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Call to Artists:

22nd Annual International Society of Experimental Artists Juried Art Exhibit

2013 ISEA/NWS Wales International Exchange Exhibit

ISEA is now accepting entries. All entries must be entered for submission online, via the ISEA website by July 1, 2013.
For more information, click here to enter ISEA's website.
BIG ARTS will not accept any entries. Entries must be original experimental artwork. There will be $10,000 in monetary awards.
Since 1991, ISEA has been promoting the creation and awareness of experimental art. Experimental art means the work is innovative in concept, attitude, technique or materials. ISEA's mission is to create an environment where contemporary visual artists can come together to share ideas, grow and take risks. Their exhibits are held in the U.S. and around the globe.

BIG ARTS Phillips Gallery will host 22nd Annual ISEA International Juried Art Exhibit
BIG ARTS Founders Gallery will host ISEA/NWS Wales International Exchange Exhibit

Exhibits Open:
October 19 through Saturday, November 28, 2013

Artists Reception
Saturday, October 19, 7 to 9 PM
at BIG ARTS Center
 

22nd Annual International Society of Experimental Artists Juried Art Exhibit

BIG ARTS Phillips Gallery will host the 22nd Annual ISEA International Juried Art Exhibit There will be $10,000 in prizes awarded at the artists reception Saturday, October 19, 2013. Juror for this exhibit is Carrie Burns Brown, NWS.
ISEA was founded in 1991 by Maxine Masterfield and Grace Hegeman to promote the creation and awareness of experimental art. Experimental art means the work is innovative in concept, attitude, technique or materials. Their exhibits are held around the globe.

Exhibit Open:
October 19 through Saturday, November 28, 2013

Artists Reception & Awards Presentation with a birthday celebration for ISEA founder Maxine Masterfield:
Saturday, October 19, 7 to 9 PM
at BIG ARTS Center
 

ISEA/NWS Wales International Exchange Exhibit

The International Society of Experimental Artists (ISEA) joined forces with the National Watercolor Society (NWS) to present an international exchange exhibit. The show will first be at BIG ARTS Founders Gallery, then moves to the NWS Gallery in San Pedro, California and then on to Art Central, Town Hall Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Country of Wales in 2014. The juror for the ISEA/NWS Wales International Exchange Exhibit is Linda Daly Baker, ISEA, NWS, AWS.
ISEA was founded in 1991 to promote the creation and awareness of experimental art. NWS works to encourage interest and excellence in watermedia paintings.

Exhibit Open:
October 19 through Saturday, November 28, 2013

Artists Reception & Awards Presentation
Saturday, October 19, 7 to 9 PM
at BIG ARTS Center
 

Clyde Butcher Exhibit: Big Cypress Swamp

The Western Everglades

Exhibit Open January 2012

The recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award in Nature Photography by the North American Nature Photography Association, Clyde Butcher is most famous locally for his black-and-white images of Florida's great wilderness, including the Everglades. In an age where the popularity of digital photography remains on the rise, Butcher's notable use of large format film cameras make his images instantly recognizable.

ARTSalon with Clyde Butcher
Saturday, December 17, 2011 $5

ARTSalon: Artists, Their Work & Background Stories

Clyde Butcher

Topic: Adventures Photographing the Swamp

December 2011

The recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award in Nature Photography by the North American Nature Photography Association, Clyde Butcher is most famous locally for his black-and-white images of Florida's great wilderness, including the Everglades.

ARTSalon: Artists, Their Work & Background Stories

Dr. Wendy Chase

Topic: Beautiful Suffering

January 2012

Dr. Wendy Chase served as Discipline Chair for the Humanities and Fine Arts for three years at Edison State College. Chase is a member of the Public Art Committee for the City of Fort Myers, the Holocaust Memorial Committee, and has helped organize the Edison Era Film Festival. She has served as one of three judges for the Lee County High School Musical Awards. Chase's ARTSalon lecture is called "Beautiful Suffering: The Politics of Representing Pain in a Culture of Violence."

$5

ARTSalon: Artists, Their Work & Background Stories

Derek Fell

Topic: Gardens of Frank Lloyd Wright

February 2012

Derek Fell is a writer and photographer with art, travel, and garden books totaling more than 2.5 million in print. His talk is about the gardens of Frank Lloyd Wright.

$5

ArtPoems

The Collaborative Transmedia Poet and Artist Project of Southwest Florida

February 2012

Reception begins at 7 PM, Presentation starts at 7:30 PM

at BIG ARTS Center

ArtPoems showcases artworks inspired by poems and poems inspired by artworks; paintings, sculptures, photography and, mixed media artwork paired with villanelles, sonnets, ballads, and free verse.
Collaborating visual artists are Peg Cullen, Pascale Doxy, Cheryl Fausel, Stephen Hayford, Philip Heubeck, Shelia Hoen, Hollis Jeffcoat, Dennis Joyce, David King, Doug MacGregor, Andi McCarter and J.R. Roberts. Jim Brock, Dorothy Brooks, Carol Drummond, Katelyn Gravel, Sandy Greco, Bob Maxeiner, Jesse Millner, Joseph Pacheco, Marsha Perlman, Sid Simon, Larry Stiles and Lorraine Vail are the poets.
Dancers, African drummers, guitarists, and other musicians will accompany this ArtPoems performance.

$10

"Multiples"

Exhibit Open February 2012

BIG ARTS invited artists to submit entries for selection in this juried theme show in Phillips Gallery. All entries contain "multiples" of objects, subjects or images. Juror is Lynn Loscutoff, author, artist and teacher, from Naples, Florida and Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Artists Reception and Awards Presentation
Saturday, January 21, 5:30 to 7 PM

"The Color of Color"

featuring Pam Brodersen
and Dorothy Wallace

Exhibit Open February 2012

Digital Art by Pam Brodersen and Mosaic Tile art by Dorothy Wallace.

Artists Reception January 2012

"Guests Will Be Hung"

Invitational Exhibit

Exhibit Open March 2012

Invitational exhibit to showcase artists whose work is not typically shown in Southwest Florida. More than 30 artists will display a variety of mediums in Phillips Gallery.

Artists Reception
Friday, March 9, 2012

"The Beat Goes On"

featuring Renee Ray and Peter Zell

Exhibit Open March 2012

Artwork by Renee Ray and Peter Zell.

Artists Reception
Friday, March 9, 2012

ARTSalon: Artists, Their Work & Background Stories

Dr. Paul Brooke

Topic: Wildlife and Birdlife on Sanibel

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Initially trained as a biologist and naturalist, Dr. Paul Brooke earned his Ph.D. in English at the University of Nebraska. He is a Professor of English at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, where he teaches advanced creative writing, among other courses. His 2008 book of poetry and photography, Light and Matter, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

$5

"A Touch of Red" Sanibel Captiva Art League hosts Southwest Florida Council

Exhibit Open April 2012

Each year, members from the Art Councils of Southwest Florida are invited by the Sanibel Captiva Art League to exhibit at this show, which will features original works in watercolor, oil, acrylic, mixed media, collage, sculpture, and original prints with "A Touch of Red."

Artists Reception
April 2012

"Fabrication"

Exhibit Open April 2012

Artwork by Tania Begg, Vicki Kessler and Donna Kjonaas.

Artists Reception
April 2012

Student Art Reception & Performances

May 6, 2012

at BIG ARTS Center

All ages are invited to join BIG ARTS for a free, fun afternoon of student art exhibits, student vocalists, an instrument "Petting Zoo" and light refreshments.
The Southwest Florida Symphony's instrument "petting zoo" will provide a hands-on experience for young students or adults. A variety of musical instruments will be available to play, with expert instruction on hand.
Exhibits in Phillips Gallery: artwork created by students from Cypress Lake High School, Lexington Middle School, and Sanibel School, and from the Art by Kids with Cancer project.
The Young Artists Awards works with the Pediatric Oncology and Hematology staff at The Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida to exhibit and sell this artwork. Donated art supplies are used in a therapeutic setting for children being treated at the Hospital. Proceeds from the sales will provide assistance to families facing the financial challenges of childhood cancer.
Three students who have been awarded Young Artists Awards for performing arts, will sing in Boler Garden.
"Open Doors: Great Expectations Exhibit" in Founders Gallery: The Open Doors program, funded through donations to Alliance for the Arts, provides classes for children with artistic talent and/or financial need.

Youth Visual Arts Exhibits Open May 2012

Monday – Friday 1 to 3 PM

Student Art

Exhibit Open May 2012

Monday – Friday 1 to 3 PM

ARTSalon: Artists, Their Work & Background Stories

Ella Nayor and Myra Roberts

Topic: Project Tolerance

November 2012

at BIG ARTS Schein Performance Hall

$5

Artist Myra Roberts and Faces of Tolerance: Everyone Counts author, Ella Nayor, will present their multimedia project, including a film by Rusty Farst.
New speakers added: Robert Hilliard and Cesare Frustaci.

"World of Fashion"

Juried Visual Arts Exhibit

The exhibit's theme is the world of fashion and its influence on contemporary life.
Juror is designer and textile artist Aida Bukovica.

Exhibit open October 15 through December 1, 2012

Monday – Friday, 1 to 4 PM

Artists Reception and Awards Presentation
Friday, November 2, 5:30 to 7 PM

"Faces of Anne Frank: Project Tolerance"

Paintings by Myra Roberts

Exhibit will feature original series of powerful paintings of Anne Frank by Myra Roberts. The paintings made a critically-acclaimed debut in Naples at the Holocaust Museum of Southwest Florida.

Exhibit Open October 15 through December 1, 2012

Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 4 PM

Artists Reception
Friday, November 2, 5:30 to 7 PM

"Shadows and Reflections"

Sanibel Captiva Art League

Juried Visual Arts Exhibit

The Sanibel Captiva Art League will exhibit original works in Phillips Gallery, in watercolor, oil, acrylic, mixed media, collage, sculpture, and original prints with "reflections and shadows." The show's Chairs are Neil Glaser and Sherry Collier.
Judge is Dana Roes, Professor of Art at Edison State College.

Exhibit Open December 6 through January 12, 2013

Monday – Friday 1 to 4 PM
BIG ARTS Phillips Gallery
 

"Buy it Off the Wall"

Visual Arts Exhibit

Exhibit features art in many different types of media, 12" by 12" or smaller. Works will be sold directly off the walls in Founders Gallery.

Exhibit Open December 6 through January 12

Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 4 PM
and Saturdays 9 AM - 1 PM
BIG ARTS Founders Gallery
 

Artists Reception
Friday, December 14, 5:30 to 7 PM

ARTSalon: Artists, Their Work & Background Stories

Amy Bennett Williams

Topic: Senses Working Overtime:
Using Your Most Elemental Physical Tools to Create Prose

Thursday, January 17, 2013
BIG ARTS Center
 

$5

Amy Bennett Williams is editor of the News-Press' Tropicalia magazine and a weekly contributer to southwest Florida's NPR affiliate, WGCU. She is also the recently published author of Along the Caloosahatchee River.

"Crossing the Line with Paper"

Juried Visual Arts Exhibit

BIG ARTS Phillips Gallery hosts this exhibit which showcases artworks that incorporate paper as a significant element.
Juror is Ron Bishop, Director, Bob Rauschenberg Gallery at Edison State College.
Entries must be delivered to BIG ARTS Tuesday, January 15, from 9 a.m. to noon.
Juror's talk is January 15 at 2:30 PM

Exhibit Open January through February 2013

Monday – Saturday 1 to 4 PM

Artists Reception & Awards Presentation
Friday, January 25, 5:30 to 7 PM
BIG ARTS Phillips Gallery
 

"It's Raining Cats and Dogs"

Juried Visual Arts Exhibit

This exhibit will feature feline and canine-themed art (theme is open to interpretation) in many different types of media.
Entries must be delivered to BIG ARTS Tuesday, January 15, from 9 a.m. to noon.

Exhibit Open January 17 through February 28

Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 4 PM
and Saturdays 9 AM - 1 PM

Artists Reception
Friday, January 25, 5:30 to 7 PM
BIG ARTS Founders Gallery
 

ArtPoems

The Collaborative Transmedia Poet and Artist Project of Southwest Florida

February 2013

7 PM Reception, Presentation starts at 7:30 PM
BIG ARTS Center
 

ArtPoems showcases artworks inspired by poems and poems inspired by artworks; paintings, sculptures, photography and mixed media artwork paired with villanelles, sonnets, ballads, and free verse.
Lucas Century (spiritual photography), Lawrence Voytek (sonic sculpture), Alicia Koyanis (fantasies in 3-D), Mary Ann Devos (jewelry) and Jan Palmer (photography) will join last year's collaborating viusal artists, Peg Cullen, Cheryl Fausel, Sheila Hoen, Hollis Jeffcoat, David King, Andi McCarter and J.R. Roberts.
New poets j.d. Daniels, Jim Gustafson and Pat Washington will join last year's poet team of Jim Brock, Dorothy Brooks, Carol Drummond, Sandy Greco, Joseph Pacheco, Marsha Perlman, Sid Simon, Larry Stiles and Lorraine Walker Williams. Local musicians and Dance Alliance of Fort Myers will accompany several of the ArtPoems presentations.

$10

Marcus Jansen Exhibit

Exhibit Open March 2013

Monday – Saturday 1 to 4 PM

Artists Reception
Friday, March 15, 5:30 to 7 PM
BIG ARTS Phillips Gallery
 

Jansen is noted as a pioneer of urban landscape paintings, he started painting in the early 1980s during the emerging graffiti art movement from New York. He graduated from Berufsfachschule fuer Gestaltung/Design in 1985. He become known for his post-modern expressionist paintings in the late 1990s shortly after serving in the U.S. military in the first Gulf War. His works have since evolved into a unique language of important political and socially-charged imagery commenting on a transforming society and world events.
Jansen's works are found in major museum collections around the world, and he has produced exclusive works for companies like Warner Brothers and Absolut Vodka. Art historian Jerome A. Donson referred to Jansen as, "The Innovator of Modern Expressionism," in Jansen's first book, published in 2006.
Marcus Jansen's work has been published in Forbes Magazine, The New York Times, The Kuwait Times, Art News and Art in America Magazine. He is in Who's Who in American Art and Who's Who in International Art. His work can be found in the collections of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, The Moscow Museum of Modern Art, The National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art, The New Britain Museum of American Art, and the Smithsonian Institution. Jansen's work can be found locally at UNIT A - Contemporary Art Space in Fort Myers, and 101 Exhibit in Miami.

ARTSalon: Artists, Their Work & Background Stories

Marcus Jansen

Topic: Expressionism Today: Urban, Socio-Political Paintings

Friday, March 15, 2013
BIG ARTS Phillips Gallery
 

$5

Jansen become known for his post-modern expressionist paintings in the late 1990s shortly after serving in the U.S. military in the first Gulf War. His works have since evolved into a unique language of important political and socially-charged imagery commenting on a transforming society and world events. Art historian and former Museum Director Jerome A. Donson referred to Jansen as, "The Innovator of Modern Expressionism," in Jansen's first book published in 2006.
Marcus Jansen's work has been published in Forbes Magazine, The New York Times, The Kuwait Times, Art News and Art in America Magazine. He is in Who's Who in American Art and Who's Who in International Art. His work can be found in the collections of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, The Moscow Museum of Modern Art, The National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art, The New Britain Museum of American Art, and the Smithsonian Institution. Jansen's work can be found locally at UNIT A - Contemporary Art Space in Fort Myers, and 101 Exhibit in Miami.

Silk Road:

Maia Tsinamdzgvrishvili

This exhibit will feature fine art tapestries made of silk and wool fibers, created by Maia Tsinamdzgvrishvili.

Exhibit Open March 2013

Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 4 PM
and Saturdays 9 AM - 1 PM

Artists Reception
Friday, March 15, 5:30 to 7 PM
BIG ARTS Founders Gallery
 

Call to Artists:

Fine Crafts Exhibition

Juried Visual Arts Exhibit

This exhibit in Phillips Gallery will feature original, fine art objects with a high level of craftsmanship.
Juror is Anica Sturdivant, Interim Gallery Director, Florida Gulf Coast University.
Entries must be delivered to BIG ARTS Tuesday, April 2, from 9 a.m. to noon.

Exhibit Open April 4 through 30

Monday – Friday 1 to 4 PM

Artists Reception
Friday, April 5, 5:30 to 7 PM
BIG ARTS Phillips Gallery
 

Click here for Prospectus

In Living Color: Watercolors by

Chere Force and Jan Filarski

This exhibit will feature watercolors created by Chere Force and Jan Filarski.

Exhibit Open April 4 through 30

Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 4 PM
and Saturdays 9 AM - 1 PM

Artists Reception
Friday, April 5, 5:30 to 7 PM
BIG ARTS Founders Gallery