"Soul of Brooklyn Week" 2011

The second annual Soul of Brooklyn Week celebration starts this Saturday, June 18th, with a press conference held at noon in the Cuyler Park in Fort Greene on Fulton Street and Greene Avenue, during the 11th Annual Fort Greene Juneteenth Arts Festival, which commemorates the anniversary of the abolition of slavery.
The event will be presented by Tribal Truths Clothing Store in partnership with Urban Bush Women Dance Company.

Organized by the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA) and the Brooklyn Arts Council, the Soul of Brooklyn Week will host from June 18th through June 25th, a series of 18 cultural events that will include performances, street fairs, educational events, workshops, tastings, film screenings and shopping opportunities.

Brooklyn residents, visitors and tourists will be able to experience all that Brooklyn’s African Diaspora has to offer from its African, African American, Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Latino communities.

Most of the events will have free admission, while some can be accessed by purchasing tickets in advance for a very reasonable value.

In the words of Laurie A. Cumbo, Founder and Executive Director of MoCADA, “The Soul of Brooklyn Week is designed to preserve the economic and cultural diversity of Brooklyn, and to encourage locals and tourists alike to utilize the website to discover all the exciting businesses and cultural offerings within the Borough with the largest African Diaspora population.”

This year's edition has the financial support from the NYC Rockefeller Innovation Fund.

Festival International du Pastel 2011

Since its start in 2001, the Festival International du Pastel, organized by the Société des Pastellistes de France in partnership with the village of Feytiat, holds reputation as one of the most prestigious art festivals in the world dedicted to pastel.

Each year the festival receives near 20000 visitors desirous to see the near 300 works by pastelists from around the world.

Several workshops will take place during the festival, offering participants the chance to improve their techniques, learn from the experience of master pastelists and put in practice the acquired knowledge.

The workshops, in the number of four, will cover the following themes and subjects: still life, florals, nude, portraiture, landscape, seascape and animal portraiture.

Starting with a welcome cocktail followed by a dinner on Monday at 19h00, the workshops will start on Tuesday (10h00 - 12h30; 14h30 - 17h30 ). Participants will enjoy a lunch with the artists in a convivial atmosphere.

Regular fees to attend the workshops start at 100 Euro per day (subjected to availability) and go up to 400 Euro for complete workshops.
Children between the ages of 10 and 14 can attend a two days workshop (no lunch included) for 174 Euro.
Feytiat inhabitants are eligible for special prices.
Download the poster and the form for the workshops.

This year's edition will count with artists from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada (including from Quebec), Colombia, England, Finland, France, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Japan, Poland, Russia, USA, Spain and Vietnam.
Violette Chaminade is this year's guest artist.

The Festival International du Pastel will take place at the Espace Georges Brassens in the village of Feytiat near Limoges (Limousin, France) from July 2 through September 4, 2011.

Entrance is free, with the following schedule: (14h00-19h00 Mon-Fri) and (10h00-12h00; 14h00-19h00 Saturday, Sunday and holidays).

Art in the Square Delray Beach 2011

Art in the Square is to take place on October 29th -30th, 2011 in Delray Beach, Florida. This event is produced by RPG Productions, LLC. to support local art programs and Make-A-Wish Foundation®. During this event Old School Square Cultural Arts Center will be transformed into an outdoor art gallery with works of some of the best artists and craftsmen both from South East and from around the country. Art in the Square will be a juried event with awards ranging from $400 to $3000.

On display will be: ceramics, drawings, fabrics, glass, graphics, jewelry, metalwork, paintings, pastels, photography, printmaking, sculpture, wood and mixed media. This event is expected to attract many collectors and dealers as well as national and regional media as well, as trade publications. Art in the Square will take place in the beginning of the holiday shopping season and is expected to bring in a lot of shoppers.

For artists who wish to participate, a $17 fee and a $100 deposits are required. The deposit is to be returned if not accepted. 12x12 booths are available for $400. You can find out more by going to the RGP Production, LLC website. A $50 discount on the booth is offered to members of NAIA (National Association of Independent Artist), Palm Beach Artists Guild, South Florida Artists Association, and Women in the Visual Arts Inc.

During the promotional period frequent show updates and artist profiles will be circulated to media outlets as well as emailed to a combined email subscription list of over 47,000 industry professionals, art collectors and artists. All this will ensure a widespread coverage of the event and artists participating in it.

Art in the Square will be advertised through: Palm Beach Post, Sun-Sentinel, New Times Magazine, radio, television, street banner advertising, street flyer distribution in strategic downtown locations, and billboard advertising.

RPG Production will continuously post updates and will heavily promote artists on Facebook, Twitter and ArtFestivals4You.com.

Visit this page to sign-up for the Art in the Square Delray Beach 2011 and to learn more about the festival.

This article was written by the artist and guest writer Armada Volya

Serralves em Festa! - 40H Non-Stop (Party at Serralves!)

Serralves em Festa! (Party at Serralves!) is the major contemporary arts festival that takes place in Portugal, lasting for 40 consecutive hours and including activities for all ages, all families, and for the whole family.

From 8 a.m. Saturday, May 28, to midnight on Sunday, May 29, Serralves will host more than 240 events, including Cinema, Video, Installation, Photography, Performance, Music (Improvised, Pop Rock, Electronic, Experimental, Jazz, DJs), Contemporary Dance, Acrobatics, Contemporary Circus, Sound Objects Circus, Theatre (Street Theatre, Theatre for Children, Puppet Theatre), Exhibitions, Workshops, Guided visits, and a range of activities for children and families.

Admission to all activities is free and the access to Serralves em Festa! will be made through Avenida Marechal Gomes da Costa (main gate of the Serralves Foundation).

Check this page for more useful information about the event or call 808 200 543.

In 2010, Party at Serralves! received more than 102,000 visitors during its 40 hours.

Art Takes London 2011

Art Takes London 2011 is an art contest open to all artists around the world, with particular focus on emerging ones, who are 13 years of age or older as of the date of entry (minors under the age of 18 may enter online by providing their parent or legal guardian’s e-mail address).

The organizers are looking for innovative works including: Painting, Sculpture, Illustration, Design, Photography, Film, Video, Performance, Installation, Sound, New Media.
Conceptual proposals are also welcome.

Those who wish to participate in Art Takes London 2011 can do it by using the online submission form. Price for entry is $10 per image, you can submit 8 or more images for a flat rate of $79 (maximum of 20 images).
Each entry must be the original work of the entrant, and entrant must be the sole owner of the copyright of such entry.
Refer to this link to learn more about the submission rules.

All online applicants will receive an online portfolio and the entries submitted by the Initial Deadline (11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, May 27, 2011) will be eligible for the People's Choice Award (judged entirely online and does not affect the selection of the Grand Prize winner).
Portfolios will be fully editable through the use of a password (you can change/add images and modify your bio) until the deadline.

All entries, including those submited by the Final Deadline (Eastern Time on Friday, June 3, 2011) will be eligible for the Grand Prize.
Note that submissions after the Initial Deadline are not eligible for the People's Choice Award and are subjected to a Ten Dollar ($10.00) late entry fee.
Any entries and/or payments submitted after the Final Deadline will be automatically void.

A panel of judges (Alexis Hubshman, founder of SCOPE Art Fair, Jason Goodman, founder of 3rd Ward, and Daria Brit Shapiro, Head Curator of Artists Wanted) will select one artist to be awarded the Grand Prize consisted of $10,000 total cash ($5,000 budget to produce new work to be presented at SCOPE London 2011, where the winner will receive a feature spot, and a $5,000 cash prize), a publicity campaign around your work in both London and New York and an online feature promoting your work internationally.

The public will cast their vote and the highest rated portfolio will receive the People's Choice Award: $2,500 cash and an online feature promoting your work internationally.

Six selected Category Award Winners will receive inclusion in a printed catalog that will be distributed at Scope London, as well as an online feature gaining exposure to hundreds of thousands of art enthusiasts.

top 50 runners-up will receive online features, gaining worldwide exposure.

Art Takes London 2011 is presented by Artists Wanted and Scope Art Show.

Antalya, Turkey will host Sandland 2011

The 5th International Antalya Sand Festival "Sandland 2011," in the Mediterranean province of Antalya, Turkey, will be inaugurated on May 1, 2011, counting with the participation of nearly 25 professional sculptors from around the world who already started working on their sculptures since this April.

This year's edition is dedicated to Hollywood and will show 30 famous reproductions, including ‘Back to The Future,’ ‘Braveheart,’ ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Jurassic Park,’ ‘E.T,’ ‘Spiderman,’ ‘Jaws,’ ‘King Kong,’ ‘The Godfather,’ ‘The Matrix,’ ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’ ‘Harry Potter,’ ‘Transformers,’ ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ ‘James Bond’ and ‘Lord of the Rings.’

Visitors will see immortal Hollywood actors such as Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin in the fantasy world of sand, as well as a 25-meter-tall dinosaur sand sculpture that will add to the atmosphere of ‘Jurassic Park.’
Special lighting and sound effects will add colour to the sand sculptures at night, enhancing the experience.

Artists from United States, Canada, Brazil, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Spain, Portugal and Turkey will use near 10,000 tones of sand to create the 30 Hollywood scenes.

Last year the festival was visited by near 160,000 and more than 200,000 are expected this year, making it a reference in it's kind and a contribution to the tourism in Turkey and more specifically Antalya.

The Sandland 2011 - 5th International Antalya Sand Festival, can be visited until November 14, 2011.

The Art Inquirer could not find an official website of the event, but you may probably get more information, should you wish to visit the festival, at the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

FIESA 2011 - 9th International Sand Sculpture Festival (Pêra, Algarve)

Now in its 9th edition, the International Sand Sculpture Festival (FIESA) brings to Pêra in Algarve, some of the best sand sculptors in the world, showing their artistic skills and creativity through the creation of amazing works of art made with sand.

In this year's edition, until June 15th, visitors will have the chance to observe the creative process of some of the sculptures, something that will certainly add to enhance the public's experience.

In similarity with previous editions, FIESA 2011 offers a space where children and grownups may try their creative skills on this form of artistic expression.

During the night , the festival will also include shows and performances and video projections.

Since it's start in 2003, FIESA (Festival Internacional de Escultura em Areia) presents a different theme every year. This year's theme is "Animal Kingdom", a freely translation of "Animalândia" where artists were invited to represent animal in a humouristic manner and personified through human behaviours, at the same time paying tribute to characters from children and adults fiction.

Scenes with endangerous species in their natural habitat show the concern of the aritsts and of the organization toward the environment and the preservation of species.

Organized by ProSandArt, FIESA is considered the world's largest sand sculpture festival due to its occupational area (near 15,000 sqm) and for the size of the sculptures created from 35,000 tones of sand.

FIESA 2011 was inaugurated today and can be visited everyday from 10h00 to 20h00 between April 15 and June 15 and between September 15 and October 15.
From 10h00 to 24h00 between June 16 and September 14.

Admission is free for children up to 5 years old and there are special prices for groups, schools and kindergartens (call to reserve: Mobile: (00351) 969 459 259 / Fax: (00351) 282 317 084)