International Museum Day 2013

Established by the International Council of Museums (ICOM)in 1977, the International Museum Day has the purpose of raising public awareness of the role of museums in the development of society.

 Celebrated every year in the 18th of May, the 2013 theme is “Museums (Memory + Creativity) = Social Change”. Putting together their traditional mission of displaying and conserving of hour historical heritage, with the necessary creativity to attract new and more public through their programmes, museums want to play a constructive role in society.

 During the International Museum Day 2013, near 32000 museums in 129 countries, celebrate this day with special programmes, including workshops,  and extendend opening hours - often until midnight.

 Don't stay home today, go to a museum near you.

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Frieze New York 2013 - Contemporary Art Fair

 

Designed by SO – IL architects and sponsored by Deutsche Bank, the second edition of Frieze New York, contemporary art fair, is being held at New York’s Randall’s Island Park until tomorow May 13, 2013.

 Realized annually at Frieze New York and curated by Cecilia Alemani, this year's Frieze Projects program includes seven specially commissioned projects, for which five participating artists were invited to conceive site-specific works that either react to the exceptional location of Randall’s Island or engage with the experience of the fair.
The 2013 invited artists are: Andra Ursuta, Liz Glynn, Maria Loboda, Marianne Vitale and Mateo Tannatt.

 The program also features a special tribute to legendary artist-run restaurant FOOD, originally conceived by Gordon Matta-Clark and Carol Goodden in 1971. With a menu that changes daily, the artists chefs at FOOD 1971/2013 are: Matthew Day Jackson, Carol Goodden, Tina Girouard and Jonathan Horowitz.

 This year's Frieze Projects program includes a literary project entitled Frieze Story, this year with an original text by novelist Ben Marcus.
Interviews with all the commissioned artists, plus a special homage to FOOD as a continuing source of inspiration, appear in the Frieze New York Catalogue, which is available to purchase at the fair, and via frieze.com, and is priced: $39.95 / £24.95 / €30.77.

 Visitors to the Art Fair will have the chance to appreciate the work of sculptors from around the world, including Paul McCarthy’s Balloon Dog (2013), an 80-foot-high inflatable work.
Fiona Connor, Style Guide Spa (2013); Saint Clair Cemin, Fotini (2013); Martha Friedman, Amygdalas (2013); and Nick Van Woert, Primitive (2013) are also among the artists exhibiting at the Sculpture Park, located along the waterfront of Randall’s Island and overlooking the East River
Also on show will be works by artists: Tom Burr, Tom Friedman, Andreas Lolis, Charles Long, Jason Meadows, Pae White and Franz West. The Sculpture Park at Frieze New York is selected by curator Tom Eccles.

 Artists Charles Atlas and the New Humans, Trisha Baga and Haroon Mirza, were invited to create the three commissioned audio works for the second edition of Frieze Sounds, programmed and curated by Cecilia Alemani and presented with BMW. The sound works will be premiered in the BMW 7 Series cars that operate the VIP shuttle services from Randall’s Island.
Additionally, the works will be accessible at friezenewyork.com, available to download since May 10, 2013, and at a listening station within the fair.

 Frieze Talks is a daily program of presentations, panel discussions and conversations with leading artists, writers and cultural commentators. Frieze Talks 2013 is programmed by editors of frieze Dan Fox (Co-Editor) and Sam Thorne (Associate Editor).
This year’s participants include: Douglas Crimp, Lydia Davis, Joan Jonas and John Maus.

 Because education is an important part of our lives, this 2013 edition includes the Frieze New York Education, a space that enables public school classes and museum groups to further explore the fair through workshops.
psonsored by Deutsche Bank and held in a dedicated structure the program is devised by Free Arts NYC and 826NYC who together produce a dynamic context for students ranging from 4th–12th grade to explore notions of contemporary art and color. The guide and space centers around color theory and contemporary art. A creative documentation of the workshops will be made via a Frieze Education tumblr page.

 Gary Hattem, President of the Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, said of the Education program: ‘This new educational component is a chance for children to interact with art from around the world in their own backyard.’

 The 2013 edition of Frieze New York includes a selection of over 180 of the world’s leading contemporary art galleries. A strong contingent of US galleries is particularly in evidence, with 55 participating galleries from the fair’s host city. Galleries from the following 32 countries will show at Frieze New York 2013: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Turkey, UAE, UK and USA.

 Emerging galleries will be participating in the Focus and Frame sections of the fair. Focus is for galleries less than ten years old debuting works previously unseen in an art-fair context.
Focus galleries will show curated projects or solo stands conceived for Frieze New York. Frame is a section dedicated to galleries established less than six years ago and, this year, is supported by Joe Fresh. The Frame galleries selection is made on the basis of a proposed solo presentation and has been advised by curators Rodrigo Moura and Tim Saltarelli.

 A Stand Prize in the value of $15,000, was presented on Thursday 9 May to the most innovative gallery stand at the fair. The award was sponsored by Champagne Pommery and judged by an international panel of curators: Juan A. Gaitán (Curator 8th Berlin Biennale); Naomi Beckwith (Marilyn and Larry Fields Curator, MCA Chicago); Jeffrey Grove (The Hoffman Family Senior Curator of Contemporary Art, Dallas Museum of Art).

 Tickets to Frieze New York 2013 are on sale for $26 and can be bought online friezenewyork.com/visitors/tickets. Please note: to ensure the best experience for all visitors, tickets are limited and only available in advance.
 Frieze ferry services run from the 35th Street Ferry Dock on the East River every 15 minutes during fair opening hours and take approximately 20 minutes. $12.50 round-trip including booking fee. Tickets only available in advance.

 Frieze bus services run from outside the Guggenheim Museum on 5th Avenue between 88th and 89th Streets approximately every 10 minutes during fair opening hours. $5.50 round-trip including booking fee. Tickets only available in advance.

 Visitors should visit this page for further information.

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“Really, Really Like Me” - A children's book about accepting disabilities

Written by Gretchen Leary and illustrated by Dani Bowman, “Really, Really Like Me” is an interactive children's book that helps children to understand the differences and promote a healthy interaction between children with and without disabilities.

 Maybe with this book, children can start teaching adults on how to deal with differences and not to be afraid of them.
Afterall, if it weren't the differences between men and women, you wouldn't be reading this.

 Both Gretchen Leary and Dani (Danielle) Bowman are on the autism spectrum.

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Michael Kountouris is the winner of the Worldpress Cartoon 2013

Greek artist Michael Kountouris was awarded the WPC Sintra 2013 Grand Prix during the ceremony that took place yesterday at the Centro Olga Cadaval, Sintra.
He won with his editoril cartoon «EU Rescue Team» published in «Efimerida Ton Syntanton» newspaper, from Athens.

 Born in Rhodes in 1960, the winner of the World Press Cartoon 2013 has been working as an editorial cartoonist in Greek newspapers since 1985 and has been cooperating with magazines.
Kountouris is also a children's books illustrator and regular member of the Athens Journalists Union since 1993 as well as founding member and secretary of the Greek Cartoonists Association.
During his career, he has been awarded several prizes and honourable mentions.

 First, second and third prizes, were attributed in each category, as well as several honourable mentions.

 In the Caricature category, the winners were: 1st Prize: «Evo Morales», by Pablo Lobato, from Argentina, published in the «Qué Pasa» newspaper from Santiago do Chile; 2nd Prize: «Mandela» by Jarbas Domingos, Brazil, published in «Diario de Pernambuco» newspaper from Recife, Brazil; 3rd Prize: «Messi» by Carbajo, Spain, published in «El Jueves» magazine from Barcelona.

 In the Gag Cartton category, the winners were: 1st Prize: «Low Economy», by Saeed Sadeghi, Iran, published in the «Jam-E-Jam» newspaper, from Tehran; 2nd Prize: «Who is...», by Robert Rousso, France, published in «Barricade», from Paris; 3rd Prize: «Free Warrior», by Raul Zuleta, Colombia, published in «El Mundo de Karry», from Lima, Peru.

 In the Editorial Cartoon category, the winners were: «EU Rescue Team» by Michael Kountouris, Greece, published in «Efimerida Ton Syntanton» newspaper, from Athens (winner of the World Press Cartoon 2013 Grand Prix); 2nd Prize: «Untitled» by Radulovic Spiro, Serbia, published in «Politika», from Belgrade; 3rd Prize: «USA greatest enemy», by Gregório de Holanda, Brazil, published in the «Diário de Pernambuco» newspaper, from Recife.

The works can be seen at the Centro Cultural Olga Cadaval, from April 13 through June 30, 2013.
A catalogue is also available for purchase.

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ColorADD available for iPhone and iPad

 Created by Miguel Neiva, ColorADD® COLOR IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM FOR COLOR BLIND PEOPLE, is an intuitive and inclusive tool that adds to the concept of colour through the addition of a system of symbols.

 Based on a monochromatic system language, the colorADD code allows a  fast and easy colour identification by colour blind people, as well as unique, inclusive, universal and transversal.

 Programmed by Rui Seica, ColorADD® is now available for iPhone and iPad, with versions for Android and Windows Mobile following soon.

 After downloading the app, which has a price of only €0,89, the user only needs to point the camera to the surface and its colour will be imediately identified on the screen, with a caption containing the colour's name and its symbol.

 With a double touch on the screen, the user can freeze the image and slide a chromatic ring to a specific area, allowing a more precise result if needed. The results can be automatically shared on social networks.
It's also possible to analize the images saved on the mobile device.

 ColorADD has numberless applications, including in the industry, education and healthcare. Several official institutions and private owned companies, have already adapted it.

 Teacher-librarian Sílvio Maltez is the author on an ebook (only in Portuguese) about how the ColorADD system works. The preface is by Miguel Neiva.

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Winners of the World Press Cartoon 2013 selected

The Jury of the World Press Cartoon Sintra 2013, consisted by Francisco Puñal, Spain, Ricardo Antunes, Brazil, António Antunes, Portugal, Riber Hansson, Sweden and Marielena Nardi, Italy (from left to right), has already selected the winners, who come from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, France, Greece, Iran, Serbia and Spain.

 The award ceremony will take place the 12th of April at the Olga Cadaval Cultural Center, located in Sintra, Portugal.

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Stolen Rembrandt "Portrait of the Father" recovered in Serbia

 It's one of the most sought artists. Not only by museums and art collectors, but also by art thieves.
Rembrandt's talent continues to overwhelm and the desire to own his masterpieces continues unrivaled.

 Stolen in 2006, together with three other paintings, from Novi Sad's city museum, Rembrandt's painting "Portrait of the Father" was recovered by the Serbian police in the town of Sremska Mitrovica, 60 km (40 miles) south of Novi Sad.
Four people were arrested in connection with the 2006 case.



 The portrait of Rembrandt's father, painted ca.1630 and measuring 28 x 22.5 cm (11 x 9 in) has been valued at near $4m (€2,8m; £2.7m) and has been stolen twice in the space of 10 years. The painting was previously found in Spain after an earlier theft in 1996.

 The other paintings stolen from the Novi Sad City Museum in 2006 were a Rubens, a piece by Francesco Mola from the 17th century, and another by an unknown German-Dutch artist from the 16th century.
None of the other works has been recovered.

 Last year, police in Belgrade recovered a painting by French Post-Impressionist Cezanne, which thieves had stolen in Switzerland four years earlier.

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Monstra 2013 - Lisbon Animated Film Festival

The 12th Lisbon Animated Film Festival, Monstra 2013 (Festival de Animação de Lisboa), takes place in Lisbon between the 7th and 17th of March.
Brazil and Spain are this year's invited countries, celebrating the 105 years of Segundo de Chomon's "Hotel Eléctrico" and the 30th anniversary of Boi Árua by Chico Liberato.

 With a vast programme distributed through 11 venues, the Festival hosts presentations from 48 countries, including: Films; student and children film; super-shorts; feature films; classic feature films; best of the world sessions, and more. Workshops, master-classes, exhibitions and a concert, are also part of the programme.

 As usual, this year's edition presents Monstrinha, a specific programme adapted to its audience and organized in 3 age groups (3 to 6, 7 to 12 and >13).
Monstrinha 2013 includes 25 short and feature-lenght animations, as well as workshops where children have the opportunity to build their own tools to give their first steps into animation.

 Monstra 2013 will present 15 awards, including the Vasco Granja | SPAutores and the Production Incentive Award, sponsored by Same day Solutions SDS.

 In 2013, are also celebrated the 25th anniversary of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," the 40 years of "La Planete Sauvage" and Michel Ocelot's 15 year old "Kirikou and the Sorceress."

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2nd Annual Plein Air Convention and Expo (Monterey-Carmel 2013)

 Being a painter is not only about being at home or in the studio in front of the easel. It's also connecting with fellow artists and sharing ideas, techniques and experiences.
The internet as in someway submited us to our homes and kept us from going out as often as we should. To meet new people and to revisit old friends. Just being online is not enough!

 For those who practice it and maybe more even for those who don't but wish to, plein air painting, or outdoor painting if you prefer, is one of the best ways for artists to get in touch with other coleagues and with the public. What better way to market your art than showing yourself in full activity?
Plein air painting also enhances one's abillities as a painter and as a draughtsman, namely by making you rethink your painting strategies. You are not in the studio or in the comfort of your home You may even be attack by a bear! But don't let this deter you.

 Presented by Plein Air Magazine, the 2nd Annual Plein Air Convention and Expo will be held in Monterey-Carmel on the California coast, from April 10-14, 2013 and will feature over 50 of the top plein air artists as well as several top figurative artists.



 The Plein Air Convention will feature a main stage with live demos and presentations, as well as a second stage where participants willl be able to assist other demos. Participating artists and all those who have registered, will have the chance to assist all the events without having to sign-up and pay separately.
Artists are encouraged to bring their paint gear and enjoy the company of other coleagues while painting together. The organizers have invited dozens of artists to do outdoor demos on the three days going outdoors to paint around the Monterey-Carmel area.

 The 2nd Annual Plein Air Convention and Expo will also include lectures and talks about painting techniques; lectures about historical artists and paintings; an expo hall with art suppliers offering new products and special offers. The full agenda can be consulted on this page.

 The convention will be held at the Monterey Conference Center, with the Monterey Marriott as the host hotel. This hotel is sold out, however there are many rooms available in downtown Monterey.

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Banksy's mural "Slave Labour" at auction in Miami

Banksy's mural "Slave Labour" (Bunting Boy) was auctioned today at Fine Art Auctions Miami , starting at $400,0000 and was expected to fetch something between $500,000 and $700,000. Completed in 2012, the work is a stencil and spray paint on render with additional jubilee bunting (Height 48 in.; Width 59.8 in. / Height 122 cm.; Width 152 cm)

The previous days before this auction have surrounded by controversy and have inclusively drawn the attention from the Scotland Yard and from the FBI.
All because the mural was removed this month from the wall of Poudland, located in Haringey Council, UK. Poundland is a store that sells items for one pound and is owned by property firm Wood Green Investments.
Haringey Council even started a campaign to bring the mural back, including contacting the Arts Council and Culture Secretary Maria Miller and the Mayor of Miami, Tomas Regalado. A solicitor for Wood Green Investments has advised the company to avoid commenting on the subject,

According to Frederic Thut from Fine Art Auctions Miami, the mural was painted on a private wall and the owner of a private wall can do whatever he wants with his own wall. The auction house has been approached by the authorities and asked them to provide proofs that the work was illegal to sell.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said someone had removed it for sale and there is no suggestion of any crime being commited. They have advised the US authorities that there was no theft.

"Slave Labour" (Bunting Boy) was auctioned in FAAM's Modern, Contemporary and Street Art auction (lot 00006). However the lot was passed.

 Another Banksy's work Wet Dog, a stencil and spray paint on stone (Height 78.7 in.; Width 63 in. / Height 200 cm.; Width 160 cm), created in Bethlehem in 2007 and expected to fetch between $600,000 and $800,000, was predicted to be included in the same catalogue (lot 00007), but it's not showing at this moment.

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