Rose O’Donnell posing with an installation from the 2018 Biennial Ikebana Show
It’s hard to believe that Rose O’Donnell was ever a newcomer to The Art League because, for many, she is synonymous with the organization. When Rose arrived in spring 2006, fresh to the east coast and to The Art League gallery, she didn’t know how deeply the organization and the role of Gallery Director would impact her. After 10 years as Gallery Director and Supporter Relations and Development Associate for over two years, Rose has been back as Gallery Director since April 1. Now that she’s on the precipice of moving on to the next chapter in her life, we wanted to sit down with Rose and asked her to talk about her career at The Art League, how the gallery has changed over the years, and what she’ll remember and miss most.
What are the biggest ways in which the gallery has changed over the last 12 years?
The way we communicate is by far the biggest change The Art League has seen over the last 12 years. And, it’s completely transformed how we engage with our community.
Our monthly Tidings newsletter, which used to be sent in the (snail) mail, was our only consistent communication with our artist members. Now we communicate with them (and everyone connected to The Art League) digitally – through email, social media, our blog, and more. During our 60th Anniversary year in 2014, Diane Blackwell’s piece Happy in the “POP Exhibit” garnered so much attention online – it was crazy! That made me realize the power and reach the Internet has and what an important communication tool it can be.
How have the artists and the artwork exhibited changed?
If you walked into the gallery today after being away for awhile, you wouldn’t notice a huge change as far as the type of work hanging on the walls. Although the gallery space has changed cosmetically, what has really evolved is the exhibiting artist membership.
We have a more diverse group of exhibiting artist members than we did 10 years ago, which I think can be accredited to our digital presence and the many ways in which someone can be a member. Moving toward digital-only submissions really allows us to diversify even more, because it broadens our juror pool and makes it easier for more artists to submit their work.
Artists often ask what type of work sells best. I’ve learned that there is no magic formula for what people will buy. There wasn’t 12 years ago and there isn’t now. People buy what they love, and artists should paint, draw, sculpt, photograph, and print what they love.
What was your favorite exhibit?
The “POP Exhibit” during our 60th Anniversary year definitely remains a favorite. It was fun, the work was inventive, the publicity we received was amazing, and we had a great juror – Robin Nicholson from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) in Richmond.
“HerStory” and “The Feminist Movement in Art” were other favorites. We did a retablo exhibit in 2011 to coincide with Day of The Dead called “Altars, Icons, and Reliquaries.” It didn’t quite take off the way I imagined but I think the subject still has a lot of potential.
Diane Blackwell’s Happy garnered international media coverage
What has been your most meaningful accomplishment?
In addition to watching artists grow in their work, I feel that playing a role in getting the IMPart participants to show their work in the gallery was very important. To see Jon Meadows’ amazing artwork and get an honest and powerful view of what he experienced in Iraq and Afghanistan… that’s what The Art League is all about and shows that art can change lives.
What will you miss most?
Absolutely the people. I’ve been so inspired by the people I’ve met. Many people don’t realize how diverse the gallery membership is – we have a former US Senator as an exhibiting artist member! It’s been wonderful to watch so many talented, determined, and driven artists grow and succeed. I will miss everyone.
At a gallery reception with members
What are you most looking forward to?
I’m looking forward to focusing on my own artwork (!) and spending time with family.
What are your hopes for the gallery in the future?
I hope the gallery continues to be a space where all artists feel welcome and can learn and grow in their creative lives
The 37th Annual Smithsonian Craft Show 2019 — National Building Museum
Deadlines: May 23 – September 7. Late Deadlines: September 8 – September 21.
The Smithsonian Craft Show is a prestigious juried exhibition and sale of contemporary American craft in art and design held annually in Washington, DC. Three jurors who are experts in the field and newly selected each year choose 120 artists from a large pool of applicants. There is no quota for any category of Craft Art. Artists are selected on the basis of the originality, artistic conception, and quality of their work. The show is produced by the Smithsonian Women’s Committee. Proceeds from the Show fund grants that benefit the Smithsonian’s education, outreach, research, and conservation programs.
However, accepted artists are encouraged to donate an item for the Show’s online auction, raffle, or other fundraising initiatives, the proceeds of which benefit the Smithsonian. ACCEPTABLE MEDIA CATEGORIES: Basketry, ceramics, decorative fiber, furniture, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, paper, wearable art, and wood. Learn more about this opportunity here.
MFA Circle Gallery “American Landscapes” – Maryland
Deadline June 14. Introducing American Landscapes: Scenes from the Americas. MFA (Maryland Federation of Art) invites all artists residing in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, and Mexico to enter its 18th annual American Landscapes competition. Following entry guidelines, any original 2-D or 3-D work depicting a landscape from one of the Americas* will be considered (*North America, Hawaii, Central America, Caribbean & South America). The selected works will be on exhibit at MFA’s Circle Gallery from August 23 through September 22, 2018. Exhibition Chair: Mike McSorley (and The Art League’s June Solo Artist). To apply, click here.
MFA Circle Gallery “Beacon Celebration of the Arts” – Maryland
Deadline: June 29. The Beacon Newspapers is pleased to present the “Celebration of the Arts” – a year-long program, in partnership with the Maryland Federation of Art – designed to entice individuals 50 and over throughout the MD/DC/VA region to try a new artistic endeavor, and then to enter their best work in a regional competition in one or more of these four categories:
Painting and drawing: Any one-dimensional work on any flat surface in pen and ink, charcoal, pastel, watercolor, acrylic, oil paint or other paint or dye
3D/mixed media artwork: any handmade, two- or three-dimensional sculpture, pottery, frieze, woven or fabric art, found object art, mosaic, jewelry, glass art or painting containing multi-dimensional objects
Photography: any images taken with film or digitally, whether manipulated by computer program or not
Poetry: a poem of no more than two pages in length in any style
Deadline: July 24. Stormy weather—from onset to aftermath and all in between—is the theme of MFA’s (Maryland Federation of Art) 3rd annual exhibition. MFA invites all 2-and 3-D artists to submit any original 2-D artwork depicting the sounds, colors, impact, anticipation, and more, of stormy weather. The selected artworks may be viewed on MFA’s online Curve Gallery from August 15 through September 30, 2018.
Show Chairs: Richard Niewerth and Wil Scott.
Apply to New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) Fiscal Sponsorship
Deadline(s): June 30, September 30, December 31, and March 31. Application for NYFA Fiscal Sponsorship is free and open to all artists with a U.S. Tax Identification Number, regardless of location. Artists who live in the U.S. but work overseas are welcome to apply. NYFA also accepts out-of-cycle reviews; please email [email protected] for details. To learn more about the scholarship, click here.
MFA Circle Gallery “50 Forever” – Maryland
Exhibit dates: July 25 – August 16. Please enter your artwork for each exhibition online here. In celebration of our 50th year at Circle Gallery, MFA is hosting two Fifty Forever Exhibitions! Fifty Forever @ Circle Gallery – MFA current Members – Entry fees are $10 for one entry for this all-hang, all-media exhibition. Artworks must be no larger than 20″ x 20″ x 20″, including frame. MFA former members may rejoin and exhibit for $80 during the entry process ($70 for a one-year membership and $10 for the entry fee). Entry fees are non-refundable. Fifty Forever Online Exhibition – Entry fees are $5 for one entry. Open to all current and former MFA Members. Artworks must be no larger than 72″x 72″x 72″, including frame. If your work is larger, please contact MFA. There will be a closing reception for all artists at Circle Gallery on August 16 during Annapolis Artwalk.
Internships: The Art League’s Summer Art Camp
The Art League School’s Summer Art Camp is currently searching for interns for Summer 2018. Assistance is needed with class set ups, class coordination, in class-instructor assistance, and helping to evaluate the effectiveness of classes offered. Interns are trained and directly supervised by the camp coordinator. Interns will also have the opportunity to create and teach their own lessons towards the end of the summer. More information here.
Exhibit: Tabletop wares @ The Art League
Deadline: June 15. Tabletop: Exploring Food and Function will showcase the artistry of various functional wares associated with the table. Mediums that will be accepted include ceramic, metal, fiber, wood, and glass. All works must be functional. Open to all artists; Art League members receive discounted entry.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
Mural Request for Proposals
Deadline: May 31. Akre Capital Management, located in the historic building formerly known as Mosby’s Tavern in Middleburg, has released a RFP to have an exterior mural painted on the side of their office building. They are seeking proposals from those who have the ability to design, manage and implement the project to completion.
Apparel and jewelry
Deadline: June 1. STYLE ‘18 will take place over two days at the Museum of Craft and Design in San Francisco. Jurors will hand select 36 national and international designers to participate in the 2018 event.
Exhibit: We Are Takoma
Deadline: June 4. The City of Takoma We Are Takoma cultural series is seeking proposals from artists who wish to participate in group exhibitions in 2019 in the galleries of the Takoma Park Community Center. Artists do not need to be Takoma Park residents. Individual artists working in any visual art medium are encouraged to apply, as well as independent curators or artist collectives with proposals for their own cohesive group exhibitions. Artists aren’t paid but are welcome to sell their work with no commission. Apply online.
The 2018 Photo Review 34th Annual International Photography Competition – NY
Deadline: May 31. The Photo Review seeks entries for a juried photography exhibition, November 9 – December 9 at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA and on the The Photo Review website. Awards include exhibitions, purchase prize, gear. Juror: Sarah Meister, Curator of Photography, Museum of Modern Art, New York. All photographic processes are eligible. $35 for 3 images, $8 each additional. More info, visit: The Photo Review contest site. Contact: [email protected] or call 215-891-0214. Visit the Photo Review website to learn more.
Gloucester Arts Festival : Stewart Gallery
You’re invited to the Symphony Nocturne Paint Out (Saturday, June 2, 7:00-9:30 pm) and the Small Painting Sunday Paint Out (Sunday, June 3, 8:00–11:00 am) hosted by Stewart Gallery in conjunction with the Gloucester Arts Festival. Finished paintings will be included in the En Plein Air Show at Stewart Gallery, June 1 – 30. For more information about events and application specifics to each, please visit The Stewart Gallery website.
Washington Printmakers Gallery: National Small Works Competition & Exhibition
Deadline: June 7. National call for exhibit at Washington Printmakers Gallery (DC). Open to artists 18 years and older. Submit hand-pulled prints, screen prints, digital prints, photographs, and three-dimensional work with print components completed within the past two years. Image may be no larger than 100 square inches, with framed size of 256 square inches or less. 3D works are limited to 250 cubic inches. Juror: Susan Goldman. Grand Prize: 2019 Solo Exhibition. Other prizes include art materials, gift certificates, and a $250 screenprint prize. For more information, visit the Washington Printmakers Gallery website.
Kaplan Gallery – NextGen 5.0 Open Call
Deadline: June 8, 11:59 pm. NextGen 5.0 is calling all DMV aspiring artists. VisArts welcomes artists ages 17 – 27 in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area to submit their application for NextGen 5.0, our fifth exhibition in our Kaplan Gallery from July 11 – August 19. NextGen 5.0 is an opportunity for aspiring artists with little to no experience exhibiting their work in a professional gallery. VisArts is a non-profit organization whose mission is to transform individuals and communities through the visual arts. VisArts provides children, teens and adults with opportunities to express their creativity and enhance their awareness of the arts. Applicants should have little or no experience exhibiting in a professional gallery. Previous NextGen participants are ineligible. Previous NextGen applicants who were not selected may re-apply for this year’s exhibition. Online applications are due by June 8, 11:59 pm at visartscenter.org/call-for-entries.
Bill of Rights Project
Deadline: June 8. Open to all medium and persuasions. The Bill of Rights was created in response to the Constitution, “to prevent misconstruction and abuse of it’s powers.” According to the ACLU’s webpage, “The Constitution was remarkable, but deeply flawed. For one thing, it did not include a specific declaration—or bill—of individual rights. It specified what the government could do but did not say what it could not do. For another, it did not apply to everyone. The ‘consent of the governed’ meant propertied white men only.” In images and/or words, please react to OUR Bill of Rights. You can respond to a particular amendment or to the bill as a whole, or you can pose a question. Here are a few sites to get you started. The first exhibition of the completed piece will be in Bellows Falls VT, June 15 as part of The Arts of Resistance. Jeanette Staley is a VT artist working in collage and mixed media. Email: [email protected]. Mail pieces to Jeanette Staley, 201 Church Ave., Bellows Falls, VT 05101
Alexandria Commission for the Arts Call to Artists – Voting Sticker Design
Deadline: June 8 at 5:00 pm. The City of Alexandria Commission for the Arts invites artists and artist teams that live and/or work and/or attend school within the City of Alexandria, Virginia to submit their qualifications for the City’s first Voting Sticker Design. One artist will be selected to design the City’s official 2018 “I Voted” and “Future Voter” stickers. Artists are encouraged to use a variety of media, such as photography, painting, collage, digital imagery, etc. to develop their designs. To develop the designs, artists are encouraged to consider the spirit of Alexandria, the importance of democracy, as well as ensure non-partisanship. The City will be responsible for the printing of the stickers and distribution of the stickers for the November 2018 elections in the City of Alexandria. For more information and how to apply, click here.
Exhibit: Juxtaposed
Deadline: June 10. Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA) invites artists working in all visual media to submit to Juxtaposed, a group exhibition focusing on the contradictory or conflicting. Whether it be through the use of mixed media or the themes represented, the work itself should be at odds with two or more juxtaposing concepts.
Call for 2019 Site-Specific Artist Installations at Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site – PA
Deadline: June 13. Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site is currently accepting proposals for its 2019 season of site-specific artist installations. We’re again offering two funding levels: $7,500 per standard project, and $15,000 per Criminal Justice Today project.
Allied Artists of America 105th Annual Exhibition
Deadline: June 15. At the Salmagundi Club in New York, NY. Open to all artists 18 years and older. Original artwork in oil, watercolor, pastel, acrylic, graphic, mixed media, and sculpture accepted. Over $25,000 in cash awards. Exhibit on view August 30-September 16, 2018. More information here.
Art Enables: 12th Annual Outsider Art Inside the Beltway Exhibition
Deadline: July 22. OAIB is an annual exhibition that showcases self-taught artists from across the nation together in Art Enables’ two gallery spaces in September and October 2018. Work should be made by an artist(s) who identifies as a self-taught, folk, or outsider artist. For more information and to submit, visit the OAIB website.
The Torpedo Factory – Art of Armistice
Deadline: July 22, 11:59 pm. Exhibition Dates: October 27 – December 2. Reception Date: Friday, November 16, 7:00–9:00 pm. Gallery Talk at 8:00 pm. Juror: Spencer Dormitzer, DC-based artist and curator. The Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA) invites artists working in all visual media to submit artwork to the Art of Armistice, a group exhibition that explores the after effects of war. The exhibition will focus on the physical, mental, and cultural effects of war on the world through the perspective of both civilians and veterans alike. This exhibition will be paired with different public programs in honor of the 100th year anniversary of the ground breaking of the former munitions plant that the Torpedo Factory Art Center now calls home. For more information and to submit, visit torpedofactory.org/artopps.
Exhibit: Athenaeum Invitational
Deadline: July 13. Artists who live or work in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia may enter the 2018 Athenaeum Invitational (Alexandria, VA). The theme is “Cabinet of Curiosities.”
New prize for women painters
Deadline: September 28. The recently announced Bennett Prize will spotlight women artists who paint in the figurative realist style, and who have not yet reached full professional recognition – both new artists and those who have painted for many years.
2019 Post Graduation Residency Program
Deadline: October 7. Jurors: Nicole Dowd, program director of Halcyon Arts Lab and Leslie Holt, DC-based artist and co-director of Red Dirt Studios. The Torpedo Factory Post-Grad Residency is a competitive juried program that provides meaningful support and three-month term solo studio space. This residency is open to recently-graduated students who earned a bachelor’s or master’s art degree from an accredited university. The program is unique for addressing the critical post-graduation juncture in an emerging artist’s career, offering an opportunity for professional development, and a chance to define their independent work process outside of the academic context. Submissions are open for both art school students in the region and nationwide, provided nationwide artists submit proof of their permanent residence in the area and/or commitment of contributing to the ongoing future of the DC/Maryland/Virginia arts scene. Please read and review Guidelines before applying.
Exhibit at Hotel Indigo
Artists works will displayed in the hotel’s gallery (220 S Union St, Old Town Alexandria) for a six-month period. Two-dimensional, framed works only. Artists will install the work using the hotel’s mounting hardware. Labels will be provided by the hotel. All sales handled by artist, no commission. Preference for local or locally influenced selections but not required. The space measures approximately 7’10” by 8’3.″ If interested, contact Kate Ellis, General Manager, [email protected].
The New Project Studio- Ongoing Opportunity
Ongoing. Located in Studio 8, the New Project Studio is a community-focused arts incubator space that offers a short-term location to test new program ideas, spotlight underrepresented voices, and enhance community engagement. Projects rotate on a regular basis. For more information, click here.
Public Arts Grants & Opportunities
Ongoing. The City of Alexandria’s Office of the Arts provides grants for nonprofit arts organizations as well as individual artists. See all current opportunities and online applications here.
NYC volunteer opportunity
Introduce NYC school children to the world of art by giving tours at The MET Museum. Volunteer in this year-round program. Visit us at awnyc.org, contact us at http://awnyc.org/contact-us/ or find us on Facebook at artworksnyc.
Artists 50 and over
The Beacon is holding a regional competition for people over 50 who have picked up a new artistic endeavor: painting/drawing, 3D art, photography, or poetry. The competition opened in April 2018. For details, download the PDF flyer.
Superfine art fair
Deadline: rolling admission through September 2018. Applications are now open for Superfine!’s first fair in DC, coming this Halloween to Union Market. Galleries, artist collectives, and solo artists can apply for space.
Residency: Maryland
Deadline: ongoing. Montgomery College, Rockville and Germantown Art Department is seeking proposals for its Artist-in-Residence Program, encouraging proposals that cultivate collaborative work between artists and students.
Looking for artists: Foundry Gallery
Deadline: ongoing. Foundry Gallery is seeking a few artists in the greater Washington, DC area. If interested in applying for membership please send up to five images (jpg attachments) and an email letter to: [email protected]. The oldest cooperative in Washington, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows at its beautiful space north of Shaw near the 9:30 Club.
Looking for artists: Printmakers
Deadline: ongoing. Washington Printmakers Gallery is seeking artist members specializing in printmaking, photography and book arts. An active cooperative for over 30 years, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows in its lovely space in upper Georgetown. Distant and shared memberships are available. If interested in applying for membership please email [email protected].
Looking for artists: Multiple Exposures Gallery
Multiple Exposures Gallery, (MEG), a cooperative fine art photography gallery located in the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, VA is issuing an open call to all local photographers interested in gallery membership. For more information, please contact Membership Chair, Colleen Henderson: [email protected]
