Art Career

Autumn is a time of change. The world around us begins, ever so slightly, to slow. But first and foremost, it is a time of harvest. The work of summer can finally be reaped. In days gone by, it was the time when communities would set their stores for winter, hoping for a bountiful reward for their toil. The phrase “you reap what you sow” comes to mind. This is an apt analogy in many ways for an art career. The work you put in tends to equal the amount you get out. Here are some opportunities to perhaps sow future harvest.

The City of Milwaukee invites artists to apply for a commissioned public art project. In their own words:

“In recognition of one of the country’s leading Black woman jurists, politicians, and civil rights leaders, the City of Milwaukee is proudly working to transform a surface parking lot into an activated social space named after Milwaukee’s own traiblazer, Vel R. Phillips.

The Plaza will feature original art work honoring Vel R. Phillips. The final art work will serve as a creative representation of Vel R. Phillips’ work in breaking down social and cultural barriers for women, and women of color, in Wisconsin and around the United States.

The Vel R. Phillips Plaza will also feature informational kiosks to provide educational information about Vel R. Phillips and her vital contributions to the city, state, and nation, in providing support and context for the final commissioned art work.”

To learn more, and to apply, visit the website. Deadline is October 9.

Art Omi is accepting applications for artists, critics and curators to gather, collaborate, experiment and share ideas in New York. This residency “nurtures deep creative and professional connections in a vibrant social setting.” To learn more and to apply, visit the website. Deadline is October 15.

Circ Artist Grants support emerging, mid-career and professional artists throughout the year. During the fall 2023 cycle, artists will be awarded $1000 each “to enhance and further their creative practice.” For more information and to apply, visit the website. Deadline is October 15.

The Circ Artist Grants are open to emerging, mid-career, and professional artists in an international open call, several times throughout the year.

The Circ Artist Grant provides unrestricted funding to artists with a demonstrated commitment to their art. For the Fall 2023 cycle, three artists will be awarded $1000 each to enhance and further their creative practice.

Praxis Center considers it entirely possible to have a successful career in the art world. The key is knowing which tools and resources will serve you along the way. That’s why we continuously assemble experts in the field, helping nurture artists at every stage. Give Praxis a try today and see how far it can take you.

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: City of Milwaukee

“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.”

-Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein

As the seasons change profoundly here in the northeast, my thoughts turn to the tumult of the last few years. What a banquet of change we have feasted on, sometimes to unpleasant excess. It is easy to wonder if the world will ever be quite the same – whether it even should be. Change is perhaps the only constant in life, the only thing we can be sure of. What is today will not always be. Starting with this knowledge, we can prepare ourselves and strive perhaps to live more fully in each moment, knowing there will never be another quite like it.

Isaac Aden joined us to talk about his show, The Numinous Sublime, part II of which runs through October 7 at David Richard Gallery. Part I closed on September 7. The exhibition comprises paintings without much brushwork, and some are quite monumental in scale. The show’s title comes loosely from the European idea of the sublime relating to something that instills awe. Aden, who grew up in Alaska, also invokes nature, which can be both a destructive force or something uniquely personal. To learn more, listen to the complete interview.

Will Pappenheimer sat down with us to discuss his recent show, 404:error, which ran from June 16 to July 16 at iidrr Gallery. The work was based on computer glitch, speaking to the way in which computer error can sometimes be more interesting than their expected function. Pappenheimer investigated what can be created from these glitches – or errors. To learn more, listen to the complete interview.

A few words to keep in your pocket

Are you awake?

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 is here.

Books to Read

What are you reading? Add your titles to our reading list here. Praxis user Stephen Pare has been reading guidebooks about Venice, including Watermark by Joseph Brodsky.

Eyebeam invites artists to apply for their upcoming fellowship cycle, the theme of which is What is Human About Technology? In their own words, “In this digital-first fellowship cycle beginning February 15, 2024, through August 15, 2024, we call on artists to bring their innate mental, spiritual, and physical aspects of what it means to be human into play with technology to affirm humanity’s role as creators, not spectators, of our collective techno-future.” For more information and to apply, visit the website. Deadline for applications is October 1.

 

Brainard Carey is an author, artist and educator. He is the director of Praxis for Aesthetics. He has written six books for artists, most recently Making it in the Art World.

Understanding all the opportunities available to you as an artist can be uplifting – and daunting. There is no question that the art world can be difficult to navigate, but sometimes that’s simply because there are so many kinds of opportunities it’s difficult to know which ones could be a fit for you. To that we say, the only way to learn is to try. Read up on various residencies, grants, open calls, and submit to any – and all – that seem right. Will you get a resounding yes every single time? Absolutely not. That’s just par for the course. Don’t let it throw you off. Simply dust off, reset and start again. Here are a few to get you started.

True/False Film Fest invites artists to apply for residency. Those selected will meet online for weekly two-hour group sessions beginning in November 2023 with a focus on developing community and connection, broadening horizons and supporting the delivery of an installation piece for True/False. There is a $1000 stipend for each installation. For more information and to apply, visit the website. Deadline for proposals is September 30.

Eyebeam invites artists to apply for their upcoming fellowship cycle, the theme of which is What is Human About Technology? In their own words, “In this digital-first fellowship cycle beginning February 15, 2024, through August 15, 2024, we call on artists to bring their innate mental, spiritual, and physical aspects of what it means to be human into play with technology to affirm humanity’s role as creators, not spectators, of our collective techno-future.” For more information and to apply, visit the website. Deadline for applications is October 1.

Monument Lab presents Re:Generation to promote collaborations of teams of two or more. For 2024, the focus will be strongly on representation and interpretation of erased, suppressed or threatened stories and histories. For more information and to apply, visit the website. Deadline for applications is October 2.

Praxis Center not only believes in artists, but we know that a career in art is possible. That’s because we’ve seen it. Time and time again. We have watched our students grow and thrive, unlocking doors they never thought possible. What are you waiting for? Give Praxis a try today and see how far it can take you.

 

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: Monument Lab

“It seems to me we can never give up longing and wishing while we are still alive. There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger for them.”

-George Eliot

The universe is replete with mystery. Every day we have the chance to witness a million little miracles. It is easy to forget the splendor of the every day, to fall into listless longing for something new. The very air we breathe is so unlikely that we have yet – in all our searching with the most sensitive and futuristic instruments – to discover its equal anywhere else. Our mere existence seems to defy all else that we so far understand. When we sit with these kinds of truths, we cannot help but be moved by the power of it all.

Daniel Handal joined us to discuss his show, Engaños, which ran until September 9 at CLAMP in NYC. The title is a Spanish word meaning deception or illusion. Handal thought considerably about what to call his show, drawing from a chapter in the book À rebours. In the chapter, the protagonist is obsessed with flowers, and there is a current of what’s real and what’s not running throughout the narrative. To learn more, listen to the complete interview. 

Joel-Peter Witkin spoke to us for a second time this year. In our first conversation, we discussed early work through 2012. This time, he sat down to continue this chat about some of his more difficult images, including Corpus Medius, in which he photographed the lower half of a human corpse in Paris at the office of the medical investigator. This is one in a series of images of human remains. To hear more, listen to the complete interview.

A few words to keep in your pocket

Take time to consider the near impossibility of you.

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 is here.

Books to Read

What are you reading? Add your titles to our reading list here. Learn more about À rebours by Joris-Karl Huysmans (translated into English). And to explore the works of George Eliot, click here. 

Artists are invited to apply for a one-month residency at Dry Tortugas National Park. Spend your days and nights in a historical lighthouse keeper’s house surrounded by tropical environs including a Loggerhead turtle nesting ground. Stipend included. For more information and to apply, visit the website. Deadline for applications is September 30.

 

Brainard Carey is an author, artist and educator. He is the director of Praxis for Aesthetics. He has written six books for artists, most recently Making it in the Art World.

 

An art career, while a considerable amount of work, can produce the stuff that dreams are made of. The right residency can open up a world you never knew existed, inspiring new dimensions in your practice that were once as distant as the far-flung locations of residencies themselves. And the opportunity to exhibit your work or collaborate with others can catalyse your standing in the art world. Here are some open calls to motivate you.

There are two upcoming opportunities from the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts. First up, an exhibition call with the focus Folklore. Learn more here. Second is a call for proposals based on group gatherings. For information on this, click here. Deadline for both is September 29.

Artists are invited to apply for a one-month residency at Dry Tortugas National Park. Spend your days and nights in a historical lighthouse keeper’s house surrounded by tropical environs including a Loggerhead turtle nesting ground. Stipend included. For more information and to apply, visit the website. Deadline for applications is September 30.

Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park is also holding an open call for residency. Spend May 2024 among sacred volcanoes, rainforest, beaches and lava. Stipend available, couples and families welcome. For more information and to apply, visit the website. Deadline for applications is September 30.

Praxis Center believes in art careers. We ignore those who say it can’t be done or that artists should get a “real job” because we know it absolutely can. We’ve seen it. Let this be your sign from the universe that it’s time to start stepping out of your comfort zone. Investigate the opportunities that are all around you. Fine some that might be right and go for it. See how far it can take you.

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: National Parks Foundation/Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park