exhibitTag

Curator’s Clipboard: “The Circuit” for displaying artwork with Studio 23
Posted 16 October 2021 | art, art gallery, exhibit, exhibits, gallery

Curator’s Clipboard: “The Circuit” for displaying artwork with Studio 23

Let’s talk about “The Circuit” for more opportunities to display your artwork.

 

Being a member of Studio 23’s Artist Collective has advantages! We are always on the lookout to find venues that would welcome display of our member’s artwork. We have criteria such as the ongoing audience of the venue, the professionalism of the staff at each venue and the alignment of a positive value system with ours.  Currently we have four venues that keep our outreach exhibit opportunity circuit board spinning.

  1. Bay Area Chamber of Commerce displays artwork in their boardroom. They are back to regular in-person meetings and the walls are perfect for intimate viewing of art. Makes the meetings much more interesting!
  2. Bay City Players has an inviting gallery setting with excellent lighting and slat-board hanging system. Their audience can view the exhibit before, at intermission and after the performances.
  3. MidMichigan Health Park-Bay made a commitment to artists early on in their construction. A designated rotating gallery lobby displays both 2-D and 3-D artwork throughout the year for the enjoyment of their clients and staff.
  4. Water Street Nutrition is located right across the street from Studio 23. This upbeat location is perfect for abstract paintings as well as traditional art that is vibrant in colors. They are huge fans of social media so we love to share “art sightings” on our stories as well.

 

Clockwise from top right:

MidMichigan Health Park-Bay, Water Street Nutrition, Bay City Players and Bay Area Chamber of Commerce.

Our next opportunity is a Call for Artists in Michigan.

It’s time to think about our annual Black & White Gala and Art Auction.

We will be continuing with our online auction this year as it was a great success! We are taking applications now. Artists, thanks for considering!

One to Show and One to Grow

Virtual Art Auction/Gallery Exhibit

Black & White Affair Art Auction 2021

Studio 23/The Arts Center’s major fundraiser of the year will feature an art auction with two exciting components: auction and gallery space both online and inside the Tabor Gallery of Studio 23. Artists donating one artwork for the Black & White Affair art auction will have the additional option of presenting another piece of artwork for sale at the usual gallery split of 60% to artist and 40% to Studio 23. This is an opportunity to show your work and grow your visibility in the community of art collectors in the Great Lakes Bay Region. Both artworks will be featured on the online art auction gallery website as well as “in person” in our Tabor Gallery at Studio 23. We will be taking auction bids on your donated art, and we will have your artwork for sale set up as a “Buy Now” option. 

This One to Show and One to Grow concept was introduced last year for the 2020 Art Auction. Here is a 2020 video interview with marketing expert Donna Wagner of DMWagner and Associate and our curator, Valerie Allen on networking for artists. 

Here is the link to the Online Art Auction/Buy it Now Event Application.

Below are photogaphs from the 2020 Black & White Affair Art Auctions displayed in the Tabor Gallery of Studio 23. 

       

Become a 2021 Art Advocate today and celebrate artists!

Click here for our donation page!

The first 50 Artists of the Great Lakes Bay Region was held in September 2017. This event has propelled over the past four years with help from businesses and community supporters. This biennial exhibit is alternated with an all-state exhibit for Michigan artists. Through Studio 23’s Art Advocate campaign, there has been over $10,000 in cash prizes awarded as well as a $12,500 investment in the Art Around the City Public Art Project. This specific art advocacy campaign also provides support for educational growth seminars for artists. Momentum continues as the number of 50 Art Advocates grows for 2021. Thank you to all who have joined to date and we welcome others to  join today!

Current list of 2021 Art Advocates to date Friday, October 14, 2021

Leeds and Margaret Bird, Thomas Bock, Larry and Shanna Butcher, Dr. Cheryl Canfield, Dr Rajesh and Sarah Dandamudi, Janet Darby, Carol Fowler, Bruce Francke, Amy Gibas, C. Joanne Grabinski, Ed and Kathy Langenburg, Alan and Carol Maciag, John McAlpine, Jean McCue, Armin Mersmann and Valerie Allen, Jennifer Paradise, Dominic Sakon, Charlie and Kathy Schwartz,  Jerry Somalski and Wanda Dziwura, Karen Tighe, Tim and Jan Tobin, Mark and Maria Trahan, Dee Dee Wacksman, Brent and Tara Welch, Jeff and Shelley Whitehead, Amy Wurdock, Lori Zurvalec.

Kind regards,

Val

Valerie Allen, curator of exhibits

  PS: Check out our Forgotten Spaces Window exhibit starting Wednesday, October 20, 2021! Over 20 Studio 23 Artist Collective members and nonmembers will have artwork for sale in the window inspired by our regions forgotten, vacant or just plain haunted spaces.

Upcoming Events on our Studio 23/The Arts Center Facebook Page

Curiosities Wonders Exposition Click Here!

Witches Night Out Click Here! 

 

October 23 session with Julie Tyslicky’s Fundamentals of Drawing Click Here! 

 

 

Studio 23 is part of the Amazon Smile gives program for nonprofits. Please consider using this when ordering from at smile.amazon.com and choose Studio 23 as your nonprofit.

 

 

 

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Curator’s Clipboard: A Celebration of 50 Artists!
Posted 20 September 2021 | art, art gallery, exhibit, exhibits, gallery

Curator’s Clipboard: A Celebration of 50 Artists!

You are invited to 50 Artists of the Great Lakes Bay Region 2021

50 Artists of the Great Lakes Bay Region + Art Around the City 2021 showcases the works of 50 artists who live and/or work in the Michigan counties of Saginaw, Bay, Midland, Isabella, Gratiot, Clare, Gladwin, and Arenac. A panel of experts in the visual arts and community leaders from the region selected the artists from 108 entries. 50 original artworks are displayed in the Rowley Gallery at Studio 23/ The Arts Center from September 23 – November 13, 2021.  In addition, 50 images from the selected artists are being installed and displayed on weatherized metal plates as part of the Art Around the City project situated along the Bay City Riverwalk and in historic downtown Bay City for two years.

We are celebrating with a public reception on Thursday, September 30, 2021, 5–7 p.m. Meet the artists, view the artwork and enjoy an evening of camaraderie!

Here is the link to the Facebook Event.

The legacy of fine art in our region includes a rich history of artists that include international names such as architect Alden B. Dow, painter E. Irving Couse and contemporary artist, Jim Shaw. Studio 23 credits the presence of many art nonprofits, guilds and associations that promote visual arts in Mid-Michigan as important resources for the artist community. I am thrilled that the ongoing collaboration between artists and communities is encouraging connections that lead to conversations, inclusion and general well-being in our region. The power of art can bring hope, healing, happiness and so much more. This free public reception will be another example of how art brings us together.

Douglass Barron, Bridgeport   Sharon Berkan-Dent, Midland   Nancy Brooks-Siebert, Midland   Sharon Caldwell, Midland   DJ Carmody, Midland     Jeff Caverly, Essexville   Tamara Ebenhoeh, Frankenmuth   Michael Glowacki, University Center   Brian Goff, Bridgeport   Avram Golden, Bay City     Jason Graham, Saginaw   Emmy Heger, Midland   Phillip Hanson, Saginaw   Pamela Hart, Midland   Erin Houghtaling, Saginaw                              Michael Inman, Midland   Danielle Kato, Bay City   Bonnie Lalley, University Center   Debra LaRocque, Bay City   Matt Lewis, Saginaw                           Marti Liddle-Lameti, Sanford   Bruce Lipsitt, Midland    Jamie Long, Midland  Alan Maciag, Midland   Jim Matherne, Essexville                                      Jody McDonald Rider, Midland   Zizelda Moreira, Midland    Allise Noble, Saginaw   Priscilla Olson, Midland    Susan Pack, Hemlock                         Steven Parkhurst, Midland   Mark Piotrowski, Bay City   Katrina Rae, Frankenmuth   Roger Reichmann, Midland   Hermelinda Roof, Midland            Sally Rose, Mt. Pleasant   Stacie Rose, Birch Run   Laurie Russell-Parrent, Kawkawlin   Annie Stout, Midland   Janis Taylor, Mt. Pleasant           Kristianne Tefft, Midland   Suzanne Thomas, Midland   Julie Tyslicky, Coleman   Jan Wegner, Saginaw   Marilyn Whitworth Soules, Midland             Neal Wilcox, Midland   Vicki Winton, Saginaw   Carol Zahn, Midland   Rebecca Zeiss, Midland   Mike Zureich, Midland

The jurors for this year’s exhibit were selected for their art expertise as well as their locations in the region. Jurors from Bay City, Saginaw, Mt. Pleasant and Midland studied over 300 images to select the ultimate 50 Artists. The panel included Janet Danek of Janet Danek Design, Leeds Bird, nonprofit performing arts leader and art collector, Kathie Fuce-Hobohm of Space Inc., and Thor Rasmussen, Saginaw Art Museum and Temple Theater.

Read more about our jurors here on the exhibition page.

Become a 2021 Art Advocate today and celebrate artists!

Click here for our donation page!

The first 50 Artists of the Great Lakes Bay Region was held in September 2017. This event has propelled over the past four years with help from businesses and community supporters. This biennial exhibit is alternated with an all-state exhibit for Michigan artists. Through Studio 23’s Art Advocate campaign, there has been over $10,000 in cash prizes awarded as well as a $12,500 investment in the Art Around the City Public Art Project. This specific art advocacy campaign also provides support for educational growth seminars for artists. Momentum continues as the number of 50 Art Advocates grows for 2021. Join today!

 

The public reception for 50 Artists will be held on Thursday, September 30, 2021, 5–7 p.m. The juror’s Best of Show award of $1000 will be awarded that evening as well as two juror’s cash awards of merit. The award ceremony will start at 6 p.m. There will be a popular vote cash award of $1000 and two honorable cash awards on the images displayed for the Art Around the City path. Those awards will be announced on closing day of the exhibit, November 13, 2021 at 1 p.m.

 Our hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 11 am – 5 pm. Please stop and view the new exhibit.

Kind regards,

Val

Valerie Allen, curator of exhibits

Upcoming Events on our Studio 23/The Arts Center Facebook Page

 

Studio 23 “Call for Artists” to exhibit Forgotten Places in our window gallery.

Click Here 

Curiosities Wonders Exposition

Click here

 

Studio 23 is part of the Amazon Smile gives program for nonprofits. Please consider using this when ordering from at smile.amazon.com and choose Studio 23 as your nonprofit.

 

 

 

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Curator’s Clipboard: Instagram for Artists
Posted 28 June 2021 | art, art gallery, exhibit, exhibits, gallery

Curator’s Clipboard: Instagram for Artists

Artist Bonnie Lalley and her presence on Instagram is a visual feast!

You can find our upcoming exhibiting artist, Bonnie Lalley on Instagram and follow her tastefully curated grid of images. She intermingles art photos, videos and story telling elements throughout her feed.

Artists are naturally drawn to Instagram due to its emphasis on images with short descriptions and the feed that is constantly changing with the option of quickly paced stories. This model lends itself to work-in-progress images, finished artwork available for sale and personal tidbits on the artist that relate to the art audience.

Tap on this link for a fun video of Bonnie painting. 

Bonnie is an expert on adding relevant hashtags to her work. Long story short, hashtags are labels for content. It helps others who are interested in a certain topic, quickly find content on that same topic. Here are just a few of the ones she uses to promote her posts. #artistslife #floraandfauna #paintingsonpaper #artistsoninstagram #collage

   

I would describe Bonnie Lalley’s Instagram presence as a total lifestyle experience. Her artist bio describes her life is these words: Bonnie Lalley is a full-time artist/illustrator living on a smallholding, in the American Midwest, with a man, even chickens and a dog. She lives in a century old farmhouse restored by her cabinetmaker husband, Timothy Lalley,  who is also the maker of frames  for all of Bonnie’s work. Being a dedicated Biophile, the flora and fauna surround the Lalley home is a constant source of wonder and inspiration for this artist.

Now that’s an Instagram story if I ever read one! Be sure to follow Bonnie at @bonnielalley on Instagram and save the date for her exhibit, July 22–September 11, 2021. We will be having an extra special reception for her on Friday, July 30, 2021, 5–7 pm and you are all invited! See you there!

Upcoming Events

Painters & Potters: Students, Faculty and 100 Day Project Members Exhibit continues until July 10, 2021.

Downtown Bay City Sidewalk Days is July 22–July 24, 2021 with Throwback Thursday, Perfect Picnic Friday and Sizzling’ Saturday!

Reception for Bonnie Lalley at Studio 23 is Friday, July 30, 5–7 pm.

Chalk Walk Festival is Saturday, August 14, 2021.

 Our hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 11 am – 5 pm. Please stop in!

Kind regards,

Val

Valerie Allen, curator

Studio 23 is part of the Amazon Smile gives program for nonprofits. Please consider using this when ordering from at smile.amazon.com and choose Studio 23 as your nonprofit.

 

 

 

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Curator’s Clipboard: First things first: the business of being an artist.
Posted 18 April 2021 | art, art gallery, exhibit, exhibits, gallery

Curator’s Clipboard: First things first: the business of being an artist.

Artists wear many hats….deadlines and promotion are two of them.

I recently read a super hashtag on Instagram. #ibelieveinartists

Yes, I do and I feel as a curator and working artist I can relate to the many facets of being an artist ranging from creative practice to marketing your brand. It all adds up and each bullet point is important. I’ve missed my fair share of deadlines through the years for calls for artists as well as underestimating the power of a well-placed social media post. Here are 5 bullet points to keep in mind as an artist!

  • Find your tribe or community of artists. This can be a collective, a guild, an association. It’s the group of artists who share encouragement and opportunities.
  • Attend networking events that are either virtual or in-person. Even on the ever-present Zoom meetings your name will be in front of people as an active and engaged artist.
  • Keep a calendar with deadlines so you don’t miss a call for artists. Push yourself to meet the deadline.
  • Post images of your work on Instagram and Facebook. Tell a story about the work as well as title, size and if it is available or sold.
  • Be part of the 10% of artists who meet deadlines, send biographies, provide images that are cropped, sharp and clear and you will be ahead of the game. Be proactive and make it easy for galleries, organizations and the press to promote you.

 

50 Artists of the Great Lakes Bay Region Submission Deadline is Here!

Friday, April 23, 2021

You will find all the information HERE for entering this regional biennial exhibition. Artists selected will be part of the fall exhibit in our gallery at Studio 23 as well as have weatherized image plates placed on the Art Around the City trail located on both sides of the Saginaw River and Downtown Bay City for two years.

There will a $1000 cash award for Best of Show selected by the panel of jurors as well as awards of merit and honorable mentions. Here is complete list of the awards:

$3000 in Cash Awards

$1000 Best of the Region

$1000 Popular Vote

$250 for 2 Runner-ups of the Region

$250 for 2 Runner-ups of Popular Vote

 

The Juror Panel 2021

  Thor Rasmussen is the marketing and creativity manager at the Saginaw Art Museum and the Temple Theatre in Saginaw, Michigan. With a creative and entrepreneurial spirit, he runs a small photography company with a special focus on documentary family and wedding photography. When not working with clients, his personal photography projects explore the observation of place and seeing uniqueness in familiar spaces.

 

  Janet Danek earned a B.S. in art and design at the University of Wisconsin–Stout and began her career designing the interiors of Boeing aircraft.  She later taught design at her alma mater, then moved to Michigan to design museum exhibitions at a Midland firm. As an independent contractor, she has managed the design and production of numerous museum exhibitions. Since 2010, she has been coordinator of exhibits at Central Michigan University’s Park Library.

 

  Leeds Bird is active in the arts community of Bay City. A retired teacher of drama, he owned a professional picture framing business and served on boards of directors for Bay City Players, Studio 23/The Arts Center, and Bay Arts Council. He finds his training in the visual aspects of theater serve him well in appreciating the visual in other arts. His personal collection of art reveals a highly eclectic taste.

 

  Kathie Fuce-Hobohm is CEO of SPACE, Incorporated, an interior design firm in Midland, Michigan. SPACE, Incorporated creates beautiful and functional interior space for their commercial clients in the Great Lakes Bay Region and their federal government clients throughout the United States. Professionally, Fuce-Hobohm is passionate about creating work environments that help agencies and businesses promote their culture, align with their mission and vision, and attract top talent.

50 Artists Application Form: Click Here

Land To River continues through May 15, 2021

Check out our ongoing video series for Land To River that is available on our Facebook Page at Studio 23/The Arts Center. Click here to view our current video on Alex Gilford. 

Congratulations to all the artists in this invitational exhibit collaboration with Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy.

The featured artists are Mark BleshenskiZachary BraniganAlex Gilford, Frits HoendervangerErwin LewandowskiAlan MaciagJohn Sabraw, and Larry VanSteenhouse.

Congratulations to Artist John Sabraw on his recent interview with Savvy Painter International Podcast host, Antrese Wood.

Click here to listen to John Sabraw’s complete interview. 

In conjunction with our Land To River events, I will be presenting a Zoom Workshop on Saturday, April 24, 2021 starting at 1:00pm. It will also be streamed on Facebook Live at that time and saved on our Facebook Video Library for future viewing. The topics covered will include: Methods on safely disposing art materials, creating artwork from recycled/reclaimed objects and calls for artists with environmental themes.

Click on photo for details.

Land To River is sponsored by Waste Management of Saginaw

SAVE THE DATES!

Circling back to the beginning of this blog post and the idea that artists wear many hats, during our 2021 Summer Solstice event, sponsored by Michigan Sugar, we will feature professional development Zoom sessions with experts in marketing and social media as well provide creative art making opportunities for artists across our region. Take a peek at this ambitious schedule of events with more being added in the next month. Call us for more details or email me at vallen@studio23baycity.org.

We are open and ready for visitors this spring. Downtown Bay City is bustling with activity!  We continue to maintain our gallery and classrooms safely, wear masks and social distance. Our hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 11 am – 5 pm. Please stop in!

Kind regards,

Val

Valerie Allen, curator

Studio 23 is part of the Amazon Smile gives program for nonprofits. Please consider using this when ordering from at smile.amazon.com and choose Studio 23 as your nonprofit.

 

 

 

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Curator’s Clipboard: Connecting Collectors with Artists
Posted 20 March 2021 | art, art gallery, exhibit, exhibits, gallery

Curator’s Clipboard: Connecting Collectors with Artists

The Story of a Painting

You may have read the bumper sticker saying EARTH without ART is simply EH! Well, this is a story about the word HEART and how when we follow our heART we can end up with Art with a capital A! Read this incredible story written by a new collector about her recent acquisition of a painting by Rosemary Kavanagh commissioned during Rosemary’s My Bay City Family Tree exhibit.

“Hello, my name is Ericka and I am here to tell you about how wonderful and creative the universe really is!

 In order to correctly tell the story, I have to take us back to the 2018 Black & White Affair at Studio 23. My sister, best friend and I were gifted tickets to go. It was a beautiful event and we all felt so lovely dressed up, sipping on bubbly and gazing at spectacular art. Vowing we have to come to this event again.

Artwork credit in photo: Tisch Mikhail Lewis      Photograph taken by Rosemary Kavanagh

Fast forward to summer 2020, Rachel (sister) and I started embarking on a yoga journey that takes place at Carroll Park. There are a few other women who regularly show up and we started to recognize faces after awhile. One of those faces belonged to Tara Welch, executive director of Studio 23. We didn’t chat much but always shared a smile. One day my yoga teacher sent me a photograph.  It was of Rachel, my best friend, and I at the Black and White Affair! I was shocked and filled with excitement when seeing it. When I asked where it came from, she informed me that Tara from yoga class had sent it to her after seeing it on Facebook and recognized my sister and I. Luckily I saw Tara at yoga the next day and I inquired on who snapped it!? She filled me in that it was a woman named Rosemary Kavanagh who took the photograph. Rosemary was reminiscing on Facebook about  joy-filled pre-Covid days and had posted the photograph. Tara also told me about Rosemary being not only a photographer but an amazing artist and how she comes from the Carroll family lineage here in Bay City. 

About 7 weeks ago I decided to join the Sunday morning yoga class at Studio 23, and during that class I was surrounded by beautiful oil paintings of someone’s family. Each pose and different views of the paintings were transcending me to times of the past and I fell in love with the style of the portraits. The more I stared, the more the little dots in my head started connecting together and I suddenly realized who painted these portraits. The name in the corner stated Rosemary Kavanagh and I began to believe that this was the same woman who snapped that picture of us! 

After class I approached Tara about it and she confirmed my suspicions. I knew in that moment that Rosemary had to create an oil painting inspired by the photograph of us she captured. 

 I have always wanted to be transform into a work of art. Being a fellow artist myself, this is such a dream come true. Having my sister and soulmate next to me is icing on the cake. My sister and I decided to go in on the painting and will be sharing joint custody of it!

In this photograph now rendered as an oil painting on linen, I was at a time in my life when I felt truly beautiful inside and out. I had lost 80 pounds, cut my hair the shortest it had ever been and was regaining the love for my soul. In the back was a painting I resonated with too, a face-less plus-size woman with short hair and standing confident in the mirror, nude. I felt her, I saw her, I am her. 

The smile oozing across my face says it all in the painting, love thyself. 

Gratitude for the universe working its magic, you just have to believe.

Written by Ericka DeFord

Thank you Ericka, for sharing this heart-felt story with us. We look forward to hearing the history of Rosemary Kavanagh’s painting as it travels from your home to your sister’s while you share it through the years. I am very happy and honored that we at Studio 23 could do our part to help facilitate this project.

For more information on our Artist Referral Program please contact me at vallen@studio23baycity.org.

Please join us Thursday, March 25, 2021, 5 – 7 pm for the opening of Land To River. We will go live on Facebook at 6 pm for our virtual audience.

Thank you to Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy for collaborating with us.

Thank you to Waste Management for sponsoring this exhibit.

Congratulations to all the artists.

This invitational exhibit includes the artwork of Mark Bleshenski, Zachary Branigan, Alex Gilford, Frits Hoendervanger, Erwin Lewandowski, Alan Maciag, John Sabraw, and Larry VanSteenhouse.

Click here for complete information of the exhibit. 

We are looking forward to welcoming more visitors into our galleries and classrooms this spring. We continue to maintain our gallery and classrooms safely, wear masks and social distance. Our hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 11 am – 5 pm. Please stop in!

Kind regards,

Val

Valerie Allen, curator

Studio 23 is part of the Amazon Smile gives program for nonprofits. Please consider using this when ordering from at smile.amazon.com and choose Studio 23 as your nonprofit.

 

 

 

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