Artful Weekend at Home May 29-31

May 29, 2020

"If I Could Tell You" by Leauge artist Andrea Cybyk and Sogetsu arrangement by Annette Ernst from the 18th Biennial Ikebana Show. View it here: https://tinyurl.com/y9zoo2xj.

Welcome to Artful Weekend At Home, our guide to fun and interesting ways to enjoy and engage in art as you shelter-in-place.

This weekend: K-Artists conversations, Katharina Grosse at BMA, books as art, and more!

Cross Cultural Conversations

IA&A at Hillyer has teamed up with the Korean Culture Center in Washington to present Virtual K-Artists Talk Series, online studio visits with Korean and Korean-American artists who give a behind-the-scenes look into their practice. RSVP for a conversation with Tai Hwa Goh tonight, Friday, May 29th at 6:00 p.m., on Facebook Live. See previous conversations here.

Katharina Grosse: Is That You?

German artist Katharina Grosse’s exuberant large-scale, in-situ paintings explore how and where a painted image can appear in our lives. For her current exhibition at the Baltimore Museum of Art, she presented five recent paintings and created a new site-related environment that transformed the museum’s central gallery by partially suspending cloth from the ceiling to create an enveloping “room” with undulating walls. Grosse then sprayed paint onto the fabric, allowing the paint colors and the shape of the fabric to combine to form a vibrant and immersive experience for visitors. View this stunning installation on the museum’s YouTube channel, and read the exhibit brochure to learn more about Grosse and her work.

A Passion for Jade

Brush holder with Gathering at the Orchid Pavilion.

Businessman and philanthropist Herber Bishop acquired his first jade piece—a Chinese brush holder embellished with landscapes—from Tiffany’s. He went on to amass one of world’s largest jade collections, from which he gifted over 1,000 pieces to the Metropolitan Museum of art. The Met’s A Passion for Jade: Herber Bishop and His Collection tells the story behind this amazing collection that ranges from Chinese lapidary works to samples from prehistoric Europe and pre-Columbian Central America.

What’s in a Book

One of the exhibit’s books by collage artist and printmaker Katana Lippart.

Greater Reston Arts Center’s online, cross-platform exhibition The Velocity of a Page takes a look at books, zines, publications, and book-ish objects by contemporary artists and publishers. What’s on view are as much experiments in art-making as they are vehicles for disseminating information.

Picasso Rocks!

This fun Hirshorn Kids (At Home) art project is a nod to Pablo Picasso’s Bust of a Woman (Dora Maar). All children need is a rock, paint, brushes, and voila! A masterpiece!

Stay safe, stay home, and enjoy your weekend.

Artist Opportunities #518

May 28, 2020

Every week, we gather a variety of artist opportunities from the DC area and beyond. Find one below and apply today — good luck! Click here for recent opportunities posts, and submit your opportunity listing here.

Even during difficult times, creativity persists. Throughout this period of social distancing, we will begin our listing with opportunities that uniquely address the coronavirus pandemic—be they calls for art that specifically speaks to it, or virtual exhibits that are cropping up as a result of it. Some have definitive deadlines and others are more flexible, so be sure to check guidelines carefully. We encourage you to share these and other opportunities with your creative circle.

Opportunities in Response to COVID-19

Let’s Face It Call For Submissions

Deadline: May 31 Artists, designers, and creatives of all types and ages have been passionately responding to the current need to cover our faces. The Museum of Craft and Design is launching Let’s Face It, an international craft and design mask-making competition and community gallery. From the practical to the avant-garde, we are curious to see what you are creating share it with the world. All ages are welcome. Click here to learn more.

Athenaeum Call For Entries for A Very Weird Time

Deadline: August 14 Artists are invited to submit works that represent the full gamut of how the global coronavirus pandemic and its associated social distancing has affected them. Fear, uncertainty, anger and doubt are certainly typical responses but we are also interested in evidence of the creative benefits of solitude and reflection and the time to process them. For more information click here.

Las Laguna Gallery

Deadline: September 31 In response to COVID-19, Las Laguna Gallery has launched its first online exhibition of art in all media, “A Light in the Darkness.” All submissions will be accepted and posted in an online gallery. Click here to learn more.

COVID-19 Artist Residency Project

Deadline: January 1, 2021 COVID-19 Artist Residency Project is an In-Place Residency that was launched in May 2020 to help creatives reframe their time during the Pandemic as an opportunity for self-exploration. The non-competitive residency is free to apply. All creative disciplines welcome. Learn more here.

Call for Submissions: Queer Art Workers Reflect on Pride Amid COVID-19

Cognizant of the need to stay connected and elevate queer voices amid a climate of uncertainty, Hyperallergic is commemorating Pride Month by featuring one queer art worker per day on our website and asking them to reflect on what this time means to them. This series is meant to build on last year’s Queer Artists in Their Own Words. We encourage queer artists, curators, arts educators, filmmakers, programmers, conservators, and administrators from across the art world to join us. Click here to learn more.

A View From the Easel Call For Submissions

Temporarily, during the current COVID-19 pandemic, Hyperallergic is asking artists to share their experiences of their studios during times of quarantine for their “View From the Easel” section. For more information click here.

Artists Against an #Infodemic Call For Artists

The visual media organizations CatchLight, Dysturb, and The Everyday Projects are seeking submissions for visual art and storytelling that addresses key public health messages in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Formats can include: photography, video, cartoons/comics, graphic design, paintings, drawings, memes, and more. We will work with the selected artists to package the material for distribution on social media and for display in public spaces as murals and/or projections. For more information click here.

The Corona Portrait Project Call For Submissions

For tens of thousands of artists around the world, in a matter of weeks the novel coronavirus has caused the loss of exhibitions, projects, side gigs, and left much uncertainty behind. As we sit isolated at home and consider our fears and hopes for the future, this project is a challenge to confront ourselves by creating a self-portrait. A new artist will be featured weekly. For more information, click here.

Downtown Baltimore Partnership Call For Artists – Baltimore

The #ArtOfBaltimore campaign was launched to help support local artists and spark positive energy as we adjust to the economic and cultural impact of the COVID-19 virus. Selected works by local artists will appear on digital signage throughout Downtown Baltimore, and artist will receive a licensing fee and additional promotion of their work on DPOB social media channels. For more information click here.

Insider Art Fair Call For Submissions

In response to our extraordinary circumstances, the Willow Street Gallery is seeking artwork from local artists to showcase on our digital platforms for an online exhibition titled “Insider Art Fair.” This exhibition allows us at the WSG to continue our mission to provide a platform for local and emerging artists, and make meaningful connections while the community remains indoors and isolated. Click here to learn more.

Social Distance Gallery For Thesis Exhibitions

Social Distance Gallery is posting BFA and MFA thesis exhibitions that are canceled or limited in access due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The digital exhibitions will be hosted on Instagram at @socialdistancegallery. Click here for submission instructions.

Amplifier’s Global Open Call For Art

In response to COVID-19, Amplifier is launching an emergency campaign with top art curators and public-health advisors from around the world. They are looking for public health and safety messages that can help flatten the curve through education, and symbols that help promote mental health, well-being, and social change work during these stressful times. Click here for more information.

Other Opportunities

Works on Paper 2020 National Juried Competition – Loveladies, NJ

Deadline: May 29 Works on Paper 2020 is the 22nd Annual National Juried Competition and Exhibition at the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences, Long Beach Island, New Jersey. Works can include but is not limited to drawing, painting on paper, hand pulled prints, photographic prints, digital works on paper, and paper constructions that can be wall hung. Learn more here.

Black Artists of DC Call For Submissions, Still We Rise – DC

Deadline: June 14 Still We Rise is inspired by Maya Angelou’s poem Still I Rise. Artists may submit up to 10 digital JPEG images at 300 DPI make size of the digital image 5” x 7”. For more information click here.

Plein Air Plus 2020 Call to Enter Exhibition at Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts – Loveladies, NJ

Deadline: June 15 The Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences is pleased to announce the fifth Plein Air Plus Competition and Exhibition on Long Beach Island, New Jersey. Our Paint Out is over a two month period, allowing artists to visit and paint the scenic, seashore environment of Long Beach Island. Finished paintings will be shown in the exhibition Island Life in September. For more information click here.

Call For Entries: The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

Deadline: June 30 The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards are looking for funny wildlife images for awards in six different categories. For more information visit here.

Create! Magazine Call For Art by Larry Ossei-Mensah

Deadline: June 30 Create! Magazine is pleased to announce an international open call for the print issue #22, juried by noted curator and art critic Larry Ossei-Mensah. Have your work seen by our 170,000+ readers and followers around the world, including leading galleries, art fairs, collectors, curators, writers, art consultants, and more. $1 from each submission fee will go to the Artist Relief Fund. Learn more here.

Exhibition Opportunity: The New Jersey Pinelands – Photography, Painting, Drawing & Prints – Loveladies, NJ

Deadline: July 1 To celebrate, capture and explore the unique beauty of the New Jersey Pinelands, a biosphere reserve, we invite artists to submit up to three high-res images of artwork that focus on the landscape of this area—vegetation, animal and bird life and habitats of its citizens. Click here for more information.

Foundry Gallery Artist’s Choice Open Juried Online Exhibit – DC

Deadline: July 8 This is a national juried competition open to all artists 18 and up. There are no size restrictions or themes. Categories to include all 2-D and 3-D work. All art will be for sale, and the gallery retains a 40% commission. For more information click here.

Washington Sculptors Group Call For Entry: Sculpture NOW 2020

Deadline: July 8 Sculpture NOW 2020 is a non-thematic exhibition of new works, finished within the last two years. Three-dimensional freestanding sculpture, wall-hung and ceiling-hung sculpture, and installations as well as multimedia and performance-based works are welcome. Basic technical support will be provided by MPA. The artist must provide any video and sound equipment. The art may be finished or in the form of a proposal. We highly recommend that artists visit the space if they wish to submit installations, site-specific work, or a proposal. Click here for more information.

Call for Entry METALWORK 2020 – North Bethesda, MD

Deadline: July 9 METALWORK 2020 is the 19th Biennial Juried Exhibition of work by Washington Guild of Goldsmiths members. This exhibition will be on display in the second-floor Guldesky Gallery Suite of the Mansion at Strathmore in North Bethesda, Maryland from September 8th to October 31st, 2020. Artworks juried into METALWORK 2020 will exhibit alongside selected invited artists exhibiting as part of this year’s Exhibition Invitational showing non-jewelry works in metal. Learn more here.

Call For Submissions: Outdoor Sculpture for Ramapo College of NJ Learning Commons – Mawwah, NJ

Deadline: August 3 Ramapo College of New Jersey is soliciting Expressions of Interest (“EOI”) from prospective artists to design, fabricate and install artwork for the Learning Commons at its Mahwah, New Jersey campus. The proposed artwork for the building is part of the New Jersey Arts Inclusion Program and is coordinated by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and Ramapo College. Learn more here.

The Grand Exhibition, An Open Art Competition: Embodying Masonic Values – Philadelphia

Deadline: August 6 All artwork entries must display a visual interpretation of some aspect of Freemasonry in Pennsylvania, whether it be philosophical, historical, scientific, social, fraternal, charitable, architectural, etc. Selected artwork will be exhibited in the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia. For more information click here.

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Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!

Teeny Tiny Trifecta 3 Open Call – Charlottesville, VA

Deadline: June 1 Second Street Gallery is currently accepting submissions for our Season 47 Juried Exhibition, Teeny Tiny Trifecta 3, to be held in the Dové Gallery from September 4 to 25, 2020. Teeny Tiny Trifecta 3 kicks off the gallery’s 47th Season and will consist of three works of art by each artist in a wide range of styles, techniques, and mediums, all measuring 9 inches or smaller. For more information, click here.

Call For Artists Harford Plein Air Painting Festival – Bel Air, MD

Deadline: June 1 The Maryland Center for the Arts, a nonprofit in Harford County, Maryland, dedicated to providing a broad range of creative and collaborative experiences on the arts, is looking for submissions for its 6th Annual Plein Air Painting Festival in September. For more information click here.

Women’s Studio Workshop Residency – Rosendale, NY

Deadline: June 1 The Studio Workspace Residency is an opportunity for artists to create new work and fully immerse themselves in WSW’s supportive environment. We invite applications from artists at any stage of their careers. This residency gives artists the gift of time, an uninterrupted period to live and work away from the stresses of daily life. Artists may choose to work in any one or more of our studios: intaglio, letterpress, papermaking, screenprinting, darkroom photography, or ceramics. For more information click here.

Call for Art at Target Gallery In My Head, In My Body – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: June 7 In this all-media group exhibition, the artwork delves into the human psyche to explore themes surrounding mental health and its relationship to your physical health. This exhibition will challenge common misconceptions about the topic as well as allow space for the selected artists to express their experiences, struggles, and triumphs through their work. For more information click here.

Glen Echo Park Partnership Gallery Request for Proposals 2021 – Glen Echo, MD

Deadline: June 12 The Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture requests proposals from individuals, groups of artists or curators to present exhibitions in the Popcorn Gallery, Stone Tower Gallery and Park View Gallery venues at Glen Echo Park for the calendar year 2021. Learn more here.

MPAartfest Call For Submissions – McLean, Virginia

Deadline: June 15 McLean Project for the Arts (MPA) currently seeks submissions for MPAartfest. Artists from throughout the mid-Atlantic region are encouraged to apply. Artists retain 100 percent of sales. Additional details can be found here.

Sculpture Center 2021 In Practice Call for Artist Proposals – New York

Deadline: June 15 The Sculpture Center invites artists to submit proposals each spring for new projects to be presented in January 2021. Artists selected for the In Practice exhibition will receive an honorarium and production support. The level of production support will depend on the scope of accepted works and available funding. Click here for more information.

Call for Proposals, Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site – Philadelphia

Deadline: June 17 We seek installations that will explore Eastern State Penitentiary’s history and evoke a broad range of emotions. We seek installations that will make connections between the complex history of this building and today’s criminal justice system and corrections policies. Click here for more information.

Hagerstown Cultural Trail Call For Artists: Photography – Hagerstown, MD

Deadline: June 26 The City of Hagerstown, in partnership with the Washington County Arts, is pleased to announce the second exhibition of Faces of Hagerstown, a signature public art feature of the Hagerstown Cultural Trail. Faces of Hagerstown is a large-scale outdoor photo mural gallery focusing on the human face and the truth of the Hagerstown experience. It will be located along the Hagerstown Cultural Trail in two prominent locations. For more information click here.

Open Call For Live Artist Talk at Latitude Gallery – Brooklyn, NY

Deadline: June 30 As the impact of the city-wide art spaces and activities shutdown continues to grow, our artists need an alternative way to shine! Latitide Gallery is thrilled to announce that we are offering our IG platform to highlight and showcase artists and designers and to engage as many within the art community as possible. Click here to learn more.

Long Island Biennial – Huntington, NY

Deadline: June 30 The Heckscher Museum of Art is now accepting entries for the 2020 Long Island Biennial, a juried exhibition featuring works by visual artists from Suffolk and Nassau Counties. The Biennial reflects the area’s thriving art scene by featuring artists that represent a considerable number of communities throughout Long Island. The exhibition offers Long Island’s emerging and established artists the opportunity to gain broader public awareness of their work. For more information click here.

Call to Artists: Paint It! Ellicott City 2020 – Ellicott City, Maryland

Deadline: July 23 Paint It! Ellicott City is an annual event that brings artists and spectators interested in the plein air tradition to Ellicott City. Both juried and open paint artists set up their easels around the historic district, enjoying a summer weekend as they capture the picturesque mill town and all its charms. The event culminates in an exhibit of juried artists’ work in our gallery, which features an opening reception and juror’s award presentation. For more information click here.

Sea of Change Mid-Atlantic 2020 Call For Submissions Extension Virginia Beach, VA

Deadline: August 3 There is beauty in all the waterways that surround us, but our climate is changing and perhaps our lives as well. The Virginia Beach Art Center invites artists from South Carolina to Pennsylvania to submit to our a showcase of all media artwork from the Mid-Atlantic that celebrates our present and warns of our future. For more information click here.

Summer 2020 Surreal Photography Competition – Brooklyn, NY

Deadline: August 15 For the strange and unusual; visual intriguing; and mentally stimulating. Mobius Photo is an online platform dedicated to the curation of emerging and established photographers through competitions. Submissions are open for 3.5 month periods. Winners are announced 2 weeks after the closing date. Selected works live on the website for the following year. Click here to apply.

Call For Proposals: F.E.A.S.T. 2020 at VisArts – Rockville, MD

Deadline: August 30 F.E.A.S.T. (Funding Emerging Art with Sustainable Tactics) 2020 encourages artists, thinkers, and organizations to expand their everyday practice and create project proposals that address the theme of A More Than Human World. Imaginative, sustainable, and provocative projects that explore and make visible a more-than-human perspective are welcome! F.E.A.S.T. 2020 advocates for proposals that join art with social, cultural, political, economic, historic, and environmental dynamics. Imaginings, actions, performances, dance, theater, writing, visual art, walks, physical and virtual, analog or digital, and beyond. For more information click here.

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Ongoing: These opportunities have rolling deadlines.

Call For Entry Hamilton Arts Collective Guest Artist Exhibition – Baltimore

The Hamilton Arts Collective (HAC) and the Hamilton Gallery seek applications from artists for month-long Guest Artist exhibitions at Hamilton Gallery located at 5502 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD. The selected guest artists will be invited to exhibit a selection of their current work in Gallery I of the Hamilton Gallery. The Guest Artist exhibition is featured in Hamilton Gallery communications and will be promoted by the HAC and Hamilton Gallery. This is an open call to artists residing within 60 miles of Baltimore City. Baltimore residents are encouraged to apply. Click here to learn more.

Howard County Arts Council Quarterly Call For Artists – Ellicott City, MD

The Howard County Arts Council gallery program was established to enhance the public’s appreciation of the visual arts, provide a venue to exhibit the work of local, regional, and national artists in a professional space, and provide leadership in the arts by presenting a broad spectrum of arts in all media from both emerging and established artists. Artists, ages 18 and older, working in all media and styles including time-based and installation artists, are encouraged to apply either individually or as a group. Proposals from curators and arts organizations are also welcome. Click here to learn more.

Exhibit at Hotel Indigo Downtown Baltimore — Baltimore, MD

The Maryland Art Place (MAP) is working with Hotel Indigo in downtown Baltimore to offer rotating exhibitions in the hotel’s library and Poets Modern Cocktails and Eats restaurant. This opportunity is open to visual artists living or working in Maryland. ’s public art partnership projects (MAP), in partnership with Hotel Indigo, is pleased to announce an open call to artists. MAP will curate four exhibitions a year based on submissions entered through a rolling basis. Click here to learn more.

Solo or Group Shows in Athenaeum Gallery – VA

The Athenaeum Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia exhibits visual arts created solely by artists living or working in the region (DC, Maryland and Virginia) and strives to present visitors with a wide variety of excellent art and unique experiences. In addition to the shows curated by the Gallery Director, the Athenaeum Gallery invites artists and curators to submit show proposals. For more information, visit https://artist.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=6876.

The Creativity Grant Program State of Maryland (MD)

Deadline: Rolling. The purpose of the Creativity Grant Program is to strengthen the vitality and sustainability of artists and small organizations to maintain a strong and stable arts infrastructure in the State of Maryland. The Creativity Grant also provides opportunities to serve the growing needs of relevant arts projects and collaborations within Maryland communities. For more information regarding eligibility and funding timelines, please review the Creativity Grants Guidelines. For more information about the program, and to apply visit the Creativity Grant Program State of Maryland website.

Artist/Writers: Cover Art for Academic Medicine

Deadline: Rolling. Submit original works of art inspired by, but not necessarily representative of, an academic medicine experience from any perspective: caregiver, researcher, teacher, learner, or patient (for example, learning how to be a physician or scientist, caring for patients, exploring research questions, making a new discovery, being a research participant, teaching, or being cared for in a teaching hospital). The journal welcomes photography, sculpture, painting, textile work, and other visual media. Images may be cropped or resized to fit into the allotted cover space. Artists must also submit a related Cover Art essay as a narrative companion to the artwork, to explain the connection between the work and the “academic medicine experience.” The related narrative should be 250 to 600 words and is subject to editing. To apply for this opportunity, and to learn more, visit the Academic Medicine website.

The Awesome Foundation Accepting Applications for Art Projects

Deadline: Open. The Awesome Foundation for the Arts and Sciences is a worldwide network of people devoted to forwarding the interest of “awesomeness in the universe.” Established in 2009, the foundation distributes $1,000 grants on a monthly basis to projects and their creators. The money is pooled from ten or more self-organizing “micro-trustees.” The chapters are autonomous and organized by the trustees around geographic areas or topics of interest. Apply on the Awesome Foundation website.

Call for Artists: Maryland Art Place Seeks Proposals for Rotating Exhibition Partnership with Baltimore’s Hotel Indigo (MD)

Deadline: rolling. Maryland Art Place (MAP), in partnership with Hotel Indigo is pleased to announce an open ‘Call to Artists’. As an extension of MAP’s annual IMPACT public art partnership projects, MAP is working with Hotel Indigo to offer rotating exhibitions in Hotel indigo’s library and Poets Modern Cocktails and Eats. This opportunity is available to visual artists living or working in Maryland. Maryland Art Place will curate four exhibitions a year based on submissions entered through a rolling basis. Guidelines and information here.

Peripheral ARTeries – Biennial Contemporary Art Publication

Deadline: Rolling. Peripheral ARTeries is looking for artists to be featured in the new special Biennial Edition of their art publication, that comes to its 10th edition. This opportunity is great for both established and early career artists who need a boost to their artist portfolio. The 10th edition will once again explore and show current trends and tendencies in Contemporary Art: Peripheral ARTeries cultivates a spirit of openness through a unique collaborative and participatory approach.Each artist may submit a maximum of three works or projects made in any technique: painting, drawing, video art, experimental cinema, fine art photography, experimental media, mixed media, installations, public art, performance. The call is open to all proposed kind of art and media capable of challenging the viewers’ traditional perspective on art itself. To submit, visit the Peripheral ARTeries website.

Exhibit at Hotel Indigo (VA)

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 (VA)

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, clickhere.

Public Arts Grants & Opportunities (VA)

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.

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 (DC)

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 (DC)

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].

Artful Weekend at Home May 24-25

May 24, 2020

Welcome to Artful Weekend At Home, our guide to fun and interesting ways to enjoy and engage in art as you shelter-in-place.

This weekend: A lively artist talk, calming animated videos, figurative artists to know, and more!

Kent Monkman in Conversation

Cree artist Kent Monkman is known for his provocative interventions into Western European and American art history. Through a variety of media, including painting, video, performance, and more, Monkman addresses the complexities of Indigenous experiences throughout history to today. See him discuss colonization, sexuality, warfare, and resilience—key themes throughout his art practice—with Hirshhorn chief curator Stéphane Aquin in this artist talk.

Therapeutic Screen Time

Art advisor Lauren Powell thinks that staring into your computer screen during these unprecedented strange days can be comforting, provided you tune into her E-Motionø Support Group. It is a virtual animation exhibit that she has curated featuring thirty-eight artists’ videos that Powell calls “movement as medicine on our digital screens.” Receive a daily dose through July 1 before the entire collection goes live.

Emily Roz: Tight Fit

This solo exhibit of oil paintings by Emily Roz merges the figurative with the abstract. Using herself as a model, she employs op-art techniques—merged patterns, overlapping planes, and receding grounds—to create optical illusions that distort space and bodily relationships. See it online through July 5 at Front Room Gallery.

Present Painters

“Everything is Connected” by Grant Gilsdorf

If you want to know which painters are impacting the art world these days, Buzzfeed’s “100 Figurative Oil Painters Working Right Now (2020)” is worth checking out. Compiled by curators Didi Menendez and Walt Morton, it lists (in no particular order) those who have gained international acclaim or are masterful in a particular niche or style.

A Medal Commemorating Memorial Day

Artist Mico Kaufman, who designed inaugural medals for US presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush, has been lauded “for his great ability to humanize the official and to universalize the personal.” For Memorial Day the National Gallery of Art presents his Soldier Carrying a Wounded Comrade, a bronze medal that was commissioned for collectors in 1973. While its depiction is specific to the Viet Nam War, the sentiment of sacrifice and service to others is particularly poignant now.

Stay safe, stay home, and enjoy your weekend.

Juror Q & A With Allison Nance

May 23, 2020

Allison Nance, our May Open Exhibit juror, was an aspiring artist until an internship at a nonprofit art space drew her towards art administration. “I loved it and it was something that just stayed with me,” she recalls. That experience eventually led to a stint as the director of the Target Gallery at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, Virginia, followed by her current position as director of IA&A at Hillyer, the exhibition space and local arm of International Arts & Artists in Washington, D.C.

As an international organization that promotes cross-cultural art exchanges and programs, says Nance, “We do a lot of work with local and international artists, and we also work with embassies and cultural organizations on programming and connections for D.C. artists abroad.” She describes Hillyer as a type of launching pad for artists of all ages, disciplines, and stages in their careers who have not had much exposure. “A lot of artists will have their first significant solo exhibition with us, then go on to do other exhibitions and programs at other [galleries] in the city.”

In addition to her day job at Hillyer, Nance also serves on the advisory board for the Washington Sculptors Group, and on the executive committee for the Washington, DC Chapter of ArtTable, the country’s leading organization dedicated to advancing the leadership of women in the visual arts.

“I like lifting artists and helping them with their careers,” Nance says, but like a lot of arts administrators, she has had to adjust to the new realities caused by the current coronavirus pandemic. “We had to make some difficult layoff decisions pretty early on, so certainly the first several weeks of the quarantine were really difficult with less staff, working from home, and trying to rethink how we’re going to do everything.” Some of Hillyer’s upcoming exhibits will now show online while others have been pushed to 2021.

Recently, Hillyer launched Cross-Connect as a way to engage their community during this period of social distancing. It pairs artists, curators, and creatives from the D.C. Metro area with their creative counterparts abroad to interview each other and share their stories. “Artists, curators, or anyone in the creative community locally or internationally can sign up for this,” Nance says, and the conversations can be viewed online.

While making her selections for the May Open exhibit, several works, she says, seemed to speak to our current predicament whether they were depictions of open spaces that many now long for or titles that reference a state of separation or being alone. “It was interesting to see how many artists were creating work about their state of mind—or the things on their mind—right now. I’m interested to see the artwork that comes out of this big change that’s happened to all of us now and years from now.” Here, Nance discusses her award-winning picks:

Best-in-Show Award winner Embrace by Sweta Shah

“This is simple, but it spoke to me. It could just be my state of mind these days, but this idea of just being allowed to touch someone else and how important it is. I love the simplicity of the linework and the use of color. I like the brush texture, and that some parts have a matte medium and other parts appear glossy.”

Honorable Mentions:

Bronzed by Deron DeCesare

“What I like about this is even though it is a figurative study, there are layers and the complexity to it. It’s beautifully rendered but has a bit of chaos to it as well. There are elements of it that are left loose, like where the arm and side drops off.”

BNSF St. Louis by Ray Goodrow

“My parents are from an old steel mill area outside Pittsburgh and this reminds me of some of the scenes that I’ve observed while driving through some of those different towns. For some reason, it feels a little sad. It could just be like the use of the color of the linework. I like the loose gestures that were used, and the layering, like the repetitiveness of some of the imagery, which was nice.”

Neighbors Around Town by Marcia Klioze

“I loved the brushwork in this, and I also liked this idea of neighbors around town, especially these days where we are walking around a lot. This looks like a familiar scene where you’re taking a lot of walks and a lot of neighbors are sitting outside on their front porches. I liked how some of the images were concentrated, but then some of it is looser. I could still see some of the pencil work underneath, which was nice.”

Contemplating COVID-19 by Guido Zanni

“This has a psychological feel to it—abstract with lots of things going on, lots of different feelings of mixed emotions. It is a different color palette than a lot of the other pieces that were submitted.”

Island Medley I by Beverly Valdez

“The colors are so vibrant and this has such an uplifting, buoyant feel that I responded to it immediately. When you look closer you can see the collage and the different use of images and material that were used. I like all the different layering to it.”

NYC Highline by Milton Shinberg

“This feels like New York City. I love the color palette and perspective. It almost feels like an architectural drawing. It is such a quintessential city view, especially when we’re all stuck at home.”

Late Afternoon by Eva Lanyi

“This is a very beautiful composition. I love this mirroring in the water. It’s not black and white, but it is reminiscent of an Ansel Adams landscape or beautiful mountain photo.”

Point of View by Terry Rowe

“This reminds me of where I went to school in Greenville, North Carolina. There was a terrible flood that left all these abandoned houses that looked just like this inside for years after. There is a bit of sadness to [this photo], but also beautiful light comes through and and there is lovely detail. The grey tone is so soft and subtle.”

One Day of Snow by Jane Ponder

“This is moody. I love this idea of it being dark. I believe this is on a black paper, and then she works the colors and the highlights into it. The blue is so rich in some places, so icy-feeling. Yeah. It felt like I could be transported there. It is a bit other-worldly.”