Tuesday, March, 5, 2013 11AM-3PM
Visit Harlem during Armory Arts Week and enjoy a public art tour of stain glass windows at the famed Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, followed by lunch and portfolio reviews for artists wishing to pursue works in lighting, sculpture and design in open, public spaces around the City including Harlem. Open to artists around the City of New York. Meet individually with a curator, administrator or critic for a 20-minute session. Get feedback on your images, artist statement, project concepts and web site.
Panelists include: Leanne Stella, Executive Director, Art Flux; Emily Colasaco, Manager, Urban Art Program, NYC Department of Transportation, Jennifer Lantzas, NYC Department of Parks & Recreation; Dianne Smith, Public Artist; Edwin Ramoran, Independent Curator; Bentley Meeker, Lighting Designer, Bentley Meeker Lighting & Staging, Inc.; Savona Bailey-McClain, Executive Director, The West Harlem Art Fund,
The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine located at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue near 11oth Street in West Harlem.
Register online at westharlemartfund12@gmail.com Cost: $20 (Includes cost of tour & lunch)
REVIEW PANELISTS
SAVONA BAILEY-MCCLAIN currently lives and works in New York City. She is an independent curator, producer and preservation advocate. The range of McClain’s practice has included sculpture, drawings, performance, sound, and mixed media. McClain is the Executive Director and Chief Curator for The West Harlem Art Fund, Inc. a fourteen year old public art organization and curatorial collective serving neighborhoods around the City. Her public art installations have been seen in the New York Times, Art Daily, Artnet Magazine, Los Angeles Times, DNAinfo, among others. McClain strives for a soulful, meaningful connection with the public and the “arts”. It simply has to be approachable as far as she is concerned. McClain has installed at Times Square, DUMBO, Soho, NoLita, Williamsburg, Chelsea, Governors Island, Queens and Greater Harlem (East, Central and West). McClain has a liberal arts degree from the University of Pittsburgh.
EMILY COLASACCO has been the Manager of the Urban Art Program at the New York City Department of Transportation for the past 5 years. While at DOT, she has developed the agency’s first formal public art program and has managed approximately 100 temporary art projects to-date. She also represents the Urban Design & Art Unit on Percent for Art projects working closely with the Department of Cultural Affairs and the Department of Design and Construction. Prior to joining DOT, Emily worked at the U.S. General Services Administration as a Public Affairs Specialist supporting the Regional Fine Arts Officer on all aspects of the Art-in-Architecture Program and the Fine Arts Collection, as well as organizing the Centennial celebration of the Alexander Hamilton Custom House, which included producing a guest lecture series, permanent exhibition, temporary performances and writers-in-residency program. Before that, she worked at the Hudson River Museum as a Youth Program Specialist within the Education Department. Emily obtained a Masters degree in Visual Arts Administration from New York University and a Bachelors degree in both Art History and Studio Art from Binghamton University.
JENNIFER LANTZAS is the Public Art Coordinator at the City of New York Parks & Recreation. She works with a diverse group of arts organizations, government agencies, and artists in order to bring both experimental and traditional art to parks in New York City’s five boroughs—coordinating over 75 public art exhibitions. Additionally, she has organized 27 exhibitions as the Curator of the Arsenal Gallery; the city’s only municipally run exhibition space located in the Parks Department’s headquarters in Central Park. Jennifer received her Master of Arts in Visual Arts Administration from New York University and has also contributed her services at artist Joseph Kosuth’s studio, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Independent Curators International, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
BENTLEY MEEKER is the principal in Bentley Meeker Lighting & Staging Inc. and is widely acknowledged as one of North America’s leading experts in lighting. He began his lighting career as an assistant to photographer Peter Vaeth, where he learned lighting concepts for still and print photography from a range of experts. Then, he was a film and video gaffer and in-house lighting technician at New York’s Palladium. In 1988, the Writer’s Guild strike drove him to focus more heavily on event design. He went on to work on projects as diverse as studio-release feature films and commercials to live performances by the likes of Aerosmith, Neil Diamond, Triumph, and Eddie Murphy, to name a few. Each of these career moves has allowed him to develop an extensive range of lighting skills. In 1990, he began his company, building his one-man organization into the leading event lighting firm in America today. For more than twenty years, he and his team have created a body of work that is unparalleled. He lives and works in New York City and Water Mill, NY.
EDWIN RAMORAN is an independent curator who lives and works in West Harlem. He is currently a guest curator at the Boston Center for the Arts. He has received The Andy Warhol Foundation’s Curatorial Fellowship and the apexart Outbound Residency. Last year, he was Guest Lead Curator for the performance and public art festival Art in Odd Places. His previous positions include Assistant Curator, Bronx Museum; Director and Curator, Longwood Arts Project of the Bronx Council on the Arts; and Director of Exhibitions and Programs, Aljira. He has been a guest curator at MoMA PS1, Museum of Chinese in America, Stedelijk Museum, Artists Space for PERFORMA, Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning, Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural Center, Center for Book Arts, and Dieu Donné. His essays have been published by The Studio Museum in Harlem, En Foco, Diaspora Vibe Gallery, Asian Arts Initiative, Visual AIDS, and Madrid Abierto. He received a BA in Art History with minors in Ethnic Studies and Journalism from the University of California, Riverside and is an MA candidate in Art History at Hunter College.
DIANNE SMITH is an abstract painter, sculptor, and installation artist. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in New York City’s Soho and Chelsea art districts as well as, numerous galleries and institutions throughout the United States. She is an educator in the field of Aesthetic Education at Lincoln Center Institute (LCI), which is part of New York City’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Since the invitation to join the Institute over six years ago she has taught k-12 in public schools throughout the Tri-State area. Her work as a teaching artist also extends to under graduate and graduate courses in various colleges and universities such as: Lehman College, Brooklyn College, Columbia University Teachers College, City College, and St. John’s University.
LEANNE STELLA is the founder/director of Art In FLUX Harlem, a series of Pop-Up art galleries featuring special events and creative collaborations with theatre, film, music & fashion industries intended to create opportunity for artists, bring art into public spaces and stimulate a vibrant neighborhood by merging art, commerce and community. Her background includes event production and non-profit development. As President of Stella Show Management Company from 1991 to 2007, a NYC-based consumer events production company, she established a number of major public events including fairs at the 69th Regiment Armory, The Country Living Fair for Hearst Publications, The New York Coliseum Antiques Show, and others. She supported and collaborated with many nonprofit organizations to produce successful fundraising galas, served as a Senior Regional Events Manager at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the NY office and was Executive Director for Arts In Reach, a teen girl empowerment organization. She resides in Harlem and feels strongly about contributing to the community where she lives. Her passions lie in supporting organizations that empower youth.
WEST HARLEM ART FUND 