UMVA Portland members have been holding virtual monthly meetings. A dozen or more members have tuned in at times. Of course, one of the principal concerns is the “re-opening” of the Gallery. While the Portland Media Center is engaged in a measured re-opening, the Gallery has not yet decided its schedule plans. As of the moment, the Mid-Coast artists’ exhibition for July will be postponed until 2021. The MGNE (Monotype Guild of New England) October show has also been postponed for a year. It was decided that shows not able to exhibit this year will be automatically postponed until 2021. In the June meeting schedule issues will be addressed.
UMVA Portland has been reviewing and editing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Portland Media Center. The new agreement clarifies the responsibilities of exhibitors and the walls available for displaying art. Exhibitors will need to discuss the agreement with a PMC representative and sign it. The new agreement will facilitate the shared responsibility for the maintenance of the space. In addition, the rent will be $125, a significant increase but still a very modest fee amounting to 1.8% of the total monthly rent that PMC pays.
A call-for-art for the virtual summer members’ show has been sent out. The title of the show is Sheltered in Place: UMVA Artists and the Pandemic. Each member is permitted a single submission with a guarantee of exhibition of course. Janice Moore and John Ripton are organizing the show. Ann Tracy will post the show on the blog. Greg Burns will post a few images on the website along with a link to the blog. The deadline is July 10. Below is an abridged version of the call-for-art sent out earlier.
Sheltered in Place: UMVA Members and the Pandemic
Call-for-Art
In March, the U.N. called on artists to produce “concise and impactful visuals to help share life-saving information on COVID-19.” Since then, artists have responded with nearly 17,000 designs from 143 nations. In one, Mexican artist Lisa Saldivar depicts the facade of an apartment building, as a crowd of people converse. Bubble letters frame the piece: “kindness not cancelled.”
Lisa Saldivar, 2020
Of course “keeping people safe” requires that many stories be told. Depicting heartache and tragedy, as well as scenes and messages like Saldivar’s painting above, contributes to our collective healing. In this spirit,
UMVA Portland calls on UMVA members across the state to contribute work to our curated online exhibition Sheltered In Place: UMVA Artists and the Pandemic.
Deadline: July 10, 2020 – Submit One Image Only
Label your single image (in the name line at the top of the image) in this format:
FirstName_LastName_Title (no spaces in title and include all the underscores as shown here).
Sizing: A single JPEG image approximately 2800 pixels on longer side and 72 dpi (no TIFF files, only JPEGs).
Brief bio: a brief artist statement in Word doc. format, nota pdf file. Label this Word doc.: Last Name_Title (with no spaces). At the top of the artist statement document include Artist’s Name, Title of Work, medium, dimensions, date (optional), price. This statement is limited to 250 words.
Please wait until all your material is compiled to submit.
Important: Write “Shelter” in the Subject Line of the Submission Email
Submit to:
umvaportland @gmail.com
Submit no later than July 10