Index Art Center presents: LANDHOLDINGS.
Reception Saturday, March, 4, 7 to 10pm.
LANDHOLDINGS is a multimedia exhibition focused on questioning the ownership and stewardship of the land we live on.
The exhibition explores these ideas through an ascension from soil composition to the broader scale of cartography and all of the human relationships in between.
“When you answer the question, Who really owns the soil? wrote George McBride, a pioneer of the Green Revolution in Mexico, you lay bare the very foundations upon which its society is based, and reveal the fundamental character of many of it’s institutions.” – Andro Linklater Owning the Earth
Curated by Colleen Gutwein
Exhibiting Artists:
Nell Painter is an artist and historian. In her series “Composite Maps” (Odalisque Atlas), Painter examines the ancient and contemporary locations of slave girls through cartography.
Sara Fox has taken her photo journalism to North Dakota in an essay from Standing Rock. Fox gives the viewer a glimpse into the present-day struggle over a Native American territory with disputed boundaries dating back to the 1800’s.
Mike Belleme points his lens into a mysterious subculture of people living off the excess of a society they have left behind in his photo essay “Wild Roots”. Foraging, dumpster diving, and the occasional hunt brings food to their off-grid cooperative, hidden deep in the forests of NC.
Anne Percoco explores migrant peoples relationship to the land in her “Weather Shield for a Migrant Dwelling”. Percoco designed a protective outer layer for a one family dwelling using the waste of plastic food wrappers. The shelter reflects the landscape surrounding it, as well as creates a localized cooling system within.
Ellie Irons & Anne Percoco have created an ongoing library, “The Next Epoch Seed Library”. This seed bank focuses on weedy species most likely to survive and thrive in a landscape dominated by human excess.
Jamie Bruno has spent years in both the art and agricultural worlds. Her installation focuses on the urban gardener, and the cultivation of polluted land into nutrient rich soil suitable for growing food.
As the Earth changes and people continue to migrate, we explore our deepest relationships with the earth and to each other through LANDHOLDINGS.
Also Happening-:
Index Side Gallery: “ANTI-PRINTS” by Joe Waks
27 Mix: Xplore Freedom
Gallery hours are by appointment.
Admission is free and open to the public.
This event is sponsored by our neighbors 27 Mix and Kilkenny Alehouse.
The 5 Wards explore the diversity of Newark’s landscapes and people. Through photography, the artists reveal nuanced reflections of change, culture and community, providing a deeper analysis of the City of Newark and the current socio-political climate. Presented in conjunction with HYCIDE magazine, featuring works by Manuel Acevedo, Cesar Melgar, Tamara Fleming, Colleen Gutwein, Stefan Brown, Nema Etebar and Fabian Palencia.
January 29 – April 30
Seton Hall University School of Law
1109 Raymond Boulevard Newark, NJ 07102United States+ Google Map
Join me for an open studio visit on the 3rd floor of Index Art Center, followed by the Opening reception for the Queen of Angels: When a Church Dies exhibition, all on Sunday October 23rd. Free transportation is available to local galleries and artists studios, more information HERE
I am lucky enough to share my studio space with my talented husband, Joseph O’Neal. Please join us in our studio from noon-6pm on Sunday October 23rd. The gallery at Index Art Center will also be open and showing Intersection 2016, in which both Joseph and I are participating.
Facebook Event HERE
Queen of Angels: When a Church Dies
Unintended Relics, 2016
October 23 & by appointment. Opening Reception: October 23, 4-7pm
270 Central Ave, Newark
After a 5 year hiatus from curating Ar+chaeology exhibits, Matthew Gosser is bringing the idea back to help celebrate Newark’s 350 anniversary founding. The Queen of Angels church, and school, was a highly significant historic landmark which was recently demolished. A collection of artifacts, photographs, and historic research was plentiful to artists in this exhibit charged with the idea of creating works that speak of the Queen of Angels.
Information for Newark 350 HERE
Facebook Event HERE
Newark Open Doors 2016 will be happening October 19 – 23rd this year. On Friday, October 21st, three exhibitions I am showing work in will be hosting opening receptions. Free transportation to all of the gallery openings that night is available with registration for the “Gallery Crawl” through the Newark Arts Council. Hope to see you there!
The 5 Wards
Ballantine Brewery. September, 2016
October 21 – December 17 Opening Reception: October 21, 6-9pm City Without Walls
The 5 Wards is a photography exhibition curated by Akintola Hanif featuring works by Manuel Acevedo, Cesar Melgar, Tamara Fleming, Colleen Gutwein, Fabian Palencia, Nema Etebar, Stefan Brown and Rhys Valmonte. Presented in conjunction with HYCIDE magazine, the exhibition will also launch The 5 Wards online series, which is part of Newark Celebration 350.
Complete information for The 5 Wards HERE
Facebook Event HERE
Market Street Convergence II
Samantha Katehis, above her studio.
October 21 – November 12 Opening Reception: October 21, 5-9pm Gallery Aferro @77 Market St (fl. 2)
25 exhibits/ 4 buildings/1 block/1 night Market Street Convergence II is presented by Gallery Aferro and the Newark Arts Council for the Open Doors citywide arts festival.
Alongside other photographic documentation of Newark, I will be exhibiting The Newark Arts Photo Documentary Project: Selected Color Prints
Complete information for Market Street Convergence II HERE
Facebook Event HERE
Intersection 2016
31 Central, September, 2016
October 21 – November 17 Opening Reception: October 21, 6-11pm Index Art Center
Intersection 2016 features work by artists that have studios located at 31 Central Avenue in Newark. 31 Central has been occupied by artists and creatives for more than three decades, helping to establish an emerging arts community in the Halsey Street area and Downtown Newark. Intersection will also feature works by artists that have studios at 237 Washington Street – Index Art Center’s new location after a fire displaced the organization in 2013.
Complete information for Intersection 2016 HERE
Facebook Event HERE
My partner and I had the opportunity to take some time off of our regular lives this summer and move to a quiet little town in his home state of North Carolina, I have never spent long periods of time in the South, and with our upcoming marriage this seemed like an ideal situation to learn more about his family and culture. The chance to get back to nature and slow down my life was promising. I would also have plenty of time to dedicate to my ongoing documentary developing negatives and contact sheets in the nearby community darkroom.
This sabbatical, if you will, happens to coincide with my participation in the three month long Creative Capital professional development program. It was only necessary for me to be physically present in NJ for two meetings, an ideal situation for me. The rest of the work in the program is done remotely through webinars, online courses, Skype, and good old fashioned book learning. This program coupled perfectly with my time in North Carolina and has been eye opening. I have been able to think clearly without the distractions of daily life that usually surround me. I have taken a step back and given myself the opportunity to consider how I want to reorganize my home, office, and studio to make them more efficient. By decluttering my life and living simply for a few months in North Carolina, I have gained amazing perspective into what is and isn’t working for me. Being able remove all the things and ideas that are not propelling me forward has created more time for the people and activities I truly enjoy.
I am no stranger to traveling for extended periods of time. After college I spent a year teaching English in Japan with the JET Program. As a teacher in Japan, I saw a distinction between the way Japanese and American high school students prioritize and engage in activities. In Japan, schoolwork comes first. After schoolwork, students are expected pick one activity: a sport, hobby, or school club, and become the best they possibly can at that one thing. My upbringing in the American school system was a stark contrast. I was encouraged to be “well rounded” by having decent grades, play different sports all year round, and have hobbies all while working a part time job. Somewhere along the way this became overwhelming and the idea of striving for perfection with keen concentration was lost. Both high school experiences had a profound affect on my future self, as I now search for the balance between being well rounded and an expert in my field.
The Creative Capital program is helping me find this balance by showing me the tools necessary to stay on track with my artwork and finances at the same time. As an artist in today’s world I need to be well rounded enough to manage and run a small business, network, grant write, pitch ideas, and manage finances all while staying focused and becoming an expert in my field of photography. The guidance of Creative Capital has proven to be the missing link to pulling all of these aspects of my life together in harmony.
As the blended learning program winds down and ends next week, my time in small town North Carolina is coming to an end as well. When I move back up north to New Jersey I will be flung into the anxiety driven, fast paced lifestyle of a working artist. I get tense thinking about the transition. I used to work numerous jobs to support my art and budding photography business (www.smallforestphotography.com). When I return to New Jersey it will not only be a physical jump back into my old home, but I will metaphorically be taking one of the biggest leaps of my life. My only job will be self-employment with Small Forest Photography. It will truly be the time that I have to sink or swim. I will put the knowledge and tools acquired from the Creative Capital program into action not only with funding and completing my documentary, but in running my own freelance photography business.
I began my photography business as a way to support my artwork while I was working an office job that I despised. When I quit my day job my business wasn’t fully operational so I took on assisting jobs and retail work to make ends meet. Now the company is looking towards its 5th anniversary this March and I have to make the leap. Understanding the cost of living with the Real Cost Budgeting Tool has been invaluable in the effort to make my life work for me. It is one of the greatest pieces of paper that anyone has ever handed me. I was able to rework my entire business structure based on that tool and now feel very confident in my pricing. I have a been able to build a more sustainable business plan to implement upon my return to New Jersey. The most basic part of the plan is to march forward without fear. I still have some time left in North Carolina, and if I use my time wisely I will be able to meet my goals of working for myself while sustaining my art practice.
I find myself working in the darkroom, that cool dark place, where I am locked away in the basement of an old mechanical building, totally oblivious to the world passing by. I find myself deep in thought with the ventilation humming away, joined by sounds of jazz and bluegrass penetrating the air. I find myself constantly working on this documentary. I spend time in the darkroom with all of my friends, new and old, who are artists in Newark. I spend so much time in this one-sided relationship while working on their images, that when I see them in person after months, sometimes years, I feel like no time has passed at all. I want to pick up the conversation right where I left it, under the enlarger, in the drying rack, or muddled under the soft ripples of developer cascading over their faces. I live in a world of fantastic imagination with my friends. Within that world of the darkroom, I find myself thinking that this may be the most important moment of my life. After all of my hard work, years of education, after hardships, friendships, and worldly travel, after I am dead and gone, what I create in this one moment may be the only physical thing that survives. This one little piece of a negative, or that one print. Who will find it? Will anyone be able to connect these puzzle pieces to the vibrant Newark community which is now full of life, and love, and artistic power? How will we be remembered? Would anybody even care?
Leaving the darkroom, sunglasses sheltering my eyes, I climb up three sets of concrete stairs with heavy legs. I am leaving the darkroom with more proof of my existence, and the existence of my peers, than I had before I entered. I sit in the steamy car and review negatives and contact sheets. Reality begins seeping back into my mind as I make the drive home.
How can I sustain my work? What if I don’t get funding to continue this? How will I pay my rent? I roll down the driveway, say hello to my partner, and shower off the small of chemical. I sit at the computer, follow up on emails, try to find ways to restructure my freelance business, and scour the internet for grants and fellowships. I applied for three grants last month. Is that enough? How many more can I find to apply for this month? My partner meets with a reputable gallery and sends emails and letters to collectors. We are making work, important work. But how do we move forward? The uncertainty will surely lead to insanity if we don’t get a break soon.
I crack open that Creative Capital workbook and sign on for classes. I review my notes from the webinars and contemplate my peer group support meetings. I review my newest artists statement, bio, and CV. I have followed the Creative Capital writing program and am so thankful to be on task, and much more diligent in finding ways to secure my future. It dawns on me that if I made it this far in my career with none of these tools, I will be ahead of the game when I finish this workshop.
While reviewing my life goals in the workbook I see that I have left graduate school off of my list yet again. I have wanted to go to graduate school for over a decade now, but its off the list. Where would I find the money anyway? I don’t want a mortgage sized loan with no house to live in. How could I ever afford it? This program has made me realize that it is still ok to have these goals. It’s ok to dream without having money, because life changes abruptly.
In the evening when I should be slowing down my mind, little voices start creeping into my head… Oh my I don’t know how you do it…. Thats incredible you don’t have to work a real job…. How do you think you will be able to have a family as an artist?… It’s so cool you get to do what you want. … Could you donate to this?… I just want a really small photoshoot…. When are you going to finish the project?… I soon realize that I am battling other peoples fear of living this life as my own, and drift to sleep.
As the days march on, the workshop shifts. In the beginning of the program more things are assigned with clear deadlines. At this point in the program, less than one month away from completion, we are keeping tabs on ourselves and being held responsible by self-regulation and peer group meetings. We have completed the webinars and are given the option to take three online courses at our own pace.
I started my first online course with the blended learning program last week. I decided to take the Grants and Applications course since this is where I am with my project right now. I followed the first half of the seminars reviewing strategies on how look for funding. What struck me was the idea that anyone who partners with me and my documentary is not giving me a handout, they are partners because they share the same values that I do, and find my work to be important to the community.
The Creative Capital program is teaching me a variety ways to get the end result I need to sustain my work as an artist. The main thing, as I talked about in my last entry, is to just keep doing it. The cornerstone of writing better proposals is based on the amount of time I am spending writing them. Writing helps to articulate the goals of my project, and gives me a clear direction for the future Writing was something I used to shy away from. By forcing myself to do these journal entries, and rewriting my thesis for my current project over and over, I have been able to translate my work from photographs to words. This only makes me more confident in talking about the work and my processes. Without this program I definitely would not have pushed myself so hard. I am in training right now and I feel the growing pains. The most encouraging aspect of this training program is that I believe I am getting back what I am putting in.
One of the unexpected results from participating in the blended learning program is the emotional connection to other artists around me, more so than I already had with the documentary project. The peer groups create a platform for us to share our struggles, and has highlighted the importance of working together as a community. We can easily unify in our passion as culture bearers. We can start with that common bond and work forward towards a system for our children, and their children, to truly be free in the way they contribute to culture and society.
“Inside of a ring or out, ain’t nothing wrong with going down. It’s staying down that’s wrong.”
— Muhammad Ali
It’s 39 days after the initial Creative Capital Professional Development meeting, and this is by far the hardest entry I have written. I find myself thinking about so many other things that I would like to get done, but “CC Essay Due” is sitting right there in the middle of my calendar, highlighted in red, for today. I start the laundry, I do everything else on the calendar, I get a snack, I complete email responses that don’t need to be completed until much, much later, but still, “CC Essay Due” is right there in the middle of my day today.
I can’t push it off another day. If I procrastinate any more I will never find the time to get it done. I can already hear the very mean little internal dialogue to myself when I don’t get the article to Ana on time, who’s main goal is to give us a voice and let other people know about our progress in this blended learning program. The charm of the workshop has worn off as I kick my own ass into high gear and complete my task list everyday. The program is really helping me with discipline, and organization. It would be an emotional blow to my schedule if I didn’t get this essay done.The charm has worn off all right, and now it feels as though I am fully committed to running the marathon of my life as an artist.
In marathon running there is something called “The Wall”. This “Wall” it is a very real, physical, mental, and emotional breakdown which can take down any runner, and usually occurs somewhere around the 20th mile. The “Wall“ goes something like this: you start to feel a creepy foreboding sensation come upon you… slight at first, and then your legs are filled with lead, your stomach disowns you, you lose the ability to think about anything else except for the agony you have intentionally brought upon yourself when you decided to run this marathon. The strongest athlete can be in the fetal position on the side of the race track. If you pass someone who has hit their “Wall,” don’t look back. You want to help, but you trained and dedicated everything you had to this race, so you look forward and continue.
I believe there is a metaphorical “Wall” for anyone who has chosen to follow their heart and soul and do what they want with their life, especially in the arts. Right now Creative Capital has gifted me this inspirational tool of running shoes. I have to push myself to lace up and go for a run I don’t have to be the best, but I do have to be honorable to myself, my work, and to all the people who have believed in me and supported me in my decision to live my dreams. I am the connector to the other godly world of art. It is my responsibility to myself and all those around me to make the connection, to reach my potential, and to continue far beyond that potential.
I am now giving myself time to think, breathe, read, regroup, reorganize (thank you helpful organization webinar by Byron Au Yong) and reconsider what is important to me. I am aware I have only a finite amount of time to be able to obtain my dreams and to create the work that is burning inside of me. I am radically redeveloping my life to be more committed to myself, and learning how to say no. It really is a beautiful word.
So maybe this blog post was just an internal inspirational talk to myself, but I think if I am feeling this way, there is a very low likelihood that I am alone in these feelings. As we wade through the murky waters of trying to make a living as artists, its easy to get down on your art practice, yourself, your peers. It is hard to stay upbeat when you are drowning with work and cradled in debt. But really, we have the ability to create culture, influence society, and cultivate relevant communication through our lives and work. We have both a voice, and an obligation.
—Colleen Gutwein is a documentary photographer working in Newark, NJ. and currently developing “The Newark Arts Photo Documentary Project” (www.newarkartsphotodoc.com)
The transformative process of the Creative Capital Professional Development Program for artists is real. This program has been working for me as much as I have been working the program. It sounds cliche, but it’s the truth. I started this 4 month workshop just less than a month ago and my eyes have been opened to the reality of my situation as an artist and how to move forward in a sustainable manner.
Last week as part of the Creative Capital workshop, I participated in a webinar “Real Life Budgeting” with Andrew Simonet. One of the main topics was how to create multiple revenue streams. As Andrew explained his success with real estate, many of us were thinking that was out of reach. Most of us are trying to meet our monthly bills and not considering saving for a downpayment on a house. Andrew explained the longterm tax benefits of owning your own home, as well as perks of renting out an apartment within your home. He advised us that there were resources we could access to make this possible like FHA Loans set up by the government, as well as ArtHome which aids artists in buying or preparing to buy a home. He then listed a few things we could do immediately to address our financial situations.
1. Pull your credit report and see where you are standing financially.
2. Contact a realtor and get an understanding of what you would need to do to consider purchasing a home.
3. Track your expenses for the week to see exactly how you are spending money.
4. Figure out what your time costs per hour, per day, and per week.
I followed Andrew’s guidelines, except for tracking my expenses. I realized that itemizing everything I bought for the week just sounded horrible. Instead I took out the maximum amount of money I wanted to spend on miscellaneous items for the next two weeks in cash, put it in my wallet, and that was it. I could spend it on whatever I needed, but the cash was my limit. Somehow I still have $16.00 left and I feel great not using a debit or credit card and trying to work it out later.
Figuring out what my time costs was probably the most important suggestion on the list. I feel more confident in the way I am pricing my time because I have a clear understanding of the amount of money I need to make to survive. I might want to give someone a deal on my work, but that is not necessarily sustainable. I am hurting myself by trying to make other people happy, when in fact we will all be much happier in the long run if I am able to continue my practice as an artist and the work purchased from me increases in value over time.
Only one month go I felt guilty about making my art, embarrassed that I needed to include an artists fee in my budget for my documentary. At this point I am feeling empowered by my work and realizing that no one in their right mind would consider trying to pay all the expenses and donate over 10,000 hours to a project unless, possibly, they were independently wealthy, which I am not. I have to make this work. It isn’t a choice, it’s a responsibility to myself, my future self, to the community around me, and to the legacy of the culture my community has created.
—Colleen Gutwein is a documentary photographer working in Newark, NJ. She is currently developing “The Newark Arts Photo Documentary Project” a photographic documentary cataloging contemporary artists working within the Newark arts community. Gutwein uses both digital and traditional photographic processes to create a range of viewpoints into the community and each artist as an individual.
I am a documentary photographer working in Newark, NJ where I am currently developing “The Newark Arts Photo Documentary Project,” a photographic documentary cataloging contemporary artists working within the Newark arts community. I am using both digital and traditional photographic processes to create a range of viewpoints into the community and each artist as an individual.
I applied to the Creative Capital Professional Development Program to learn how to navigate the financial world of art. I often struggle with my finances and pay out of pocket for my work. Making little income as an artist, my practice is extremely difficult to maintain.
The first day of the workshop came with an overwhelming amount of information, but it was accompanied by a neatly packaged handbook and workbook. The handbook made a more thorough review of the information at home easy. The workbook is split into manageable sections. The first workbook exercise directed me to record my goals for the next year as well as a basic action plan to achieve these goals. Writing down all of this information in detail is helping me develop a daily and weekly schedule, thus pushing me closer toward my goals. I am now scheduling time to work creatively as well as working on the back end of my art which includes budgeting for my project, looking for funding, writing more comprehensively about my work, and researching new opportunities.
This workshop got me excited to thrive as an artist. Many of the topics discussed included action points that we could put into practice immediately. One suggestion that I easily implemented in the first few days was recommended by Dread Scott during his Time Management discussion. He mentioned that he uses a time tracking app to keep track of the amount of time he spends on various activities during his day. After the workshop I checked out a few apps and another woman from the workshop recommended Toggl Timer. I have been training myself to use the Toggl app. It has been beneficial in tracking my time and using this information to schedule for the next week, as well as logging the hours I spend on my documentary. Time tracking allows me to see when I am spending time on things that aren’t a priority, and keep them to a minimum. I have found that the time tracking also makes me less likely to check my email or social media while I am working on a specific project, creating a greater ability to focus on the task at hand.
Since starting this workshop two weeks ago, my vision for achieving my goals has been much clearer. Instead of looking at where I want to be and feeling overwhelmed with the amount of work I need to complete to get there, I now see my goals as attainable through a clear path of small daily tasks and routines. I hope to be able to use this focus and the resources provided by Creative Capital to obtain funding for the completion of my current documentary, as well as create a more financially stable life so I can continue my work as a photographer. —Colleen Gutwein
Join me during the opening reception of “Like Jazz…a Visual Perspective” , a group exhibition, March 2nd at 6pm in the lobby of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Victoria Theater in downtown Newark, NJ.
“Like Jazz, women are smooth, soulful and swinging, they are masters of improvisation and they sing the blues. As is jazz, women are ragtime, bebop, and cool. Women are jazz musicians and have jazzbands.”
Gladys B. Grauer, Curator
I will also be taking part of the evening’s panel discussion “Women Speak: Art and Jazz at Newark 350” The discussion will focus on the significance of the work of women artists when using the past to plot the cultural future of Newark.
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