Category Archives: Press

Blogging for the Creative Capital Blended Learning Program on Tumblr. Blog 1 of 5

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

Two New Articles Released for “The Newark Arts Photo Documentary Project”

artist: Kati Vilim

artist: Kati Vilim

Over the past few months I have been fortunate enough to be interviewed by Emma Wilcox, the owner of Gallery Aferro in Newark, for the Newark Happening website, as well as by Carrie Stetler, former editor of Hycide Magazine, for the Newark Bound magazine.  Both are available to read online at the links below:

Newark Happening interview by Emma Wilcox

Newark Bound interview by Carrie Stetler (pages 40, 41,& 45)

To see more images from the ongoing documentary please visit the official website: www.newarkartsphotodoc.com and keep up to date as more artists are added to the website through the official Facebook page.

Newark Arts Photo Doucumentary Project shown in HYCIDE Magazine’s Newark Issue

The Newark Arts Photo Documentary Project is rolling into it’s second year of shooting.  I have completed roughly 45 shoots with artists, curators, program directors, and gallery owners since receiving funding from The Puffin Foundation in 2013.  Some of the images I have been working on were proudly shown in The Newark Issue of HYCIDE Magazine last month.   For more information about the documentary project or the magazine, please follow the links above.

2014 Hycide Group

pg. 55 article: “Black & White” author: Lucy McKeon

2014 Hycide Jay Wilson

pg. 96 article: “The New People” author: Akintola Hanif

Dichotomy at the Paterson Art Walk

Interview about the exhibition with Silk City Love Magazine HERE

Index Art Center presents Dichotomy at the Paterson Art Walk June 14-15, 2014. Dichotomy is a group exhibition exploring the transformation of environment and space by incorporating both large and small scale works by Jonathan Beer, Jose Camacho, Heather Garland, Joseph O’Neal, and Joe Strasser. The show will provide an opportunity to experience the sea change of each painter from a large public viewing space to an intimate enclosure; all under the curation of Colleen Gutwein.

The exhibition is located on the 1st floor at 70 Spruce St in Paterson, NJ. It is free and open to the public during the Paterson Art Walk on Saturday June 14th 11am – 7pm, and Sunday June 15th from 11am – 6pm.  www.indexartcenter.org

Jonathan Beer is a New York-based artist and writer. Beer was born in New Orleans, Louisiana He received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts and an MFA from the New York Academy of Art.. He was awarded a 3rd Year Post Graduate Fellowship at the New York Academy of Art in 2012. Jon is the co-founder of Art-Rated, and is a contributing writer for The Brooklyn Rail, ArtWrit, and Art Observed. jonathanbeer.com

Jose Camacho was born in Puerto Rico and was encouraged by his teachers to pursue his art from a young age. Jose studied painting and drawing at the Art League in Old San Juan, and graduated from Montclair State University after studying with Miriam Beerman. Jose has received fellowships from the NJ State Council of the Arts and the Brodsky Center. Jose currently works as the director of the Midland Gallery in Montclair, NJ. josecamacho.com

Heather Garland was born in Pontiac MI and lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She received an MFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, and a BFA from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. Garland is a classically trained oil painter who uses this training selectively. On entering her studio on can see that she is interested in using whatever materials are necessary to achieve psychological effect. Aesthetics and emotion bear equal weight in her work that is grounded in the diaristic and obsessive. heatherelizabethgarland.blogspot.com

Joseph O’Neal Joseph O’Neal claims home as North Carolina and works in Brooklyn, NY and Newark, NJ, Joseph creates a transcendental dialogue through a system driven by the archaic. Symbols, phonetics, and imagery come descendent from a past that, in the words of Motherwell, “…could only have been conceived of at present.” In O’Neal’s words; “The work consists of two variables: the problem and the resolution. Both variables are present in the end result, like the shaking of hands at a peace treaty. The handshake dissolves my relevancy.” josephoneal.com

Joe Strasser believes his environment has a lot to do with his work. The artist has relocated a great deal moving from the suburbs of New Jersey; to living in a van on the beach in Hawaii; to a campground in Woodstock, NY; to Miami, FL; and now residing in Brooklyn.

According to Strasser; “It has taken me over 20 years to completely paint what I want. My work is mostly about using found material and placing it in a new context and giving it new life. This creates a certain kind of poetry with the found detritus. I also believe sex and death should always be present in a piece. There’s a Dionysian Apollonian pull of divine inspiration and the latticework of coincidence. “ bluetan.comIMG_5433 IMG_5442

Newark Arts Council Celebrates Women in the Arts at Upcoming Gala

Featuring an Array of Works by Local Women Artists

All Eyes on Newark
The City of Newark has a rich arts history, with a host of visual artists living and working here as well as musicians and poets who also call Newark home. Next week the Newark Arts Council will hold its annual Art & the City fundraising gala at the Newark Museum. This year’s theme celebrates Women and the Arts, and that goes far beyond the shining group of honorees: Ruth Lipper, Cissy Houston, and Mary Sue Sweeney Price. 
The celebration is rounded out with a lovely selection of artworks by local women artists available for auction. Among the ranks are: Jeanne Brasile; Patricia Cazorla; Lisa Conrad; Jacqueline Cruz; Gladys Grauer; Colleen Gutwein; Nell Painter; Armisey Smith; Adrienne Wheeler; and April Zanne Johnson.
Newark has been at the center of many conversations lately; and the cultural scene that exists within this city is at the forefront of many of these discussions. Here we take a look at some of our contributing artists for this year and add to the dialogue.
Please note: The remaining contributing artists and other notable women in the arts will be featured in another next week.
Contributions Off Canvas
In addition to their obvious talent, each artist on this year’s auction roster has a lengthy list of projects and contributions they have made to the city and its cultural landscape.
Printmaker Lisa Conrad (work pictured above) is the founder of the Newark Print Shop which relocated to its new home at 131 University Avenue above old Newark landmark Skipper’s Plane Street Pub, which is no longer active. After a fire forced Lisa and her studio mates out of their former Broad Street location (Index Art Center) she, with the help of partners Jackie Cruz, Stephen McKenzie, and Samer Foud (all local artists and arts administrators) resurrected the now beloved and unique Newark Print Shop.

Photographer and printmaker Colleen Gutwein has worked internationally but calls Newark her home base. In addition to her creative direction at Index Art Center, she is the pioneer of the Newark Arts Photo Documentary Project which chronicles Newark’s rich arts history through a series of photographic portraits of contemporary artists working here. Her work Arkansas, a mixed media piece, is pictured below.


Patricia Cazorla, is a visual artist whose career began in New York City in the early 90s. She is the founder of Galeria Galou in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, an unconventional space dedicated to promoting emerging local and Latin American Artists. Patricia’s CV displays significant exhibitions at esteemed museums and institutions around the world, including El Museo del Barrio in Harlem. Her work as an artist was able to flourish in Newark through her residency at Gallery Aferro. It was there that she was able to develop a new series of Newark scenes using new techniques and exploring matters of architecture, social justice, and the complexity of the City. Her piece Klein on the Square is pictured above on the right. Patricia Cazorla is an artist member of the Newark Arts Council and most recently participated in our Open Doors 2013 exhibition series Market Street Convergence, completed in partnership with Gallery Aferro.
Nell Painter is the painter formerly known as the historian Nell Irvin Painter, author of The History of White People. She lives and works in Newark, New Jersey. Her work, digital and manual, juxtaposes the touch of the hand and the blindness of the computer, often in self-portraiture. Beauford Delaney at Yaddo Diptych(2014, pictured below) is based upon a self-portrait Delaney (1901-1979) made while at the Yaddo artists’ colony in 1950. Delaney moved to Paris three years later. In France, Delaney and James Baldwin became close friends. Following in Delaney’s footsteps, she spent time in France and was at Yaddo in 2012.
Artists Inspiring Newark Youth
Jacqueline Cruz is an independent curator, educator and artist working primarily in alternative photography and mixed media. She has her studio and darkroom at the Newark Print Shop. As Gallery Manager of City Without Walls,  she oversees a host of programs that benefit the Lincoln Park Community as well as Newark at large. Programs like ARTREACH match Newark artists and high school aged art students from around the city to work on a collaborative project for several months. Students also participate in studio visits and trips to regional arts institutions while benefiting from their artist mentors and the unique experience of working with professional artists.
Armisey Smith has worked in the field of non profit youth development, educational program management, arts education and instruction, and is an expert in pedagogical patterns for over 15 years. She has been the Executive Director of Protestant Community Centers Inc. since December 2010. During this same year, Ms. Smith is a graduate of Leadership Newark, a prestigious 2-year fellowship program for highly qualified professionals committed to the Greater Newark Community. In addition, Ms. Smith serves on the Advisory Board of HMI To Go – Newark, as well as the Newark Arts Education Roundtable.
About Art & the City
The Annual Art & the City Gala is the major fundraising event for the Newark Arts Council, attracting nearly 200 of the community’s most philanthropic individuals in support of the Arts in Newark. All proceeds from the gala support the Newark Arts Council’s mission of promoting and preserving the arts in the city by supporting local artists and arts education programs and initiatives. To support this event by purchasing tickets or ads, please contact Amanda Parker of Evergreen Partners at 908-322-1100 or aparker@evergreenpr.com.
About the Newark Arts Council
The Newark Arts Council was created to advance and expand the artistic and cultural resources in the City of Newark. Its mission is to bring the transformative power of the arts into the lives of those who live in, work in, and visit Newark through programs, advocacy, promotion, education and coordination. The Newark Arts Council provides leadership, direction, and technical assistance through partnerships with Newark’s many artists, arts administrators, community organizations, community development corporations, planning groups, economic development agencies, and the general public. Our goal is to share resources, promote advocacy efforts, assist in audience development and public awareness of arts and culture as well as to serve as a cultural resource to the community.
http://newarkarts.org

Index Art Center in the News

Star Ledger Chapter 237 Article WEB

 

On Sunday Jan 19, 2014 Dan Bischoff of the Star Ledger released this article about the new Index Art Center space at 237 Washington St in Newark, NJ and the exhibition I curated for the opening titled Chapter 237.   The installation artists for the is exhibition included: Gianluca Bianchino, Lily Koto Olive, Joseph O’Neal, Matthew Gosser, Kevin Merkel, William Oliwa,  Hannah Craft, & Oculus Art Collaborative.