Hello, friends—
An uncharacteristically brief note from me this time (I know!) but occasionally it’s just nice to dive right into the good stuff.
On a side note, I’ve been re-reading Mary Oliver’s book of essays, Upstream, which I first read in 2021 after I had just moved to Scotland and was feeling a bit unmoored. Since moving back to the States, it has continued to be one of a handful of companions that is never far from my desk. One of my favorite excerpts comes from the essay “The Artist’s Task”:
In creative work—creative work of all kinds—those who are the world’s working artists are not trying to help the world go around, but forward. Which is something altogether different from the ordinary. Such work does not refute the ordinary. It is, simply, something else. Its labor requires a different outlook — a different set of priorities.
And:
Certainly there is within each of us a self that is neither a child, nor a servant of the hours. It is a third self, occasional in some of us, tyrant in others. This self is out of love with the ordinary; it is out of love with time. It has a hunger for eternity.
Maria Popova wrote a lovely article about the book titled “The Third Self: Mary Oliver on Time, Concentration, the Artist’s Task, and the Central Commitment of the Creative Life” in The Marginalian in 2016, and you can of course find a copy of your own (no affiliate, just a big fan!).
Thanks so much, as ever, for being here. See you next week.
—Kate
What you’ll find this week:
Opening soon: Desire Lines
Featured artist: Molly Haynes
Five exhibitions on view this week in Amsterdam, Dallas, Los Angeles, Paris, and Tokyo
Fourteen opportunities for artists with deadlines coming up soon
Opening Soon: Desire Lines
I’m very happy to share that a show I’ve curated in collaboration with David B. Smith Gallery in Denver will open on May 25! Featuring work by Miguel Arzabe, Jessica Cannon, Saskia Fleishman (pictured), and Michelle A M Miller—all artists whose work it’s been a pleasure to feature in this digest over the past several weeks—Desire Lines traverses metaphysical, cultural, and spiritual perceptions of landscape. If you’re in the area, I hope you’ll join us for the opening reception on Saturday, June 1 from 5-8 p.m. Artists will be in attendance.
Featured Artist: Molly Haynes
“Growing up visiting my grandparents in coastal Massachusetts, I observed the dunes slowly erode to the point where the grass roots are detaching and forming masses on the beach. I feel a reverence towards these once-stabilizing roots,” says Los Angeles-based artist Molly Haynes.
Incorporating a variety of organic fibers like kenaf, linen, cotton, and wool, Haynes uses a manual floor loom to weave distinctive textile objects that draw on the materiality of place. Found objects, such as pieces of cholla cactus skeleton, occasionally work their way into structures held together with monofilament, with each structure’s composition led by the texture and density of the fiber, existing neither totally in the natural or in the synthetic world.
“On one hand, the complexity of my work references natural structures that are skeletal, porous, and morphing with growth or decay,” Haynes says in a statement. “Abiding by the loom’s inherent logic, they simultaneously retain an industrial presence which mimics fishing nets or architectural mesh.”
Keep reading on dovetailmag.com.
Exhibitions
PARIS | SEMIOSE
Amy Bravo: I Am Going There With You
I’ve long been a fan of Amy Bravo’s avatar-like paintings of feminine heroism and the tactile addition of garments and body parts, like hair or, in one piece in this exhibition, her late grandfather’s mustache.
Runs through April 27
AMSTERDAM | GALERIE FLEUR & WOUTER
Castlemania
A collaborative two-part exhibition at Galerie Fleur & Wouter and No Limits Art Castle, the spaces are transformed into a maximalist castle interior exhibiting work by more than two dozen artists.
Runs through May 12
DALLAS | CONDUIT
W. Tucker: “compassion,” said the rabbit
A playful collection of “naive” drawings by W. Tucker, this exhibition drew my attention because of the scale of the works—all small drawings—on found papers and cardboard that incorporate the surface’s existing notes or tape previously made by invisible hands.
Runs through May 18
TOKYO | KOKI ARTS
Sean Kuruneru: Characters
Sean Kuruneru’s abstract fields are inspired by the multi-perspective quality of 9th-century Chinese landscape painting and 20th-century color field painting. I’m particularly drawn the rich edges of each logographic abstraction, which overlap and crowd each other like a jumbled message.
Runs through May 18
LOS ANGELES | VIELMETTER
Aly Helyer: Everything Is Borrowed
Having worked with Aly Helyer before, I’m totally biased, but I’m such a marvelously big fan of her enigmatic paintings, which have taken on a depth and richness over the past few years, both in her palette and ability to capture expressions and mysterious interactions. In Everything Is Borrowed, human figures merge with animal counterparts in glowing portraits.
Runs through May 18
Artist Opportunities
Deadlines are coming up soon to apply for these grants, fellowships, residencies, and more.
Paid subscribers can access a list of dozens of current opportunities anytime at yngspc.com/opportunities.
KORDON Residency in Hiiumaa, Estonia
Deadline: April 26
KORDON now invites artist duos from Europe to participate in the rethinking of abandoned military landscape and architecture. Artists, architects, landscape architects, curators, cultural producers, and all other professional practitioners from other relevant fields are most welcome to apply. The 7-week residency program will take place from September 5 to October 23, 2024, and provides an opportunity to thoroughly deal with the TIME LAP topic in the context of Hiiumaa island and the Baltic Sea. Each person will receive a daily allowance of €25. KORDON covers €350 – €700 for round-trip travel, with a "green mobility" top-up of up to €350 for artists who travel green (no airplane).
Submission fee: none
Populus Fund for Omaha Area Artists
Deadline: April 28
In 2024, Populus Fund seeks to fund artist-organized projects that offer opportunities for artists to use their skills to provide experiences, content, materials, activities, platforms, etc. that engage and connect with the community through art. Artists are eligible who live in the any of 35 counties surrounding the Omaha metro area. This year, Populus Fund will award a total of six $10,000 projects proposed by artists or artist groups working outside established institutions.
Submission fee: none
Working Artist Org. Purchase Award
Deadline: April 30
The Working Artist Grant/Art Purchase Award is a one-time $1,000 award intended to disperse small but vitalizing bursts of funding to support an artist's ongoing art making process. This award is available to all artists worldwide, working in all traditional and new visual arts mediums.
Submission fee: none
Ellis Beauregard Fellowship in the Visual Arts
Deadline: May 1
The Ellis-Beauregard Foundation announces a $50,000 Fellowship awarded to a United States artist working in the visual arts. The award is paired with a solo exhibition at The Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Rockland, Maine.
Submission fee: none
Lillstreet Art Center Artist in Residence
Deadline: May 1
Lillstreet, in Chicago, offers five residency opportunities, including year-long residencies in both ceramics and metalsmithing, and nine-month residencies in drawing and painting, printmaking and book arts, and textiles, beginning in September 2024. Resident artists receive 24-hour access to facilities and equipment, free classes, paid opportunities to teach and/or assist classes, participation in a group exhibition, and a monthly stipend.
Submission fee: $20
ArteAlta Open Call
Deadline: May 1
This annual competition organized by Alina Art Foundation, Inarttendu, and the Council of the Region Valle d’Aosta invites artists to submit work across painting, sculpture, photography, mixed media, textiles, paper, and video related to the theme of Fear. Three prizes with cash, an exhibition opportunity, and a residency will be awarded.
Submission fee: none
The Laundromat Project Bed-Stuy Create & Connect Fund
Deadline: May 1
The Bed-Stuy Create & Connect Fund is a hyperlocal micro-grant program offered annually and directly managed by The LP. The Fund seeds and supports the creative ideas or civic actions of artists, cultural practitioners, community organizers, activists, and neighbors whose proposals aim to enrich community life in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. During the 2024 cycle, The LP will provide $1,000 grants towards each funded project, up to 20 proposals. The are looking for creative initiatives or civic projects that are rooted in community, foster meaningful connections, and ignite socially conscious conversations.
Submission fee: none
Processing Foundation Fellowship Program
Deadline: May 2
The Processing Foundation seeks to support innovative projects from artists, designers, activists, educators, engineers, researchers, coders, collectives, and many more, who are working at the intersection of creative technology, art, and open-source software.The fellowship includes a $10,000 stipend, dedicated mentorship, skill-building workshops, public programs, and community engagement opportunities.
Submission fee: none
Fundación Botín Art Grants
Deadline: May 3
The Fundación Botín offers six scholarships for artists of any nationality with an expected duration of nine months and an endowment of €23,000 each, in addition to medical insurance for recipients who need to travel to a country other than their country of residence. Of these six grants, one will be reserved in priority for an artist who is Spanish or resident in Spain (for at least five years immediately prior to applying for the grant), under 30 years of age, who wants to spend time abroad to continue their work, their studies or a residence.
Submission fee: none
Mississauga Call for Public Art in New Library
Deadline to express interest: May 3
The public art program in Mississauga, ON, Canada, seeks to commission a professional artist or artist team to create a hanging indoor sculptural installation as part of the redevelopment of South Common Community Centre and Library that reflects the themes of eco-social sustainability and cross-cultural and intergenerational communities. This is a two-stage artist selection process, with stage 1 being open to international artists and focused on qualifications. The total budget for this project is $235,000.00 CAD + HST.
Submission fee: none
2024-25 Tournesol Award for Bay Area Artists
Deadline: May 3
The Tournesol Award recognizes an emerging Bay Area painter in support of establishing and maintaining a career in the region. The Award supports a full year of artistic development, and includes a $10,000 stipend, a private studio, and a culminating exhibition or project of the artist’s choice.
Submission fee: none
Fireline Fellowship
Deadline: May 3
The Fireline Fellowship invites writers, artists, and thought leaders in the humanities to become part of a thinking community that, for two and a half years, will explore issues related to wildfire at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest (the Andrews) in Corvallis, Oregon. Fellows receive a $5,000 stipend, and visual artists may request additional funds of up to $1,500 for materials and/or shipping costs associated with bringing art to Corvallis.
Submission fee: none
2024 Cassirer Welz Award
Deadline: May 5
Bag Factory Artists’ Studios in association with Strauss & Co. Education Fine Art Auctioneers are excited to announce the open call to invite artists to apply for the 2024 Cassierer Welz Award. Now in its 14th year, the Cassirer Welz Award’s focus has always been on recognizing artistic excellence, encouraging creative practice, and providing the supportive spaces and presentation platforms required by emerging artists. Artists living in the following countries are welcome to apply: Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Submission fee: none
Sista Creatives Rising The Sistas Uprising Fund
Deadline: May 5
Sista Creatives Rising (SCR) is a project founded by Black, invisibly disabled mother-daughter duo Claire Jones and Amaranthia Sepia. Seven women of color and femme-expressing creatives of color in any medium, based in the US and Canada, will receive a $200 micro-grant by submitting a two-minute video about how funds will help, artwork, and additional details.
Submission fee: none
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