NYCEDC and Full Spectrum Experience, Inc. Launch Second Annual Curate NYC
Online and Gallery Exhibitions in All Five Boroughs Will Heighten Exposure for New York City-Based Artists
New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and Full Spectrum Experience, Inc. today launched the Second Annual Curate NYC - a program designed to heighten visibility and increase career opportunities for New York City visual artists. In its inaugural year, nearly 1,200 New Yorkers submitted works to the competition, which has ultimately helped advance the careers of a number of the City's emerging artists. This year, Curate NYC will expand the competition by showcasing artwork in additional venues and allow artists to sell their work via the Curate NYC website. Curate NYC will once again be comprised of a juried selection of artwork followed by a multi-venue exhibition at galleries throughout the City, as well as online exhibitions on the project website. Artwork can be submitted for consideration at www.CurateNYC.org , beginning today through October 31, 2011.
"New York City is a global center for arts and culture. Through innovative programs like Curate NYC, we will ensure this critical sector of our economy continues to grow," said New York City Economic Development Corporation President Seth W. Pinsky. "Last year Curate NYC proved to be a tremendous success, and we are now poised to build upon that success by exposing even more of our City's talented artists to the public. I would like to thank the entire team at Full Spectrum, with whom we are once again proud to partner on this groundbreaking program."
"This year's Curate NYC is an expanded vision that reflects the goals and partnership of the artist community," said Full Spectrum Co-President Brian Tate. "We'll bring more eyes to the work through multiple live exhibitions, and online shows organized by top museum curators and gallery directors. We've also increased the potential for economic activity by driving arts tourism throughout the five boroughs, and creating an online store where artists can sell their work."
Full Spectrum Co-President Danny Simmons added, "As an artist myself, I know that opportunities to exhibit one's work is limited and of primary concern to the artist community. So we've added exhibitions at five great galleries, one in each borough, in addition to the juried show of 150 artists. This means that a great many more New York City artists will benefit from the program. Curate NYC is a wonderful vehicle for artists of all levels to receive new exposure in the art world and the public sphere."
In order to continue the program and build upon last year's success, NYCEDC has provided a grant of $70,000. Curate NYC will provide multiple opportunities for submitted artwork to be featured once selected by the panel of judges. The judges - which are comprised of New York City-based arts professionals - will select 150 works to be reproduced as 11 x 6 inch postcards and exhibited at Rush Arts Gallery + Resource Center in Chelsea. Five galleries - one per borough - will also curate and exhibit their own shows of actual works by Curate NYC artists. The gallery exhibitions will run from December 1 to February 1, 2012, and additional entries will be featured in special online exhibitions on the project website, curated by noted museum curators and gallery directors. Only New York City visual artists may apply, and proof of a New York City address is required.
Two of the selected artists from the inaugural Curate NYC competition include Jennifer Delilah, a painter, whose work can be seen at http://jenniferdelilah.com/home.html , and Alexandra Henry, a photographer, whose work can be seen at http://www.alexandrahenry.com/ .
"My inclusion in the first Curate NYC was a very positive experience," said Jennifer Delilah. "It created quite a buzz in the art scene, and I personally gained introduction to a community of supportive arts professionals and received a great deal of traffic to my website. It was a superb catalyst that resulted in press, exhibitions, and sales of my work. It is such an honor to be the beneficiary of their vision, many thanks!"
"Curate NYC inspired me to truly pursue expressing myself through photography," said Alexandra Henry. "I admire how the program recognizes artists from all walks of life who inhabit our dynamic city. Participating in Curate NYC led to my first solo exhibit, as well as two group shows in New York."
For this year's Curate NYC, museum-quality postcard reproductions of the top 150 entries will be exhibited at:
- Rush Art Gallery & Resource Center, Manhattan, December 1-10
Selected postcards, alongside actual work by additional Curate NYC artists, will be exhibited at galleries in all five Boroughs of New York City:
- Bill Hodges Gallery, Manhattan, December 2 -11
- Art at Bay, Staten Island, December 3 -18
- Longwood Art Gallery @ Hostos, Bronx, December 7-February 1, 2012
- Like the Spice, Brooklyn, December 8 -18
- Crossing Art, Queens, December 10-31
All exhibitions are free-of-charge and open to the public. Additionally, all entries - including the artwork, profile, and weblink of each applicant - will remain on the program website, www.CurateNYC.org , for ongoing review by art professionals and the general public for the foreseeable future.
The CURATE NYC Panel of Judges reflects the expertise and diversity of New