Hi, Everybody. I thought I’d update you on how it’s going with the TV blackout here at my house.  Many of you wished me well with this experiment, so I’m happy to inform you that, in fact, it’s going pretty good.  Nights like tonight are especially wonderful. Instead of watching TV (or even being online), my entire family is home (for once) and reading. This new type of behavior happens quite often. Except for the gentle clacking of my laptop keyboard and the sound of pages turning…it is silent in my house.  No music (usually three different types coming from 3 different rooms…at the same time).  No bombs blowing up.  No yelling.  No TV noise. It’s silent. It is bliss.

After the TV blackout, I went and explored some Internet options, just in case. Hulu has good content and it’s free. ABC offers several of their series online as full episodes. Netfix is an organization that has its act together. Also, Netfix is about nine dollars per month as opposed to the ninety dollars I was paying for my TV provider.  The additional beauty of it is that it’s all on demand. It’s here when, and if, we want it.

Even with these online options…we’re reading.  Or we’re writing or we’re talking.  We don’t need TV, don’t really miss it, and I think we’re better for it.  There are a lot more options now.

Signing off,
/L.

The Amistad Center for Art & Culture Presents
High Water Marks: Art & Renewal After Katrina

Art exhibition will celebrate New Orleans cultural history and commemorate the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

A new exhibition featuring the works of contemporary artists entitled, High Water Marks: Art & Renewal After Katrina, will open May 1 at The Amistad Center for Art & Culture at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.  The exhibition will explore the legacy of Black artisans in New Orleans and the achievements of a range of artists who have documented the city’s devastation and are committed to the city’s recovery. High Water Marks is on view from May 1- September 19, 2010.

The exhibition consists of thirty –one works, photographs, mixed-media and installation pieces, many by artists who have a connection to New Orleans. It will include material from The Amistad Center’s collection such as  a 1915 post card of a Praline Seller; 19th century works such as the lithograph of John James Audubon  by New Orleans- based artist, Jules Lion’s (1810-1866); and works by 20th century artists such as Deborah Willis, Charly Palmer,  Malaika Favorite, Lewis Watts, Radcliffe Bailey, Bradley McCallum, Jacqueline Tarry, Willie Birch, Luis Cruz Azaceta, and New Orleans native and currently Hartford area-based artist, Donald Boudreaux.

From New Orleans’ earliest days, the work of Black artisans made the city a colonial prize and distinguished it from other ports.  A Sunday morning walk through the market in New Orleans in the 1800s would feature the vibrant presence of Black women vendors shouting the praises of their food. Since then,  the city’s jazz legacy, culinary achievements, architecture, art, and distinct Creole culture, have made New Orleans a continually fascinating destination for visitors and a city that continues to insist upon the relevance of arts and culture.  Five years after the horrific hurricane hit,  the arts remain an essential aspect of New Orleans and central to its post-Katrina renewal effort.

An on-line gallery guide for the exhibition will be available at  www.amsitadartandculture.org. An audio guide via cell phone will accompany the exhibition.  Major support for this exhibition is provided by the J. Walton Bissell Foundation. Additional support for this is made possible jointly through contributors to the United Arts Campaign and the United Way Community Campaign.  Educational materials and programs are sponsored by the GE Foundation. The Amistad’s Center’s general operations are supported by the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism.

Founded in 1987, The Amistad Center for At & Culture is a not-for-profit cultural arts organization housed at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum For more information about The Amistad Center visit www.amistadartandculture.org or call (860) 838-4133.

The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art is located at 600 Main ST. in Hartford, Connecticut.  The Museum is open Wednesdays to Fridays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Please visit www.wadsworthatheneum.org for more information.

We don’t know who started it. A jab here, a nudge there. But now they’ve gone too far—and there’s only one way to settle the score…

Join us for the very public, live action creative smackdown that will settle this once and for all. We won’t leave until one team is victorious (or at least better than the other one). The creative challenge? You’ll have to be there to find out. Let’s just say it involves happy hour, the finest raw materials and a really, really sort of kick-ass trophy.

This event is pay to play ($10) and free to spectate. Up to 15 players per team. Winning team takes all the loot for their organization’s scholarship fund. Game rules provided on-site before the challenge commences.

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 / 6:00 – until it’s over!

To spectate, RSVP on Facebook.
If you are a member of AIGA CT or the Ad Club of CT and want to join your team, sign up and pay at Eventbrite: http://xtown-aigact-ctadclud.eventbrite.com/

And, don’t forget to . . . BRING IT.

NOTE: This venue has changed.  We are now hosting at:
Nikita’s Bar and Bistro
484 Main Street
Middletown, CT

Visit the AIGA CT website for details

This article was created for this last weekend’s Career Strategies for Visual Artists Workshop presented by Greater Hartford Arts Council.

Every artist should have an online portfolio. Many artists however are either too busy making art or simply just don’t know how to get started. If you do have an online portfolio this article will help you make it the best it can be. If you don’t yet have one, the tips and resources here will help you as you begin to develop your artistic showcase.

I’m pleased to be taking part in this event, Taking Care of Business – Career Strategies for Visual Artists – April 10th, 2010.  Helping artists promote their work and supporting them in seeing themselves as true entrepreneurs is something I’ve been involved with many years. I’ll be providing one of the One-On-One Workshops, Online Portfolio Development on behalf of AIGA CT. (I’m told that all my appointments have been filled!!) The event is featured by the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism. Visit the website to obtain more information regarding this exciting and beneficial event. Register and join us today!!

Three-Part Statewide Professional Development
Series for Artists Continues in Hartford April 10th

Hartford, CT—The Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism (CCT) is featuring nationally recognized speakers and presenters at Taking Care of Business – Career Strategies for Visual Artists, a series of three professional development conferences.  Advance registration is required and space is limited to the first 100 artists who register.  Go to www.LetsGoArts.org/ArtistsWorkshops to register before the April 10, Saturday event.  The fee for registration is $20 for each conference in the series and includes lunch.  The Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation is the workshop series sponsor.

Registration is now open for Business Strategies, the second conference within the series, hosted by the Greater Hartford Arts Council.  The event will take place on April 10th, Saturday, from 9:30a.m. to 3:00p.m. at the Robert Kinsella Arts Magnet School in Hartford with registration/networking/coffee & snacks beginning at 8:45am.  The third conference in the series, Marketing & Promotion, will take place on May 1st at the North Haven campus of Gateway Community College, hosted by the Greater New Haven Arts Council (registration will open April 1st).

Business Strategies and the Empowerment of the Artist Entrepreneur is the keynote address for April 10th with speaker Mr. James Grace of Massachusetts.  Mr. Grace will provide conference participants with some of the essential tools that artists need to be effective and thrive in their careers as well as speak to the importance of artists viewing themselves as entrepreneurs.  Mr. Grace is co-Executive Director of the Arts & Business Council and is a past Executive Director of the Massachusetts Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.  Visual artists who have experienced challenges or who have questions regarding good financial management or legal issues such as contracts, copyright and insurance will be well-served.

Visual artists attending the Business Strategies conference will choose from two of four workshops presented throughout the day along with innovative 20 minute one-on-one consultation sessions called “The Doctor is IN.”  The full roster of workshops include:

·   Before You Sign on the Dotted Line: A Crash Course in Contract Negotiation which will be led by Mr. Grace.  This seminar will discuss the ways contracts can positively or negatively influence an artist’s professional career.

·   NYFA Artist Source: Get connected to the resources you need, will be presented by Elena Dubas of the New York Foundation for the Arts.  This practicum will teach participants how to use NYFA’s extensive national directory of awards, services, and publications for artists.

·   Gallery Relationships and Pricing Your Work will be led by well-known Connecticut curator and gallery director, Janice LaMotta.  Artists will learn the fine points of establishing and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with galleries.

·   You, Your Business & Your Money, presented by Mr. Paul Ramunni, will provide expert advice about the basics of managing money as well as important information on taxes affecting entrepreneurs.  Mr. Ramunni is a CPA and instructor in residence teaching financial literacy for the University of Connecticut regional system.

·   The Doctor is IN will offer a unique opportunity for artists to register in advance for a 20 minute one-on-one consultation with an expert in a variety of entrepreneurial topic areas for artists.  Nine doctors/topics will be available to choose from.  Check-ups for artists will include: The General Practitioner with Ray Tubbs, Evolution: Managing Changes Throughout Your Career with Dr. Richard J. Scaldini, Showing and Selling Your Art with Beth Pite, Order Out of Chaos: Organizing Your Business with Shirley M. Hall, Online Portfolio Development with Lisa Mikulski, Copywriting, Contracts and Other Things that Scare You with Todd Pickens, Initiating Partnerships: Cross-Discipline Collaboration with Jacques Lamarre and Making the Right Statement: Everything Written with Deb Wadsworth.  When artists have completed or are waiting for their 20 minute “doctor” session, they can also stop by the cafeteria for informal group lessons on business networking at Networking in a Nutshell with Chip Janiszewski.  For more information on these presenters, please visit the conference registration web site.

During the on-line registration process, artists will have an opportunity to submit digital images of their work to be featured in a “JPEG Jam” at the close of the day’s conference activities.  Attending artists will also have an opportunity to network with their peers and continue seminar discussions during a lunch provided by the conference.  For more information, visit the registration site www.LetsGoArts.org/ArtistsWorkshops or call the hosting organization, the Greater Hartford Arts Council, at (860) 525-8629 or email info@letsgoarts.org

Additional support for producing the series has been provided by the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County, Housatonic Valley Cultural Alliance; Northwest Connecticut Arts Council, Norwich Arts Council, Putnam Regional Cultural Assessment, Shoreline Arts Alliance, Arts & Culture Collaborative/Waterbury Region, and the Windham Arts Collaborative.