and the Phampersand Press
It’s no news that word travels fast here in Smalltimore… After pushing our press release yesterday, we’ve already had some responses and recaps. I’m so thankful to be a part of not only this collective, but also this greater community that understands and supports our mission and goals. <3 u, Baltimore.
link to the CityPaper and more to come.
so this is like, really huge, and if I haven’t seen you in a long time, it’s because I’ve been buried under Board of Directors activities and getting things to sound Just Right and we’ve finally sent out press releases so it’s like Official and Stuff and I’m pretty excited and this has been consuming us for the last few months and hey, this is one sentence because I say it is.
Was way too swamped last week/weekend to link these, but the show that Alex and I curated has been getting some press!
A writeup in the Sun by Tim Swift. I have some mixed feelings about the article, but I think they mostly stem from how hyper-sensitive one can become when it’s a project they’ve been working on for months and months and months, and perhaps an objective opinion is different from how they see it. In any case, I’m really glad that some of the artists were able to share their experience, and I hope it brought some people outside of our usual audience to the show. We’ve already sold two pieces!
Artblog of all artblogs, the artblog I read religiously while in grad school, home to some of my favoritist art writers and thinkers, did a bit about the show too! So thrilled we got a mention from this blog I so admire.
A few pictures are up on Radar Redux’s flickr. Thanks for visiting, guys!
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Must say, after all the stress and coordinating and calming down the other artists who were stressed, Alex and I are pretty pleased with how things came together. Some artists had really successful experiences and will continue their correspondence; other artists weren’t as enthusiastic, but I think they were nonetheless able to learn more about their studio practice. What I loved was hearing so many participants say that they learned to work in a way they never had before, and that they started asking themselves all sorts of new questions. Awesome!
The joint opening in Philly was a success, we raged pretty late into the evening, and I got some much needed catch up time with my old Philly crew. (I’d say we had a little too much fun; I’m still hibernating a bit in recovery!) I’m also really excited that we’ll be hosting the Philly kids down here for the closing. It sounds like there will be quite a few of them caravaning together, and I expect it to be an all around super crazy fun time happy. Freda and Andrew will be doing a more involved version of their AMAZING performance piece (not sure what the permissions are on that facebook vid… sorry!), and I think we’ll have a combination of Bmore and Philly bands that night. Followed by whatever cavorting/celebrating/on the town we’ll be doing after the closing. So good!
As mentioned in my previous 2 spazz posts, I can’t get over how awesome 2010 has been already, even barring the total mountain of SUCK that 2009 was. I’m pumped!
It’s official! The Baltimore Community Foundation has announced their Confetti Grant recipients, and the Hexagon is among this group of Awesome! I can’t even begin to express how ecstatic I am about this, how I tiptoed into the space a little over a year ago just to meet some creative people in a new town and am a part of a big quirky family striving to bring the best in emerging art and music to Baltimore. We are so darn pumped. AND totally flattered to receive these grants along with our local friends and colleagues who share our DIY vision. Like seriously, when I look over that list of recipients, I am so proud that we were all considered together.
Go Baltimore!
Go Hexagon!
Go DIY!
Go Collectivism!!
Happy New Year!!!!
Hexchange is happening this weekend! Opening 6-8. Participating printmakers include: Irma Alba, Sara Allred, Kathy Beachler, Kelsey Beyer, Sherry Blase, Rachel Bone, Graham Boyle, Miranda Bushey, Aisha Butler, Sarah Casamassima, Brandon Cox, Katherine Fahey, Greg Gazdowicz, Diana Nicollette Jeon, Tiffany Jordan, Lou Joseph, Val Lucas, Tonia Matthews, Melissa Mauro, Kathleen Mazurek, Heather McLaughlin, Ursula Minervini & Jon Poliszuk, Anthony Morrow, Chris Muccioli, Maggie Muth, Lauren Peterson, Ece Piper, Nikholis Planck, Cynthia Protzman, Matt Readout, Jasmine Sarp, Kevin Sherry, Caro Sturges, Mary Tasillo, Rachel Valsing, Kyle Van Horn, Siobhan Vicens, Linda Wilson, and Adam Woods. Second Saturday festivities in the neighborhood all night long. Music at the Hexagon by the Timothy Bracken Complex, Sweatpants, Surf Nazis on Ecstasy, and Weekends.
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In MFA-world, we called it Post-Partum-Show-Depression, that every time you have an exhibition, you celebrate and then completely crash. The feeling can last anywhere from a day to months. I’m sure we all experience it in different ways–you spend months, years, latelatelate nights churning out this beast, show it off, go on a celebratory bender for however many days you have friends in town, and then you come home in the evening and look at your desk that is no longer covered in horsehair, silk, wax, or paper scraps. “now wut?”
What to do? The dishes that have piled up, not that you’ve had the time to cook a proper meal all month. Sort through your bedroom floor’s mountain of dirty clothes blending into the clean clothes you were too lazy to put away. Scrub that shower curtain. oh, right, and remember what it means to take care of yourself again: cooking (for real though), hot yoga, returning social phone calls, getting more than 3-4 hours of sleep. it’s totally glorious! not spending Friday nights with your creative cohorts at the hardware store? amazing.
This time around, the post-terrain-malaise only lingered for ~48 hours. not bad! It certainly helped that my old studiomate and BFF Mandy came for the festivities, so instead of nursing my headache (and liver) under the covers all day, we had our little nerd-out slumber party and talked shop and offset artist books, gossiped about boys, drank recovery smoothies, and shared food stories. I’m thinking about my next drawings and some upcoming deadlines, but for now it’s nice to be slooooow.
So, you know I have a Tumblr for dumping all things inspirational/cats/sharks/90’s/venn diagrams. I mostly source from other art blogs (BTdubs: biiiiiggggesssstttt tumblr/blogosphere pet peeve: NOT SOURCING THE ARTIST WHEN YOU’RE TRYING TO SHOW OFF SOMETHING COOL. HATE YOU GUYZ. SOURCE THAT SHIT, OKAY) and through the usual sleepy-internet-metaclicking we all do, I found this great art blog by Siong Chin. I like his blog more than the usual Art Dump Blogs (fecalface/boom/ffffffffffffffound/beautiful decay/brightstupidconfetti/etc.) because it’s way narrative and personal, and not just a “oh here is something cool to look at, peace”. It’s easy to wander into Twee-land when you’re doing stuff like this, and he keeps his posts poignant, candid, and sincere.
how about some Hexagon updates for ya:
I’m no good at being a year-round crafter, though I’d probably be better at it if there weren’t so many awesome pies in my life to try. But where you *can* catch me, for sure, every year is the Charm City Craft Mafia’s annual Holiday Heap! We are taking applications NOW, and they close in a couple weeks, so think fast! I’m not as well-seasoned in the craft show circuit as some of my Mafia cohorts, but I will say that it’s one of my favorite shows to work. The Charles Village space is lovely and we always get a warm, supportive crowd.
Also, I have postcards for our show opening next week! If you would like me to mail you one, send me your mailing address at my contact page. I promise I won’t spam you about “enhancement” drugs or send you coupons. I may add you to my occasional email newsletter, which you are always welcome to decline.
And finally, my good friends at My House Gallery now have a sweet blog. Alex and I are working on a really exciting collaboration between his space and the Hexagon, where we have curated cross-city pairs for the ultimate in experimental communication. We will officially announce details this weekend!
The Hexagon won this year’s award for best Multi-Purpose Art Space!!!! I am so freaking pumped!! We have all been working so hard to keep bringing Baltimore the best in emerging art and music, this is so so so so exciting. With this, and our recent successes with Second Saturdays in Station North, it’s all bright and shiny from here. Stay tuned for upcoming gallery news: Hexchange, exhibition by Mike Riley, a Publishing Genius interdisciplinary fiesta, a 40-artist/two-city curatorial collaboration, video games, and more! OMG OMG OMG
check it:
Formerly the Lo-Fi Social Club and almost exclusively a music venue, the revamped Hexagon Space has transitioned into the most promising multipurpose space in the Station North Arts District. Collectively run by local artists and musicians, the previously underused lobby/lounge has become a functioning art gallery (hosting a members’ art showcase and screen-printing exchange and exhibition) and DIY/limited-release music store. The rear performance space still welcomes musical acts of all variety, as well as free 16-mm movie screenings. Constantly accepting proposals for both art exhibitions and music shows, festivals and dance parties, the space has an enthusiastic ever-expanding audience.
All that busy-ness I’ve been alluding to? Here’s a tiny fraction of it.
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CALL FOR PRINTMAKERS:
The Hexagon Gallery is pleased to announce Hexchange, a Baltimore-themed portfolio exchange for emerging printmakers. Hexchange will be on exhibit during the month of October, with an opening reception on Saturday, October 10th, in conjunction with Second Saturdays, a new initiative from the Station North Arts & Entertainment District to bring community arts and music awareness to the area. Following the exhibition, Hexchange will become a part of the permanent collections at the Hexagon Gallery and the International Print Museum in Southern California (and possibly more). Hexchange is also receiving promotional support from the Bmore Art Blog, the Contemporary Museum and the Station North Arts & Entertainment District.
There are 50 spots in this portfolio. Hexchange will first open registration to Baltimore/DC printmakers (immediately). Starting on August 3rd, artists from outside the Baltimore/DC region can begin registration. All artists participating in the exchange will receive a portfolio of 50 different prints.
To register for the exchange:
1) send the following information to Hexagon Gallery coordinator Phuong Pham at artart
Name
Email Address
Mailing Address
2) send payment:
Checks can be made payable to Phuong Pham, or payment can be sent via Paypal (please inquire for paypal invoice)
The Hexagon
attn: Phuong Pham, Gallery
PO BOX 50015
BALTIMORE MD 21211
Fee: $10 for artists in East and Central time zones, $15 for artists in Mountain and Pacific time zones. Artists outside the continental US will be given a payment estimate upon inquiry. This modest payment will cover constructing portfolio mailers, return postage, and exhibition postcards (also to be sent to each artist prior to the show). Your registration will not be complete until we have received your payment.
3) Start printing! Print requirements:
-edition of 55
-11×15 inches
-paper choice and bleed are up to you
-Baltimore-themed
-sign and number prints
***Important*** All editions must be received, with interleaving, (address above) by September 18th, 2009. No extensions, as this will give us just enough time to collate, construct cases, and hang the exhibition.
Questions? Contact Phuong at artart
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The Hexagon is a community run gallery and performance space in the Station North Arts Distric of Baltimore, Maryland. The focus of the space is to eliminate segregation in the community by providing a forum for collaboration between artists of diverse backgrounds, to mentor local arts organizers, and to provide educational public arts workshops. Our facilities and services are made available to all artists who need a place to exhibit, perform, or create their original artwork, especially those who cannot obtain space to exhibit or perform from traditional sources because of financial or other limitations For more information about the space, please visit http://www.hexagonspace.com.
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