deadline: October 15, 2010

The purpose of the Museum and Community Connections Program at the MetLife Foundation is to encourage art museums in select cities in the United States to reach out to people of all ages and backgrounds through imaginative programs and/or exhibits that help individuals understand and appreciate each other and our world. Collaboration and partnership with other organizations is a plus. Individual grants will not exceed $75,000 and will vary in amount depending on the nature and scope of the proposed project.

Traver Gallery: Call for Sculpture
Deadline: October 17, 2010

Traver Gallery in Seattle, Washington is now accepting applications to Dual, the private life of sculpture. Dual is a survey of artists creating sculptures that both stand alone as beautiful objects and also interact with the body in some way. This is an international call open to artists who work in any media.

PUNCH: Call for Projects
Deadline: October 22, 2010

PUNCH Gallery presents an international call for creative projects. The winning project will be exhibited at PUNCH Gallery, located in the Pioneer Square area of downtown Seattle, during the month of December, 2010, and will provide an excellent opportunity to gain exposure within the Northwest regional art scene.

French American Jazz Exchange
Deadline: October 22, 2010

Grants of up to $10,000 will be awarded to small jazz ensembles and/or individual musicians from France and the United States or their territories engaged in collaborative projects and/or exploring new music. Jazz chamber ensembles and/or individual musicians may apply to collaborate on an innovative project in one or both countries. The project must feature at least one public performance.

The APR/Honickman First Book Prize
Deadline: October 31, 2010

The prize of $3,000, with an introduction by the judge and distribution of the winning book by Copper Canyon Press through Consortium, will be awarded in 2010 with publication of the book in the same year. The author will receive a standard book publishing contract, with royalties paid in addition to the $3,000 prize. The prize is open to any writer in English who is a U.S. citizen and who has not published a book-length collection of poems with an ISBN assigned to it.

International Foundation for Jewish Studies: Fellowship
Deadline: October 31, 2010

The purpose of the Foundation’s Fellowship program is to assist well-qualified individuals in carrying out an independent scholarly, literary or art project, in a field of Jewish specialization, which makes a significant contribution to the understanding, preservation, enhancement or transmission of Jewish culture. Grants range up to $10,000 per year.

National Ideas Competition: The Washington Monument
Deadline: October 31, 2010.

The National Ideas Competition encourages Americans of all ages to develop innovative and creative ideas for making the Washington Monument grounds more welcoming, educational, and effectively used by the public. The competition is sponsored by The George Washington University and supported by the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, the Virginia Society of the AIA, and other regional professional and nonprofit groups. Awards include small stipends and the possibility of finalists’ ideas being developed into demonstration projects for public display in Washington, DC.

Getty Scholar Grants
Deadline: November 1, 2010

Getty Scholar grants provide a unique research experience. Recipients are in residence at the Getty Research Institute, where they pursue their own projects free from academic obligations, make use of Getty collections, join their colleagues in a weekly meeting devoted to an annual theme, and participate in the intellectual life of the Getty.These grants are for established scholars, artists, or writers who have attained distinction in their fields.

Jack Straw Productions: Artist Residency Programs
Deadline: November 1, 2010

Jack Straw Productions Artist Residency Programs offer established and emerging artists in diverse disciplines an opportunity to explore the creative use of sound in a professional atmosphere through residencies in our recording studios and participation in our various presentation programs including: New Media Gallery, Writers Program, and the Artist Support Program.

Museums for America: Grants Available
Deadline: November 1, 2010

Museums for America is the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ largest grant program for museums. Museums for America supports projects and ongoing activities that build museums’ capacity to serve their communities. Grants are awarded in the following categories: Engaging Communities, Building Institutional Capacity, and Collections Stewardship.

Washington Filmworks: Filmmaker’s Lens Competition
Deadline: November 1, 2010

Expose your creative vision and share how being part of the local filmmaking industry impacts you and the communities you live in. The Filmmaker’s Lens competition offers another vehicle through which your voice and work can be heard and seen and gives Washington Filmworks the tools to tell your story. We invite filmmakers (novice to expert) to create 2 minute videos showing how living and working in Washington State impacts your filmmaking process.

Jean-Claude Reynal Scholarship, France
Deadline: November 15, 2010

The Jean-Claude Reynal Foundation, under the auspices of the Foundation of France, in collaboration with the Fine Arts School of Bordeaux, offers an annual grant of 10,000 euros to enable a young artist, who works directly on paper, to travel to a country of his/her choice for a period of 6 months maximum. Candidates must be between 20 and 30 years of age and have had an artistic practice on paper for at least two years. All artists are eligible regardless of educational background or nationality.

Art Omi International Artists Residency, NY
Deadline: December 1, 2010

Art Omi International Artists Residency calls for submissions for the 2011 visual artists’ residency program Located in the hamlet of Omi, in the Hudson River Valley, New York, Art Omi invites 30 international artists and three critics in residence to be part of the Omi community, create new work and experiment with possible new collaborations. The residency dates for 2011 are: June 26 to July 18, 2011. The selected artists participate to the program completely free of charge.

© 1998  Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times. The Guerrilla Girls at UCLA, The Getty Research Institute acquired the papers of the Guerrilla Girls.

4Culture often fields questions from artists wondering if they should form an LLC or type of corporation. This workshop is a great opportunity to learn more about what options are available  and what might work best for your creative business.  Andy Shawber and Jerry Chiang will discuss the various types of legal entities and the relative merits of each. They will cover the distinction between nonprofit and for-profit entities, the steps to obtain tax-exempt status, and how the formation of a legal entity can facilitate the protection of intellectual property interests. This is a practical workshop – the presenters will walk the audience through the specific steps to forming a legal entity, with an overview of the necessary documentation and a real-time web-based demonstration.