Art Career

“The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men
Gang aft agley…” -Robert Burns

As we approach the birthday of Robert Burns, famed poet of Scotland, let us reflect on his wisdom that our best intentions are only as strong as the fates around us. The best laid schemes, so he said, but each of us are tempest tossed and might come out battered and bruised although we lay forth our most careful plans. This is nothing more than the twisting journey of life – no scourge laid down by vengeful deities, merely the unmapped road of existence.

Ronnie Landfield had just opened a show at the Findlay Gallery in New York City when he spoke to us. He has been represented by Findlay for the last four years. The paintings in the show were primarily new work. Although his style has evolved, Landfield has consistently approached color as a psychological language. From his early minimalist work until the present, this has been an undercurrent of all his paintings. To hear more about Landfield’s extensive career, including the story of Sam Golden, the creator of Golden acrylics, who enabled the process that Landfield uses to create his art, listen to the complete interview.

Amitis Motevalli spoke to us a second time – during the first conversation we discussed her work and upbringing in Iran and a number of other topics. This time around we spoke about her creative engagement as an educator, artist, resister – a self-described “thinker and learner” who takes ideas and notions and pushes them. Motevalli organizes events that hold deep meaning, writes songs that tell stories of injustice and generally celebrates those who are typically not celebrated – in particular those in the queer community – or allowed to participate in ritual. Motevalli uses the joy of those who participate in her events as a form of resistance. To hear more from this fascinating creator, including why she was bleeding during her ritual event, listen to the complete interview

A Few Words to Keep in your Pocket:

Let go of the little things, do not cling too tightly to the big ones. We are all but specs of dust blown about on the wind of constant change.

Interviews are available on iTunes as podcasts, and for Android please click here. All weekly essay pieces in a shareable format are here. The full archive of interviews here.

Books to Read

What are you reading? Add your titles to our reading list here. Rosa Lleo was blown away by Caliban and the Witch by Silvia Federici and feels it should be required reading for all. Praxis user Kathleen is reading The Complete Stories of Flannery O’Connor.

Deadlines

Tides Institute and Museum of Art (TIMA) invites artists to apply for the StudioWorks Artist in Residence program. This program is located in quaint and coastal Eastport, Maine – set in the heart of Washington County and nestled up to the border of New Brunswick, Canada. There is a fee to apply but those chosen receive housing and a generous stipend. For complete details, visit the website. Deadline is February 1

 

Weekly Edited Grant and Residency Deadlines – review the list here.

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Brainard Carey is an author, artist and educator. He is the director of Praxis Center for Aesthetics. He has written six books for artists; Making it in the Art World, New Markets for Artists, The Art World Demystified, Fund Your Dreams Like a Creative Genius, Sell Online Like a Creative Genius and Succeed with Social Media Like a Creative Genius.

In half of the world, it is winter. For some this means temperatures are still mild, but for others it is a long, often dark trudge through the colorless months until spring bursts forth once more. During the deepest winter, it is pleasant to plan for what’s ahead. To set one’s sights on brighter days and faraway places. It is the perfect time to explore opportunities. Listed below are a few upcoming residency opportunities to help brush away the winter darkness and remind you to stay the course to warmer days.

Tides Institute and Museum of Art (TIMA) invites artists to apply for the StudioWorks Artist in Residence program. This program is located in quaint and coastal Eastport, Maine – set in the heart of Washington County and nestled up to the border of New Brunswick, Canada. There is a fee to apply but those chosen receive housing and a generous stipend. For complete details, visit the website. Deadline is February 1.

Mothership NYC currently has openings for residency in their Greenpoint, Brooklyn live-work space. The residency opportunities take many forms at Mothership and are all intended to support art and trans-disciplinary practice. For full details, visit the website. Deadlines vary.

Wendy’s Subway currently has a call for proposals to creatives of many sorts including visual artists. This is a stipended residency that allows participants time to research, experiment and develop projects. The residency supports publication of resident work, offers creative, administrative and technical support and more. To learn more, visit the website. Deadline for proposals is February 5.

Praxis Center is fully devoted to the needs of artists at every stage in their careers. We embrace new and emerging artists, offering them the guidance they need to feel confident as they navigate new waters. We help artists further along in their careers rediscover their footing or simply refresh with a new perspective on things. We know that the decision to devote one’s life to the creation of art is not one that is taken lightly – and so we are here to help no matter where you happen to find yourself along the way.

Brainard Carey is an author, artist and educator. He is the director of Praxis Center for Aesthetics. He has written six books for artists; Making it in the Art World, New Markets for Artists, The Art World Demystified, Fund Your Dreams Like a Creative Genius, Sell Online Like a Creative Genius and Succeed with Social Media Like a Creative Genius.

 

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

“The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.” -Flannery O’Connor

We live with uncertainty all the time. It is a natural state of being for every one of us to wander through life without knowing what each moment will bring. What makes us remarkable is our ability to carry on with this lack of knowledge always sitting on our shoulders. Although it reaches us at times, in moments of heavy awareness, we are, all of us, equipped with the power to live well in the dark.

Rosa Lleo lives and works in Barcelona where, for the last five years, she has been running a project called The Green Parrot. It began as a space in 2016 because Lleo felt that the city needed something that was not an institution or a commercial gallery. The space itself was a second floor apartment in the center of the city – Lleo describes it as a humble space. She began with no funding but over time built up a donor base. The program has grown and evolved over time, establishing itself firmly within the arts scene in Barcelona. The political upheaval in Spain has disrupted the project to some extent. To hear more about this, and about the project itself, listen to the complete interview.

Eiman Elgibreen spoke to us live at the Venice Biennale. She is a Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art History as well as an artist in her own right in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She spoke to us about the meaning behind the Saudi Arabian pavilion at the biennale which was called After the Illusion. The inspiration came from lines from an old poet trying to recognize his home after being away for many years who must give in to his illusions in order to recognize his home. The exhibit itself was made up of columns with changing light, from warm to cool as well as various shapes. Elgibreen herself, chosen as a curator for the Venice Biennale, began as an artist. To hear her speak about her journey as an artist moving toward curation – the result of her disappointment when her art was constantly viewed through a political lens – as well as an interview with a second artist, Zarah Al Gamdi, listen to the complete interview.

A Few Words to Keep in your Pocket:

It is an unwavering truth about life that we simply cannot know it until it has happened.

Interviews are available on iTunes as podcasts, and for Android please click here. All weekly essay pieces in a shareable format are here. The full archive of interviews here.

Books to Read

What are you reading? Add your titles to our reading list here. Rosa Lleo was blown away by Caliban and the Witch by Silvia Federici and feels it should be required reading for all. Praxis user Kathleen is reading The Complete Stories of Flannery O’Connor.

Deadlines

Creative Capital invites artists to submit their proposals beginning in February for consideration for a substantial granting program. Each funded project is eligible to receive up to $50,000 in the form of direct funding and career services. This is a free and open application process. For more information, visit the website. Deadline is February 29.

 

 

Weekly Edited Grant and Residency Deadlines – review the list here.

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Brainard Carey is an author, artist and educator. He is the director of Praxis Center for Aesthetics. He has written six books for artists; Making it in the Art World, New Markets for Artists, The Art World Demystified, Fund Your Dreams Like a Creative Genius, Sell Online Like a Creative Genius and Succeed with Social Media Like a Creative Genius.

The life of an artist is one that can be filled with uncertainty. It isn’t always possible to know whether projects will be funded for the coming year, and unlike conventional jobs, a career in the arts means at times having to scale back initial ambitions. But this does not always have to be the case. There are organizations out there – and plenty of them – whose sole priority it is to fund artists so that they can continue to grow and develop their practice and careers. Read on for a few upcoming grant and fellowship opportunities and decide whether they might be right for you.

NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship is accepting applications for a $7,000 unrestricted cash grant awarded to New York (state) based creators across various disciplines. This is a well known and competitive fellowship, but that should not deter artists from applying. For full details, visit the website. Deadline is January 22.

Ceramic sculpture or sculpture artists at any stage of their careers are invited to apply to the Virginia A. Groot Foundation Grant. This grant, awarded in amounts of up to $50k, $20k and $10k is designed to offer those artists with exceptional potential and skill the opportunity to spend a considerable amount of time devoted to the development of his or her practice. For complete details, visit the website. Deadline is February 21.

Creative Capital invites artists to submit their proposals beginning in February for consideration for a substantial granting program. Each funded project is eligible to receive up to $50,000 in the form of direct funding and career services. This is a free and open application process. For more information, visit the website. Deadline is February 29.

Praxis Center supports and nurtures artists who have decided to take the plunge and go all in on a career doing what it is that makes them light up. We know the road is not always smooth and so we pour our energy into making sure that our students have every tool they need to succeed. Whether that is opportunities, the skills to navigate the many nuances of a career in the arts or professional feedback on everything from bios and artist statements to which galleries artists might want to avoid, we are there every step of the way making sure you have the very best chance to soar.

Brainard Carey is an author, artist and educator. He is the director of Praxis Center for Aesthetics. He has written six books for artists; Making it in the Art World, New Markets for Artists, The Art World Demystified, Fund Your Dreams Like a Creative Genius, Sell Online Like a Creative Genius and Succeed with Social Media Like a Creative Genius.

 

Photo credit: Bandaloop source from Creative Capital 

“A change is brought about because ordinary people do extraordinary things.”

-Barack Obama

We are, every one of us, ordinary. There is little at base that separates one from another although we all exist among layers and layers of differentiating circumstances. Each human is born to the very same world and is subject to the very same processes of growth and death. And yet, there exists among us an incalculable variety of ways to navigate the path upon which we find ourselves. It is those who rise up above the surface, gather their courage and do the very hard work, refusing to give up even in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles – they are who become the change makers. They are who shape the future.

Kat Larson‘s art practice is heavily focused on her Reiki healing practice. About a year before she spoke to us, she made a concerted decision about how she arrives to her healing practice. Prior to her present shift, she worked primarily in video and performance. These days Larson works as a Reiki master offering individual healing as well as corporate healing. She has also recently begun reading Tarot – a large part of her business at present. She approaches Tarot by using the stories of the symbols as a form of creative therapy. To hear more about her practice, including a discussion on the feminist history of the Mother Peace Tarot deck she uses in her readings, and much more, listen to the complete interview.

Roger Wing lives and works in Philadelphia where he was busy with an outdoor tree carving at the time of interview. Wing has been a wood carver for about 30 years. Over the years he got involved in ice carving which opened him up to how to make larger scale carvings with wood. These days he completes quite a lot of commissions for people using trees that have died but are still rooted in the ground. The carving he was working on when we spoke was an 8 foot tall Ash tree trunk that had succumbed to the Emerald Ash Borer that Wing was turning into a family of Rabbits. To hear more about Roger Wings many projects and his experience working with both ice and wood (sometimes at the same time – and once during a Sanctuary City hearing in Philadephia), as well as a recent addition to his repertoire in the form of sand carving, listen to the complete interview.

A Few Words to Keep in your Pocket:

Each of us has the potential to change the world – only some have the drive to unlock it.

Interviews are available on iTunes as podcasts, and for Android please click here. All weekly essay pieces in a shareable format are here. The full archive of interviews here.

Books to Read

What are you reading? Add your titles to our reading list here. Kat Larson is reading One Mind by Larry Dossey. Roger Wing recommends Overstory by Richard Powers.

Deadlines

Funding Arts Broward (FAB!) is a grant program that seeks to enrich the arts community of Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade Counties, Florida. They are currently accepting applications for the 2021 FAB Grant cycle. If you live in the area and wish to apply, visit the website for more details. Deadline for applications is January 24.

Weekly Edited Grant and Residency Deadlines – review the list here.

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Brainard Carey is an author, artist and educator. He is the director of Praxis Center for Aesthetics. He has written six books for artists; Making it in the Art World, New Markets for Artists, The Art World Demystified, Fund Your Dreams Like a Creative Genius, Sell Online Like a Creative Genius and Succeed with Social Media Like a Creative Genius.