Annual Conference 2024                                           Donate Now
Join Now      Sign In

CAA News Today

CAA offers Annual Conference Travel Grants to graduate students in art history and studio art and to international artists and scholars. In addition, the Getty Foundation has funded the second year of a program that enables twenty applicants from outside the United States to attend the 2013 Annual Conference in New York. Applicants may apply for more than one grant but can only receive a single award.

CAA Graduate Student Conference Travel Grant

CAA will award a limited number of $250 Graduate Student Conference Travel Grants to advanced PhD and MFA graduate students as partial reimbursement of travel expenses to attend the 101st Annual Conference, taking place February 13–16, 2013, in New York. To qualify for the grant, students must be current CAA members. Successful applicants will also receive a complimentary conference registration. Deadline: September 14, 2012.

CAA International Member Conference Travel Grant

CAA will award a limited number of $500 International Member Conference Travel Grants to artists and scholars from outside the United States as partial reimbursement of travel expenses to attend the 101st Annual Conference, taking place February 13–16, 2013, in New York. To qualify for the grant, applicants must be current CAA members. Successful applicants will also receive a complimentary conference registration. Deadline: September 14, 2012.

CAA International Travel Grant Program

The CAA International Travel Grant Program, generously supported by the Getty Foundation, provides funding to twenty art historians, museum curators, and artists who teach art history to attend the 101st Annual Conference, taking place February 13–16, 2013, in New York. The grant covers travel expenses, hotel accommodations, per diems, conference registrations, and one-year CAA memberships. For 2013, CAA will offer preconference meetings on February 11 and 12 for grant recipients to present and discuss their common professional interests and issues. Applicants do not need to be CAA members. Deadline extended: August 24, 2012.

Donate to the Annual Conference Travel Grants

CAA’s Annual Conference Travel Grants are funded solely by donations from CAA members—please contribute today. Charitable contributions are 100 percent tax deductible. CAA extends a warm thanks to those members who made voluntary contributions to this fund during the past twelve months.

Image: Joseph Mallord William Turner, Rain, Steam and Speed—The Great Western Railway, 1844, oil on canvas, 35⅞ x 49 in. National Gallery, London (artwork in the public domain)

The Directory of Affiliated Societies, a comprehensive list of all seventy-four groups that have joined CAA as affiliate members, has just been updated. Please visit the directory to view a single webpage that includes the following information for each group: name, date of founding, size of membership, and annual dues; a brief statement on the society’s nature or purpose; and the names of officers and/or contacts for you to get more details about the groups or to join them. In addition, CAA links directly to each affiliated society’s homepage.

CAA invites individual members to propose a session for the 102nd Annual Conference, taking place February 12–15, 2014, in Chicago, Illinois. Proposals should cover the breadth of current thought and research in visual art, art and architectural history, theory and criticism, pedagogical issues, museum and curatorial practice, conservation, and developments in technology. For full details on the submission process for the conference, please review the information published on the Chair a 2014 Annual Conference Session webpage.

The Annual Conference Committee welcomes session proposals from established artists and scholars, along with those from younger scholars, emerging and midcareer artists, and graduate students. Particularly welcome are proposals that highlight interdisciplinary work. Artists are especially encouraged to propose sessions appropriate to dialogue and information exchange relevant to artists.

The submission process for the 2014 conference is now open. In order to submit a proposal, you must be a current CAA member. Deadline extended: September 14, 2012; no late applications are accepted.

Image: Georges Seurat, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte — 1884, 1884–86, oil on canvas, 81¾ x 121¼ in. Art Institute of Chicago (artwork in the public domain)

Filed under: Annual Conference, Membership

CAA encourages members to nominate their colleagues for one of twelve Awards for Distinction for 2013, to be named in January and presented in February at the 101st Annual Conference in New York. The different perspectives and anecdotes from multiple personal letters of recommendation provide award juries with a clearer picture of the qualities and attributes of the nominees.

In the letter, state who you are; how you know (of) the nominee; how the nominee and/or his or her work or publication has affected your practice or studies and the pursuit of your career; and why you think this person (or, in a collaboration, these people) deserves to be recognized. You should also contact up to five colleagues, students, peers, collaborators, and/or coworkers of the nominee to write letters.

All submissions must include a completed nomination form and one copy of the nominee’s CV (limit: two pages); book awards do not require a CV. Nominations for book and exhibition awards should be for the authors of books published or works exhibited or staged between September 1, 2011, and August 31, 2012. No more than five letters per candidate are considered.

Please read the descriptions of the twelve awards, the names of all past recipients, and the full instructions for the nomination process. You may also write to Lauren Stark, CAA manager of programs, for more information. Deadline: July 31, 2012, for the Charles Rufus Morey Book Award and the Alfred H. Barr Jr. Award; August 31, 2012, for all other awards.

Filed under: Awards

CAA invites individual members to submit abstracts for Poster Sessions at the 101st Annual Conference in New York, taking place February 13–16, 2013. Poster Sessions—presentations displayed on bulletin boards by an individual for small groups—usually include a brief narrative paper mixed with illustrations, tables, graphs, and similar presentation formats. The poster display can intelligently and concisely communicate the essence of the presenter’s research, synthesizing its main ideas and directions. Colorado State University has published useful general information on Poster Sessions.

Poster Sessions offer excellent opportunities for extended informal discussion and conversation focused on topics of scholarly or pedagogical research. Posters are displayed for three days during the conference, so that attendees can view the work even when the authors are not physically present. Poster Sessions take place in a high-traffic area, in close proximity to the Book and Trade Fair and conference rooms.

Proposals for Poster Sessions must include the following:

  • Title of Poster Session
  • Summary of project, not to exceed 250 words
  • Name of presenter(s), affiliation(s), and CAA member number(s)
  • A two-page CV
  • Complete mailing address and telephone number
  • Email address

Proposals are due on May 4, 2012—the same deadline as the regular call for papers for the 2013 conference. Send all materials to Lauren Stark, CAA manager of programs. A working group of the Annual Conference Committee selects Poster Sessions based on individual merit and space availability. Accepted presenters must maintain their memberships through the conference.

Displays must be assembled by 10:00 AM on Thursday, February 14, and cleared by 2:00 PM on Saturday, February 16. Live presentations last ninety minutes and are scheduled during the lunch breaks on Thursday and Friday, 12:30–2:00 PM. During this time, presenters stand by their poster displays while others view the presentation and interact with the presenters.

CAA assigns presenters one freestanding bulletin board (about 4 x 8 feet of display space) onto which they can affix their poster display and other materials, as well as a table to place materials such as handouts or a sign-up sheet to record the names and addresses of attendees who want to receive more information. CAA also provides pushpins or thumbtacks to attach components to the bulletin board on the day of installation.

Printed materials must be easily read at a distance of four feet. Each display should include the title of the presentation (104-point size) and the name of the presenter(s) and his or her affiliation(s) (72-point size). CAA recommends a point size of 16–18 or larger for body text. No electrical support is available in the Poster Session area; you must have your own source of power (e.g., a battery).

Contact

For more information about proposals of Poster Sessions for the 2013 Annual Conference, please contact Lauren Stark, CAA manager of programs, at 212-392-4405.

CAA wishes to thank the artists, art historians, curators, critics, educators, and other professionals in the visual arts who generously served as mentors in two Career Services programs at the 2012 Annual Conference in Los Angeles: the Artists’ Portfolio Review and Career Development Mentoring. The organization also thanks participants in the Mock Interview Sessions and the leaders of the Roundtable Discussions. Last, CAA acknowledges the efforts of Professional Development Workshops presenters and the speakers at Orientation.

Artists’ Portfolio Review

Michael Bzdak, Johnson & Johnson; Susan Canning, College of New Rochelle; Brian Curtis, University of Miami; Diane Edison, University of Georgia; Peter Kaniaris, Anderson University; Jason Lahr, University of Notre Dame; Suzanne F. W. Lemakis, Fine Arts Department, Citigroup; Craig Lloyd, College of Mount St. Joseph; Margaret Murphy, New Jersey City University; Judith Pratt, Judith Pratt Studio; Habibur Rahman, Claflin University; John Silvis, New York Center for Art and Media Studies; and Steve Teczar, Maryville University of Saint Louis.

Career Development Mentoring

Susan Altman, Middlesex County College; Michael Aurbach, Vanderbilt University; Jeff Downing, San Francisco State University; Ciara Ennis, Pitzer Art Galleries, Pitzer College; James Farmer, Virginia Commonwealth University; Reni Gower, Virginia Commonwealth University; Amy Hauft, Virginia Commonwealth University; Richard Heipp, University of Florida; Jim Hopfensperger, Western Michigan University; Dennis Y. Ichiyama, Purdue University; Sue Johnson, St. Mary’s College of Maryland; Bob Kaputof, Virginia Commonwealth University; Mitch Kern, Alberta College of Art and Design; John Kleinpeter, California State University, Long Beach; Heather McPherson, University of Alabama, Birmingham; Jo-Ann Morgan, Western Illinois University; Anna Novakov, St. Mary’s College of California; Morgan Paine, Florida Gulf Coast University; Pamela Patton, Southern Methodist University; Doralynn Pines, Metropolitan Museum of Art (retired); Andrea Polli, University of New Mexico; Judith Pratt, Judith Pratt Studio; David Raizman, Drexel University; David Sokol, University of Illinois, Chicago (emeritus); Katherine Taylor, Kennesaw State University; Joe A. Thomas, Kennesaw State University; Ann Tsubota, Raritan Valley Community College; Jenifer K. Ward, Cornish College of the Arts; John Watson, Webster University; and Charles Wright, Western Illinois University.

Mock Interview Sessions

Temma Balducci, Arkansas State University; Steven Bleicher, Coastal Carolina University; Susan Bowman, Rowan University; Scott Contreras-Koterbay, East Tennessee State University; Jessica Dandona, Dishman Art Museum, Lamar University; Sara Dismukes, Troy University; Randall C. Griffin, Southern Methodist University; Dottie Habel, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Carolyn Henne, Florida State University; Janet Hethorn, University of Delaware; Dennis Y. Ichiyama, Purdue University; Bob Kaputof, Virginia Commonwealth University; Deborah Karpman, University of Montevallo; Niku Kashef, California State University, Northridge; David LaPalombara, Ohio University; Beauvais Lyons, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Rebecca Nolan, Savannah College of Art and Design; Anna Novakov, St. Mary’s College of California; Kim Russo, Ringling College of Art and Design; Joe Seipel, Virginia Commonwealth University; Amelia Winger-Bearskin, Vanderbilt University; David Yager, University of California, Santa Cruz; and Sam Yates, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Roundtables

Michael Aurbach, Vanderbilt University; Diane Edison, University of Georgia; Suzanne F. W. Lemakis, Fine Arts Department, Citigroup; Leo Morrissey, Winston-Salem State University; Edward Shanken, University of Amsterdam; and John Silvis, New York Center for Art and Media Studies.

Professional Development Workshops

Susan Altman, Middlesex County College; Michael Aurbach, Vanderbilt University; Barbara Bernstein, Rhode Island School of Design and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts; Steven Bleicher, Coastal Carolina University; Mika Cho, California State University, Los Angeles; Craig Dietrich, University of Southern California; Tara McPherson, University of Southern California; Nicholas Mirzoeff, New York University; Joan Saab, University of Rochester; Susan Schear, ArtIsIn; David M. Sokol, University of Illinois, Chicago (emeritus); and Blaise Tobia, Drexel University.

Orientation

Michael Aurbach, Vanderbilt University; Margaret Lazzari, University of Southern California; and David M. Sokol, University of Illinois, Chicago (emeritus).

CAA invites nominations and self-nominations for individuals to serve on seven of the twelve juries for the annual Awards for Distinction for three years (2012–15). Terms begin in May 2012; award years are 2013–15. CAA’s twelve awards honor artists, art historians, authors, curators, critics, and teachers whose accomplishments transcend their individual disciplines and contribute to the profession as a whole and to the world at large.

Candidates must possess expertise appropriate to the jury’s work and be current CAA members. They should not be serving on another CAA committee or editorial board. CAA’s president and vice president for committees appoint jury members for service.

The following jury vacancies will be filled this spring:

Nominations and self-nominations should include a brief statement (no more than 150 words) outlining the individual’s qualifications and experience and an abbreviated CV (no more than two pages). Please send all materials by email to Lauren Stark, CAA manager of programs; submissions must be sent as Microsoft Word attachments. Deadline: April 20, 2012.

Filed under: Awards, Committees, Governance

CAA’s Services to Artists Committee has extended the deadline for membership participation in ARTexchange, an open forum for sharing work at the 2012 Annual Conference. The new deadline is February 10, 2012. Free and open to the public, ARTexchange will be held on Friday, February 24, 5:30–7:30 PM, in a central location at the Los Angeles Convention Center. A cash bar will be available.

ARTexchange is an annual event showcasing the art of CAA members, who can exhibit their paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, sculptures, and digital works using the space on, above, and beneath a six-foot folding table. Artists may also construct temporary mini-installations and conduct performance, sound, and spoken-word pieces in their space. In the past, many ARTexchange participants found the event to be their favorite part of the conference, with the table parameter sparking creative displays.

To be considered for ARTexchange in Los Angeles, please send your full name, your CAA member number, a brief description of the work you want to exhibit (no more than 150 words), and a link to your website to Lauren Stark, CAA manager of programs. Artists presenting performance or sound art, spoken word, or technology-based work, including laptop presentations, must add a few sentences about their plans. Accepted participants will receive an email confirmation. Because ARTexchange is a popular venue with limited space, early applicants will be given preference. Deadline extended: January 6, 2012.

Participants are responsible for their work; CAA is not liable for losses or damages. The sale of work is not permitted. Participants may not hang their artworks on walls or run their power cords from laptops or other electronic devices to outlets—please bring fully charged batteries. For the first time, CAA will provide wireless internet to ARTexchange participants free of charge.

Top image: Participants in the 2011 ARTexchange (photograph by Bradley Marks)

Bottom image: The interdisciplinary artist Rachel Hines performs a work called Interview during the 2011 ARTexchange in New York (photograph by Bradley Marks)

Call for Mentors for Los Angeles

posted by September 20, 2011

For the 100th Annual Conference in Los Angeles, taking place February 22–25, 2012, CAA seeks established professionals in the visual arts to volunteer as mentors for two Career Services programs: the Artists’ Portfolio Review and Career Development Mentoring. Participating as a mentor is an excellent way to serve the field and to assist the professional growth of the next generation of artists and scholars.

Art historians and studio artists must be tenured; critics, museum educators, and curators must have five years’ experience. Curators and educators must be currently employed by a museum or university gallery.

Artists’ Portfolio Review

CAA seeks artists, critics, curators, and educators to serve in the Artists’ Portfolio Review. In this program, mentors review and provide feedback on digital images or DVDs of work by artist members in personal twenty-minute consultations. Whenever possible, CAA matches artists and mentors based on medium or discipline. Mentors provide an important service to artists, enabling them to receive professional criticism of their work.

Interested candidates must be current CAA members and prepared to give five successive twenty-minute critiques in a two-hour period on one of the two days of the review: Thursday, February 23, and Friday, February 24, 2012, 8:00 AM–NOON and 1:00–5:00 PM each day. Conference registration, while encouraged, is not required to be a mentor. Please send your CV and a brief letter of interest to Lauren Stark, CAA manager of programs. Deadline: January 6, 2012.

Career Development Mentoring

CAA seeks mentors from all areas of studio art, art history, art education, film and video, graphic design, the museum professions, and other related fields to serve in Career Development Mentoring. In this program, mentors give valuable advice to emerging and midcareer professionals, reviewing cover letters, CVs, digital images, and other pertinent job-search materials in personal twenty-minute consultations. Whenever possible, CAA matches participants and mentors based on medium or discipline.

Interested candidates must be current CAA members and prepared to give five successive twenty-minute critiques in a two-hour period on one of the two days of the review: Thursday, February 23, and Friday, February 24, 2012, 8:00 AM–NOON and 1:00–5:00 PM each day. Conference registration, while encouraged, is not required to be a mentor. Please send your CV and a brief letter of interest to Lauren Stark, CAA manager of programs. Deadline: January 6, 2012.

Career Development Mentoring is not intended as a screening process by institutions seeking new hires. CAA does not accept applications from individuals whose departments are conducting a faculty search in the field in which they are mentoring. Mentors should not be attending the conference as candidates for positions in the same field in which mentees may be applying.

As a CAA member, you have access to a diverse range of mentors at Career Services during the 100th Annual Conference, taking place February 22–25, 2012, in Los Angeles, California. All emerging, midcareer, and even advanced art professionals can benefit from one-on-one discussions with dedicated mentors about artists’ portfolios, career-management skills, and professional strategies.

You may enroll in either the Artists’ Portfolio Review or Career Development Mentoring—please choose one. Participants are chosen by a lottery of applications received by the deadline; all applicants are notified of their scheduled date and time slot by email by February 3, 2012. Both sessions are offered free of charge. Conference registration, while encouraged, is not necessary to participate. All applicants must be current CAA members.

Artists’ Portfolio Review

The Artists’ Portfolio Review offers CAA members the opportunity to have digital images or DVDs of their work reviewed by artists, critics, curators, and educators in personal twenty-minute consultations. Whenever possible, CAA matches artists and mentors based on medium or discipline. You may bring battery-powered laptops; wireless internet, however, is not available in the room. Sessions are filled by appointment only and are scheduled for Thursday, February 23, and Friday, February 24, 2012, 8:00 AM–NOON and 1:00–5:00 PM each day.

To apply, download and complete the Career Development Enrollment Form or fill out the paper form in the 2012 Conference Information and Registration booklet, which will be mailed to all individual and institutional CAA members in October 2011. Send the completed form by email to Lauren Stark, CAA manager of programs; by fax to 212-627-2381; or by mail to: Artists’ Portfolio Review, College Art Association, 50 Broadway, 21st Floor, New York, NY 10004. Deadline extended: January 30, 2012.

Career Development Mentoring

Artists, art historians, art educators, and museum professionals at all stages of their careers may apply for one-on-one consultations with veterans in their fields. Through personal twenty-minute consultations, Career Development Mentoring offers a unique opportunity for participants to receive candid advice on how to conduct a thorough job search; present cover letters, CVs, and digital images; and prepare for interviews. Whenever possible, CAA matches participants and mentors based on medium or discipline. Sessions are filled by appointment only and are scheduled for Thursday, February 23, and Friday, February 24, 2012, 8:00 AM–NOON and 1:00–5:00 PM each day.

To apply, download and complete the Career Development Enrollment Form or fill out the paper form in the 2012 Conference Information and Registration booklet, which will be mailed to all individual and institutional CAA members in October 2011. Send the completed form by email to Lauren Stark, CAA manager of programs; by fax to 212-627-2381; or by mail to: Career Development Mentoring, College Art Association, 50 Broadway, 21st Floor, New York, NY 10004. Deadline extended: January 30, 2012.