 Item #1: Matthew Richter, executive director and founder of the multidisciplinary arts organization known as Consolidated Works, has been fired by the ConWorks board. Program director Chris Weber resigned in late January and managing director Carol Bull resigned shortly thereafter. Just after Weber resigned, Richter fired visual art curator Dylan Neuwirth after Neuwirth told The Stranger working at ConWorks was a "f---ing nightmare."John Sutton resigned as program director at the alternative arts space after a tenure of two weeks. That leaves no staff to run the organization.
A petition was circulated in the Seattle Arts Community: the 36 signers of the petition include Richard Andrews, director of the University of Washington's Henry Art Gallery; Elizabeth Brown, Henry chief curator; Betsey Brock, communications chief at the Henry; Robin Held, senior curator at the Frye Art Museum; Eric Fredericksen, director of Western Bridge; Tim Keck, publisher of The Stranger; Dan Savage, editor of The Stranger; Nate Lippens, art critic for The Stranger; Brad Thompson, artistic director of 911 Media Arts Center; and Jordan Howland, curator of the Capitol Hill Art Center. Susie Purves, managing director of Northwest Film Forum, signed, and so did Alan Pruzan, board president of Northwest Film Forum; Michael Seiwerath, executive director of Northwest Film Forum; Jonathan Middleton, curator of Western Front in Vancouver, B.C.; Helen Loveridge, director of Cinema Seattle/Seattle International Film Festival; Allison Narver, artistic director of the Empty Space Theatre; Paul Willis, director and co-founder of Printer's Devil Theatre; and Greg Lundgren, founder of Vital 5 Productions. Gallery dealers and artists on the list include James Harris of the James Harris Gallery; Billy Howard of Howard House, and artists Susan Robb, Crispin Spaeth, Hadley Howes & Maxwell Stephens, and Juliet Waller.
To date the position of Operations Manager has been posted on Craig's List but no new information has come from either the board or the principals involved.
Item #2: Joining a growing list of non-profit arts groups in trouble in the region is 911 Media Arts Center. Three of five full-time staff members have been laid off or let go, including director Karen Toering. Unlike the people involved with the ConWorks debacle, the folks at 911 are actively communicating with the community.
" Each board member deeply regrets the short term impact of this action; however, we strongly believe this will greatly improve cash flow and place the organization in a stronger position. The 911 community - members, trustees and staff - are passionate and dedicated. With active participation and creativity, 911 Media Arts Center has a very strong future."
Item #3: Architects Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo have been awarded a Creative Capital grant in Visual Arts. Their proposed project, Maryhill Double, will be their largest installation to date. Using construction scaffolding and flexible netting, the architects propose to create an exact duplicate volume of the museum to which the structure would be attached. I first wrote about their installation at Suyama Space and a time lapse QuickTime video was added. Click Here to see article
in a recent article in Architectural Record an excellent overview of their work was given. Click Here to see article
Item #4: TAM shows Neddy recipients. Cris Bruch, Mark Takamichi Miller, and Benjamin Wilkins, all have won the Neddy fellowship in the 10-year history of the program named after Ned Behnke. Administered by the Behnke Foundation, the Neddy offers a cash grant of $15,000 annually to one or two artists, selected by art professionals. I have written about Benjamin Wilikins' work right after he won the award here.
Last fall, I covered Miller's exhibit at Howard House here.
I have been a fan of Cris Bruch's work since working with him at Cornish College of the Arts. I even suggested that he be included in the Olympic Sculpture Park here.
Item #5: New and improved web sites; Adde Russell has a new web site which features both her paintings and her graphic work [Cover for Death Cab for Cutie's "Transalanticism"] It also hosts her innovative video work. www.adderussell.com
Kyle Wendt's web site features his graphic work as well as examples of his experiments in bookbinding and letterpress. www.kyleekylo.com
Item #6: Local Dance Off; Fankick vs. Streetbeat. The Stranger has been featuring a dance duel between the two 80's dance busker groups. We have been following the activities of the ladies of Fankick for quite some time visit their web-site at www.Fankick.com for further information.
Item #7: Local venues; In "Species", Francesca Sundsten focuses on the natural world, or rather, the world as seen through the eyes of a naturalist. Culling images from 19th century hand colored lithographs, engravings, and biology references, Sundsten recreates a world as she imagines it. This exhibit runs through April at the Davidson Gallery in Pioneer Square.Sundsten Portfolio Here Last month Patrick LoCicero exhibited new work at Grover/Thurston Gallery. Visit the web site here.
Item #8: Local Museums; The Frye is giving us The RetroFuturistic Universe of NSK. Neue slowenische Kunst (New Slovene Art, NSK), based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. NSK has been operating continuously at the intersection of art, politics and history since 1984. Most consistently visible on the international scene are the components Laibach, an industrial band, and Irwin, a group of painters. Other components of NSK include a theater collective, a graphic design arm and a philosophy department. Web Link Here
The Henry features "Interiors" by Doug Aitken. in the Stroum Gallery from March 26 - July 10, 2005 Four scenes cycle across three screens in Doug Aitken’s mesmerizing video installation, interiors. In 2000, Aitken received the Aldrich Award from the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art in Ridgefield, CT. His installation Electric Earth was one of the highlights of the Whitney Museum of American Art Biennial, 2000 and was awarded the International Prize at the Venice Biennale, 1999
These are but a few of the doings going around the sound. More excitement is up ahead in the near future.
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