Notes from the field

Afterimage, May-June, 2003 by Betsy Phillips, Genevieve Waller

The Association for Cultural Advancement through Visual Art in London has announced the winners of its 8th annual First Base Awards. The awards are given to twelve artists in various disciplines in their first year after graduating from college. Awardees receive a free studio for a year, professional training, and the opportunity to develop their careers through participating in a range of visual art projects, events, and exhibitions. Recipients of this year's awards are as follows: Guy Allott, Tanya Benardout, Susan Collis, Leah Elsey & Sonia Uddin, Martine Feipel, Bernhard Frankel, Rob Grose, Laura Jane Holden, Aviva Leeman, Antonia Low, Seb Patane, and Joanna Wilson.

Rochester Contemporary (RoCo) of Rochester, NY, is the recipient of a $32,150 matching grant from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) Capital Projects Program for the renovation of its new gallery space at 137 East Ave. Scheduled for completion in 2003, the unique and highly visible arts space in downtown Rochester's cultural district will offer expanded exhibition, conference and educational space, a video/film viewing room, as well as "lab space" opportunities for member artists. RoCo's goal is to increase the recognition and awareness of art and culture as a vital part of our daily lives by presenting challenging, high quality exhibitions and performances in all media. Additional info may be obtained at: www.rochestercontemporary.org

The Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh has closed its department of Film and Video, and has eliminated its CMA Cinema program, in order to meet budget reduction goals for 2003 and beyond. The cuts are part of the Carnegie's $4 million budget reduction, which the organization announced is necessary due in large part to the declining value of its investments and reduced endowment income. Though the film and video department is closed, the museum will continue to maintain and actively add to its video collection through the contemporary art department and will continue to exhibit film and video artworks.

The New Museum of Contemporary Art in Soho announces the launch of a newly designed and expanded website, www.newmuseum.org. Designed by Honest (www.stayhonest.com), the site boasts easy access to 25 years of exhibition history, public program transcripts, a greatly expanded online store, and educator lesson plans. The New Museum also recently announced plans to build a new 60,000 square foot facility at 235 Bowery.

The Walter Phillips Gallery in Banff, Alberta, Canada, has reopened following a brief closure for renovations. The Gallery, along with Banff International Curatorial Institute, will be hosting presenters from around the world at Obession, Compulsion, Collection: A Symposium on Objects, Display, Culture, and Interpretation from May 6-10. The symposium, an interdisciplinary event, will examine the role of the art object in a broader context of visual and display culture, with keynote address by David Wilson, founder and director of the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Los Angeles, and a performance by Native Performance Artist James Luna.