These National meetings bring people together from all around the country to talk and experience art; to share strategies for building exhibition and performance programs; to meet others in the field; to find jobs and talk about career paths; and to build community within the field and with hosting localities.

"College Art Association panels and presentations provide me as a professional artist with forums to discuss theory and practice in greater depth and breadth than most other formats," says Carla Rae Johnson, Marymount College of Fordham University, who is co-chairing a panel on "Search/Research: Artists in the Archives" at CAA 2003. "Informal gatherings of practicing artists and discipline-based organizations allow for much discussion of technique, exhibitions, and public relations for the artist. The environment of this academic conference, however, encourages confrontation, exchange, and debate with colleagues about ideas, theories, and philosophical positions that are current, cutting edge, and compelling."

Although fees and travel expenses (which are likely to be out of pocket for unaffiliated artists) may make attending conferences difficult for some individual artists, many conferences provide scholarships, fellowships, and/or discounted student rates. Conferences are also becoming showcases for contemporary art -- offering artists the chance to participate through associated exhibitions and performances and/or featuring artists as keynote speakers.

For instance, The Society for Photographic Education (SPE) Conference offers participants portfolio reviews and an open portfolio sharing; this year's National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture (NAMAC) conference in Seattle showcased youth video and film at the Northwest Film Forum; CAA 2003 will display AIM ART IN MOTION III, an international festival of digital and time-based media presented by the University of Southern California School of Fine Arts; and NAAO's last conference, the OPEN SOURCE conference in New York, featured a simultaneous slide show of online art projects and websites.

"I always come away from the CAA conferences with thought provoking possibilities, a list of books to read, and pages and pages of notes," Carla Rae Johnson told NYFA Current.

Roger Shimomura is a University Distinguished Professor at the University of Kansas where he teaches painting and performance art.

Barbed wire and stark exteriors and interiors dominate the color lithographs in his MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD 1942-44. (1999, Lawrence Lithography Workshop) During World War II and his family were interned in a camp in Minidoka, Idaho, as were others of Japanese ancestry.

His work evokes suburbia and imprisonment in a fear-tinged contemporary existence -- juxtaposing brick walls and white picket fences with grided Japanese screens; self observation in mirrors with shadowy voyeurs; Disney figures such as Donald Duck with Samurai and other characters figured in Japanese woodblock prints; American barbecues with Japanese rice cookers.

This year's program includes three days of sessions in all areas of art history, contemporary issues, and studio art -- ranging from panels in which artists, critics and scholars present current work, to forums and discussions of compelling issues: from "Art and the 'War' on Terrorism"; (Chaired by Norman Cowie, Fordham University) to "The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction". (Chair: Margaret Morgan)

Kimerly Rorschach, Smart Museum of Art will chair a session on "Cultural Policy and the Visual Arts: Historical and Political Perspectives". Joe Seipel, Virginia Commonwealth University and Clarence Morgan, University of Minnesota will chair a session on "Art Versus Art World Versus Artist" which looks at the landscape of relationships between artists galleries and curators and the divisions between art and entertainment.

Sessions which look at the climate for art making and discourse include: "To Challenge or Protect: Audience, Art, and Academic Freedom"; (Chair: Helen Klebesadel, University of Wisconsin System Women's Studies Consortium) and "Freedom of Expression: Now More than Ever?" (Chaired by Ted Berger, The New York Foundation for the Arts)

"Following the recent announcement by the Bush administration that the U.S. intends to re-join UNESCO, the International Committee has undertaken to explore ways in which the College Art Association can collaborate on projects and otherwise interact with the United Nations," says James Rubin, State University of New York, Stony Brook, who, with Carolyn Boyle Turner, Pont Aven School of Art, will chair "CAA, the U.N., and UNESCO". "The Committee expects to have speakers from both the international political and artistic worlds comprise a panel for a discussion/workshop focused on these issues."

In "Native American Artists/Scholars: Speaking for Ourselves in the 21st Century", (chaired by Phoebe Farris, Purdue University) Edgar Heap of Birds, University of Oklahoma, will present "A Conversation among Indigenous Artists across Time and Space".

In "Woman as Divine: The Great Mother, the Goddess, and the Madonna", (Chair: Kyra Belan, Broward Community College) panelist Susan G. Jackson, Marshall University, will talk about pagan prototypes for the image, titles, attributes and idea of the Virgin Mary, showing how the Cathedral of Notre Dame at Chartres incorporates ideas from the pagan and prehistoric past. "Chartres is sited over a Druid Grotto in which a statue of a woman holding a baby was venerated when the Romans arrived. That statue was actually used in the church to represent Mary and Jesus until it was destroyed during the French Revolution," she notes

In "Search/Research: Artists in the Archives", artist and independent scholar Janet Goldner -- who with Carla Rae Johnson will co-chair this panel about methods and tactics which contemporary artists use to develop content -- will talk about her Fulbright residency in Mali West Africa, where she lived in several villages, sharing and documenting work.

"My continuing research in Mali is about my participation in a community and a way of life that is very different from my life in New York," she writes. "That way of life has permeated my worldview and my sculpture. I incorporate thoughts, ideas, and values from the U. S. and Mali in my life, my artwork, and my forms. I have made a short documentary video in Mali, participated in making a public monument, helped start a fabric dyeing business, taken students to Mali, and even written articles. My involvement in Mali is ongoing and fruitful."

Co-chair Carla Rae Johnson will talk about her work "The Seance Series" which brings together artists whose unique voices and visions have had a profound effect on her creative life. In a series of imagined meetings, The Seance Series pairs women with male counterparts -- for instance, blues musician Bessie Smith with Beethoven.

"In particular, my identities as a lesbian and as a feminist are integral to the development of this series," she notes. I have chosen women of enormous strength, courage, and genius. They are also women sustained by other women. The emotional, physical, intellectual, creative, and/or spiritual significance of same-sex relationships on the lives of Emily Dickinson, Hildegard, and Bessie Smith has been carefully documented. Symbolically, the women's positions in the sculptures pose a feminist challenge to their male counterparts via games testing courage and creative wits."

"Search/Research: Artists in the Archives" also includes presentations by artists Stephen Spretnjak and Teresa Jaynes. The discussant will be architect and independent curator Gail Addiss.

Digital artist Muriel Magenta, Arizona State University, observes that "As both a presenter and a moderator of CAA panels I have found bringing the college art community together with artists outside of academia to be useful. The mix of topics and people at the various sessions put a spin on the discussions inspiring future possibilities. This is especially constructive in my ever-changing field of Art and Technology." She would like to see more sessions in this growing area.

Magenta also notes that "As a presenting artist I have found an audience for my work that extends to college classrooms when CAA members incorporate material from the conference into their programs."

The panel "Safe Haven: Performance, Video, and the Body by Female Artists Today" will be chaired by Hayley Barker, College of the Redwoods.

For this panel, in her presentation, "Guilty Pleasures", playwright and art writer Carey Lovelace will focus on how women use video and photo to avoid being categorized, comparing, for instance, younger artists such as Patti Chang and Vanessa Beecroft with earlier women artists who use their bodies as an integral component in their work.

Lovelace is currently working on a book about the women's movement in art in the 1970s -- "an historical narrative rather than art critical approach", she explains. For a related article in ART IN AMERICA, she is reviewing recent exhibitions, such as the PERSONAL AND POLITICAL: THE WOMEN'S ART MOVEMENT 1969-1975 at Guild Hall; the White Columns exhibition GLORIA: ANOTHER LOOK AT FEMINIST ART IN THE 1970s; and GODDESS at the Galerie Lelong.

"It's the premier organization-hosted convention for academics, curators, critics, art intellectuals in the country. There is no other place where so many can gather to discuss deeper issues and trends confronting visual culture," she commented about the Annual CAA Conference. "It's been useful to me personally keep abreast of the developments in the field. I write a lot about women's work, and the conference puts me in touch with people in the field, scholars, curators putting together museum shows, with information about upcoming projects."

Many sessions and workshops are geared to professional practices, career development, labor issues, and pedagogy. The Career Services center will be ongoing at the New York Hilton and Towers. The Candidate Center will be open Wednesday through Friday. Mentoring Workshops, Artists' Portfolio Reviews, and Professional Development Roundtables are also an integral part of the conference.

Presentations -- such as "The New Residency: Ideas on Artist Residencies and Programs after 9/11", chaired by Moukhtar Kocache, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council -- highlight opportunities for artists. The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's (LMCC) new artist residency programs in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn and at the World Financial Center in Lower Manhattan are giving artists space and resources to create new work which "responds to the social and political realities of a dramatically altered downtown."

Sessions -- such as "Art Paths: Alternative Careers in the Visual Arts" (Chair Ellen Staller, ArtTable) -- present employment information. "'Art Paths' is a panel drawn annually from the ArtTable membership to explore the career paths of women across the visual arts field. The topic points to the vast approaches taken to reach the positions at hand, and the diversity of the positions themselves," explains Ellen Staller of ArtTable, a national membership organization for professional women in leadership positions in the visual arts.

She notes that "'Art Paths' is historically well attended, particularly by the student population of the CAA Conference, (often graduate level Art and Art History Majors) who are weighing alternatives to careers in the academic arena. The panel is also useful and inspiring for anyone rethinking his/her position within the field, and possible applications of their skills/interests." Speakers this year are likely to include Pam Shipley, Director of Resource Development, Glass Roots; Alyson Baker, Executive Director, Socrates Sculpture Park; Lydia Yee, Curator, Bronx Museum of the Arts; Tsipi Ben-Haim, Executive Director, City Arts; (awaiting confirmation) and Grace Stanislaus, Principal, Amato-Milligan and Stanislaus Consulting.

Many sessions -- such as "Design Studies in the Academy: Designing Our Future"; (Chair: Rosanne Gibel, Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale) and "Online Education: Teaching, Learning, and Professional Concerns (Chair: Kathleen K. Desmond, Central Missouri State University) -- address art teaching.

Among the sessions which look at art forms past and present, are: "Feminist Poetics in the Age of Transnationalism"; (Chair: Mysoon Rizk, University of Toledo) "Creating and Saving Murals; (Chair: Francis V. O'Connor, independent scholar) and "Art in Media/Media in Art"; (Linda Nochlin, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, in conversation with Paul Tschinkel and Jo Ann Wein, Queens College, City University of New York)

For both artists and curators, the panel "Artists' Books - A Panel Discussion on Institutional Collecting in the New York City Region" -- chaired by Deirdre E. Lawrence, Brooklyn Museum of Art and Milan R. Hughston, Museum of Modern Art, New York -- will focus on issues related to building a collection of artists' books within museum, and public and academic library settings.

"The scope of each library collection -- Brooklyn Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art; New York Public Library; and Yale's Art of the Book Program -- will be outlined by the session speakers," explains co-chair Deirdre E. Lawrence. "The presentations will outline what types of artists' books are being collected including specific examples of multiples, limited editions and unique works. The discussion will illuminate what types of books are being created by artists both on a local and international basis and the decision making process that brings these books into public collections." Panelists also include Robert Rainwater, New York Public Library and Jae Rossman, Yale Art Library.

Critic Suzaan Boettger, who is currently teaching "Installation & Land Art" in New York University's graduate program of art and art professions, will present "Down and Dirty Material Resistence in the Late Sixties" in the session "Floored: Responses to the Site of the Floor in Contemporary Art. (Chair: Robin Hill, University of California at Davis)

Boettger, whose book EARTHWORKS ART AND THE LANDSCAPE OF THE SIXTIES is published this year by University of California Press, argues that these earthworks are "as much about the dirt of the world as nature and earth are emblematic of the tumultuous conflicts of the late sixties." The book, she notes, is "a comprehensive history of Earthworks, the earliest genre of contemporary Land Art, as viewed within the multiple contexts of art history, biography, social and political history, demographics, economics, and the onset of environmentalism."

Other participants in this session are Bill Wilson, independent curator and scholar; Lisa Wainwright, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago; and Bob Berlind, Purchase College, State University of New York.

"I've been attending CAA conferences almost every year since 1977, Suzaan Boettger told NYFA Current. "I love them; because everyone wears name badges, and everyone's credibility has been more-or-less vetted by being a member of this professional organization, there is a sense that you are welcome to approach an author you've read but not met and speak with her about the material in her book or other pertinent matters. There's an additional boon to this I did this once, went home to receive the material that she was chairing a session to which I had something absolutely relevant to contribute, and the initial contact may have helped in my being chosen to speak."

She also critiques the conferences -- noting that although they do address the specific concerns of a great span of interests, session topics "have niched themselves into marginalia" and that the number of simultaneous panels diminishes each panel's significance and impact."

She would like to see more senior scholars participating; and presenters pay more attention to the manner of presenting. Additionally, she points out that it is difficult for the session topics to be topical, as they have to be proposed about 2-1/2 years in advance of their presentation.

Sources/resources:

For more information about CAA 2003, visit the COLLEGE ART ASSOCIATION website -- http://www.collegeart.org

ROGER SHIMOMURA
_SHELDON MUSEUM -- http://sheldon.unl.edu/HTML/ARTIST/Shimomura_R/SSII.html
SHELDON MUSEUM HOME PAGE -- http://sheldon.unl.edu
_MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD 1942-44
GREG KUCERA GALLERY -- http://www.gregkucera.com/shimomurabook.htm
GREG KUCERA GALLERY HOME PAGE -- http://www.gregkucera.com

MURIEL MAGENTA - http://wwol.inre.asu.edu/muriel.html

ARTTABLE - http://www.arttable.org/

Suzaan Boettger
EARTHWORKS ART AND THE LANDSCAPE OF THE SIXTIES University of California Press, 2003 - http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/8784.html

"....We know that new working relationships are developing in the field of arts presenting and old divisions are breaking down. In the past, artists, producers, and managers were viewed as suppliers of a product. Presenting organizations were the buyers. Today, we are witnessing an important but little-heralded systemic change in the performing arts: the realization of cultural interdependence. The 2003 conference embraces this change and evolution of the performing arts in America....." - Janet Cowperthwaite, Kronos Quartet and Lawrence Simpson, Cuyahoga Community College

Invited speakers at TRANSFORMATION, the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) Annual Members conference -- January 11-14, 2003 in New York City -- are choreographer Merce Cunningham; author/director David Henry Hwang; (FLOWER DRUM SONG, M. BUTTERFLY) Chinese pipa master Wu Man; and spoken word artist, Sarah Jones.

Workshops -- for APAP members who include performing arts centers, artists, arts managers, and other performing arts professionals -- will include "Building Collaborations That Work"; "Get the Picture? Creating Images for the Performing Arts"; The Cost of Making New Work": "Three Case Studies by Premiere Women Artists"; and "The State of Touring Theater."

During the Conference Joe's Pub at The Public Theater will host Malian guitar virtuoso Habib Koite, and in conjunction with THE ALTOGETHER DIFFERENT SERIES at the Joyce Theater, conference participants will learn more about presenting dance, and discuss the works and working with the companies. A closing session will be led by playwright, author, actor, and activist, Eve Ensler

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will receive the Sidney R. Yates Advocacy Award for focusing national attention on the need for education which includes the arts, and access to the arts for underserved communities through the NEA; Luis Valdez and El Teatro Campesino will receive the William Dawson Award for Programmatic Excellence; and the Kronos Quartet will receive the Award of Merit.

Sources/resources: For more information about the conference, visit THE ASSOCIATION OF PERFORMING ARTS PRESENTERS -- http://www.artspresenters.org

JOE'S PUB AT THE PUBLIC THEATER -- http://www.joespub.com/

JOYCE THEATER -- http://www.joyce.org/

"The idea of 'American Vision' was to explore the dreams that have made the continent of America unique. What photographic ideas from the past made us stronger, what is it about photography that is important to us now in the present, and what are we looking for in the future through photography," says SPE 2003 Conference Chair Lawrence McFarland. He emphasizes that the intention is not to present one idea, viewpoint, or political stance but rather to be "inclusive of all people that live, work, and photograph on this continent that we refer to as America."

Photographer Joel Meyerowitz and Anne Tucker, a curator at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, will be the keynote speakers. Evon Streetman will be celebrated as the honored educator.

SPE also hosts a series of regional conferences throughout the year, with the SPE West Region Conference taking place this week -- November 15-17, 2002 -- in Oakland, CA at California College of Arts & Crafts.

"The work covers the spectrum from documentary to constructed to performative to community-based. We will also be offering portfolio reviews with curators, art critics, gallery owners, and visiting artists," Chair Brian C. Moss told NYFA Current.

"We have a great line-up of more than 40 noted artists and speakers from all over California, as well as a few out-of-state and internationally recognized artists and speakers," he emphasized. "They include Daniel Joseph Martinez, Hannah Collins, Michael Light, Ken Light, Nigel Poor, Richard Barnes, Susan Schwartzenberg, Abner Nolan, Harrell Fletcher, Thomas McGovern, Dennis Keeley, Marcia Lieberman, Angela Buenning, James Lerager, Joe Wolek, Robin Lasser, Stephen Callis, Dutton, Peacock & Swindells, d3ms collaborative, Ed Heckerman, Steve Lehmer, Jerry Burchfield, Jack Fulton, Michael Creedon, Sarah Vinci, Andrew Freeman, Mariella Polli, Christopher Russell, Marisa S. Olson, Katrina Traywick, Stephen Wirtz, Wei Hseuh, Kristen Wilkins, Danielle Michaelis, Elizabeth Guerrero, Victoria Heilweil, Albert J. Winn, Jessie Lovell, Naomi Spellman, Diane Schoenfeld, and Heather Johnson."

Current exhibitions include EMERGING BAY AREA PHOTOGRAPHERS 2002, a group exhibition of emerging San Francisco Bay Area Photographers at the San Francisco Art Institute; and NEWFANGLE 2002 Gen Art SF's 4th annual exhibition providing young new-media artists the opportunity to exhibit their work. (at Fort Mason)

Receptions will take place at SF Camerawork, currently exhibiting the work of Daniel Joseph Martinez, and at the U.C. Berkeley School of Journalism, where Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times photographers Vincent Laforet and Ruth Fremson will be speaking about "Seeing the World" and New York Times Chief Art Critic Michael Kimmelman will deliver a lecture on "Photography: Elevating the Ephemeral to the Enduring."

The Society for Photographic Education is a non-profit membership organization which provides a forum for the discussion of photography and related media as a means of creative expression and cultural insight. Through its interdisciplinary programs, services and publications -- promoting a broader understanding of the medium in all its forms, and fostering the development of its practice, teaching, scholarship and criticism.

Sources/resources: For more information, visit the SOCIETY FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC EDUCATION -- http://www.spenational.org

JOEL MEYEROWITZ ARCHIVE -- http://www.joelmeyerowitz.com/

SPE WEST WEBSITE -- http://www.spewest.org

Sculptor and performance artist, Joyce Scott, who lives in Baltimore, will be the keynote speaker. Using information from her ancestors, who were slaves living in the deep South, and incorporating beading and quilting skills passed from generation to generation, Scott makes large scale sculptural works, often of bead work.

"....Scott's art is about the past and the present and life's difficulties. At the same time, her work speaks of life's beauty around us. The artist tries to achieve a balance of humor and sadness, anger and joy, motion and stillness, noise and quiet, light and dark, smooth and textured. These dualities become combined in her work and create a strong and complete image...." Krista A. Thompson writes to describe the work." (Greg Kucera Gallery Web Site)

Panels also include "The Digital Millennium Copyright and Copyright Term Extension Acts"; (Moderator Barbara Rockenbach, Yale University) "The Art Museum Research Library as Part of a Consortium: Integrating Digital Resources: How Do You Manage?"; (organized by Jennifer Moldwin Gustafson, The Detroit Institute of Arts) and "How to Find Images for Architecture, Art, and Design Students". (organized by Barbara Opar, Syracuse University and Leslie Goldstein, New York Institute of Technology)

The panel "EcoArt: Breaking the 21st Century", moderated by Mo Dawley, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, will feature presentations by environmental artist, community organizer and educator Ann Rosenthal; artist and Executive Director of greenmuseum.org Sam Bower; and independent artist and activist Susan Leibovitz Steinman.

"Eco-artists are individuals who work creatively for a sustainable earth, typically collaborating across communities and disciplines, redefining not only our concept of aesthetics, but literally changing the face of the physical planet in the 21st century. This session will provide an overview of field case studies and information resource development regarding this critical new consciousness in the arts," the panel states.

Sources/resources:

For more information, visit THE ART LIBRARIES SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICA website -- http://www.arlisna.org/

Krista A. Thompson
JOYCE SCOTT
GREG KUCERA GALLERY -- http://www.gregkucera.com/scott.htm
GREG KUCERA GALLERY -- http://www.gregkucera.com

The National Association of Artists' Organizations (NAAO) will hold its National Meeting in Washington DC on Saturday, December 14 from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM. NAAO members, other artists, artists' organizations, and interested community members are welcome.

"NAAO has a long history as a convener of artists and artists' organizations nationwide. This meeting is vital for the future of NAAO: Who are we as a field? How can we lead? What are the steps to growing and revitalizing NAAO? A combination of facilitated visioning, strategic planning, and a business meeting will make up the day," they write to describe the meeting.

Sources/resources:

For more information, visit the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ARTISTS' ORGANIZATIONS (NAAO) web site -- http://www.naao.net
Artists in Oklahoma have started a grassroots campaign asking artists to donate $5.00 to NAAO. Their goal is to get 1000 artists representing all 50 states to participate. Visit the site to find out more.

"I have spent much of my time as an artist exploring the intricate world of relationships between sets of people, especially in the context of families," Strauss commented. "But, '2' can refer not only to different types of relationships between two people, but also to two objects, two ideas; the possibilities are limitless and up to the students to discover and define through their cameras. In exploring the idea of '2' through photography, I hope that the students will not only discover the art and power of photography, but will rediscover their own community while widening the scope of their world."

The community of Groton, NY, has come together to support The 2 Project: a NYFA Artist Residency. For the students' field work, The Groton Business Association, the Rotary Club, and other local merchants have invited students to photograph the daily activity at their businesses, and GHS students will visit with and photograph residents of the Groton Residential Care Facility.

Straus and GHS students will also participate in a photo shoot with photo students at Tompkins Cortland Community College. A highlight of the residency is a trip to the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, where students will experience a guided tour and a discussion of the Photography Collection and will have the opportunity to photograph the museum's permanent collection areas.

"Through Laura Straus' work in the community, NYFA hopes to build cultural bridges between the community, the colleges and the museum that will continue to grow beyond this residency," said Theodore S. Berger, Executive Director of NYFA. "It is important for artists and arts organizations to come together to support each other and exchange ideas for that is when creativity is really able to flourish and evolve."

Laura Straus turned to photography after a career in photo editing which began at Magnum Photographers. Straus' publications include: A CHILD'S WORLD; (published by Hearst Publications) WHAT FATHERS ARE, WHAT LOVE IS, WHAT MOTHERS ARE, WHAT GIRLFRIENDS DO, GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS, THE BRIDE'S BOOK OF WEDDINGS, FATHERS & DAUGHTERS, FOR DAD WITH LOVE AND CLASSIC COCKTAILS.( published by Andrews and McMeel Publishers) She was stills photographer for Michael Apted's recent documentary film, MARRIED IN AMERICA, an A & E and New Line TV production. (aired June 2002) Her photographs were published in THE NEW YORK TIMES, ELLE MAGAZINE and US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT. She recently participated in The Fields Project, where she documented a four-generation farming family who raise crops and cattle in Oregon, Illinois. Straus is working on a long-term project on the American family of the 21st century.

The theme of The 2 Project developed out of the interest in human relationships, which she has looked at in many of her books.

The 2 Project is a partnership with the Education Department of the Johnson Museum, the Visual and Performing Arts Department at Groton High School, and the Department of Photography at Tompkins Cortland Community College. Laura Straus was chosen by the Groton High School out of a pool of NYFA Fellows to participate in this artist residency.

The 2 Project: A NYFA Artist Residency is organized by NYFA Public Programs, a statewide initiative that presents and produces the work of NYFA artists and offers artist outreach services and is directed by Jeanette Vuocolo, Senior Program Officer. The residency is made possible in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State agency.

RESIDENCY PUBLIC EVENTS

The public will have an opportunity to meet Laura Straus at a free Artist Talk and book signing on Wednesday, November 13, 7:00-8:30 PM at the Groton Public Library, 112 E Cortland St, Groton. Laura Straus will discuss some of her recent projects and the process of becoming a published photographer. Her works will be on view. For local information, call the Library at 607-898-5055.

Laura Straus will participate in NYFA's Artist Community Meeting for the Southern Tier Region, on Thursday, November 14, 6:30 PM at The Community School of Music and the Arts, 330 East State Street, in Ithaca. The meeting is a forum for artists and NYFA to meet and share information. RSVP is preferred. Contact David Terry, Program Officer/Outreach, 212- 366-6900, x240; Email: dterry@nyfa.org

ABOUT THE RESIDENCY PARTNERS

Groton High School serves 375 students of the Village of Groton and surrounding rural and suburban areas of Tompkins, Cortland, and Cayuga counties. Steven Woodard is the principal. Students are offered traditional Regents-level courses and can choose majors in math, science, business, art, music, or occupational education. The high school's photography course offers a basic introduction to black and white photography with a strong emphasis on compositional elements. Joann Morrison, chair of the Visual and Performing Arts Department, is residency host.

Herbert F. Johnson Museum at Cornell University, in Ithaca, NY, contains a global collection of art, with strengths in Asian art, American art, and prints and photographs. The Museum's 30,000 object collection is housed in an I.M. Pei building built in 1973. Each year, its education and outreach programs reaches over 6,000 students and teachers across the Finger Lakes region of central New York State. The Museum is in the process of digitizing its entire collection to make it available online for study and research. Cathy Rosa Klimaszewski, Assistant Director/Ames Curator of Education, is residency host.

Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3), in Dryden, NY, is a college of the State University of New York. (SUNY) Its curriculum prepares about 3,000 full-time and part-time students from 51 New York State counties, 11 other states and over 70 countries for careers in the global marketplace. The College offers an A.S. Degree in Photography. Nicolai Klimaszewski, Chair of the Department of Photography, is residency host.

ABOUT NEW YORK FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS

New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) provides more support to artists and arts organizations in all disciplines than any other private organization in the country: nearly $11 million annually. NYFA's fellowships of $7,000 go to as many as 160 New York State artists from a field of 16 disciplines, covering the visual, performing, and literary arts. Small and mid-sized arts organizations, which artists so often depend on, are also supported by NYFA.

Since its founding in 1971, NYFA has worked in partnership with many private and public funding sources to create groundbreaking programs that serve particular needs in the arts community, taking a leadership role in field studies and advocacy, as well as funding.

NYFA's annual budget of nearly $12 million comes from individual, corporate, foundation, and public sources, as well as NYFA's fiscal sponsorship services for artists and emerging organizations.

For complete information about NYFA and its ongoing programs, activities and services, please see http://www.nyfa.org or call 212-366-6900.

For more information on the residency, visit http://www.nyfa.org/nyfaresidency

MEET THE SUCCESSFUL FILMMAKER:
Alice Elliott presents highlights from THE COLLECTOR OF BEDFORD STREET

"....A tale of personal persistence overcoming crushing odds to find love. The film humanizes the story behind the abstract statistics of mental retardation, shedding light on how a community builds tolerance and understanding. Largely because of Larry's efforts during the last 25 years, his New York City block association has made contributions to local non-profit organizations totaling over $125,000. Although he suffers from diabetes and depression, he manages to reach out to an entire community. This unique portrait is a collaboration between the film maker and the subject, who allowed her complete access to his life. Ultimately the film normalizes 'the other' by showing that his fears and loves are universal....." - Great Lakes Film Festival

As a part of November -- "Celebrating Philanthropy Month" at the Foundation Center -- a free workshop, MEET THE SUCCESSFUL FILMMAKER is being offered to working filmmakers.

Filmmaker Alice Elliott will present highlights from THE COLLECTOR OF BEDFORD STREET, her recently released documentary on the unique relationship between a developmentally disabled Greenwich Village resident and his community.

Also speaking will be Narisara Vanichanan, Regrants Manager of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, (LMCC) which was a funder of the documentary project. She talk both about the film and about LMCC's grant programs.

Brown bag lunch.

To register, for MEET THE SUCCESSFUL FILMMAKER send email to mor@fdncenter.org by November 14. You will receive confirmation and reminder email. Or, leave a message at 212-807-3651. Space is limited; advance registration required.

The Foundation Center's headquarters library is located on the east side of Fifth Avenue between 15th and 16th Streets, one block west of Union Square. The main entrance is on Fifth Avenue. Entrance for the disabled is at 8 East 16th Street.

Note that The Foundation Center also provides services for the disabled, such as sign language interpreters, but they may need to be requested several weeks in advance. (Current Apologizes that we were not able to list this program sooner.)

Resources:

THE FOUNDATION CENTER -- http://www.fdncenter.org

In November 2001, The Foundation Center held its first "Celebrating Philanthropy Month, and they are continuing that tradition in 2002, and beyond -- celebrating in November the work of the institutions and individuals that make up the unique world of philanthropy.

"National Philanthropy Day is observed during the same month as Thanksgiving, and there is much to tie these two celebrations together. On Thanksgiving, we give thanks for what we have, while National Philanthropy Day offers us an opportunity to celebrate what we give. And the amount and variety of what we give is truly astounding, particularly during difficult times," they note.

Alice Elliott
THE COLLECTOR OF BEDFORD STREET
GREAT LAKES FILM FESTIVAL -- http://www.greatlakesfilmfest.com/collector_bedford.htm
GREAT LAKES FILM FESTIVAL -- http://www.greatlakesfilmfest.com

LAUREN GREENFIELD'S GIRL CULTURE

"Girl Culture enters the extreme territory of growing up female and being female in American contemporary society. This is a realm that is so in-your-face and deep-seated, most of us cannot easily bring ourselves to confront its true nature. Yet these photographs insistently probe the obsessions and compulsions that plague a population measured daily by the standards of commercial culture. Lauren Greenfield portrays American girlhood with journalistic intensity, fashion savvy, and unsentimental empathy in a daring, overdue vision." - Trudy Wilner Stack, Curator

In 57 color Images, photographer Lauren Greenfield investigates the ways in which the female body has become a template for the conflicting body messages which girls receive from media, peers, and even parents.

"Over the last five years, I have been photographing the daily lives and rituals of girls around the country," says Greenfield. "These photographs explore girls relationships to their bodies and the ways in which the female body has become a primary expression of identity, a ground upon which emotional needs, the material world, and popular culture all compete for attention."

Girl Culture is organized and circulated by the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. Other confirmed venues to date include the Snite Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame, the Davenport Museum of Art in 2003, and the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University in 2004. Girl Culture was curated with the artist by Trudy Wilner Stack, former CCP Curator of Exhibitions & Collections, with assistance from CCP Curator of Education Cass Fey.

An associated publication GIRL CULTURE, LAUREN GREENFIELD contains color photographs and interviews with the subjects, as well as an introduction by Joan Jacobs Brumberg, (Chronicle Books, 2002, 156 pages; $40.00)

Concurrently, (also through December 8, 2002) CCP is exhibiting LEE FRIEDLANDER: THE LITTLE SCREENS. The exhibition reflects Friedlander's long-time photographic exploration of the American social landscape.

The Center for Creative Photography (CCP) at the University of Arizona is an archive, museum, and research institution, dedicated to photography as an art form and cultural record. CCP holds more archives and individual works by twentieth-century North American photographers than any other museum in the nation, and includes the archives of over sixty major photographers Ansel Adams, Richard Avedon, Lola Alvarez Bravo, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, W. Eugene Smith, and Edward Weston among them whose prints are the centerpiece of an art collection numbering more than 60,000 works by 2,000 photographers.

For more information, visit http://www.creativephotography.org

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts has announced that independent film director, writer, and artist John Waters, (PINK FLAMINGOS; FEMALE TROUBLE; POLYESTER; HAIR SPRAY) has been elected a member of its board of directors.

Waters "will bring his unique sensibility and his fearlessness in pursuit of free artistic expression to an organization that is dedicated to the support of America's artists and its culture of creativity," said Foundation president Joel Wachs. "He is a perfect choice for our board."

Established in 1987 in accordance with Andy Warhol's will, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts works to "foster innovative artistic expression and the creative process by encouraging and supporting cultural organizations that in turn, directly or indirectly, support artists and their work."

For more information, visit http://www.warholfoundation.org

Leadership for a Changing World is seeking nominations of community leaders across the country who are successfully tackling tough social problems. Twenty outstanding social justice leaders and leadership teams that are not broadly known beyond their immediate community or field will receive awards of $100,000 to advance their work, plus $30,000 for learning activities that will advance their efforts. The program also includes a major, multi-year research initiative and numerous forums to bring awardees together with other leaders to share experiences, address specific challenges, and explore opportunities for collaboration.

The program includes and arts and social justice area, as well as issue areas which include community organizing, economic development, housing, and health.

Leadership for a Changing World is a program of the Ford Foundation in partnership with the Washington-based Advocacy Institute, and the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University. Nominations will be accepted by the Advocacy Institute through January 7, 2003. Leaders must be nominated by someone who is well acquainted with their work and can attest to their qualifications.

For more information, visit http://www.leadershipforchange.org

Specific questions can be submitted via: email: info@leadershipforchange.org

tel: 202-777-7560

or by writing to Leadership for a Changing World, Advocacy Institute, 1629 K St., NW Suite 200 Washington, DC 20006-1629

Opportunities for Artists

The Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) has announced the launch of a new Artist-in-Residence program. The first resident artist is Polish video artist Pawel Kruk.

Kruk lived in Poznan, Poland before relocating to the U.S. for his residency, and has previously studied and exhibited his video pieces and installations in Poland, Italy, Japan, and the U.S.

In his work, which has included painting, drawing, and photography in addition to video, he investigates contemporary myth and hero worship, focusing on the athletes, and in particular on the persona of Michael Jordan.

During his five-week residency, he will take advantage of BAVC's postproduction suites and digital media workshops and will live in the company of a diverse group of international artists at the Headlands Center for the Arts in Marin until the completion of the residency. The residency was made possible by ArtsLink, a program of CEC International Partners which connects organizations like BAVC with International artists.

For more information about the BAVC, an independent media arts center, visit http://www.bavc.org

CEC INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS -- http://www.cecip.org
2002 ArtsLink Fellows also include Zeljko Blace; (Croatia) Galina Dimitrova; (Bulgaria) Sasa Glavan; (Slovenia) David Kareyan; (Armenia) Dalia Lauckaite-Jakimaviciene; (Lithuania) Renata Poljak (Croatia) and Biljana Tanurovska (Macedonia)
Visit http://godai.comset.net/cecip/index.php?mid=69 for a complete list and more information about the program

OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARTISTS, formerly published as a part of Arts Wire Current, are now an integral part of NYFA INTERACTIVE, the new NYFA Website.

This week, new calls on NYFA INTERACTIVE include:

VIDEO ART RESIDENCIES, The Experimental Television Center, Newark Valley, NY

ARTISTS - ALL MEDIA EXCEPT VIDEO AND FILM, Exhibition on Consumerism - Second City Council, Long Beach CA

SMARTFEST - STUDENT MEDIA ARTS FESTIVAL, Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY

ARTISTS - ALL MEDIA- CONTEMPORARY JEWISH AND COMMUNITY ISSUES Exhibitions, The University of Southern California's Hillel Gallery, University Park Campus CA

PUBLIC ARTIST TO CREATE A STREET CLOCK, King County Public Art Program of Washington State, (Burien WA)

ARTISTS - ALL MEDIA, Pratt @ Munson Williams Proctor Art Institute School of Art Gallery, Utica NY

Please visit http://www.nyfa.org/current and click on "Opportunities for Artists" for complete listings.

To submit opportunities, visit http://www.nyfa.org/current click on "Opportunities for Artists" and then on "Submit an Opportunity. Paste the information into the online form. Be sure and include "Contact Email" as well as "Contact Information". The "Contact Email field is for NYFA Current to contact you with any questions; "Contact Information" is the address where artists should send their materials or contact the lister about the opportunity.

CURRENT JOB LISTINGS MOVE TO NYFA INTERACTIVE

CURRENT JOB LISTINGS, formerly published as a part of Arts Wire Current, are now an integral part of NYFA INTERACTIVE, the new NYFA Website.

Please visit http://www.nyfa.org/current and click on "Jobs" for complete listings. NYFA Current is experimenting with ways to summarize recent postings in Current, and we plan to be able to provide these in the next issue.

To submit jobs, visit http://www.nyfa.org/current Click on jobs, and the click on "Submit a Job Listing. Paste the information into the online form. Be sure and include "Contact Email" as well as "Contact Information". The "Contact Email field is for NYFA Current to contact you with any questions; "Contact Information" is the address where applicants should send their materials

A team of writers and artists volunteered to help design the cards, along with their normal duties. They expected that about 5,000 stores would want the cards when they became available earlier this year, but orders came in from more than 18,000 stores, and some have already ordered a second batch.

"We think it's a great idea. In fact, we encouraged Hallmark to do that some years ago," said Jerry Newberry, a spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. "I know most veterans and their families will be appreciative that those cards will be available."

Sources/resources:

"Hallmark Selling Veterans Day Cards for First Time Veterans of Foreign Wars -- http://www.vfw.org/news/hallmark.htm

HALLMARK CARDS -- http://www.hallmark.com