Big news about the 2013 Carrboro Film Fest Nov 23-24, 2013

From Nic Berry, co-creator, along with Jackie Helvey, of the Carrboro Film Festval:

I want to let you know that this year we have some pretty major changes to the festival and to let you know that because you have submitted in the past, this year, every film you submit will be free!  That's right, no submission fee for you.  Just write the magic word in the waiver section of the submission form, which is…INCREDIBLE.

Go here to submit - https://secure.jotformpro.com/form/31832888047968 and go here for submission rules - http://carrborofilmfestival.com/submit13.shtml

Now, about those big changes our festival has made:

1. The Carrboro Film Festival now accepts films of any length, from one second to three hours.
2. The Carrboro Film Festival is now a two day fest, with more films, more parties and free workshops
3. The Carrboro Film Festival only accepts online submissions now.  No more mailing us a VHS or DVD. (We accept online screeners with or without passwords on youtube or vimeo)
4. The Carrboro Film Festival will now be held at our original location, The Century Center AND The Artscenter a few blocks down the road.
5. If your film is accepted, we will request a h.264 Quicktime, highest resolution you have.
6. And oh yes, The Carrboro Film Festival now accepts film from ANYWHERE.  We are now international. We will still be North Carolina-centric,  but we want to share films that are Independent, Edgy and Incredible from the world over.
7. Submissions of any length are only ten bucks. (But again, if you submitted in the past, you are free)
8. This year, we have teamed up with Our State Magazine for a special short Documentary competition. If you have a doc about NC, visit http://www.ourstate.com/documentary-film-contest/ for full details. 

We hope to see your film(s) and look forward to seeing you November 23-24, 2013 in Carrboro, NC!

Cheers, Nic

The Raleigh-NCSU Q-Art Code Project

Here's how Raleigh and NCSU Design describe their interesting public art project: 

The City of Raleigh Arts Commission has partnered with the students and staff of the NC State College of Design Advanced Media Lab to create a mobile media showcase of 12 public artworks in the City’s public art collection. The Q-Art Code project will allow the City to raise the public’s awareness about the impact of public art and its cultural contributions to the City of Raleigh.

It only includes 12 public art pieces but perhaps they'll add more to the map even if they are unable to include videos of the pieces. Still, it's an interesting introduction to Raleigh's public art and some of our best public artists within the state.

Garden Sculpture Invitational, today Sunday May 5 and Saturday May 11

Karen and I rode out to the 19th annual garden exhibit of the Garden Art Gallery west of Chapel Hill at 1902 Borland Rd, Hillsborough, NC. (Note: Arthur Minnis Road is closed so check ahead at the website or follow the signs to find the garden.) It was a beautiful cool day, the garden is wonderful and we saw some really terrific art. Highly recommended!

I'm posting some of Karen and my favorites here but all the 12 artists are very talented and the quality is high across the board. Still I'll say without reservation that William Moore blew me away with a range of pieces. Here's one.

William Moore (I forgot to write down the title)

I also was quite taken with Edwin White's work.

Edwin White, Look Closer

Edwin White, Perfect for Each Other

Tinka Jordy had a wide range of pieces including a number of totems.

Tinka Jordy, Blue Figure Totem 

Here's a Susan Moffat piece.

Susan Moffat, A Million Years a Foot

Finally a couple of pieces by that famous artist known as I Didn't Write Down the Info.

Flute mural painted black -- like bummer man!

Maybe my favorite public mural in Chapel Hill-Carrboro was on the side of the Franklin Street building  that houses Andrea Reusing's expanding Lantern Restaurant. You probably know it well:

Not any more as someone painted over the mural with black paint.

The News & Observer had a big article about it, lamenting the loss and noting artist Michael Brown's disappointment. Local officials like my friend Jeff York, public art director for the city, were dismayed. As I am.

But I can't say I approve of the innuendo from the article that Andrea Reusing had something to do with it. Here's the opening line of the article:

The artist is sick about it. The town is upset about it. And the restaurant owner isn’t talking about it.

Later we learn that Andrea hadn't returned calls. Excuse me but she's pretty friggin' busy these days, being a James Beard finalist and running a famous restaurant. Instead of sensationalism, the article should have stated facts without the snide insinuations based on basically nothing.

And if it turns out that Andrea and the restaurant had something to do with it, I'll be pissed, even though it's the owner's legal right. At this point though there is no reason to make unsubstantiated accusations about someone who has a been a valued member of the community and a wonderful chef for the last decade or so.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/03/21/2766542/franklin-street-girl-with-flute.html#storylink=cpy

Triangle Artworks, Arts NC and me

Tomorrow, March 14th I  will be on a panel for a regional arts summit sponsored by Triangle Artworks and the arts advocacy group Arts NC at PlayMakers Repertory 250 Country Club Rd on the UNC campus. (FYI I joined the NC Arts Council in December as Senior Director for the Creative Economies team). Meg McGurk (Downtown Chapel Hill) and Jody McLeod  (Mayor of Clayton) will join me with Beth Yerxa of Triangle Artworks moderating. We'll be discussing and telling stories of how the arts matter to cities and towns in terms of both economic development and community building/placemaking.

We'll start at 4 pm. More info here and below the agenda:

4:00 Arrival and Networking
4:30 Introduction of Panel and Moderated Discussion
  Panel: Moderator – Beth Yerxa
                  Chris Beacham – Senior Program Director, NC Arts Council
                  Meg McGurk – Executive Director, Downtown Chapel Hill
                  Jody McLeod – Mayor, City of Clayton, NC
6:00 Networking Wine and Appetizers
6:30 Embracing Change – The Arts Prevail
  Karen Wells, Arts North Carolina
7:45 Doug Borwick – Building Communities, Not Audiences
8:00 Adjourn

Join the discussion.

Cultureshed (kul'cher-shed)

From the Public Art Review magazine:

CULTURESHED (kul'cher-shed)

1. A geographic region irrigated by streams of local talent and fed by deep pools of human and natural history.
2. An area nourished by what is cultivated locally.
3. The efforts of writers, performers, visual artists, scholars, farmers, and chefs who contribute to a vital and diverse local culture.

- Jay Salinas, Wormfarm Institute

Sounds a bit like Carrboro, yes?

PS. Yes I have been under a rock for, oh, 5-6 months now. I have crawled out and have rejoined the cyberworld. Look for more posts soon both here, my art blog, and also an update of my website