Sunday, May 23, 2010

Meeting Notes 5/22/10

A small but lively group of Chensters enjoyed exotic and oh so delicious Malaysian Cuisine at our May monthly meeting, thanks to Jenny Chen. Our beautifully framed Arts Ovation Award for emerging artist is hanging in the front of the restaurant. I passed around the other official documents and proclamations that go with the award, and Ellen will be scanning the documents so we can post them at the blog. Congratulations to the group.

Ellen, who is helping to coordinate our next group show, presented some details about the show.
It is scheduled for August 7th-20th, with an opening on Aug. 7th at 7pm, at the Antonio Salemme Foundation Gallery on Hamilton St. in Allentown. Thanks to Joe Skrapits for offering the space. There will be a $10 entry fee, and Heather will be collecting the money, which is due at the end of June. Artists can submit up to 3 works of art, through e-mail. We can hang the show salon style, and will be able to fit up to 40 pieces to hang on the walls, plus there will be pedestals for sculpture, and shelving available for displaying art work. We will be limiting the size of the work to 24"x36" We will need volunteers to sit at the gallery, and to accept the work the weekend before the show. If you are interested in participating, please attend the next meeting so we can discuss forming committees of volunteers. If you are interested in showing your work, please volunteer in some way to help with the show. There is a piano at the gallery, and Heather has offered us a pianist to perform at our opening. Thanks Heather!

We discussed possible themes and titles for the show, but decided that we need more artist input, and we should conduct a vote (through group e-mail)
Here are the ideas we discussed: Renewal, Ovation, Emergence, Revolution, and Action
More details about the show will follow through group e-mail.

Sondra, Executive Director of HALA (Hispanic American League of Artists) addressed the group. Sondra is on a planning committee working on turning the vacant Neuweiler Brewery building into an arts center. She is surveying artists, organizations, and business owners to determine what needs they have for space. She will be sending online surveys to artists. The city owns the building, and the DCED (Dept. Community and Economic Development) is working with arts groups like HALA, Arts Luminarium, and others to turn the abandoned building into a green , environmentally sustainable, multicultural home for the arts in Allentown. Ideas we discussed: a possible future gallery space, artist studios, a theatre outlet, fashion, bakery, location to shoot movies.

Hope to see you at the next meeting, and look for e-mails and updates at the blog.

Angie Villa
Fish photo by Gianni

2 comments:

zfollweiler said...

Thanks, Angie for taking time to take and post minutes on the the Chen Arts Blog. As for a title or theme, I'd prefer a title. It allows more flexability of what I can submit. It's great that we have a prospect for a place again. Thanks to Sondra on sharing the info! Let me know where we can vote for a title or theme.

Angie Villa said...

I've asked Marilyn Hazleton if she would like to conduct another written response/poetry session at this show. Maybe we can have an informal closing of the show where interested parties can share their written responses to the art work.

As far as the theme,I think a show has more meaning with a theme, and it encourages artists to submit new work. Personally, if we decide on a title, then I would treat that as the theme, so maybe we could leave it up to the artist,by not imposing a theme.