Congratulations to our 2021 Merit Artists: George Ann Jonshon, Sarah Fedak, and Cisco Willison. Their group exhibition - Standing Out 2021 - will take place next December. Congratulations to Anne Uhr, our people's choice winner. She receives a complimentary 1-year membership to Rockport Center for the Arts. Thank you to our juror, Caroline Kneese, of Cerulean Gallery in Amarillo and Dallas.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Karen Ernst, Deputy Director
(361) 729-5519 / karen@rockportartcenter.com
ARTISTS FIND SILVER LINING AMIDST COVID CHALLENGES
Spirit of mentoring shines through as female designers’ jewelry takes center stage in Nov. 7 event
ROCKPORT, Texas (October 29, 2020) — For five female designers, the upheaval of 2020 simply meant working together to creatively showcase their unique fall lines. This year’s aptly named showcase — Women on the Verge of a Silver Meltdown, presented by La Palmera — is Rockport Center for the Arts’ (RCA) celebration of the creative spirit in artists who work with metals, primarily silver.
The popular annual event is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 7, at Estelle Stair Gallery from 10 a.m.–7:30 p.m. Although the traditional runway show was prerecorded this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, the event will include individual shopping opportunities culminating with an evening trunk show. The event showcases dozens of one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces, as well as select winter white mudcloth garments and leather purses, from RCA Member Artists and Rockport residents Danya Heck, Teenya Barnard, Diane Johnson and Juleanna Fuller, along with Kim Knifechief, an RCA Member Artist from New Mexico.
"This has become one of the highlights of our year,” said Karen Ernst, deputy director for Rockport Center for the Arts. “These are creative, strong women who support each other in their creativity. Kim mentored Diane, who in turn has been mentoring Juleanna, who has served as Diane’s studio aide in Rockport. This community of artists is like no other in the country in its’ support of the arts and the artists’ support of one another.”
The fashion event has become Rockport’s most coveted event of the fall season. Instead of a room full of 200-plus female guests the event usually draws, RCA has set up six one-hour blocks from 10 a.m.–1 p.m. and 2–5 p.m., where up to four social pods of five women each are scheduled every hour for private shopping experiences, followed by the trunk show from 6–7:30 p.m. with a limit of 70 guests. Pod costs range from $125 to $250 per group based on the time slot.
“I came up with the idea for a jewelry-focused runway show for ladies only following the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey, “ said Luis Purón, executive director for Rockport Center for the Arts. “It’s our gift to the resilient women of Rockport who have done so much over the course of five decades to create a strong and vibrant art center and community. Even a pandemic can’t stop them.”
For information and to register a social pod, contact Karen Ernst at the RCA Administration Office, (361) 450-8033, or karen@rockportartcenter.com. Those who would like to attend the event should plan to reserve a spot soon as space is quickly filling up. A preview look book and runway show are both available online at rockportatcenter.com.
About Rockport Center for the Arts
Rockport Center for the Arts is located in downtown Rockport at Estelle Stair Gallery, 406 S. Austin St. Hours of operation are Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m.–4 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Admission is always free and open to the public. Visit rockportartcenter.com, follow us on Facebook, or call (361) 729-5519 for more information. #PodWithUs
About La Palmera
Located in Corpus Christi, Texas, La Palmera is a 1 million-square-foot super-regional mall with more than 100 retail and restaurant tenants including Dillard’s, JCPenney, Macy’s, P.F. Chang’s and H&M. Acquired in July 2008 by IMI and Trademark Property, La Palmera is the first mall to be awarded LEED® Silver for Core and Shell 2.0 established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and is an IREM Certified Sustainable Property. The mall features a 600-seat food court with a 4,500-gallon feature aquarium and a children’s ocean-themed play area. For more information on La Palmera, go to www.lapalmera.com, or call (361) 991-3755.
###
Rockport-area artists have two additional weeks to apply for a portion of $150,000 in grant money through THE NEW NORMAL–Rockport, an initiative challenging visual artists to create works inspired by their current experiences in the world. The online application deadline is now Sunday, August 9, and all Rockport-area artists contributing to the Rockport art community and economy are eligible to apply.
FORT WORTH, TX (July 2, 2020) – Today, Fine Line Group, the Family office of Sasha and Edward P. Bass, announced the launch of THE NEW NORMAL Rockport. Building on the success of THE NEW NORMAL artist initiative in Fort Worth, this $150,000 competitive grant program challenges Rockport’s visual artists to create works inspired by their current experiences in the world.
THE NEW NORMAL Rockport supports the creative community’s economic recovery through both service and art. The program will culminate with the creation of an important and profound body of work that interprets and documents the Rockport community's experience confronting three major contemporary challenges of our time: 1) recovery from Hurricane Harvey; 2) impact of COVID-19 on health, work, and social interaction; and 3) the country's current focus on eradicating systemic racism. A five-person panel of Rockport’s most influential art leaders will manage the selection process for this competition. Panelists will review candidate applications and provide grants of either $2,000 or $5,000 to Rockport artists based on the strength of their proposal, portfolio, and demonstrated financial need.
THE NEW NORMAL Rockport is administered by Gallery of Dreams, a Fort Worth nonprofit arts organization established by Lauren Childs of Fort Works Art.
“Cinema, literature, music, painting, sculpture and other forms of art are widely considered to be the repository of a society's collective and indelible memory,” said panelist and Executive Director for the Rockport Center for the Arts, Luis Purón. “Much has been written about the intrinsic value art plays in strengthening a community's identity and sense of place. Extending our own mission to support the artists of Rockport by providing the creative space to learn, grow, and impact their studio practice economically, we are beyond thrilled to play a part in THE NEW NORMAL. Ed and Sasha Bass’ vision to further empower our local arts community through grant-making will encourage creativity, diversity, healing, and inclusion.”
THE NEW NORMAL artist grant program is a first of its kind initiative. Its pilot program launched in Fort Worth in April 2020 has already given over 30 grants to artists to help get them back to work. The program’s founders, Sasha and Ed Bass, have historic family ties to the Rockport community. As the Fort Worth pilot gained traction, they began working with local arts leaders to bring THE NEW NORMAL to Rockport.
“Ed and I are excited to bring this program to Rockport’s vibrant arts community. This competitive grant initiative supports the artistic community’s economic recovery from pandemic shut-downs and sparks communal reflection on the many urgent issues every community is now confronting,” said Mrs. Sasha Bass. “Artists are ‘essential workers’ in society’s processing and healing from trauma. The body of work this program helps to create will live on to tell Rockport’s story at this unprecedented moment in history.”
A recent survey commissioned by Americans for the Arts found that as many as two- thirds of artists in the U.S. are without income due to the pandemic, making it one of the hardest-hit professions in the country. THE NEW NORMAL initiative aims to jumpstart Rockport’s creative economy by providing a highly-focused support structure that helps its artists get back to work, while also bringing the community together to share, process, and heal through art that truly speaks to what members of the community are feeling and experiencing.
Applicants are asked to submit a written proposal including a personal statement in which they express how this opportunity inspires them to create and how the artwork they intend to create will support the Rockport-area community as it copes with the impact of the pandemic and wrestles to address the larger social justice issues it has helped bring to the forefront. Applicants are also asked to provide an overview of the artwork they intend to create, examples of their current work, and a statement of need. The full application is available here. There is no fee to apply.
Application Open: Now
Application Deadline: July 26, 2020
*Awards will be announced July 31, 2020
SELECTION PANEL
Sara Sells Morgan
Director Art Museum of South Texas
Suzanna Moroles
Founder of MorolesArtCo.
Jesús Moroles Archivist/Art Curator
Luis Purón
Executive Director Rockport Center for the Arts
Elena Rodriguez
Curator of Exhibitions Rockport Center for the Arts
Michelle Smythe
Executive Director K Space Contemporary
