Call for Submissions: Young Contemporaries 2012

Image courtesy of the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art

Every year, the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art holds a juried exhibition of College of Charleston student work in collaboration with the Visual Arts Club (us!) and the School of the Arts to create a major campus-wide event that is viewed by thousands. Cash prizes are awarded to the winning piece from each category, and each artist is able to submit 3 pieces per medium- so there’s a good chance you’ll win! Young Contemporaries is by far the best opportunity in the arts the College of Charleston has to offer its students!

This year’s juror (selected by the Visual Arts Club) is the amazingly talented Julie Heffernan, who will also be giving a lecture about her work on Saturday, March 17th at 3pm.

Even if you don’t make it into the Young Contemporaries exhibition, there’s a good chance your work will be accepted into the faculty-selected Salon des Refusés, which will be displayed in the Hill Gallery outside the Halsey at the same time. This is a wonderful opportunity to have your work appreciated by the entire College of Charleston campus, not to mention the Charleston art community!

All CofC Fall 2011/Spring 2012 students (including recent Dec. graduates) are eligible to submit their work. Only original visual artworks completed after Jan. 2011 will be accepted. Students may submit up to 3 works per artist, per medium (including painting, photography, printmaking, drawing and sculpture). There are no limitations on media or size. Download entry forms here.

For more info, contact Karen Ann Myers at 843.953.4422 or myerska@cofc.edu

Important Dates and Deadlines:

(Information courtesy of the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art)

Thursday March 15
9am – 7pm: Register submissions at the Halsey Institute, Cato Center, 1st floor (Up to three works per artist, per medium). Download entry forms here.

Saturday March 17
3pm: Lecture by guest juror and visiting artist, Julie Heffernan (Room 309, Simons Center for the Arts). Learn more »

Monday March 19
Studio Art faculty select works for the Salon des Refusés

Tuesday March 20
9am: List of accepted works will be posted outside the Halsey Institute
9am – 5pm: Students pick up released work. Large accepted works must be delivered by 5pm
The Halsey Institute is NOT responsible for works not retrieved

Thursday March 29
5pm – 7pm: Opening reception & awards ceremony for Young Contemporaries 2012 & the Salon des Refusés at the Halsey Institute

Friday March 30 – Saturday April 28
Exhibition dates for the 2012 Young Contemporaries & Salon des Refusés

Monday April 30
12pm – 4pm: Students pick up their work
The Halsey Institute is NOT responsible for works not retrieved

ALL EVENTS & SUBMISSIONS ARE FREE
Young Contemporaries 2012 is co-produced by the Visual Arts Club, Department of Studio Art and the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston School of the Arts. The exhibition is made possible by generous support from Lee and Ann Higdon.

Students must meet eligibility requirements and obtain yellow labels from the Studio Art Office (Simons Center, 4th floor), the Halsey Institute (Cato Center, 1st floor) 9am – 5pm, Mon. – Fri., or by clicking here. Fill out labels legibly and attach to the back of all submitted works. Indicate on label if there are any special installation instructions. Bring eligible work to the Halsey Institute on Thurs., March 15, 9am – 7pm. Even oversized works must be registered at this time, while the piece may be left elsewhere. Indicate on the registration form if you have oversized works & where they are located. Large, accepted works that are not already in the Halsey Institute on March 20 should be delivered by 5pm.  ALL WORKS MUST BE DRY!

Art Auction Update

A big THANK YOU to everyone who donated work, attended the auction and purchased student work at our auction on February 25th!

Our goal was to raise $500 for Julie Heffernan to come to campus- and we officially raised $998!

We are planning to use some of the remaining funds to create an edible food sculpture for the Young Contemporaries opening on March 29th- we will hold an event on March 28th to collaborate on this sculpture, and all students are welcome!

We will also hold a stencil workshop in April. The remaining funds will carry over to our budget for next semester.

Artwork by Grace Musser

Second Annual Cheap Art Auction Fundraiser!

"Self Portrait as Gorgeous Tumor" by artist Julie Heffernan

The Visual Arts Club at the College of Charleston presents its Second Annual Cheap Art Auction from 5pm to 7pm on Saturday, February 25^th, 2012 at the Hill Gallery in the Cato Center for the Arts, College of Charleston.

Our goal this year is to raise $500 to bring our selected artist, Julie Heffernan, to the CofC campus to curate and lecture at our annual Young Contemporaries competition in March.

Members of the Visual Arts Club will combine their talents for this fundraiser through a student-only Artist Lock-In in the Independent Drawing Studio (Lightsey) on February 4^th to create original work specifically for the  Second Annual Cheap Art Auction.

Artwork on auction will include paintings, drawings, original prints, photographs and sculptures by our emerging artists at affordably low prices. For art collectors in Charleston searching for upcoming talent and beautiful but inexpensive pieces this February, this is a unique chance to purchase fantastic artwork while supporting the efforts of College of Charleston’s talented young artists in the Visual Arts Club.

Students are encouraged to participate in our Lock-In or to donate work for the show if they are unable to attend.

Film Screening: My Kid Could Paint That

WHEN: Thursday, February 2nd, 2012

WHERE: Simons room 309

WHAT: Most four-year-olds make paintings that hang on the refrigerator in their parents’ kitchen, but by that age Marla Olmstead already had her first gallery show in Binghamton, NY. Born in 2000, Marla first picked up a paint brush when she was a year old, following the example of her father, an amateur painter, and soon the tyke was creating large canvases with unexpected skill and enthusiasm. Her father gave one of Marla’s paintings to a friend who owned a coffee shop, and when a customer offered to buy the piece for 250 dollars, the pre-kindergartner began a career as a professional artist. Marla’s work has been displayed around the United States and her paintings fetch as much as 25,000 dollars each, but some have questioned if Marla is following her own muse or taking instruction from her parents. Others have debated the validity of reviews comparing her work to Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock, and a few have asked if Marla’s parents are the art world equivalent of stage mothers, pushing their child and exploiting her talents for their own benefit. Documentary filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev examines young artist, her work and the controversy behind it in his film My Kid Could Paint That, which was an official selection at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.

Upcoming Events: Artist Lock-In

UPDATE: The venue for the lock-in has changed! It is now in the Independent Drawing Studio in the Lightsey Center. Please email us if you’re interested in participating!

Visual Arts Club have some exciting events planned for this semester to fundraise for Young Contemporaries!

We are holding a fundraising Cheap Art Auction on February 25th in the Hill Gallery (outside the Halsey Institute). This is a great opportunity for students to get rid of old work that they no longer want; if you’ve ever wondered what to do with all of those boring nude studies, sketches and still lifes you’ve accumulated in your time here, consider helping us meet our fundraising goal by donating your old work!

To create work to donate for the auction, Visual Arts Club will hold an Artist Lock-In starting at 7pm on Saturday, February 4th in the Independent Painting Studios on the 4th floor of the Simons center. Email cofcvisualartsclub@gmail.com if you are interested in participating!

Snacks, drinks, camaraderie and good music will be provided; please bring your own supplies. Anything artistic goes- crayon scribbles, drawings, paintings, sculptures, photos, and prints will all be accepted as donations!

“Waste Land” Film Screening

WHAT: “Waste Land” is an award winning documentary by director Lucy Walker about an artist who creates murals from landfill materials. An uplifting feature documentary highlighting the transformative power of art and the beauty of the human spirit. Top-selling contemporary artist Vik Muniz takes us on an emotional journey from Jardim Gramacho, the world’s largest landfill on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, to the heights of international art stardom. Vik collaborates with the brilliant catadores, pickers of recyclable materials, true Shakespearean characters who live and work in the garbage quoting Machiavelli and showing us how to recycle ourselves.

WHERE: Simons Art History Room 307 (Around the corner down the hall to the right from room 309 where we usually have film screenings)

WHEN: Thursday, January 26th, 2012 at 7pm

Call for Submissions

The Visual Arts Club will curate a number of two-person shows in our Student Run Gallery space in the Simons Center this semester.

We will be accepting online portfolio submissions of any wall-mountable art (of any size or medium) throughout the semester: for inclusion in the first two shows, submissions are due Friday, January 20th, 2012.

A minimum of 6 pieces must be submitted. If your work does not make it this time, your submissions will still be eligible for consideration in the next two-person show. Submissions will also be uploaded to our Online Gallery.

Please send submissions to Vice President/Gallery Coordinator James Wine at cofcvisualartsclub@gmail.com. Submissions are required to include clear digital photos along with the title and dimensions of each piece. 6 pieces of artwork are required, minimum, although you can submit more if you wish.

This is a great opportunity for seniors who want others to see their portfolios, although CofC students from any major are encouraged to submit their work.

EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP

FILM SCREENING

THURSDAY, JANUARY 19TH

7PM, SIMONS ROOM 309

This is the inside story of Street Art – a brutal and revealing account of what happens when fame, money and vandalism collide. Exit Through the Gift Shop follows an eccentric shop-keeper turned amateur film-maker as he attempts to capture many of the world’s most infamous vandals on camera, only to have a British stencil artist named Banksy turn the camcorder back on its owner with wildly unexpected results.

One of the most provocative films about art ever made, Exit Through the Gift Shop is a fascinating study of low-level criminality, comradeship and incompetence. By turns shocking, hilarious and absurd, this is an enthralling modern-day fairytale… with bolt cutters.

The film is directed by Banksy and features interviews and footage of well known graffiti artists Banksy, Invader and Charleston native Shepard Fairey.

“I Shot Andy Warhol” Film Screening on Thursday, January 12th!

Illustration by James Wine

Come to our screening of “I Shot Andy Warhol” on Thursday 12th Jan, 2012 at 7pm in Simons room 309!

Visual Arts Club needs your help!

Calling all CofC artists:

We are holding major fundraisers next semester to raise money to make Young Contemporaries a really awesome arts event this year. We will be holding a cheap repurposed canvas sale as well as a student art auction.

DONATE YOUR OLD WORK!

Every semester, artwork is left behind and thrown away.

If you plan to leave your old work behind this semester, please consider leaving it in the drop-off area (painting studio, 4th floor Cato, room to the left of the elevator) instead, so we can put the canvas to good use for students.