THE SOUTH AFRICAN

May’s Black and White Supplement ART TIMES

Page 2 South African Art Times. May

Enjoy the masterpiece before it’s begunour quality range of art materials are made from the best local materials and skills on offer.

Canvass, Easels, print and painting stretching

Tel. 021 448 2799 artstuff@webmail.co.za www.artstuff.co.zaArt Transport withing Cape Area

Art Stuff now available on the Garden Route call Paul Tunmer 083 2610084

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly - Why Portraits Matter

Most modern magazines have cotton on to the ancient truth that fascinated - and occupied - the classical masters of Greece and Rome as much as it does a con-temporary like Lucian Freud: peo-ple adore pictures of themselves and their mates, but pop-shots of celebrities bring out the crowds. Check the abundance of published social and party photos in the glossies.

Call those pictures portraits - especially if executed by another celebrity and under enough hyped circumstances to lure the televi-sion cameras - and you have the basics in place for one of art history’s enduring themes. It just doesn’t let go. Portraits are man’s best friend.

The art of portraiture slips in and out of the news - never without drawing the curious crowds - when, ever-so-often, another gallery or institution tackles the theme. More recently, I-Art Gallery held such an exhibition; some years back AVA threw out an invi-tation. In both cases, the results were pretty mixed.

The problem, it seems, is that the good-intentioned organis-ers don’t always consider their actions thoroughly. The result is a half-satisfying mixed-bag. With all due respect and appreciation of such efforts, it’s an open question whether the fine, challenging art of portraiture - particularly in our era of multi-media, instant visual com-munication and overhyped fame - have been well served in such recent shows.

A picture of a person, done in whatever medium, is not necessar-ily a portrait; and a ‘portrait’ is not necessarily a punchy or relevant piece of visual communication.

In-between plenty of nonsense pops up.

Maybe the main problem is that artists, their sponsors and cura-tors under-estimate the power of portraiture. And they forget or ignore that fact that power has to be negotiated, even struggled with.(That social glossy photo too is a visual statement that works itself through not a minor editorial process.)

The power of the permanent im-age - for such is the subtext of por-traiture - lies in many things. Vanity is, of course, a prime motivator. But there are other issues at stake in that power game. Money, fame, status, cultural significance - and it can work both ways, for both sitter and portraitist. (The famous National Portrait Gallery in London is the temple accommodating both praised and praise-painter. Being British, they’ve tuned the power game to the finest degree, of course.)

One of the most famous incidents demonstrating the enormous power of portraiture, was the destruction of a formally-com-missioned portrait by the then esteemed British painter Graham Sutherland of the grand old Sir Winston Churchill in 1954. The sitter hated the oil painting com-missioned by the British parlia-

ment for his 80th birthday and it is alleged that his wife actually burnt the painting. (An oil study in prepa-ration only came to light years later, testifying to Sutherland’s masterful honesty in his portrayal of the frail old bull - who, even at that age, considered himself to be the hearty warrior.)

How rare will it be today for an artwork to evoke such passion? If only!

(The postcard-size painting of Queen Elizabeth II by the most famous British painter alive, Lucian Freud, in the NPG is certainly no flattering portrait. But a remark-able statement about both the aging queen in her awkward tiara and the old master of the oil paint stroke.)

Of course, the great and glamorous still believe that the only permanent picture of their countenance worthy to be hung in boardrooms or such, should be executed in oil on canvas (and framed in gild, of course). Somehow oil paint and canvas (and a gilded frame) are considered requirements for proper commen-dation.

Sam Taylor-Wood’s filmed portrait of David Beckham at the NPG and it will be crystal-clear that a mod-ern medium like video can be

brilliantly used in a good artist’s hand. Incidentally, the photographer Yousef Karsh of Ottowa’s black-and-white photograph of Winston Churchill, taken in1941, is one of the iconic images of the last century.Photography, somehow the

obvious medium for portraiture, seldom gets the nod, but masters like David Goldblatt and young-sters like Pieter Hugo have made top-notch, engaging, lingering portraits.In South Africa the ancient art of portraiture is an endeavour that needs a serious rethink.

Art is good for so many things, like acclimatising to the frenetic urban milieu after a long weekend

in a timeless world of green grass, crackling fires and roast chicken dinners. Not unlike returning to mad Moscow after a retreat at your cousin’s dascha on the Volga (I’d imagine), a measure of readjust-ment is necessary.

Jozi can seem scary from a critical distance. As you plummet back into the heart of the beast along her mainline concrete arteries cut-ting through warehouses, factories, outsize billboards and mouldering minedumps the temptation is to do a quick U-turn and bolt for the hills. But that would be the sissy’s option and committed Jozi fiends know that this city’s magic lies way deeper than her hardened graf-fitied surfaces.

It’s only when you’re immersed in the hum of the inner organism, bound up in her networks and peo-ple that you start to feel at home again. So I start my first morning back with a speedy espresso at

the brashly named Two Tarts café in Milpark and make my along the reddening autumn leaves of Jan Smuts to the art strip, where temperatures are rising again with photographer Pieter Hugo and painter Alfred Thoba at Warren Siebrits, Colbert Mashile at Krut and Ricardo Fornoni, the youngest blood on the block, preparing for his latest show, Anima, at Resolu-tion.

But being an unabashed Goldblatt freak my first destination is the Goodman Gallery. For who can re-sist a show entitled Joburg by this city’s most duly lauded lensman? Perhaps the most crucial aspect about this exhibition is the exten-siveness of its chronogical sweep, offering the viewer an excruciat-ingly considered insider’s take on the evolution of this metropolis and its people through the latter half of the 20th century right up to this moment.

I’m drawn in from the get go by two moody colour images, both taken on 17th Street Fietas in the late Seventies before the destruction of its houses and shops under the Group Areas Act. In the first image one is struck by the humility and unassuming scale of the early colonial architecture; the tin roofs, peeling pillars and faded stoep paint highlighting the makeshift qualities of the era in relation to the bald capitalist machismo that has informed the construction of some the concrete behemoths photo-graphed by Goldblatt in Sandton in recent years.

The second image captures what was once the landmark Avalon Cinema with its broken neon sign and faded, peeling posters advertising double features… I am struck by the poignant particularity of the colours of this lost and fad-ing world and the fact the images we know from Goldblatt’s early oeuvre are usually in black and

white… Soon enough though I find myself in the thick of an eager throng of flamboyant seniors brought together by art historian Mona Berman and being guided through the works on show by the brilliantly erudite Neil Dundas, the solid rock at the heart of the Goodman. Dundas points out five early colour works, explaining that Goldblatt never exhibited his colour works in the past because of limitations in printing techniques. However with the advent of digital printing, he has been able to work with colour negatives from his archive to achieve the subtlety of hue on which he has steadfastly refused to compromise. Two of the other five colour prints from the archive were composed in 1977 and feature the makeshift kitchen and dark bedroom of a humble home in Soweto. There is something painfully touching about the plastic covers laid down to protect and preserve the cheap

stainless steel and plastic furniture. It’s a small gesture that captures a spirit of pride and optimism against the odds – a human impulse that stands out against other systematic imperatives implicit in the forms of so much of this city’s architecture. Captured by Goldblatt’s lens the stark shadows of these hulks belie the crass capitalism and national-ism that have prevailed through the reigns of two power-hungry re-gimes. But the city’s magic shines through in small and poignant human gestures immortalised by Goldblatt, who has never failed to take the time to notice them. And that’s the paradoxical glory of this town really, the everyday human striving pitted against more com-plex overriding forces hell bent on relentlessly fashioning fresh profits from this rugged Highveld grit.

* David Goldblatt’s Joburg is on show at the Goodman Gallery until 24 May.

ART PIG

Alex Dobb

THE ARTFUL VIEWER

Melvyn Minnnaar

Alex Emsley

Winston Churchill, (1941). By Yousef Karsh.

WeareeagertofindacolumnistwhowouldwriteabouttheDurbanandPietermaritzburgArtScene Please feel welcome to contact us at art@arttimes.co.za

Enjoy the masterpiece before it’s begunour quality range of art materials are made from the best local materials and skills on offer.

Canvass, Easels, print and painting stretching

Tel. 021 448 2799 artstuff@webmail.co.za www.artstuff.co.zaArt Transport withing Cape Area

Art Stuff now available on the Garden Route call Paul Tunmer 083 2610084

South African Art Times. May Page 3

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AC Press release. (Mike will be interviewed in the AT on his return from overseas) The Africa Centre is proud to announce the appointment of Mike van Graan - arts administrator and playwright - to the position of Executive Director. “The Africa Centre is a truly excit-ing project and I am honoured to be part of it”, says Van Graan who has been recognized as one of the most influential people in the South African arts and culture sector.The Africa Centre is a non-profit organisation that seeks to document, promote and celebrate the arts, culture and heritage of the African continent. Its major projects since its inception in 2007 have been the launch of the bien-nale Spier Contemporary visual arts exhibition, the Spier Poetry Exchange and the Spier Perform-ing Arts Festival. For the last year, besides work-ing as an independent theatre producer, Van Graan has served as the Secretariat for the Arterial Network, an informal, dynamic network of individuals, institutions and funding partners working to support the effectiveness and growth of Africa’s arts and culture civil society and to enhance the

sustainability of creative industries in Africa. The Arterial Network was launched on Goiree Island, Senegal in March last year.

“There is potentially great synergy between the vision of the Africa Centre and the work of the Arterial Network, and I’m looking forward to the Centre pursuing its objec-tives beyond the Limpopo, and to it being shaped and influenced by increasing contact with colleagues in other parts of the continent,” said Van Graan. One of the major projects of the Africa Centre will be the creation of an on-line directory on African arts, culture and herit-age to facilitate greater networking and collaboration within the con-tinent and between practitioners from Africa and elsewhere.

Van Graan takes over the reins of the Africa Centre from Tanner Methvin who has nurtured the organization since its inception as a board member assigned this responsibility while the organiza-tion searched for a suitable direc-tor. Methvin will continue to play an active role in the governance of the Africa Centre as a board member.

For more information, see www.africacentre.net

Review of Muse 08 Portraits exhibition at iArt Gallery, Cape Town

A solemn, heavy-handed portentousness, unleavened by nuance, irony, ambiguity or wit, still typifies much South African art. This glum legacy of the struggle, when issues were cut and dried, still informs the work of Reshada Crouse, whose melodramatic portrait of Rian Malan looks like a bulletin from the front-line. Her turgid Passive Resistance too reveals her trapped in a time warp. Although the painting alludes to Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People, its lurid bombast relates it to Cecil B. de Mille rather than the grand tradition of history painting.

Christiaan Diedericks heroicises, nay, sanctifies, Elna Boesak as a dauntless La Passionaria in a drawing indistinguishable from an election poster. This is art reduced to its lowest common denominator, art as propaganda,

sloganeering, hagiography and sham heroics.

Alex Emsley’s Melvyn Minnaar resonates a similar bogus gran-diosity. The Vasari of the Cape Times is glorified as a lofty sage, his disillusioned eyes gazing fear-lessly into distance as his intellect works overtime beneath his noble domed pate.

What is it with these Emsleys? Do hero-worship and heel-clicking run in their genes? Paul Emsley too adopts a slavishly adulatory approach in his William Kentridge, lovingly cataloguing every detail of bushy eyebrow, crows feet and distended pores in an official-look-ing image based on the tried and trusted academic formulae of cen-tral focus, frontality, and symmetry, derived from previous artists representations of ‘great men’.

Emsley certainly possesses draughtsmanly skill, and he invests Kentridge with undeniable dignity, but, sadly, it is the embalmed

dignity a skilled mortician might confer on a corpse. Emsley elevates Kentridge into a repres-sive public monument a la Mount Rushmore, and this extreme formality of approach precludes psychological insight.

Stagy attitudinising, rather than first-hand observation, is the basis of Hardy Botha’s irreverent deline-ation of Breyten Breytenbach as a starry-eyed idealist and rabble-rouser in the clichéd tradition of 60’s T-shirts emblazoned with Fidel Castro or Che Guevara. The great poet is juxtaposed with a blank speech bubble, but it is not he who has nothing to say, it is Botha.

“Muse”, iArt’s show of portraiture from the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees is dismayingly hick, provincial and arriere-garde. Its most depressing feature is however a fatal reluctance to truly engage with the sitter, venture beyond appearances, and delve

into personality. The artists respond to the unique challenges of portraiture in a heart-breakingly superficial, simplistic and gimmicky fashion. Bradley Pritchard, Evelyn Rust, Richard Smith and Elizabeth Gunter inter alia capture superficial likenesses, but their style remains purely illustrational in its adher-ence to appearances, rather than transformative imagination.

Louis Jansen van Vuuren is the worst offender. His Marilyn Martin is all pretty-pretty mannerism, pom-poms, tassels and embroi-dery, and the redoubtable lady is transmogrified into naught but a simpering Geisha welcoming us to the Teahouse of the August Moon.

Hanneke Benade’s heavily stage-managed Lien Botha – one of the better works - exemplifies this lack of genuine involvement with the sitter. The painting is obviously painted from a Polaroid

Lloyd Pollock

David Goldblatt’s Flat-cleaner going for a walk on his afternoon off. Hillbrow, 1972 (Photograph) Part of his Joburg Exhibition, Goodman Gallery (Jhb) Until 24 May

Winston Churchill, (1941). By Yousef Karsh.

TheSouthAfricanArt Timeswww.arttimes.co.za

Playwright Mike van Graan appointed Executive Director of the Africa Centre

Image from www.mikevangraan.co.za

Man with Cigarette, Riaan Malan by Rashade Crouse for more see www.iart.co.za

Photo. Leah Hawker

The List Pros Trust

International Edition These opportunities have been selected from several hundred as most appropriate for serious fine artists, tradi-tional or contemporary. We favor things that are free to the entrants, offer good rewards in relation to the fees, increase the exposure of those accepted, or are prestigious or special in some other way. Where an opportunity seems to be a particularly good fit, we have marked it with..|+| as an “editor’s choice. Entries marked with ~ are generally better for artists living nearby or with limited experience. Please keep in mind that these judgements are made only on the basis of the information available in the prospectus; nothing herein is an endorse-ment or criticism of any kind. Unlike other listing services, we do not knowingly include for-profit galleries that charge fees to look at slides, individuals pretending to be galleries or contests that exist only to turn a profit for the promot-ers. (See www.artopportunitiesmonthly.com/notlisted.html for some of the rea-sons.) Please report such listings to us.

The listings are in capsule form, arranged by deadline and identified by media, so that you can tell at a glance if something might be suitable for you. The general structure of each entry is:

Media:(See Key) Deadline: (Date due)Local restrictions, if any || Short descrip-tion || Entry fee and/or number of slides (images) being requested || Award–what is being offered || Jurors, if named ||=> Contact name || Title of show for pro-spectus || Address. Phone #; Fax; Email; Web address.

KEY: AU= Audio, BA = Book Arts, CE = CEramics, CO = COllage, CR = CRafts, CU = CompUter, DR = DRawing, FI = FIlm, FR = FibeR, FU = FUrniture, GL = GLass, GR = GRaphics, IN = INstallation, JE = JEwelry, ME = MEtal, MM = Mixed Media, NM= New Media, PA = PAinting, PE = PErformance, PH = PHotography, PP= PaPer and papermaking, PR = PRints, PS = PaStel, PU = PUblic, QU = QUilt, SC = SCulpture, TX = TeXtiles, VI = VIdeo, WC = WaterColor; WE = WEb or Net art; WM = WaterMedia; WO = WOod. x before code = “except.” RFP = Request For Proposal, RFQ = Request For Qualifications, |N| = new listing, not in previous issue, |C| = changed since last issue. Other abbreviations: sl = slide, appl = application, digi = digital, CV =cur-riculum vitae or résumé, K=thousand, M=million, BPS = British Pounds Sterling, EUR = Euro.

All amounts in US Dollars unless other-wise specified.

Always download prospectus from web if available or send email or #10 SASE for it or more information.

* * * * * * * * * * *|N| Media: 2D. Deadline: Apr 30 |+|International. Competition to develop functional, well-designed 1) sidewalk racks and 2) to generate new concepts for bicycle parking inside commercial and residential buildings. No fee/1 (booklet of <11 single-sided 8.5 x 11 sheets or as slide show on CD), descriptive text, etc. $5K honorarium for up to 10, then $10K for winner, etc. Jury: David Byrne, musi-cian, artist, cyclist; Patricia E. Harris, 1st Deputy Mayor, NYC; Duncan Jackson, industrial designer; et al. => CityRacks, USA. http://xrl.us/AOM99e.

Media: 2D x( PH CU). Deadline: Apr 30International. Juried show of mini-atures (5x7” max incl. frame) in artist membership gallery. $25/12, $35/3-5, $46 6-7. $1K+. Jury: Sharon Tietjen, painter, CPSA. => Nancy Thompson, 16th Annual Miniatures, Parklane Gallery, 130 Park Ln, Kirkland WA 98033, USA. 425.742.3909; fax -9172; info@Parklane-Gallery.com; http://xrl.us/AOM98bz.

Media: 2D. Deadline: Apr 30International. Publishing (color) cover art and (B&W) inner pages, illustrations, occasional cartoons. No fee, submit by ground mail only. Terms negotiable upon acceptance. => Art Editor, The Carolina Quarterly, CB# 3520 Greenlaw

Hall, UNC, Chapel Hill NC 27599-3520, USA. cquarter@unc.edu; http://xrl.us/AOM75BT.

Media: PH. Deadline: Apr 30International. Competition for profes-sionals and amateurs w/ awards in 21 categories, traditional or digital methods. $35/1, $20 ea. add’l (online). Masters Cup, $11.5K, published in the awards Annual, Creative Excellence Prize, international exposure and. Jury: Anthony Haden-Guest, art & collecting columnist, “Financial Times,” London; Amy Steigbigel, dir. of photography (NY), Getty Images; Audrey Jonckheer, dir. Worldwide Public Relations, Eastman Kodak; et al. => 3rd Ann. Photography Masters Cup, International Color Awards, 369 S. Doheny Dr Ste 323, Beverly Hills CA 90211, USA. Also offices in UK and Australia. +01 310-499-4394; info@thecolorawards.com; http://xrl.us/AOM86q.

|N| Media: All. Deadline: May 1 |+|International. 3 scholarships of $15K ea. for students from Eastern Europe and 6 scholarships of $2K and $1K for students from anywhere to participate in low-residency MFA program, also summer program. No fee, appl. $54K total. => Klaus Knoll, Nine Scholarships in International MFA Program, Transart Institute, PO Box 4668#34726,NYC NY 10163-4668, USA. 508-682-2853; fax -2853; admin@transartinstitute.org; http://xrl.us/AOM99ax.

Media: PH. Deadline: May 1International. Publication of work on any subject in small independent mag, all processes and techniques. $15/12 (free to subbers, photos [8x10 or smaller] or 300dpi tif/CD, no sl). All entrants who fol-low rules correctly receive copy of maga-zine. => Summer Issue (#100), Shots Magazine, Box 27755, Minneapolis MN 55427-0755, USA. shotsmag@juno.com; http://xrl.us/AOM76CL.

Media: All 2D x(PH CU DI). Deadline: May 1International. Juried competition w/ 5 categories: portraits and figures, still life, landscape, abstract/experimental, animal. $13/1 no limit, students: $10/1 (sl or CD). $25K+ in cash, top winners featured in magazine. Jury: Juliette Aristides, artist, author; Daniel E. Greene, artist, teacher; Dean Mitchell, artist; et al. => 25th Annual Art Competition, The Artist’s Magazine, 4700 E Galbraith Rd, Cincinnati OH 45236, USA. 513-531-2690 x1328; art-competition@fwpubs.com; http://xrl.us/AOM98aL.

Media: All. Deadline: May 1International. Annual juried show. $25/3 (CD). Jury: Yasmil Raymond, assist. cur., Walker Art Center. => Open Door Ex-hibit, Rosalux Gallery, 1011 Washington Ave S, Minneapolis MN 55415, USA. 612-747-3942; info@rosaluxgallery.com; http://xrl.us/AOM97bk.

|N| Media: Appropriate. Deadline: May 4 |+|International. Contest of book cover or poster illustration is inspired by episodes of the History Channel’s “UFO Hunters” HD series. No fee/1, (digital file only: jpg, gif or URL of FTP location to be retrieved at. HDTV, iPod Touch, History Channel swag. => Justin, World Famous Comics UFO Hunters Art Contest, World Famous Comics, USA. justin@wfcomics.com; http://xrl.us/AOM99cv.

|N| Media: PH. Deadline: May 5International. Exhibits on theme of “The Spaces of the Image”: questions of mechanisms and staging, perceived as essential keys to reading the different photographic projects of recent years. No fee/10 (CD-MAC or DVD or email), cover letter on how work relates to theme, CV, etc. Jury: Gaëlle Morel. => Chuck Samuels, Theme 2009: The Spaces of the Image, Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal, 661, rue Rose-de-Lima, Local 203,Montréal Québec, CANADA H4C 2L7. 514-390-0383; fax -8802; soumis-sion2009@moisdelaphoto.com; http://xrl.us/AOM99bq.

|N| Media: PH. Deadline: May 9International. Juried exhibit. $40/4, $7 ea. addl, max 10 total (CD-PC only), statement. $2.25k. Jury: Rod Slemmons, dir., Mus. of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College. => Ann Pallesen,

Please Ring Bell, Photographic Center NW, 900 12th Av, Seattle WA 98122, USA. 206-720-7222x11; apallesen@pcnw.org; http://xrl.us/AOM88bq.

|N| Media: FI VI. Deadline: May 9International. Showing shorts and fea-tures out of the mainstream. $50/1 (DVD Reg.1 or via withoutabox.com), hi-qual press photos, synopsis, entry form. => Adam Rocha, San Antonio Underground Film Festival, 1633 Babcock #111,San Antonio TX 78229, USA. 210-977-9004; safilm@gmail.com; http://xrl.us/AOM88k.

Media: All. Deadline: May 9International. Shows of work for 09 season. $10/20 (sl or CD), resume, state-ment. => Heather Green, Galleries 2009, Rogue Community Col., 3345 Redwood Hwy, Grants Pass OR 97527, USA. 541-956-7339; fax -471-3588; hgreen@roguecc.edu; http://xrl.us/97bj.

Media: FI VI. Deadline: May 10International. Juried festival of inde-pendent, alternative work. $20-$90/1 depending on length, when submitted (VHS NTSC or Region 1 0 DVD). Gorilla software, free admission, possible broadcast, other prizes. => 14th Annual Brainwash Movie Festival, Brainwash, Box 23302, Oakland CA 94623-0302. 415-273-1545; shelby@brainwashm.com; http://xrl.us/AOM77w.

Media: PA WC PS DR SC x(GL TX JE PH CU). Deadline: May 12International. Juried exhibit of work depicting any breed of horse in any setting. $40/3 (sl, CD or photos) + $5 processing fee. $2.5K+. Jury: Dawn Emerson, C.W. Nave, Jan Woods, et al. => Shelley Hunter, Fall Open Juried, Kentucky Horse Park, 3915 Jay Trump Rd, Lexington KY 40511, USA. 859-281-6043; fax -6031; shelleyh@aaea.net; http://xrl.us/AOM98ac.

Media: All. Deadline: May 12International. Shows for 08-09 season, by artists or curators, any theme, but par-ticularl that which is experimental or chal-lenging. $10/15 (CD or DVD [preferred] or sl) descrip., appl, etc. Publicity, etc., honoraria. => Marilyn Ladd-Simmons, Call for Artists, SPACES Gallery, 2220 Superior Viaduct, Cleveland OH 44113, USA. 216-621-2314; fax same; info@spacesgallery.org; http://xrl.us/AOM87cc.

|N| Media: SC PU. Deadline: May 15 |+|International. Showing of new outdoor work that responds to the site, an urban park in downtown core. No fee/10-20 (sl or phot only ), drawing including dimensions and materials and location of work on site, (sl of maquette OK, too). $2.5K for artist, up to $17.5K for materi-als, transportation, etc. => Rina Greer, Toronto Sculpture Garden, 38 Avenue Rd Ste 713,Toronto Ontario, CANADA M5R 2G2. 416-515-9658; fax -9655; info@torontosculpturegarden.com; http://xrl.us/AOM88cL.

|N| Media: PH. Deadline: May 15International. Publication of work showing nude form in keeping w/ principles of pur-ism the “single-minded, artisanal, truthful pursuit of doing what you do extremely well.” No fee, online only. Publication on a billboard in arts district of a prominent city, possible other use in future but no compensation ever. Jury: Brett O’Bourke, managing ed., flavorpill.com; Dennis Leyva, art& entertainment liaison, City of Miami Beach; Lydia Fenet, dir. of special events, Christies Auction House; et al. => New Classic Nude Billboard Contest, Christiania Arts Foundation, USA.

|N| Media: SC etc. Deadline: May 15International. Juried show, esp. of chal-lenging and innovative work -- suspend-ed, hung, rolled, pushed,, inflated, folded, movable to accommodate changing space. $15/3, $5 add’l. max 5 (CD), appl. => Up: an exhibition of hovering hanging inflating or wheeled sculpture, Urban Inst for Contemp Arts, 41 Sheldon Bl SE, Grand Rapids MI 49503-4227, USA. jteunis@uica.org; http://xrl.us/AOM99cp.

Media: Mail Art. Deadline: May 15 |+|International. Exhibition and sale of work on the theme Global Warming: A Hot Time in the Old Town!, in artist-run space. No fee, send by ground (not to exceed 8x10”) or as PDF or jpg < 2MG by email. 30% of sale proceeds to Women’s Wisdom Project, a nonprofit program of

the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services. => Ann Tracy, Mail Art - Global Warming, Asylum Gallery, 170 Southgate Rd, Sacramento CA 95815, USA. 916-804-6095; anntracy51@sbcglobal.net; http://xrl.us/AOM98ar.

Media: FI. Deadline: May 15International. Showing several categories (features, short films, animation, docs, etc). $25-$85/1, depending on genre and submission date (or through www.with-outabox.com). Screenings, etc., at least 9 special awards. => International Film Festival, Moondance, 970 9th St, Boulder CO 80302, USA. director@moondance-filmfestival.com (subject moondance); http://xrl.us/AOM86ax.Media: FI VI. Deadline: May 15International. Showing short work by “diverse artistic international voices that define the new trends in independent film and video.” No fee/1, (DVD NTSC or miniDVD),3 images, bio, statement. Fee paid to artists. => Video Installations, aluCine Toronto Latin@ Media Festival, 90 Oxford St Ste 8, Toronto, ON M5T 1P3, CANADA. 416-966-4989; entry@alucinefestival.com; http://xrl.us/AOM96s.

|N| Media: FI VI. Deadline: May 20International. Festival of work (35 min. max for films, 3-20 for video) that “may contribute for the development of the short film concerning its aesthetics, specific shape and way of production.” No fee/1 (VHS-NTSC or PAL, or DVD), 2 stills, subtitle list, etc. Jury: popular vote. => Sao Paulo Int. Short Film Festival, As-sociaçao Cultural Kinoforum, Rua Simao Alvarez, 784/2,Sao Paulo SP 05417-020, BRAZIL. 55 11 3034-5538; fax -3815-9474; http://xrl.us/AOM99bf.

|N| Media: 2D (incl. 2D documentation of 3D projects). Deadline: May 20 ~International. 3-mo online exhibit, by commercial organization run by artists, membership available. US$30/5, US$5 ea. add’l (CD or email). Possible gallery showing or representation. => Curator, 2 - 3 - d - 10, Energy Gallery, 55 Michael Dr, Toronto, Ontario, CANADA M2H 2A4. info@energygallery.com; http://xrl.us/AOM88aL.

|N| Media: Appropriate. Deadline: May 24International. Competition of designs for A1 size posters presenting latest developments in interdisciplinary field of Urban Screens. No fee/1 (online), summary. All accepted displayed during conference, some winners also shown on outdoor sites around Federation Square, some free tickets. => Call for poster presentations, Urban Screens Melbourne 08,, Melbourne, AUSTRALIA. exhibi-tion@urbanscreens.net (subject: USM08 CALL); http://xrl.us/AOM99cr.

Media: PH CE MM PA FI/VI AU SC. Deadline: May 24International. Annual juried show, theme: Freedom. $10/1, max 5 (CD, DVD or email). Top 3 finalists in ea. category shown, all entrants shown on line indefinitely. => Freedom, Altered Esthetics Gallery, 1224 Quincy St NE, Minneapolis MN 55413, USA. 612-378-8888; contact@alteredesthetics.com; http://xrl.us/AOM98ag.

|N| Media: 2D. Deadline: May 30 |+|International. Publication in environmen-tal magazine of work dealing w/ interplay of art and environmental concerns (sometimes called “place-based” visual art). No fee (sample lo res images, and/or URLS, brief narrative by email or by ground). => The Bear Deluxe Magazine, Art & The Environment, Orlo, Box 10342,Portland OR 97296, USA. bear@orlo.org; http://xrl.us/AOM99bv.

Media: SC. Deadline: May 30 |+|International. 6-mo. outdoor display of large scale sculptures in area heavily traf-ficked by art collectors, others. No fee/2 (sl, photos, CDs, etc). $2.5K honoraium for ea. of 18 pieces. => Richard L. Twedt, Pub. Arts Mgr., 2009/10 El Paseo Invitational, City of Palm Desert, 72-567 Highway 111, Palm Desert CA 92260, USA. 760- 568-5240; rtwedt@ci.palm-desert.ca.us; http://xrl.us/AOM96bc.

|N| Media: FI VI. Deadline: May 31 |+|International. Showing work up to 60 secs., in 4 categories: Fiction/Doc, Animation, Art/Experimental, Youth/U20. No fee/1 (max), stills, posters if avail.,

submit on line. => One Minute Film & Video Festival Aarau, Postfach 2761,CH-5000 Aarau, SWITZERLAND. info@oneminute.ch; http://xrl.us/AOM88bn.

|N| Media: FI VI NM etc. Deadline: May 31 |+|International. Conference and multimedia exhibition in series of worldwide events around the redefinition of a growing digital infrastructure of moving images in public spaces, including interactive software applications, participatory community projects, hybrid projects. No fee/1 (online). => Call for film&video and multimedia projects*, Urban Screens Melbourne 08, AUSTRALIA. exhibition@urbanscreens.net (subject: USM08 - question concerning the CALL); http://xrl.us/AOM99cr.

|N| Media: Encaustic 2D. Deadline: May 31International. Juried show of work ad-dressing color, texture, surface, pattern or hot/cold or all and made primarily of encaustic. $45/3 (CD), bio/résumé, statement, etc. => Jesse, Translucent, International Encaustic Artists, 101 Townsend Ste 207,SF CA 94107, USA. 415-543-1550; jesse@mmgalleries.com; http://xrl.us/AOM99bd.

Media: FI. Deadline: May 31International. Showing work for and by children, categories: adult-produced live action, animation, feature, short, TV, doc, child-produced (3-14). $40-$100/1 depending on type, date submitted (free for children 3-14) (VHS [PAL or NTSC] or DVD). $5K+. Jury: adults and chilMedia Inc, 1517 West Fullerton Av, Chicago IL 60614, USA. 773-281-9075; fax -9075; jessicaw@facets.org.; http://xrl.us/AOM97aa.

Media: All. Deadline: Jun 1International. Juried exhibit. $30/3, $5 ea add’l, max 7 (sl, CD or 5-min cued VHS or DVD for time-based). Juror’s award, solo show. Jury: Chakaia Booker, sculptor. => 14th Annual International, SOHO20 Chelsea Gallery, 511 W 25th St Ste 605, NY NY 10001, USA. 212-367-8994; fax -8984; soho20@verizon.net; http://xrl.us/AOM97bp.

Media: All. Deadline: Jun 1International. Juried exhibit. $30/3, $5 ea add’l, max 7 (sl, CD or 5-min cued VHS or DVD for time-based). Juror’s award, solo show. Jury: Chakaia Booker, sculptor. => 14th Annual International, SOHO20 Chelsea Gallery, 511 W 25th St Ste 605, NY NY 10001, USA. 212-367-8994; fax -8984; soho20@verizon.net; http://xrl.us/AOM97bp.

|N| Media: FI VI. Deadline: Jun 2International. Festival of work relevant to the communities living in Regent Park w/ an emphasis on those from South Asia, Africa, East Asia, Middle East, Caribbean and Latin America. $10/1 (MiniDV, DVD or VHS-NTSC), synopsis, bio, hi res still, etc. => Karin Hazé, Regent Park Film Festival, 415 Gerrard St 2nd Fl, Toronto, Ontario, CANADA M5A 2H4. director@regentparkfilmfestival.com; http://xrl.us/AOM99ca.

|N| Media: FI VI. Deadline: Jun 10International. Showing 12 categories, including animations, narratives, music videos, documentaries. $25-55/1 depending on type and when submitted (½” VHS NTSC or DVD, paperless entries preferred). Pct. of sales, etc. Jury: industry professionals. => Jeff Siebert, Toofy Film Fest 2007, Team Toofy Pro-ductions LLC, 9415 Wolfe Pl, Highlands Ranch CO 80129, USA. jeff@toofy.com; http://xrl.us/AOM99cm.

Media: All. Deadline: Jun 10 |+|International. Grants to help realize ideas and proposals for 9th biennial, in Mar 09, esp. those identifying “marginal process-es of thoughts, relations and acts arising from art and its vicinities.” No fee/ (CD or DVD), 5-p. appl submitted electronically but other material by air. Funding. => Production Programme, Sharjah Biennial, P.O. Box 19989, Sharjah, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES. maya.nasser@sharjahbien-nial.org; http://xrl.us/AOM98ck (click on production application).

Media: All xVI. Deadline: Jun 11International. Juried show of environ-mentally themed work. $24/3 (sl or online), statement. solo show, website

w/ 20 images. Jury: Leslie Sobel, artist; Lynda Cole, artist; Cindy Melk, H2O Plus founder, CEO. => One Planet, One Experiment, Woman Made Gallery, 685 N Milwaukee Av, Chicago IL 60622, USA. 312-738-0400; gallery@womanmade.org; http://xrl.us/AOM98aa.

|N| Media: PR PH. Deadline: Jun 14International. Juried show. $25/3 (sl of CD). $300. Jury: Dr. Andrew Atkinson, Montclair State U. => Matt Kooser, Through the Lens, Printmaking Council of New Jersey, 440 River Rd, Somerville NY 08876, USA. 908-725-2110; gallery@printnj.org.

|N| Media: SC PA MM PH IN. Deadline: Jun 15 ~International. Online gallery/contest of non-representational art, run by artist as commercial venture. $30/4, $5 ea. addl., application, statement; submit online or CD (jpg or tif). Publication on site, $200 Best in Show. => Christina Nelson, July 2008, Abstract EXPOsure, Box 77545,Seattle WA 98177, USA. 702-235-5156; info@abstractexposure.com; http://xrl.us/AOM99n.

Media: Mail Art. Deadline: Jun 15International. Contribute decorated white bookmarker or two, perhaps w/ “cultural crosswords” theme, to help Plainsboro Library celebrate connection and community that mail artists create by sharing their work. No fee, no returns. => Emily Townsend, Cultural Crossroads Bookmarkers, 19 Sapphire Dr, West Windsor NJ 08550.

|N| Media: 2D. Deadline: Jun 25International. Contest for design to trans-form 8 tanks, plus an additional 8 tops into public art, use specific colors. $50/1 (online only). $30K. => Art All Around, Maine Center for Creativity, USA. info@mainecenterforcreativity.org; http://xrl.us/AOM99w.

|N| Media: PA WC PS PH MM. Deadline: Jun 30International. Show of work expressing their own cancer journeys, by people diagnosed w/ any type of cancer, or by their families and friends, caregivers or healthcare providers. No fee/1 (actual work), narrative explaining how work reflects cancer journey. All expense trip to NYC, $26.5K in donations to cancer charities of choice, etc. Jury: cancer survivors, oncologists, health care professionals, journalists and cancer advocates. => Anita Chernewski, Art Dir.,2008 Lilly Oncology on Canvas, 220 E 42nd St 12th Fl, NY NY 10022-5806, USA. 800-734-4131; illyoncologyoncan-vas@cprworldwideusa.com; http://xrl.us/AOM99bh.

|N| Media: FI VI. Deadline: Jul 1International. Festival, categories: The Arts, Bus. & Indus. Children. & Youth, Ed. & Info, Entertainment, The Humanities, Mental Health, Phys. Health, Relig., Sci. & Tech., Social Issues, War & Peace, Interactive Online. $80 up, also student categories, fees (DVD, ½” VHS), entry forms. Chris statuettes, etc. => 56th Ann. Columbus Int. Film & Video Fest, The Film Council of Greater Columbus, 1430 S High St rm 322,Columbus OH 43207, USA. 614-444-7460; fax same; info@chrisawards.org; http://xrl.us/AOM99ah.

| N| Media: All. Deadline: Jul 4International. Juried open show. 15BPS/10 (CD, sl or 5 min tape or DVD or VHS or audiotape of text where appropriate), proposal if for public art. 5K BPS. Jury: Lukasz Gorczyca and Michal Kaczynski, Raster independent art space, Warsaw. => Norwich Gallery, EASTinternational 2009, Norwich School of Art and Design, Francis House, 3-7 Redwell St, Norwich, Norfolk NR2 4SN, UK. +44 (0)1603-756247; fax - 615728; east@norwichgallery.co.uk; http://xrl.us/AOM99br.

International. Showing narrative and documentary features and shorts by 1) South Asians living in the Diaspora or non-South Asians submitting projects w/ S. Asian content, cast or crew or 2) work w/ a unique voice/message made in South Asia and considered “independent. $25, shorts, $40, features; appl, descrip, 3 screener films, VHS or DVDs

Art Opportunities Monthly. Selected for Fine Artists studioNOTES publication.Competitions, Grants, Shows, Public Art. Commissions, Residencies and More. www.ArtOpportunitiesMonthly.com

(NTSC Format). Achievement awards, $10K+ in-kind and services. => Aroon Shivdasani, 8th Mahindra IAAC Film Festival, Indo-American Arts Council Inc, 146 West 29th St #7R-3,NY NY 10001, USA. 212-594-3685; fax -8476; aroon@iaac.us; http://xrl.us/AOM95bb.

|N| Media: WM DR PR PS x(CU PH). Deadline: Jul 18International. Juried show of works on paper. $40/2 (sl). $6K+. Jury: Jean Grastorf, AWS, NWS silver star, author; Charles McVicker, AWS, NWS, illustra-tor. => 108th Anniv. Exhib., PWCS, Box 555, Swarthmore PA 19081-0555, USA. 215-569-3955; PWCSociety@gmail.com; http://xrl.us/AOM99f.

Media: WM on paper. Deadline: Jul 28International. Juried exhibit. $20/1, 2/$35 (sl or CD). $5K+. Jury: Gerald Brommer, AWS, NWS; Jean Uhl Spicer, AWS, NWS. => Director, 29th Annual, Pennsylvania Watercolor Society, Box 626, Mechanicsburg PA 17055-0626, USA. 717-737-7339; pwsdir@pa.net; http://xrl.us/AOM98cd.

Media: Appropriate. Deadline: VariousInternational. Publication of images, etc. No fee, contact first to discuss format and other technical details. => Martine Rouleau, Static: Alarm, London Consor-tium, Institute of Contemporary Arts, 12, Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AH, UK. +44 (0) 20 7839 8669; fax 7930 9896; static@londonconsortium.com; http://xrl.us/AOM87ce.

|N| Media: Whatever. Deadline: Open |+|International. Declare an URM (Urban Ready Made -- a street, a building, a view, an object or an event in an urban- or industrial environment, where a conjunction of circumstances cause beauty and art and is so declared by the observer) in your own surroundings. No fee. => Marcello’s Art Factory, Den Haag, THE NETHERLANDS. (+31) 70 3634047; info@urbanreadymades.com; http://xrl.us/AOM99cq.

|N| Media: SC. Deadline: OpenInternational. Inclusion in exhibitions and/or Image Library. No fee/10-20, (sl, photographs, jpgs, etc or 1 tape, vid. or CD or DVD), résumé, etc. Jury: artists and curators. => Artist Submission, The Sculpture Center, 44-19 Purves St, Long Island City NY 11101, USA. 718-361-1750x113; info@sculpture-center.org; http://xrl.us/AOM76J.

|N| Media: All. Deadline: OpenInternational. Exhibitions by local, regional, national, and international artists. No fee/10-20 (sl or CD), résumé, sl list. => Ellen Martin, Lincoln Center City of Ft Collins, 417 W Magnolia St, Ft Collins CO 80521, USA. 970-416-2737; emartin@lincolnctr.fcgov.com; http://xrl.us/AOM99d.

|N| Media: FI VI. Deadline: Open ~International. Showing mixed media performances, including film, anima-tion, puppetry, in artist and musician collective presenting live music. No fee, contact for information. Shown at events in London, Bristol, Liverpool, Manches-ter. => Detta and Arianna, ELEVEN, 49 Tressillian Rd, London SE4 1YG, UK. elevenarts@hotmail.com; http://xrl.us/AOM91q.

Media: DI. Deadline: Open |+|International. Curated website for work engaged w/ contemporary ideas, for sale or not. No fee (jpgs or URL by email or Zip or CDs or small format printed proofs). May make work avail-able for sale as downloads or Print on Demand. => Selection Committee, ArtLexis at Spectra Digital, 106 Franklin St 3rd Fl, NY NY 10013, USA. mail@artlexis.com; http://xrl.us/AOM87p.

Media: All. Deadline: OpenInternational. Show of forward-looking practices, fruition of innovative ideas, innovative approaches, etc. No fee/10 -20 (CD or DVD), CV, statement or proposal, description, etc. Pays fees corresponding to CAR/FAC guidelines. => Main Space, eyelevelgallery, 2063 Gottingen St, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3K 3B2, CANADA, USA. 902-425-6412; fax -0019; director@eyelevelgallery.ca; http://xrl.us/AOM98g.

Media: All. Deadline: OpenInternational. Web presence of 25-300 images, 1-10 videos, blog, etc., on artist-run organization’s site. No fee/25 (on line) or $60/300 for six months. => Wooloo Productions, Choriner Strasse 85, 10119 Berlin, GERMANY. +49 (0) 306 676 3097; contact@wooloo.org; http://xrl.us/AOM98q.

Media: All. Deadline: OpenInternational. Exhibitions that offer new ways to experience art, esp. interactive performance, multi-media installations, experimental work. No fee/20 (slides, photos, etc), proposal. => HotHouse Gallery, 31 East Balbo, Chicago IL 60605, USA. http://xrl.us/AOM87az.

Media: All. Deadline: OpenInternational. Exhibits during 08-09 in gallery at community center, other venues, also related performances, screenings, workshops. No fee/no limit (CD, sl, DVD, VHS or URL), letter of infroduction w/ concepts for exhibit, proposal for related workshop (optional), résumé. => Nicole DeWald, Gallery Exhibits, City of Greenbelt Dpt of Recreation, 15 Crescent Rd, Greenbelt MD 20770, USA. 240-542-2057; fax 301-220-0561; ndewald@greenbeltmd.gov; http://xrl.us/AOM98bj.

Media: VI DI time-based. Deadline: OpenInternational. Showing all forms (ideally 2-8 min ea, esp on themes of typography, translation, life/death or domesticity) that can be documented in digital formats, daily, 5 a.m. to 1 a.m., in Harvard Square to an estimated 53,000 pedestrians. No fee/(send link to an online portfolio to art@lumeneclipse.com or DVD, CD, mini DV),short bio, website, email contact. => Lumen Eclipse, 248 Beacon St, Somerville MA 02143, USA. art@lumeneclipse.com; http://xrl.us/AOM97ar.

Media: All. Deadline: OpenInternational. Juried online boutique “dedicated to selling the highest quality creations made by hand.” No fee, use online appl. => Artchestra, 610 Willow St Ste J, Alameda CA 94501, USA. 510-769-1830; NewArtist@artchestra.com; http://xrl.us/AOM91e.

MEMBERSHIP ORGANIZATIONS

Media: 2D 3D. Deadline: OpenInternational. Show on site promoting artists working primarily in realism. No fee to apply/5-12 (CD or email), appl, résumé, $60-100/yr depending on level of membership if selected. => Call for Artists, TraditionalRealism.com, Box 481894, Charlotte NC 28269, USA. application@traditionalrealism.com; http://xrl.us/AOM98cy.

Media: 2D 3D. Deadline: OpenInternational. Supports, encourages and promotes 2- and 3-D arts. No fee/6, 35GBP annual fee. Exhibition oppor-tunities UK and USA, art and craft fair opportunities in the UK, etc. => Laura Elliott, International Association of 2 & 3 Dimensional Art, IATTDA, 8 Greenwood, 47 Wayland Close, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG129LA, UK. 07939282766; info@iattda.co.uk; http://xrl.us/AOM95bc.

POLITICAL & PEACE

Media: FI VI. Deadline: Aug 15International. Non-competitive, curated year-long festival of independent politi-cal cinema, 0-15min, 15-30 or 30+min, any genre, at several locations across Canada (also international locales, contact for details). No fee/1 (DVD). Pub. Perf. License Fees paid. => Submissions, Cinema Politica, PO Box 55097 (Mackay), Montreal QC H3G 2W5, CANADA. info@cinemapolitica.org; http://xrl.us/AOM98t.

|N| Media: 2D FI VI. Deadline: OpenInternational. Publication of work in online and printed mag devoted to political art. No fee/unlimited (jpg or gif under 1 MB ea or physical samples by mail; if time-based, submit as DVD or MiniDV, although short works may be submitted via submitting URL where they may be downloaded). => Rob Maguire, Art Threat Magazine, PO

Box 55097,Montreal QC, CANADA. 514-655-6837; editor@artthreat.net.; http://xrl.us/AOM88w.

Media: All. Deadline: Open |+|International. Online exhibit of anti-war work. No fee/6, submit online as jpgs or as wmv, mpg, avi or mov format, 320x240 pixels up to 15 MB for videos. => Hedva Shemesh, Let-The-Muses-Speak-IAA.org. hedart@gmail.com; http://xrl.us/AOM91w.

Media: All. Deadline: OpenInternational. Publication of images in Iranian emag promoting “common ideas about the same subject and sharing talents and experiences w/ world wide artists.” No fee/2-6, submit online as jpg, or tif, minimum 800x600. => BrainStorm Magazine, Kolahstudio.com. kolahstudio@gmail.com; http://xrl.us/AOM82d.

Media: FI VI. Deadline: Open |+|International. Seed funding for projects that bring together filmmakers from op-posing sides of armed conflict situations worldwide. No fee, submit proposal synopsis, 250 words or less via email then 5-pg proposal synopsis, samples of work, etc. by mail. $10K generally. => Claude Ibrahimoff-Hurley, Conflict Zone Film Fund, Make Films Not War, 39 Mesa St Ste 300, The Presidio, SF CA 94129, USA. 415-561-3104; fax -3111; filmfund@makefilmsnotwar.org; http://xrl.us/AOM93bL.

PUBLIC ART see also web and slide registries

|N| Media: PU. Deadline: May 9International. RFQ to create original interactive artwork that will be integrated into the design of the moving walkway spaces connecting one concourse to another. No fee/10 (CD), letter of interest, résumé. $500K max budget. => Christina Roldan, Moving Walkway Interactive, Broward Cultural Divi-sion Pub. Art & Design Prog., 100 S Andrews Av 6th Fl, Ft Lauderdale FL 33301-1829, USA. 954-357-8542; fax -5769; croldan@broward.org; http://xrl.us/AOM99ae.

|N| Media: PU. Deadline: May 9International. RFQ to create original integrated, innovative, vibrant, inspiring, welcoming, and environmentally con-scious sustainable, solar, or alternative energy powered artwork in new airport concourse. No fee/10 (CD), letter of interest, résumé. $270K max budget. => Christina Roldan, Alternative Energy Powered Artwork, Broward Cultural Division Pub. Art & Design Prog., 100 S Andrews Av 6th Fl, Ft Lauderdale FL 33301-1829, USA. 954-357-8542; fax -5769; croldan@broward.org; http://xrl.us/AOM99ac.

|N| Media: PU. Deadline: May 9International. RFQ to create original integrated floor design. No fee/10 (CD), letter of interest, résumé. $500K max budget. => Christina Roldan, Floor Design Proj., Concourse A, Terminal 1, Broward Cultural Division Pub. Art & Design Prog., 100 S Andrews Av 6th Fl, Ft Lauderdale FL 33301-1829, USA. 954-357-8542; fax -5769; croldan@broward.org; http://xrl.us/AOM99ad.

|N| Media: PU SC. Deadline: Jun 2 |+|International. Expression of Interest (RFQ) for new landmark along highway to “create a statement of Oldham’s ambitions for itself and its people.” No fee, CV, work samples, statement about motivations and general methodology, 2 refs.,etc. £2 - £3M budget. => Geoff Wood, Icon for Oldham, working pArts Ltd, Shoulder of Mutton, 70 Towngate, Midgley, Luddendenfoot West Yorkshire HX2 6UJ, WALES. 01422 884 538; geoff@working-parts.com; http://xrl.us/AOM99cu.

Media: PU. Deadline: Jun 6International. RFP to create environ-mentally-friendly lighting for bridge. No fee/10 (CD or DVD), 20 copies of: image list, statement, résumés, all on 3-hole punched paper (also include as PDF on disk). $2-3 million. Jury: public art committee. => Yvonne Wise, Call for Artists: Coronado Bridge Lighting, Port of San Diego Public Art Dpt, Box 120488, San Diego CA 92112-0488,

USA. 619-400-4706; fax -686-6434; ywise@portofsandiego.org; http://xrl.us/AOM98cc.

Media: PU SC. Deadline: Sep 30 |+|International. RFP for artist/artist team to design and create welcoming, durable, site specific, static or kinetic work that may include water and light features, for prominent downtown square. No fee/10 (CD), letter of interest, initial concept dr-wgs or description, 3 refs. $50K budget. => Hamilton, Ohio, City of Sculpture, One High St, Box 545, Hamilton OH 45012, USA. 513-895-3934; hamiltono-hiocityofsculpture@fuse.net; http://xrl.us/AOM97ae.

Media: PU. Deadline: OpenInternational. Roster of experienced artists for consideration on public art initiatives commissioned via limited calls (invitational opportunities) and/or direct award (single source) contracts. No fee, contact to request Expression of Interest #05-008. Jury: panel of artists, arts and design professionals, Public Art Program staff. => Edwin Whang, Buyer, Finance & Supply (Purchasing), Artist Roster, City of Calgary Pub. Art Prog, CANADA. 403-268-4090; edwin.whang@calgary.ca.

RESIDENCIES

lc Media: All. Deadline: Apr 30International. 1-2 mo. (Jul & Aug) in high dessert next to Joshua Tree National Park. $25/3-5 (sl or CD), appl, donate 1 work to program afterwards. studio, living space. => Frederick Fulmer, Artist Residency Prog., Joshua Tree High-lands House, 8178 Fleur Rd, Joshua Tree CA 92252, USA. 760-366-3636; info@joshuatreehighlandshouse.com; http://xrl.us/AOM96an.

Media: PR BA DI NM IN PH. Deadline: May 2 |+|International. Up to 6 mo. of 24-hr access to printmaking, digital and other facilities. No fee/10 (CD-Mac or 10 min DVD-Mac if time based), 1-p. s3/30/2008: statement/project descrip. discussing work intending to pursue at Kala. $3K, exhibition. Jury: Kala Direc-tors and Bay Area cur. => Lauren Dav-ies, 2008 Fellowship Awards, Kala Art Institute, 1060 Heinz Av, Berkeley CA 94710, USA. 510-549-2977; lauren@kala.org; http://xrl.us/AOM98bn.

Media: All. Deadline: May 5 |+|International. Fall 08 or Winter 09 to work, develop ideas, conduct research. No fee/9 (sl or CD or 3-5 2-min samples if time-based work), appl résumé, recs., etc. Studio, use of media lab, shops, printmaking studio, other facilities, travel allowance, $2K for materials, $3K stipend. Jury: panel of artists, curators, and arts professionals. => Claudia Gonzales-Griffin, Artist-in-Residence Prog., McColl Center for Visual Art, 721 North Tryon St, Charlotte NC 28202, USA. 704-332-5535x22; fax -377-9808; cgriffin@mccollcenter.org; http://xrl.us/AOM85bh.

Media: All. Deadline: May 31 |+|International. 2-6 mo in studio in small village on west coast of Finland to begin or complete work. No fee, artistic documentation (CD only) CV, project plan, appl. Studio space, apartment, etc. => Ateljé Stundars, KulturÖsterbot-ten, Handelsesplanaden 23, FI-65100 VAASA, FINLAND. +358 6 324 2211; fax -2210; atelje.stundars@svof.fi; http://xrl.us/AOM97bs.

|N| Media: All. Deadline: Jul 15 |+|International. 1 wk. -1 yr. on small island in Azores (east of Portugal), “surrounded by simple beauty, the abundance of nature, and the company of others in the process of creating.” $20/3, financial info, letter of proposal, 3 rec, CV, EU30/night donation requested if accepted, some partial scholarships, work exchange. Studio space, private bedroom, shared bath, etc., possible financial assistance. => Adrianna Jonet, Residencies - 2008, Footpaths Founda-tion, 8 Rideout La, Stoughton MA 02072, USA. fax 781-436-3800; artist@azoreswalks.com; http://xrl.us/o76AOM.

|N| Media: VI NM MSC. Deadline: Jul 15International. 5 days (Sep-Jan) to use

sophisticated imaging and production tools, etc., to create new work. No fee/1 (miniDV, DVD or VHS), project descrip., résumé, preferred dates, examples, etc., $100 studio fee if accepted. => Hank Rudolph, Residency Prog., Experimental Television Center, 109 Lower Fairfield Rd, Newark Valley NY 13811, USA. 607-687-4341; fax same; etc@experimentaltvcenter.org; http://xrl.us/AOM83cs.

Media: All. Deadline: Jul 15International. 2-4 wks Nov thru Apr in historic studio/house in national park. $50/6, work plan, appl, recs, etc. Studio, apartment, $500/mo. stipend. => A-I-R Prog, Weir Farm Trust, 735 Nod Hill Rd, Wilton CT 06897, USA. 203-761-9945; http://xrl.us/AOM97as.

|N| Media: All. Deadline: Open |+|International. 1-3 mo. to live/work for art-ists whose lives and work compromised by domestic strife, political upheaval or natural disasters. No fee/10 (sl or CD), appl, recs., statement of residency goals. Live/work space, use of facilities. => Gabe Gomez, Emergency Relief Residency Prog., The Santa Fe Art Inst., Box 24044, Santa Fe NM 87502, USA. 505-424-5050; ggomez@sfai.org; http://xrl.us/AOM98n.

|N| Media: All. Deadline: OpenInternational. 1-4 wks in quiet, private house in unspoiled New England village in hills east of Berkshire Mountains. No fee to apply, photocoopy or sample of work, résumé or letter of purpose, $165/week if accepted. => Preston & Ann Browning, Wellspring House, Box 2006, Ashfield MA 01330, USA. 413-628-3276; browning@wellspringhouse.net; http://xrl.us/AOM91aj.

|N| Media: All. Deadline: OpenInternational. 4-6 wks. or less in sum-mer for women on farm w/ “wildflowers, a pond to swim in, fields to dream in, woods to ramble.” No fee/work exam-ples, description of self, your interest in the farm, available dates; shared costs if accepted. Living and studio space. => Kate Millet, Women’s Art Colony Farm, 59 East 4th St 5E,NY NY 10003, USA. 845-473-9267; http://xrl.us/AOM91v.

Media: All CR. Deadline: OpenInternational. Unstructured time and space for creative individuals to develop new work on Island of Itaparica in Bay of All Saints, across from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. $35/12 (sl, CD/DVD or as approp.), appl., project descrip., résumé, recs, etc. Round trip airfare, private bedroom, studio, most meals. => Admissions, Instituto Sacatar, Rua da Alegria 10, Itaparica BA 44460, BRASIL. info@sacatar.org; http://xrl.us/AOM87bu.

Media: All. Deadline: OpenInternational. For contemp. artists to create new work using experimental materials and techniques. By invitation only, do not apply directly. Work collabo-ratively w/ FWM’s staff of printers and technicians. Jury: panel of prominent artists and gallerists. => The Fabric Workshop and Mus., 1315 Cherry St, Philadelphia PA 19107-2026, USA. 215-568-1111; fax -8211; info@fabric-workshopandmuseum.org; http://xrl.us/AOM75AK.

Media: CE. Deadline: Contact |+|International. Short and long term stays in well-equipped studio for sculptural, functional or experimental work, also woodfire work Oct-May. $10/5-10 (sl or CD), appl, résumé, letter of intent, recommendations, teach 8-week adult class. Semi-private lofted studio, oppor-tunity to exhibit work, electric, raku, and soda kilns. => Residency Prog., The Clay Studio of Missoula, 910 Dickens St, Missoula MT 59802, USA. 406-543-0509; info@theclaystudioofmissoula.org; http://xrl.us/AOM96bn.

Media: All. Deadline: Open |+|International. 1 wk. to 1 yr. on small island in Azores (east of Portugal), “surrounded by simple beauty, the abun-dance of nature, and the company of others in the process of creating.” $20/3, financial info, letter of proposal, 3 rec, CV, $EU30/night donation requested if accepted, some partial scholarships, work exchange. Studio space, private bedroom, shared bath, etc., possible

financial assistance. => Adrianna Jonet, Residencies 2008, Footpaths to Creativity, 8 Rideout La, Stoughton MA 02072, USA. 617-549-2452; http://xrl.us/o76AOM.

Media: All. Deadline: OpenInternational. Stay and work on the edge of the North Atlantic Ocean. By invitation only, but artists may send an expression of interest and information about their work. => Fdn Dir, Pouch Cove Fdn, PO Box 693, Pouch Cove, Newfoundland A0L 3L0, CANADA. 800-563-9100; jb@jamesbaird.ca; http://xrl.us/AOM85m.SLIDE & WEB REGISTRIES see also Public Art

Media: PP. Deadline: OpenInternational. For use by curators, re-view, historical and scholarly purposes, etc. $25/3, $40/6, résumé, statement. => Registry, Hand Papermaking, Box 1070, Beltsville MD 220704-1070, USA. 800-821-6604; fax 301-220-2394; info@handpapermaking.org; http://xrl.us/AOM98dn.

Media: All. Deadline: Open |+|International. Juried interactive data-base of online digital images, slides, video and DVD documenting the work of emerging artists, used by curators, gallerists, collectors, etc.,separate submission procedures for video. No fee/15, (sl, vid. or DVD), bio, statement; digital work by email only. Jury: Matthew Higgs, director, chief curator. => Cu-rated Artists’ Registry, White Columns, 320 West 13th St, NY NY 10014, USA. info@whitecolumns.org; http://xrl.us/AOM83n.

WEB, DIGITAL, NEW MEDIA

|N| Media: FI VI. Deadline: Jun 30International. On- and off-line festival of animated work < 15 min. w/ theme “Here We Are!”. No fee/3 (online and/or download as Quicktime mov, Windows Media .wmv, Flash video .swf or .flv or Real Media .rm or online), bio, URL, etc. as attachment. => Wilfried Agricola de Cologne, CologneOFF IV, VideoChan-nel, Mauritiussteinweg 64,D - 50676 Co-logne, GERMANY. info@nmartproject.net; http://xrl.us/AOM99b.

Media: DR. Deadline: OpenInternational. On-line community of people who draw and wish to dis-seminate their drawing. No fee, email for instructions on how to join, add work to site. => Marion Ray Behr, Drawing Blog. A. mylyne@prodigy.net; http://xrl.us/AOM86da.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Compiled by Benny Shaboy, California USA, New York Correspondent, Tamara Wyndham.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Art Opportunities Monthly (AOM ), published monthly except August, is available by email ($20/yr) as a PDF.. You can print it out, so it is easily portable, you don’t have to download it and it’s neatly formatted. Left on your computer, you have even more options: you can se

Art Opportunities Monthly. Selected for Fine Artists studioNOTES publication.Competitions, Grants, Shows, Public Art. Commissions, Residencies and More. www.ArtOpportunitiesMonthly.com

TheSouthAfricanArt Timeswww.arttimes.co.za

South African Art Times. May 2008

The spectre of autumn leaves and artistic endeavour is synonymous with the Nashua-sponsored Art in the Park, one of the landmark events on Pietermaritzburg’s an-nual calendar.

The 46th edition, from May 28 to June 1 at Alexandra Park, will draw 55 artists, some of whom have been exhibiting for more than a decade. However, the growing popularity of Nashua Art in the Park has meant the selection committee has had to turn away 68 artists to validate the standard of entries, in 2008.

The 2007 exhibition featured several mediums, including glassworks and sculptures. In attendance was 2005’s top selling exhibitor, renowned watercolour artist Mat Louwrens, whose pioneering sand art is proving increasingly popular. Mat has exhibited at this venue since 1980 and his wife, Naomi, joined in 2002 as an exhibitor specialising in garden scenes and flower paint-ings. Mat has exhibited in the U.S.

and Canada and his work is hung throughout the world.

Fires in the evening will enhance the unique Art in the Park ambi-ence, as will an extensive pro-gramme of music throughout the exhibition. A nominal R10 entrance fee will be charged with children under 12 allowed in free. Parking will be available in Kershaw Park and is free and plentiful.

The O’Brien footbridge has been opened and visitors are urged to please use this parking, which can be entered via Alan Paton Avenue (Durban Road).

No pets will be allowed into the exhibition, except guide dogs. Prior arrangement must be made with the organisers. The exhibi-tion is open from 10 am to 8 pm Wednesday to Saturday, and Sunday 9am to 4pm.

Contact Pietermaritzburg Tour-ism on 033-3451348 or Karin Degenaar on 084 4607 708 for further information.

Patrick Burnett

The eleventh edition of the an-nual Business & Arts South Africa (BASA) awards take place this month, with this year’s awards characterised by a high quality of entries and a better understanding of how business can work with and for the arts.That’s according to BASA CEO Nicola Danby, who believes that not only is business taking increasingly to supporting the arts, but that art organisations are also becoming increasingly aware of how they can can offer value to businesses in terms of issues like marketing and profile.Danby said the quality of entries was up on last year, although they would like to see more entries from small businesses. The awards seek to recognize businesses that lift the profile of the arts through arts sponsorship. Some of the categories included are: International sponsorship; long term development; single project and youth sponsorship.The international sponsorship

category recognises efforts made in sponsoring South African art overseas and bringing interna-tional projects to South Africa. The 2008 nominees are Mercedes Benz for the annual Mercedes Benz Arts Award, Rand Merchant Bank for The Magic Flute and Telkom SA Limited for The Lion King.In the long-term development category, nominations go to MTN for the MTN Art Collection Project, Nando’s for Art in Nando’s restaurants, Pick ‘n Pay for The Zama Dance School in Gugu-lethu, Spier Holdings for the Spier Contemporary and Standard Bank for the Standard Bank African Art Collection at the University of the Witwatersrand.The awards will be presented on 26 May at Johannesburg Park Sta-tion. The judging panel includes Darryl Accone, Gordon Cook, Andrew Human, Clive Grinaker, Gianni Mariano, Sizakele Marut-lulle, Ivan May, Welcome Msomi, Fiona Ramsay, Peter Vundla, and Annie Williamson. -- WCN

Calling all artists! With the prize money doubled and a ticket to Paris for the overall winner, enter now for the Vuleka Art CompetitionClosing date for entries: Friday 22 August 2008, 15:00 Exhibition of selected works opens Wednesday 3 September 2008, 18:30 for 19:00 Calling all artists! With the prize money doubled and the op-portunity to fly to Paris in the offing for the overall winner, it seems to be worth the while to enter your new work for the 2008 Vuleka Art Competition.Vuleka is the Xhosa word for ‘open’ and that means this prestigious national art competi-tion is open to any artist (18 years and older) who has not had a solo exhibition in the past three years. But only original works of art completed during 2007/2008 may be entered. Vuleka is hosted annually by The Arts Association of Bellville (art.b) in conjunction with the financial services group Sanlam. It is aimed at encouraging creativity, innovation and adventur-ous art from all cultures. Selected artists from the competition will

also participate in an exhibition in Bellville’s art.b Gallery from 3 to 24 September 2008.Artists may enter unlimited art-works in any of three categories, even all of them: • Paintings in oil, water colour or acrylic; • Three-dimensional works; ceramics included, and• Works in any other medium, including photography.Apart from a winner in each of these categories, the best artwork overall will be selected. For the overall winner a cheque of R10 000 and a FREE return flight ticket to Paris are waiting. The visit to Paris offers the winner the opportunity to gain new inspiration in the arts and broaden his/her horizons.Prize money of R5 000 is at stake for each category winner.The artists may offer their works for sale.

For entry forms/particulars inter-ested parties are invited to contact Maxie Oosthuizen at 021 918 2301 or maxie.oosthuizen@cape-town.gov.za or at art.b Gallery.

1 April 2008, Johannesburg – Sas-ol has launched the search for the 2008 Sasol New Signatures Art Competition winner. The company, in partnership with the Associa-tion of Arts Pretoria, is calling on all emerging South African artists to unleash their creative talents and enter the prestigious annual competition, now in its 19th year.

The competition carries total prize money of R100 000, comprising an overall first prize of R60 000, a runner-up award of R15 000 and five merit awards of R5 000 each. The winners will be announced at

the opening of the competition ex-hibition at the Pretoria Art Museum on Wednesday, 20 August 2007.

“The New Signatures Art Competi-tion is both the longest running and most prestigious competition for emerging artists in South Africa. Over the years it has made a significant contribution in promoting and exposing the creative talent of new artists to the South African public,” says Teresa Lizamore, art curator, Sasol.

To afford more emerging artists the opportunity to enter the competi-

tion, all works selected for the exhibition will be transported by Sasol from regional collection points at Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Polokwane, Port Elizabeth and Stellenbosch to Pretoria.

Workshops will be held nationally to assist artists in understand-ing the competition, the judging process and provide advice on conceptualisation, display and presentation of works. Attendance is free of charge and to reserve a place, bookings can be made through Nandi Hilliard on 012 346

3100. The workshops are pre-sented by Franci Cronje who has been the chairperson of the Sasol New Signatures Art Competition since 2002 and who is a perma-nent member of the selection and judging committee. She has been an artist and photographer since 1980 and has also worked as a tel-evision film maker, producing and directing inserts for local television. She is currently studying towards her PhD degree in Media Studies.

The competition is open to up-and-coming South African artists, aged 18 years and older, who

have not yet held a solo exhibition, apart from an exhibition being held for academic purposes. Artists are invited to submit one or two art works at six venues across the country or via the Internet. Physical submissions will be accepted at the collection points on Wednesday 2 July 2008 and Thursday 3 July 2008 between 10:00 and 16:00. Internet entries may be submitted from 2 June 2008 to 3 July 2008 at www.sasolsignatures.co.za.

Regional selection judges will select approximately 100 works

nationwide for display at the prestigious Sasol New Signatures exhibition at the Pretoria Art Museum. The exhibition opens on Wednesday 20 August 2008 and closes on Sunday 21 September 2008.

More details and entry forms can be obtained from Nandi Hilliard (012 346 3100) and at www.artsassociationpta.co.za, or www.sasolsignatures.co.za.

Art in the Park, set to shine in Pietermaritzburg’s calendar Vuleka prize money doubled BASA awards enter 11th year

Launch: 2008 Sasol New Signatures Art Competition

TheSouthAfricanArtTimes

is looking for an office administrator due to the growing demands of this growing business

Duties include: Processing subscriptions, Distribution, General Queries, Invoicing, Client service, Updating listings, Postage processing

Needs to be computer literate with Word, Excel (Basic knowledge), E-mail and Web browsing skills, articulate enjoy working with artistic as well as financial professionals.

Hours are half days, person, if shows self motivation and complete understanding of sought targets could work from their abode. Candidates should be based in the Cape Town Area

E-mail: art@arttimes with any queries. Salary would depend on market related relevant experience

Entries close 31 May 2008

South African Art Times. May 2008 Page 7

Patrick Burnett

The eleventh edition of the an-nual Business & Arts South Africa (BASA) awards take place this month, with this year’s awards characterised by a high quality of entries and a better understanding of how business can work with and for the arts.That’s according to BASA CEO Nicola Danby, who believes that not only is business taking increasingly to supporting the arts, but that art organisations are also becoming increasingly aware of how they can can offer value to businesses in terms of issues like marketing and profile.Danby said the quality of entries was up on last year, although they would like to see more entries from small businesses. The awards seek to recognize businesses that lift the profile of the arts through arts sponsorship. Some of the categories included are: International sponsorship; long term development; single project and youth sponsorship.The international sponsorship

category recognises efforts made in sponsoring South African art overseas and bringing interna-tional projects to South Africa. The 2008 nominees are Mercedes Benz for the annual Mercedes Benz Arts Award, Rand Merchant Bank for The Magic Flute and Telkom SA Limited for The Lion King.In the long-term development category, nominations go to MTN for the MTN Art Collection Project, Nando’s for Art in Nando’s restaurants, Pick ‘n Pay for The Zama Dance School in Gugu-lethu, Spier Holdings for the Spier Contemporary and Standard Bank for the Standard Bank African Art Collection at the University of the Witwatersrand.The awards will be presented on 26 May at Johannesburg Park Sta-tion. The judging panel includes Darryl Accone, Gordon Cook, Andrew Human, Clive Grinaker, Gianni Mariano, Sizakele Marut-lulle, Ivan May, Welcome Msomi, Fiona Ramsay, Peter Vundla, and Annie Williamson. -- WCN

http://www2.nysun.com/arti-cle/60389

By KATE TAYLORStaff Reporter of the Sun

The uncertainty roiling the financial markets in recent weeks raises questions about the market for fine art, which has risen dramatically in recent years — and may also be ripe for a correction. But unlike holdings in other sectors, investors have no way to hedge against a fall in the art market. No deriva-tives market exists for works of art, unlike weather, or commodities, or, more recently, real estate prices.

The founders of a new art “hedge fund,” however, envision a day when investors in the art market may be able to buy Impression-ism futures, instead of an actual Monet. The Art Trading Fund, based in London, plans to develop an art market index — like the Dow or the S&P 500 — on the basis of which people could bet on which direction the market will go, one of the founders said in an interview.

“That’s a long-term strategy,” Justin Williams said. “We’re devel-oping it with a big private institution and a couple of big players in the art market and an academic.”

In the meantime, the managers of the Art Trading Fund, which was profiled in this month’s Art+ Auc-tion, have identified stocks they believe have a high correlation to the art market, such as Sotheby’s and luxury goods companies like

Richemont, and are buying put options on them (options to sell at a fixed price). The idea is that, if the art market falls, these stocks will fall, too, and the fund can turn these options into cash.

But the Art Trading Fund does not give investors a real hedge, the corporate-raider-turned-art dealer Asher Edelman noted, since the art market and stock in companies such as Sotheby’s aren’t perfectly correlated. Sotheby’s stock could fall for reasons other than an art market decline, like bad manage-ment, high fees discouraging people from consigning, or, as happened earlier this month, a drop in the overall stock market.

In any case, the Art Trading Fund’s strategy of shorting these stocks, in addition to buying and selling art, distinguishes it from numer-ous other art funds, which since the 1970s have formed with great fanfare and subsequently dis-solved. To anyone used to thinking of art as something that people buy in order to enjoy looking at it in their homes, the mechanics of an art fund can be a bit jarring. It is like a mutual fund, except that what it buys and sells is art instead of stocks. The investors are not necessarily collectors or aesthetes, simply people who want to diversify their investment portfolio.

Some people in the worlds of art and finance view such funds with skepticism. “If they are run in an entrepreneurial fashion without six or seven layers of various advisers

and dealers and so on, they can be successful,” Mr. Edelman said, noting as an example a private fund started in the early 1990s by the former managing partner at Goldman Sachs, Robert Mnuchin. But most funds can’t point to their successes with rigorous account-ing — meaning realized gains minus unrealized losses — and they “have structured themselves to where I don’t think they’ll make any money,” Mr. Edelman said. He added that one of the largest cur-rently operating funds, the Fine Art Fund, has approached him several times about investing, but he has chosen not to do so.

Like the Art Trading Fund, the Fine Art Fund is managed out of London. But it is officially registered in Delaware and regu-lated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, whereas the Art Trading Fund is officially registered offshore, in Guernsey, Channel Islands, and regulated by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.

The Fine Art Fund usually buys one or two million dollars worth of art works every week and gener-ally holds them for a year before selling, its chief executive, Philip Hoffman, said. Some of the art the fund owns is rented out to inves-tors, and sometimes pieces will be loaned, free of charge, to museum exhibitions. But at any given time, 80% of the work is in a high-secu-rity warehouse in Switzerland.

While the Fine Art Fund buys what Mr. Hoffman referred to as

“rarities” and holds them for a year, the Art Trading Fund is focused on the mid-market and keeps works only a few months. A significant part of the latter’s business is in the work of living artists, to whom the fund has a relationship like that of an exclusive dealer for an artist. Mr. Williams said the fund has 10 artists on contract. It has the exclu-sive right to buy their art; every six months, the fund’s partners look at each artist’s production and buy as many pieces as they want. What they don’t want the artist can’t sell elsewhere.

“It’s a guarantee for them,” Mr. Williams said. “Twice a year, they have a liquidity event. They know they’re going to be paid on time,” he said, adding: “Galleries usually take a long time to pay them.”

Mr. Williams wouldn’t name the artists on contract, because the fund wants its transactions to be anonymous. But it’s safe to say they’re not artists you’ve heard of. “We’re not looking for the next Damien Hirst,” Mr. Williams said. “We’re not looking for risk. We look at each artist as a mini-business. We look at their track record for the last three years, and if they have a following.” They currently have 15 more artists lined up to join, he added.

In the meantime, Mr. Williams said that he and his partners, Chris Carlson and Roy Petley, are working to develop a reliable art market index — or, perhaps, a set of indexes for different segments of the market, like Impressionists,

Old Masters, etc. — on the basis of which they could do a true hedge.

A few art market indexes already exist. The best known is the Mei/ Moses Fine Art Index — actually a group of indexes in the categories of Old Masters and 19th century, Impressionist and modern, post-war and contemporary, and Ameri-can before 1950 — developed by the economists Jianping Mei, of NYU’s Stern School of Business, and Michael Moses. The Mei/Mo-ses indexes, like the Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes, which are used for the housing derivatives market, are based on repeat trans-actions — that is, on paintings, or houses, that have sold more than once. But the Mei/Moses indexes are based only on auction results, not on the equal or larger number of private sales. Since dealers and collectors don’t disclose the terms of private art sales, it will be extremely challenging to develop a reliable index. Mr. Williams said that he and his partners are hoping to use the information from their own transactions as well as those of other dealers in their network.

In an interview, Mr. Moses said he believes people will eventu-ally be able to trade options or futures based on an art market index. But one problem he noted is how often such an index can be updated to reflect current trends. The Case-Shiller Indexes are updated monthly, but because of the smaller number of transac-tions in the art market than in the real estate market, the Mei/Moses

indexes are only updated annually.

The other problem, Mr. Moses said, is: “Are there going to be enough people who are interested in trading this kind of index?” Without enough investors, a market in art futures would not be liquid. “There are probably a lot of people who would want to take a long position” — that is, betting that the art market will go up, Mr. Moses said. “The more difficult thing is figuring out who’s going to bet short,” he said, though he noted that a person with a lot of art might want to short the index, to protect against losses in case of a market fall.

The art market lags behind the stock market in its trends, so how the panic over subprime mort-gages will affect the price of Monet is yet to be seen. But anyone who can provide liquidity to a market that has none — whether by buy-ing up downgraded mortgages or, potentially, by creating a market in art futures — stands to make a lot of money. “There’s always a lot of profit supplying liquidity in a market that doesn’t have it and wants it,” Mr. Edelman said. “And given what’s going on in the world, that’s probably where things are headed,” he added. “It’s the begin-nings of a major liquidity squeeze. We have had a world awash in liquidity and in a matter of days, that’s gone.”

Seeking A Hedge For Art

http://www.vault.com/nr/news-main.jsp?nr_page=3&ch_id=261&article_id=23801470&cat_id=2853

In 1949 Alfred W. Jones estab-lished the first hedge fund-type structure when he borrowed funds (used leverage) to increase his long positions while adding a portfolio of short stocks in an investment fund with an incentive fee structure. Carol J. Loomis used the term “hedge fund” in her 1966 Fortune magazine article where she discussed the structure and in-vestment strategy used by Jones. Jones had set up his pool of inves-tors as a limited partnership and was, thus, able to avoid the report-ing requirements to which mutual funds were subjected. What drew Fortune’s attention to Jones was that his fund significantly outper-formed traditional investments. From 1960-1965 Jones’ invest-ments returned 325 percent while the Fidelity mutual fund returned 225 percent. During the 10-year period from 1955-1965 Jones’ fund returned 670 percent compared to the Dreyfuss fund, which only returned 358 percent. After the Fortune article, other money managers found Jones’ in-vestment style both profitable and intriguing and, thus, a growth spurt in the hedge fund industry began. In an attempt to copy Jones’ style (and hopefully performance), many money managers began selling short securities without prior experience. Haphazard short sell-ing by new hedge fund managers adversely affected their perform-

ance during the bull market of the mid-late 1960s. These hedge fund managers were not actually “hedging” their positions at all; they were leveraged to the long side of the portfolio (betting that the market would go up), which was particularly risky entering the bear markets of the 70s (when the markets declined).

According to Alexander Ineichen in his book Absolute Returns, these managers produced substantial losses in 1969-70 and a major bloodletting ensued in the 1973-74 bear market. Ineichen’s book is one of the most recommended books for those interested in learn-ing in more depth about the hedge fund industry and its strategies. The more experienced hedge fund managers survived the 1970s bear market. But, unfortunately many other hedge fund manag-ers closed the doors. According to Gabelli in 1984, when Sandra Manske formed Tremont Partners and began researching the hedge fund industry, she was only able to identify 68 funds. It is hard to determine an exact figure for the funds at this time due to the lack of marketing and public registration. Ineichen also states that the hedge fund industry remained relatively small until the early 1990s, when the financial press once again highlighted the returns achieved by hedge fund superstars George Soros (Quantum Fund) and Julian Robertson (Tiger Fund and its off-shore sister, Jaguar Fund). What differed about this new growth of hedge fund managers was that the

hedge fund managers added a va-riety of trading strategies, including the infamous global macro strategy pursued by George Soros. Soros traded in the currency markets by buying and selling various curren-cies and most notably made over $1 billion betting against the British pound. Robertson employed mod-ern financial derivatives such as futures and options, which didn’t exist when Jones started his fund.

The ability to use futures, op-tions, swaps and other complex derivatives led to an explosion in the number of trading strategies. These strategies are not allowed to be employed in the mutual fund industry. Therefore, managers who felt that they could exploit the markets using these tools had to set up hedge funds. At the end of 1999, Tremont Partners estimated as many as 4,000 hedge funds ex-isted, 2,600 of which were tracked in its database.

Estimates show that there were 300 hedge funds in existence in 1990. By 2000 that number had increased to 3,000 and by 2003 there were reported to be over 6,000 hedge funds. According to Hal Lux, the doubling of the number of hedge funds over the past three years has been due to the ability of hedge funds to out-perform traditional markets in the recent bear market and investors’ increased interest in the advanced trading strategies that they employ. The growth in the hedge fund industry also stems from increased interest in the industry from institu-

tional investors (pension funds and endowments) and from the number of hedge fund managers entering the industry. Between 1992 and 2000 the institutional investor’s share of the overall hedge fund market increased 147 percent.

What Makes a Hedge Fund a Hedge Fund?

The main distinguishing charac-teristics of hedge funds are the following:Hedge funds can “hedge” their portfolio Hedge funds use derivatives Hedge funds can short sell Hedge funds have the ability to use leverage. These characteristics make hedge funds different from most other in-vestment funds, especially mutual funds. To get a good understand-ing of how a hedge fund manager operates, it is very important to understand these concepts. The four concepts are now defined in detail:

HedgingHedging refers to the execution of additional trades by the hedge fund manager in an attempt to counterbalance any risk involved with the existing positions in the portfolio. Hedging can be accom-plished in many different ways, although the most basic technique is to purchase a long position and a secondary short position in a similar security (See Gap exam-ple). This is used to offset price fluctuations and is an effective way

of neutralizing the effects of market conditions.

Derivatives

Derivatives that are used by hedge funds can take on many forms, and the more complex derivatives (interest rate swaps, foreign currency swaps, contract for differences, total return swaps, etc.) are not covered in this book. Discussed now are the most basic forms of derivatives: ‘put’ and “call’ options on stocks:

Short selling (going “short”)

Short selling involves the selling of a security that the seller does not own. Short sellers believe that the stock price will fall and that they will be able to repurchase the stock at a lower price in the future. Thus, they will profit from selling the stock at a higher price, then buy it in the future at a lower price. (The opposite of going “short” is going “long,” when investors buy stocks they believe will rise.)

Leverage

Leverage measures the amount of assets being borrowed for each investment dollar. Leverage (borrowing additional funds) is utilized by hedge fund managers when they believe that the cost of the borrowed funds will be minimal compared to the returns of a particular position. It can be a key component to hedge fund man-agement since it gives the hedge fund managers the ability to have

higher returns (and potentially lose more) with borrowed funds.

Typical hedge fund leverage depends on the type of financial instruments that the hedge fund trades. Fixed income has lower risk levels so it is not uncommon to have four or five times the value of the fund borrowed. Equities have a higher risk profile and therefore typical leverage is one and a half to two times the value of the fund. However hedge funds are usually comprised of long and short posi-tions, so a large market rise or fall has little impact if their profitable positions were equally balanced by their losing positions.

The simplest examples in eve-ryday life of leverage are house mortgages and car loans. The bank manager uses the house or the car as collateral for the loan from the bank. The bank manager can then sell the house or the car if you default on your loan. Similarly, the hedge fund manager uses the financial instruments in his account as collateral for the funds they have borrowed from their bank (prime broker). The primary sources of leverage are financial institutions and banks. If the hedge fund manager cannot pay the loan back, the financial institution can then sell the collateral (the finan-cial instruments in the account) to pay back the loan.

A Brief History of the Hedge Fund Industry

Artists Websites

For New Age Art visitwww.artandartists.co.za/johan-nesblom

Artists looking for work

Young Artist / Illustrator seeking workI have a National Diploma and Im a practicing Fine Artist / Illustrator currently working as a graphic designer. Im seeking any form of work involved in the Visual Arts.Warren Petersenblackpride21@gmail.com

I have been teaching art for ten years at Thogo craft school in

Cape Town. I teach any form of painting: fabric painting, oil painting, acrylic paint-ing, silk painting. I teach various different arts and crafts like : decoupage, 3d decoupage, pewter art, guilding, jewelry making, mosaic and many more crafts. If you are a school who is looking for a part time teacher a parent doing home schooling and you are looking for your child to do something creative please give me a call.Cindy Tel/Fax : 021 704 3598

Qualified, reliable artist seek-ing permanent employment in Pretoria region. I have experience in teaching, administration and graphic design programmes such

as Photoshop and Coreldraw. Please contact me for my cv or examples of my work. Adelle Herselman 082 923 5063adelle_herselman@yahoo.com

Looking for Artists

I am interested in getting into contact with Alma Vorster in the hope ofbuying one of her etchings. I live in the uk.Susan Erskine Jonesgareth@uberdog.net

I am looking for Corrine de Haast to do a mural for our new house. Eric Levinesusannaeric@mweb.co.za

New Galleries, Art Routes

There’s a New Art Route with a difference in the Western Cape.The bizarre rural hamlet of Baard-scheerdersbos (near Gans Bay) in the Overberg is fast becoming an aesthetic haven and is sprouting artists between the organic veggies, donkey carts and fynbos!Nine of these artists will be opening their studios to the public for the first time as a group on Sunday 4 May from 10 - 5pm and meanderers are encouraged to travel between rural studios on the local donkey and horse carts. Artists participating include Joshua Miles, winner of the UCT Michaelis Graduate Award toward the end of the eighties, who will be showing his oils and woodcuts , Amanda Jephson, MA FA and ex UCT Fine Arts lecturer (oils and graphite) , Andrée Bonthuys, Kebble Finalist and multiple Ceramic Award recipient will show mixed media and sculpture, Claudette Barnes, ex ad agency exec, painting and Vic Breach, photography. Also on show will be woodwork and furni-ture at “Serenity” by well-known craftsman PD Coetzer and sculp-ture, mosaicwork and paintings by Annalie and Coleen.The Open Day promises to be an enlightening and fun event. If Art is becoming “The New Good In-vestment”, perhaps the well-known Johannesburg Architect who snuck into town recently and snapped up about 15 works, was onto a really

good thing!For more info visit http://www.freewebs.com/artroute or www.overberginfo.com Studio Spaces offered

GoodHopeArt provides open studios for visual artists. It is situated in the historical Adam Tas room at the Castle of Good Hope, Cape Town. Basic facilities including secured parking and safe environment. Space only available for professional artists who are serious about entering the art industry.Contact Studio Manager Tel: +27(0) 83 285 7874Email: Nico.Eilers@Telkomsa.net

Art Classes offered

Live Portrait DemonstrationsProfessional Portrait artist giveslive demonstrations to classes andgroups in pencil, charcoal, pasteland oil. Artist also acceptscommissions in same mediums.Contact Willie 083 746 1208willie_jacobs@yahoo.comP.O. Box 2740, Brooklyn Square,Pretoria, 0075

Painting workshop with acclaimed Eugene Hurter, White River Saturday 10 MAY OPEN DAY: EUGENE WILL DEMONSTRATE HIS SPECIAL SKILLS.ANYONE WELCOME!!! 11 - 13 MAY FULL DAY WORKSHOPS THEME: HOW TO PRODUCE PAINTINGS ECONOMICALLY. “I don’t buy anything from art shops except paints and brushes. I make everything myself.” Eugene has had many sell-out exhibitions and decided to become a full time artist in 1981. He has done commissions for many cor-porates such as Anglo American, Standard Bank, Barclays Bank and Old Mutual. Many of his commissioned paint-ings can also be viewed at wine estates such as Belling-ham, Slanghoek, Bouvlei Cellars, Botha Cellars and many others.In 1986 he was invited to exhibit in the International Art Expo in Los Angeles, USA. At the time

he was working in water colour and was the only South African water colour artist to be honoured in this way. Eugene relocated to Mpumalanga in 2002. He lives in Lydenburg with his wife, Hester, where he hasestablished a studio and gallery. He regularly exhibits his work in Dullstroom and Gauteng as well. His work can be viewed on www.fineartportfolio.co.za The workshop will be held at the Ambience Inn, 28 Wally Scott Street, White River website www.ambienceinn.co.za Prices: R465 for the open day, including beverages, cake and light lunch. All are welcome.Daily prices for workshop: R400 each including snacks, tea and light lunch.Full course R1500 including open day and all workshops.Prices for bed and breakfast should you want to stay at Ambi-ence are R450 per person per day for a single room and R350 per person sharing.Please book without delay!Contact Daleen Mulder 082 341 5522 or 013 751 2584 evenings. International School of Painting, Drawing and Sculpture in Umbria, Italy Desc: Intensive studio programs for developing painters and sculptors from around the world. Internation-ally distinguished artists teach and critique, and visiting artists and scholars lecture. Students work full-time in their studios and classes, and take weekly trips to study and draw from the great art of Italy. Students, residents and faculty live and work in Montecastello di Vibio, a hill town in Umbria, one of Italy’s most beautiful regions.Price: 2-6 weeks, 2000-4800 EuroName: Marc Servin, DirectorPhone: +39 075 8780072 Email: info@giotto.usWebsite: www.giotto.us

Canvasses

Art StuffStretched Canvasses, Hiring and custom made easels, painting and print stretching. Transport withing Cape area Tel. 021 448 2799 wwww.artstuff.co.za

ABC Canvass8 Woltemade Street, Stellenberg Tel 021 910 0556canvas@artnetwork.co.za

Special on our canvasses Order or phone for price list : Schalk 073 1606844sokruger@yahoo.com 14 Irene Avenue Somerset WestRemember we deliver free any where in Cape Town if you order R500 or more.

Truly FantasticArtists Canvases and easelsStreched canvases made to order021 785 7755. 083 4278936

Art Transport

Aspiring Art LogisticsSouth Africa’s specialist in packaging and transporting of your valuable art and collectables. Free quotations Tel. 881 3477

Bronze Casting Commissions

Sculptures, Commissions and Installations.Tel. 0824574290 www.andresteadsculpture.com

Art FoundriesLoop Art Foundry and Sculpture GalleryTel 086 111 2473 www.tlafoundry.co.za

Framing

In Fin ArtWolfe Street Chelsea,Wynberg. Tel. 021 7612816www.infinart.co.za

Canterbury Framers and Gallery58 Vinyard Rd, Claremont, Cape Town 021 674 0568

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