Academy of Realist Art - 2968 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Saturday December 18, 2010
2:00 to 7:00 pm

You are cordially invited to our annual Holiday open house. Everyone is welcome.  We hope to see you there!

Join us at ARA Boston on Friday December 10th from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm

for our Exhibit and Open Sutdio

ARA Boston
112 South Street, Floors 2&3
Boston, MA 02111
(617) 426-3006
 

CURATOR SEEKING ARA ARTISTS, FACULTY, ALUMNI

In association with the Academy of Realist Art (Toronto), HCAG curator Bruno Capolongo is seeking artwork for a February 2011 exhibition devoted entirely to the finest examples of work from ARA faculty, students, and alumni. An annual or semi-annual exhibition is envisioned.

A VISION FOR EXCELLENCE

Bruno Capolongo is guest curator at the Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts Gallery (HCAG) for the 2010-2011 season. As guest curator, Bruno’s vision is to exhibit Canadian and international contemporary fine art of the highest quality, making the newly improved* HCAG a venue of consistently high caliber visual art in the heart of downtown Hamilton - Canada’s 10th largest city – and just blocks from the Art Gallery of Hamilton, the nations 3rd largest public gallery. The HCAG is housed in the Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts, one of the nation’s oldest cultural institutions, dating back to 1897. (*Two new walls have been added to the gallery)

EXHIBITS AT THE HCAG

The HCAG is at the heart of a vibrant arts institution, with an audience comprised of over 1000 visitors per week; including gallery visitors, faculty, students, and tours. A highlight of exhibiting at the HCAG is the Conservatory’s annual concert series (October to April) featuring world renowned performers and capacity audiences with two receptions in the Gallery per concert.

ABOUT THE UPCOMING ARA EXHIBITION

The curatorial mandate for this exhibition (title TBA) is to give form and context to the worldwide resurgence of the “academy way” and the undeniable blessings and challenges this poses to both the art establishment and artists alike. Curator (and fellow artist) Bruno Capolongo will also work closely with ARA associated artists and ARA Leadership to round out the exhibition with informative didactics (wall mounted texts) to enlighten gallery visitors. Academy of Realist Art associate artists have been selected in recognition of their exceptional work and the ARA’s status as one of the leading academies in the world today.

Submission Deadline:  December 31, 2010

Download Submission Application (PDF)

ARA Instructor Juan Martinez has been invited to participate in the 2011 Portrait Society of America's "Face Off" competition on the Friday of the conference. It was a really popular event last year.The Art of the Portrait Conference will be held April 28 - May 1, 2011 ‚ Atlanta, GA

http://www.portraitsociety.org/

We are pleased to announce the participants of the popular Face-Off program and share with you below a preview of some of the engaging programs planned for next year's event.

During the annual four day conference, attendees will have the opportunity to experience personal portfolio critiques, demonstrations, lectures, workshops, artist book signings, networking, meeting with art materials manufacturers and visit the High Museum.

2011 Face-Off Faculty Tom Donahue, Judith Carducci, Romel de la Torre, Jon Houghton, David Kassan, Bart Lindstrom, Jeremy Lipking, Juan Martinez, Sherrie McGraw, Tony Pro, Anthony Ryder, Alexey Steele, Mary Whyte, Lea Wight and Dawn Whitelaw.

1st place to Erin Kursietis – full year scholarship from the Academy of Realist Art value $7,620.00

2nd place to Lisa Ng - $500.00 in custom framing from Picture it Framed

3rd place to Mary Ma – Gallery show at Latitude 44 with $250.00 towards opening night

Congratulations to the winners and all entrants.

Date:  Saturday October 23rd, 2010 at 5:00 pm
Location:  ARA Toronto

HOSTS:
Eva Chwojko, art historian (University of Toronto) and journalist
Steeve Chwojko, composer, music historian (Sorbonne University, Paris)

Meet Caravaggio, who created an outrage in 16th century Rome, not only because of his volatile character and temper but also because of his controversial painting methods. He chose beggars and drunkards as models for saints and painted them in realistic fashion, causing scandal after scandal. Some of his large-scale paintings were refused by the patrons who had commissioned them, but he also had supporters who protected him from the police whenever he got into trouble. 

Let’s look at his life and his powerful paintings – rejected by his contemporaries, but today deemed to belong among the greatest masterpieces of art. Music was just finding its classical voice at the same time, with the first opera in the world produced in Italy just before Caravaggio’s death. What did these paintings look like? What did this music sound like? Come and see it,
come and hear it!

The Junction Arts Festival offers an edge splitting combination of the high art, community arts and popular culture. The ethos of the festival is to present the arts as necessary, relevant, accessible and exciting. The Junction is populated by a great mix of is bright, savvy and curious people: interested in discovering new experiences; widening their knowledge though arts.  Equally, the festival appeals to those who may know nothing about art, or theatre or modern dance but simply are curious. It intersects  the classic forms of art with fresh eyes and champions emerging talent. 

There will be music, visual arts, theatre, dance, comedy, outdoor sculpture, children's events and free family activities. The first day in the festival sees the excitement begin with the opening celebrations on the festival's own Dundas St West festival lot with our purposely built stage. Opening night consists of the 1st performances and rundown of the activities for the next few days.

The 2010 Junction Arts Festival will be held on Dundas Street West between Runnymede Road and Annette Street on:
 
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010 from 6:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m.,
Thursday, September 9th, 2010 from 6:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m.,
Friday, September 10th, 2010 from 6:00 p.m. until 11:59 p.m.,
Saturday, September 11th, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. until 11:59 p.m.,
and Sunday, September 12th, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m.
 
This annual community event, produced by the Junction Forum for Art and Culture and sponsored by the Junction B.I.A., is a celebration of the arts, food, and music in the Junction.
The Festival expects to match last years numbers for attendance of  75 000 visitors per day on the Saturday and Sunday street closure!

Call for volunteers! For more info e-mail volunteer@junctionartsfest.com

The Junction Forum for Art and Culture (JFAC) is an arts presenting body whose main project is the annual Junction Arts Festival. JFAC was incorporated as a non-profit group in February 2004. The people who make up the Board of Directors of the Junction Forum for Art and Culture are dedicated cultural producers, artists, residents, business owners and politicians all of whom are connected, in some way, to the Junction.

For more information please visit www.junctionartsfest.com
2968 Dundas St. West suite 306
Telephone (416) 767-5036  

You are cordially invited to Academy of Realist Art - Toronto Gala Opening for the Contact  2010 Photography Festival.

Date:  Saturday May 8, 2010

Time:  6:00 to 9:00 PM

Contact artists include:  Penelope Edgar, Joseph Michael Howarth, Erika Jacobs, Don Michie, Lindsay Murrell

About
CONTACT is an annual month long festival of photography with over 1000 local, national and international artists at more than 200 venues across the Greater Toronto Area in May. Founded as a not-for-profit organization 14 years ago, CONTACT is devoted to celebrating, and fostering an appreciation of the art and profession of photography. As the largest photography event in the world, and a premiere cultural event in Toronto, CONTACT stimulates excitement and discussion among a diverse audience that has grown to over 1.5 million and is focused on cultivating even greater interest and participation this year.

CONTACT 2010 will consider the ways in which photography informs and transforms human behavior. The festival will recognize the influence of Marshall McLuhan, on the 30th anniversary year of his death. We will present images that examine connections between mass media, advertising, art and photography. This includes conceptual approaches to photography that utilize the codes of advertising, the language of consumerism, the stylization of marketing campaigns and the force of propaganda. Photojournalism and socially concerned documentary photography will provide a realist-based examination of the emotional and political impact of images and their effect on society and culture. CONTACT 2010 will explore the personal and social consequences of the medium of photography, in a world devoted to the image.

The Human Figure: Dynamic Opposites is an exhibition of fine art black and white dance action shots, portraits, and nude bodyscapes that provide an elegant exploration of the humanfigure. Most of the photographs emphasize dancers who display the dynamic opposites of exceptional physicality (strength, flexibility, athleticism, muscle definition, body control) and beauty (poise, composition, gracefulness, expression of emotion).

Academy of Realist Art - Toronto
Works displayed from May 1 to 31, 2010

2968 Dundas St West, Suite 200
Toronto, M6P 1Y8

The Bloor West Village Art Tour is an annual event that offers artists in the Bloor West Village, Swansea, High Park and Junction areas a unique opportunity to showcase their talents. This marks the 12th year for this popular weekend attraction, where local artists can display and sell their works to members of the community from the comfort of their own studio or home.Tour dates and times are:• Friday, May 28, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.• Saturday, May 29, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.• Sunday, May 30, 11:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.Any artists interested in being included in the tour should contact John Lynch 416-769-4454 for more information on registration and entry fees. You can also email jlynch@sympatico.ca for a registration form. Please note: Applications are subject to jury approval.

Part-time ARA student Janet Strayer has recently won first place in The Artist's magazine All Media competition in the digital arts category for her Garlands piece. This haunting picture is part of Janet's Child Out of Time series, a collection of 24 monochromatic digital paintings that explore the concept of childhood as a time of memory, reverie, yearning and hope. Garlands will be featured on the magazine's website as well as the July-August 2010 print issue which will appear on newsstands June 8, 2010.Visitors will have an opportunity to view this intriguing series first hand at the Zack Gallery located at 950 West 41st Ave. (near Oak St.) in Vancouver starting June 9, 2010. You can also see Janet's entire portfolio at www.janetstrayerart.com.