VINGT Paris News

Open Artist Call: A Book About Death

A BOOK ABOUT DEATH is an open, unbound book produced by artists worldwide. Artists are invited to create a "page" in the form of a postcard about death– any aspect about death. Works can be of any design, personal or conceptual, color or black and white.

The original work about death stays with you, the artist. The 500 postcards produced from the work is for the exhibition, and are sent to the gallery.

Artists can include any information about themselves on the cards, front or back.

There are no taboos here, no age limits, no areas or ideas that are prohibited.  The exhibition organizers only ask that you submit good work, worthy of an interesting and exciting page in this global book

The 500 post cards are then mailed to the gallery in New York City for exhibition. DEADLINE FOR CARDS TO BE IN THE GALLERY: SEPTEMBER 5, 2009.

Photo: Postcard image by artist Pete Gray

Artsetter : A New Site for Artists

Candice Thompson writing for I V Y paris

Artsetter, newly online, offers a platform for people to talk and share ideas about contemporary art as well as providing its artists with a free online gallery where they can exhibit and sell their art directly to buyers.

The site works similar to the other social networking platforms you know where you register and get your own profile page. The difference is that the main focus is art (which we love and support so that’s a brilliant focus to have).

Beautifully designed and super easy to navigate, once you’ve got an idea of how it works. The focus of Artsetter is to revolutionize the art market so that the readers decide which artists should get international exposure and not a couple of faraway moguls sipping champers. Up until now the art market has been closed and just a weeny bit elitist (I’m being nice) and Artsetter wants to change that, allowing its members to vote for their favourite artists so that the choice is fair and transparent.

Paris Smiles for You Photo Competition

The Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau Bureau is holding a photo competition from June 1st 2009 to August 31 2009, in partnership with the VU’ agency.

All you have to do is fill in this form and send your 5 most beautiful photographs of Paris - photographs that have been inspired by the walks through the city suggested in Paris Smiles For You:

- Paris Mythique = Concorde, Champs-Elysées, Tuileries, Louvre
- Paris Monumental = Eiffel Tower, Champs-de-Mars, Invalides, Trocadéro
- Paris Seine = the Seine, the bridges, the quays, the ports
- Paris Tendance = Marais, Montorgueil, Hôtel de Ville, Les Halles
- Paris Populaire = République, Bastille, Oberkampf, Père-Lachaise

Design Competition for Hermès Ties "les cravates par Hermès"

Hermès, house of quality, is world renowned for its fine silk, and particularly for ties that embody fine craftsmanship, masterful design and timeless style.

"Les cravates par Hermès" is looking to receive innovative and original pattern designs for ties that brighten up a man's wardrobe, refined, 'all-over' designs - repetitive or non-repetitive patterns in which the motifs recur in a design covering the entire cloth.

Applicants are asked to develop a new pattern that could be either a re-interpretation of Hermès' classic patterns (equestrian -, sport -, marine theme, whimsical animal motifs, geometric variations including stripes, plant and flower designs and the H delicately imprinted across the surface of the tie) or something completely different, that could be used for the silk-screen printing - or weaving technique.

The Magnum Expression Award

Magnum Photos in association with HP announce the first annual Expression Photography Award. The Magnum Expression Photography Award was established by Magnum Photos and HP with the goal of raising awareness and inspiring change through campaigns using photography as an expressive medium.

Its mission is to discover and illuminate compelling documentary photography employed in innovative ways to affect social awareness and propel humanitarian compassion.

A panel of four Magnum photographers and one HP large format printing representative will select 20 finalists. One chosen winner will receive a $10,000 grant to support the continuation of his/her work, HP’s large format Designjet Z3200 Photo printer for fine art printing, archival pigment inks, fine art paper and additional prizes from contributing partners Blurb & PhotoShelter. Two honorable mentions and the remaining 17 finalists will also receive awards to support & encourage their photographic work. Participation is at no cost and photographers worldwide are encouraged to submit.

Magnum photographers comprising the jury are: Alec Soth, Jonas Bendiksen (work featured above), Paolo Pellegrin, and Susan Meiselas.

DOTMOV Festival 2009

Japanese online magazine SHIFT presents the DOTMOV Festival 2009, a digital film festival looking to discover talented creators, working in the audio / visual and design fields.

Selected films will be screened in international venues starting November 2009. Last year 289 films were submitted from 37 countries. The jury includes the German design studio Feed Deutschland, UK based Designers Republic, and Japanese multidisciplinary artist Yoshi Sodeoka among others.

Work should be sent in (VHS/S-VHS), mini DV (NTSC), or DVD (video format/NTSC or PAL) formats to:

Shift Magazine
3F Sasshin Bld., S6 W11 Chuo-ku, Sapporo 064-0806, Japan.

Application form and guidelines here.
Deadline: September 10th, 2009

Paris Memoir Class with John Baxter Taking Students

Author and biographer John Baxter has lived in Paris for twenty years. During that time, he's written several critically-acclaimed  biographies, including his memoirs A Pound of Paper: Confessions of a Book Addict, We'll Always Have Paris, and Immoveable Feast: A Paris Christmas.

This Summer, John will hold a three-day course at his residence in the heart of classic Paris for aspiring writers and literary enthusiasts.

Baxter, an avid book collector, has an intense and deep understanding of the Left Bank, and knows the literary history of the area in a way that only a local can.

Highly recommended. Stay tuned for collaborative projects between John Baxter and VINGT coming later in 2009.

NOWA SODA in Krakow

NOWA SODA is an artist-in-residency program that culminates in a three day art spectacle that transforms the Contemporary Art Center Solvay (CACS) into a building-wide art installation.

The project is conceived and curated by Halfslant, an international art group, which will select and work with two to four resident artists to use the physical space and historical significance of the CACS building as a means to enter into a dialogue with Krakow’s Podgórze community. Resident artists will be provided lodging, studio space and a 1000 euro stipend for their time at Solvay.

In addition, NOWA SODA is accepting submissions for art film and video pieces based on a theme about transforming a space. Selected works will be shown during the three day opening at the CACS building in conjunction with art performances.

AIR Krems in Austria Calls for Artists

In order to promote international cultural exchange, the federal state of Lower Austria has initiated an artist-in-residence program, for which it has set up five studio apartments and a large common room on the top floor of the former carpet factory within the Art Mile in Krems (Kunst meile Krems).

In order to ensure diversity and a vibrant atmosphere among the studios, the AIR Krems program will award its scholarships to artists from the fields of visual arts, literature, architecture, and music.

These studio apartments, which have housed artists from many different countries since 2000, serve as temporary living and working spaces and provide the opportunity for both international and interdisciplinary exchange.

Les Portes Ouvertes des Ateliers d'Artistes de Belleville

May 15, 2009 through May 18, 2009

250 artists will be participating at this annual event, presenting work in over 130 sites and studios in and around Belleville in the 20th arrondissement.

The Ateliers d'Artistes de Belleville president, Nicolas Dupeyron states:

The success and appeal of the Belleville open studios is due, in my view, to its authenticity; authenticity in the work of the artists, in their engagement in public life, authenticity in their contact with the public.

The art that the artists propose is all but flashy or artificial. It is not made to evaporate in the curls and wreathes of our communication society. This is one reason why we consider it as real art, art in its solid state.

This year's theme revolves around "skin"; By crossing the artistic dimension with the political and ethical issues related to skin (skin grafts, scientific progress, biometrics, racism), artists have surprising ways of triggering reflection on these questions that are part of Belleville’s past and present.

Ateliers d'Artistes de Belleville
32 rue de la Mare
75020 Paris