CAA News Today

American Council for Southern Asian Art

As approved by a vote of the membership, the American Council for Southern Asian Art (ACSAA) membership dues will be increasing. In addition, there are new membership categories and, as per request of the membership, multiyear options. ACSAA membership dues have not changed in more than ten years. Since then the organization has grown and thus taken on more expenses, such as the creation and regular maintenance of a website. The new dues structure brings ACSAA into alignment with other similar organizations.

The new membership dues structure is as follows:

• Students, Retired Members, Independent Scholars, and Scholars in South and Southeast Asia: $20 and $40 (two years)
• Regular Member: $50 and $100 (two years)
• Contributing Member: $100 and $200 (two years)
•  Institutional Member: $100
• Sustaining Member: $250 minimum
• Lifetime Patron: $3,000

To join or renew as an ACSAA member, go to http://www.acsaa.us/membership.

ACSAA is also pleased to announce that the 2015 symposium, which celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the organization’s founding, will be held in Toronto, Ontario, this coming October. Additional details will soon be available on the website.

American Institute for Conservation

Please join the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) at its forty-third annual meeting in Miami, Florida, from May 13 to 15, 2015. The theme is “Practical Philosophy, or Making Conservation Work.” All aspects of conservation, from preventive care to inpainting, include both theory and practice. In most cases, theory supports practice. Nonetheless, conservation professionals are sometimes challenged in their efforts to smoothly meld the two. Many factors, ranging from available resources to questions of public access and politics, can thwart even the best treatments plans and noblest intentions. The transition from what is initially envisioned as ideal to what is eventually acknowledged as realistic often requires compromise. But, are less than satisfactory outcomes inevitable? Or, can better solutions evolve from necessity? Attend AIC’s annual meeting to learn how philosophical principles can be successfully translated into workable—even superior—practice. In addition, as UNESCO has proclaimed 2015 the International Year of Light, presentations on practical solutions that take advantage of optical technology to examine and preserve cultural heritage are being highlighted. Learn more and register at www.conservation-us.org/meetings.

American Society for Aesthetics

The American Society for Aesthetics (ASA), an association for aesthetics, criticism, and theory of the arts, will mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the ASA Feminist Caucus Committee with a full day of workshop discussions, followed by a celebratory reception, on Saturday, November 14, 2015. The Feminist Caucus Committee anniversary is part of the annual ASA conference, to be held November 11–14 at the Desoto Hilton in Savannah, Georgia. Noted scholars will discuss the evolution and contributions of feminist scholarship within philosophical aesthetics, the history of the ASA, and its publication, The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism. Topics will include: “Forty Years of Feminist Scholarship in Aesthetics,” “The Influence—Hidden or Otherwise—of Feminist Scholarship in Aesthetics,” and “Feminist Pedagogy and Curricula in Aesthetics.” For more information, please visit http://www.aesthetics-online.org/feminist/ or contact Peg Brand.

American Society of Appraisers

The Personal Property Committee of the American Society of Appraisers invites you to its annual spring conference, “Current Issues in Determining Authenticity in Visual Art and Objects, the Catalogue Raisonné, Art Scholarship, and Value in the Marketplace,” to be held March 25–27, 2015, at the Yale Club in New York. This scholarly conference will bring together highly regarded and noted experts in their fields. Speakers and topics to be addressed will include numerous aspects of the problems appraisers, art-industry professionals, and collectors must continually consider. An optional field trip to the Princeton University Art Museum, Sculpture Collection, and Libraries will take place on Saturday, March 28. Accommodations have been reserved at the Yale Club and the Roosevelt Hotel for this event. This will be a not-to-miss conference! Register now to save your spot. Limited spaces are available for the conference, which is expected to sell out. Go to www.appraisers.org or call 800-272-8258.

Arts Council of the African Studies Association

The Arts Council of the African Studies Association (ACASA) continues to have a sustained presence at national and international conferences in the first part of 2015. Numerous member-developed panels and individual papers have been accepted at the sixth European Conference on African Studies (ECAS 6), which will be held at the Sorbonne in Paris, France. The principal theme of ECAS 6 is “Collective Mobilizations in Africa: Contestation, Resistance, Revolt,” and ACASA panels will engage with topics ranging from the circulation of African art in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries to censorship and politically engaged artists to the consumption of African art in the electronic age. In addition, Jordan Fenton chaired the ACASA-sponsored panel “African Art and Economics in Urban Spaces,” at the 2015 CAA Annual Conference. Finally, plans for the seventeenth ACASA Triennial Symposium on African Art continue to make positive advancements. The symposium, which will take place at the University of Ghana in Legon in August 2017, will be ACASA’s first meeting on the African continent, marking the association’s longstanding commitment toward promoting greater understanding of African expressive culture from a global perspective.

ArtTable

This summer, ArtTable is expanding its Summer Mentored Internship for Diversity in the Visual Arts Professions program, one of the longest standing internship programs supporting diversity in the visual arts in the country. ArtTable’sprogram places women graduate students from cultural/ethnic backgrounds underrepresented in the field with ArtTable mentors at institutions around the country, providing them with a one-on-one mentoring relationship, valuable professional experience, and a stipend. Through the support of private donors, the Sam Francis Foundation, and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, the program will expand to provide internships to six young women this summer.

ArtTable and the arts community suffered a great loss with the passing of Lea K. Green this year. Lea was a long-standing ArtTable member, a vice president and client strategy director at Christie’s, a recent member of ArtTable’s board of directors, and an active and passionate member of the arts community. In collaboration with Lea K. Green’s family, ArtTable has established a fund to support its Diversity Internship Program and host a Lea K. Green summer intern. To make a contribution in Lea’s name, please contact info@arttable.org.

Association of Art Museum Curators

The Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC) has announced the keynote speaker and hosts for its fourteenth annual conference and meeting, taking place May 9–12, 2015. The keynote speaker will be Tom Finkelpearl, commissioner of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. His experience and perspective on the powerful and mutually rewarding relationship that can exist between a museum and its immediate community and the ways in which to engage a culturally diverse region will resonate with and inspire the conference attendees. Conference sessions and events will be held at several New York area cultural institutions, including the Newark Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Bronx Museum of the Arts. “The historically adventurous characteristics of these institutions and the ways in which they have met the challenges of the twenty-first-century art museum will make for thought-provoking and insightful case studies for our AAMC members,” said Emily Ballew Neff, AAMC president. “The AAMC looks forward to learning more about the challenge and success of each museum in connecting effectively with its communities, and we are honored to be so warmly welcomed by each venue for the conference.”

Community College Professors of Art and Art History

The Community College Professors of Art and Art History (CCPAAH) had a successful session at this year’s CAA Annual Conference. “Foundations Flipped? Active Learning in Art History and the Studio” was the topic of the 2015 session. Thanks to Monica Anke Hahn (chair) and Lauren Patterson of the Community College of Philadelphia and Richard Thompson and Susan Altman of Middlesex County College for presenting, and also to all the attendees for their lively discussion. CCPAAH would also like to thank the twenty-five-plus faculty members who shared their “best practices” and project ideas at the business meeting. Everyone left with new ideas to take back to their classrooms. Join CCPAAH for “Beyond Good, Bad, and ‘I Like It’: A New Take on Critique,” to be presented at this year’s Foundations in Art: Theory and Education (FATE) conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. Please email the group at ccpaah@gmail.com if you are interested in learning more or if you have questions. You can also like CCPAAH’s Facebook page.

Historians of British Art

The board of the Historians of British Art welcomes two new members: Julie Codell, professor of art history at Arizona State University; and Melinda McCurdy, associate curator of British art for the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. We would also like to welcome Douglas Fordham, Associate Professor of Art History, University of Virginia, as the incoming Book Prize Committee chair. Hyeyun Chin of Binghamton University, State University of New York, has been awarded HBA’s Travel Grant to support the presentation of a paper at CAA’s 2015 Annual Conference. For more information on HBA, including our prizes and membership, visit the website or find HBA on Facebook.

International Association of Art Critics

The International Association of Art Critics (AICA-USA) is pleased to announce that Martha Schwendener, art critic for The New York Times, has joined the organization’s board.

The panel “Art Critics’ Websites: Options and Rationales” has been rescheduled for Monday, March 16, 2015, 6:15–7:45 PM, at Artists Space, 55 Walker Street. Judith Stein will chair the panel, and four panelists will speak. Please RSVP to info@aicausa.org. Seating is limited to eighty people and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

International Center of Medieval Art

The International Center of Medieval Art (ICMA) is pleased to announce a new initiative. Drawing upon its own resources, the organization plans to make available a number of small grants to graduate students; these grants are designed to underwrite a month or so of travel to sites, collections, or libraries abroad. The awards will most likely be offered to graduate student members in the first stages of dissertation research. For more information, contact icma@medievalart.org.

International Sculpture Center

You’re invited to join International Sculpture Center (ISC) to celebrate International Sculpture Day, or IS Day for short. This event is an annual celebration held worldwide on April 24 to further the ISC’s mission of advancing the creation and understating of sculpture and its unique, vital contribution to society. IS Day is free and open to anyone or organization with an interest in sculpture; it will include a wide range of events, openings, and educational and promotional activities around the world. Visit www.sculpture.org/isday to learn how you can participate and to view events in your area. Visit ISC on Facebook and Twitter to join the conversation.

ISC will hold the twenty-fifth International Sculpture Conference, on “New Frontiers in Sculpture,” from November 4 to 7, 2015 in Phoenix, Arizona. Over three hundred sculpture enthusiasts from around the world will gather for engaging panel discussions, exciting cultural events, and peer networking surrounding topics in contemporary sculpture. Conference registration will open summer 2015. For more information, visit www.sculpture.org/az2015.

National Art Education Association

Don’t miss the largest gathering of art educators in the world! Register now for the 2015 National Art Education Association (NAEA) national convention. Focusing on “The Art of Design: Form, Function, and the Future of Visual Arts Education,” the event will take place March 26–28, 2015, in New Orleans, Louisiana. New NAEA publications that will at the convention are: Connecting Creativity Research and Practice in Art Education: Foundations, Pedagogies, and Contemporary Issues (2015), edited by Flávia Bastos and Enid Zimmerman; and Curriculum Inquiry and Design for School- and Community-Based Art Education (2015) by Lynn Beudert and Marissa McClure.

National Council of Arts Administrators

The forty-third National Council of Arts Administrators (NCAA) annual meeting, “Changing Lanes: Adapting, Reacting, Navigating,” convenes September 23–25, 2015, in Boston, Massachuhsetts. Please join NCAA at Boston University for a conversation about the road(s) to best practices in our changing educational climate. We all know that the very structure of universities is shifting beneath our feet. How do and will art programs and administrators not only accommodate but also harness these changes? We invite current and aspiring art department chairs, directors, and deans to attend. The keynote speaker will be the architect and artist Maya Lin. Visit the website to learn more about the conference and to join NCAA.

Pacific Arts Association

The Pacific Arts Association-Europe conference will be held July 2–4, 2015, at the Museo de América in Madrid, Spain. The presentation of papers is open to any topic within the theme of “Recent Research in Pacific Arts.” Presentations can be either 30 minutes (20–25 minutes talk, 5–10 minutes discussion) or 10-minute reports on current exhibition projects or work in progress in museums or galleries. For more information, please contact adama@adamaamerica.com.

Pacific Arts Association-Pacific is calling for interest in its 2015 conference on “Trading Traditions: The Role of Art in the Pacific’s Expansive Exchange Networks,”to be held at the Fa’onelua Conference Centre in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, from September 30 to October 4, 2015. The conference theme examines the role art has played in the exchange of objects, peoples, technologies, and ideologies in the prehistoric, historic, or modern Pacific. It is not limited to “physical” exchanges but also addresses complex social, economic, and political arrangements and interactions among interconnected systems, structures and peoples. For further information, contact Karen Stevenson.

Public Art Dialogue

Harriet F. Senie and Kelly Pajek are stepping down as cochairs of Public Art Dialogue (PAD), and Juilee Decker is stepping down as membership coordinator. (PAD officers are limited to two three-year terms according to its bylaws.) In addition, Natasha Khandekar departs from her role as newsletter editor and web-content editor. PAD’s new cochairs are Cameron Cartiere and Jennifer Wingate. PAD’s membership coordinator is Anna Heineman. Marisa Lerer will serve as newsletter and web-content editor in addition to serving as PAD’s public relations coordinator.

Society for Photographic Education

The Society for Photographic Education (SPE) is accepting proposals for its fifty-third conference, “Constructed Realities,” to be held from March 10–13, 2016, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Topics are not required to be theme-based, and may include but are not limited to: image-making, history, contemporary theory and criticism, new technologies, effects of media and culture, educational issues, and funding. SPE membership is required to submit and proposals are peer reviewed. The presentation formats are:

• Graduate Student: short presentation of your own artistic work and a brief introduction to your graduate program
• Imagemaker: presentation of your own artistic work (photography, film, video, performance, installation, multidisciplinary approaches)
• Lecture: presentation of a historical topic, theory, or another artist’s work
• Panel: group led by a moderator to discuss a chosen topic
• Teaching: presentations, workshops, demos that address educational issues, including teaching resources and strategies; curricula to serve diverse artists and changing student populations; seeking promotion and tenure; avoiding burnout; and professional exchange

Visit www.spenational.org for information on SPE membership and full proposal guidelines.

Society of Architectural Historians

Registration is open for the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) sixty-eighth annual international conference in Chicago, Illinois, taking place April 15–19, 2015. The conference features over 180 speakers presenting new research on built environment topics from antiquity to the critical present. Public programming includes the SAH Chicago Seminar and over thirty architectural tours. The seminar includes a keynote address by Harvard University professor Charles Waldheim and two panels of local speakers addressing the transformation of Chicago waterways and neighborhoods.

Registration is open for two Study Programs: SAH Study Day at the Museum of Modern Art and the United Nations Headquarters (New York, March 27, 2015); and Architectures in the Rio de la Plata Basin: Between Tradition and Cosmopolitanism (Uruguay and Argentina, September 1–12, 2015).

SAH is accepting applications for the SAH/Mellon Author Awards, which provide financial relief to scholars who are publishing their first monograph on the history of the built environment and who are responsible for paying for rights and permissions for images or for commissioning maps, charts, or line drawings in their publications. Deadline: June 1, 2015. The call for papers for the SAH sixty-ninth annual international conference will open on April 1, 2015. The H. Allen Brooks Travelling Fellowship will open on April 1, 2015.

Society of Historians of East European, Eurasian, and Russian Art and Architecture

Following elections in January 2015, the Society of Historians of East European, Eurasian, and Russian Art and Architecture (SHERA) has elected Eva Forgacs as its new vice president/president elect. Ksenya Gurshtein, the web news editor, was running unopposed. Margaret Samu stepped down as SHERA’s president after the end of her two-year term, and Natasha Kurchanova assumed the duties of this position.

At CAA’s Annual Conference in New York, Margaret Samu served as host to visitors from Hungary, Russia, and Ukraine who were part of the CAA-Getty International Program. Samu arranged meetings with specialists in the visitors’ expertise and facilitated their participation in a full-day preconference program organized by the CAA International Committee about international issues in art history, as well as in other events organized connected to the conference.

SHERA sponsored three sessions at CAA this year: a session on teaching methods, “Infiltrating the Pedagogical Canon”; and a double session, “Reconsidering Art and Politics: Towards New Narratives in Russian and East European Art.” During CAA, the society held its membership meeting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Watson Library. After the meeting, Jared Ash, SHERA member and the museum’s librarian, hosted a reception at which he showed the attendees rare books and materials related to Russian, East European, and Eurasian art and architecture from the library’s collection.

Southeastern College Art Conference

The next meeting of the Southeastern College Art Conference (SECAC) will take place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 21–24, 2015. The deadline for the call for entries in the annual juried exhibition is April 1. The deadline for the call for papers is April 20. For more information, please visit www.secollegeart.org/conference.

New officers were elected at the members meeting on October 11, 2014, which took place at the seventieth annual meeting of SECAC, held in Sarasota, Florida: Jason Guynes of the University of South Alabama is president; Sandra Reed of Marshall University is first vice president; and Kevin Concannon of Virginia Tech is second vice president. The new board members are: Heather Deyling of Savannah College of Art and Design (appointed to fill vacated seat for Georgia); Ute Wachsmann-Linnan of Columbia College (South Carolina); and Heather Stark, Marshall University (West Virginia).

The new issue of the Southeastern College Art Conference Review (vol. XVI, no. 4) is now available. Rachel Stephens of the University of Alabama is the new editor. The name of the journal will change to Art Inquiries with volume XVII.

The future conference locations for SECAC will be:

• 2016 Roanoke, Virginia (hosted by Virginia Tech with Hollins University)
• 2017 Columbus, Ohio (hosted by Columbus College of Art and Design)
• 2018 Birmingham, Alabama (hosted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham)

The $5,000 Artist’s Fellowship award has a deadline of August 1, 2015. Membership is required for applications For details, visit http://www.secollegeart.org/artists-fellowship.

Visual Resources Association

The Visual Resources Association (VRA) has opened registration for the 2015 Summer Educational Institute for Visual Resources and Image Management (SEI), a joint project of the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) and the Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF). SEI seeks to provide information professionals with a substantive educational and professional-development opportunity focused on digital imaging, the information and experience needed to stay current in a rapidly changing field, and the opportunity to create a network of supportive colleagues. This intensive three-and-a-half-day workshop will feature a curriculum that specifically addresses the requirements of today’s visual-resources and image management professionals. Expert instructors will cover: intellectual property rights, digital imaging and digital preservation, metadata and cataloging, project management, and professional growth and development. SEI 2015 will be held at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, June 9–12, 2015. SEI is a residential learning workshop for library-school students, new graduates, and midcareer professionals interested in learning more about digital collections, including metadata, project management, and professional best practices. For more information, please go to the SEI website.