Turkish Fashion Label Wins Prestigious Jameel Islamic Art Prize

RUETERS
BY Freya Berry

Two of Dice Kayek's prize-winning dresses, inspired by architecture: "Dome 2" and "Hagia Sophia". Photo: courtesy of Dice Kayek Archive, Istanbul Contrast Collection

UNITED KINGDOM---The Turkish fashion label Dice Kayek on Tuesday won the Jameel prize at London's Victoria and Albert Museum, which honors contemporary art inspired by Islamic tradition. The 25,000-pound ($41,100) international prize, which is awarded every two years, has Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid as patron, and this year's judges included Thomas Heatherwick, designer of the London Olympic Cauldron. ice Kayek, a company begun by two sisters in 1992, took inspiration from the robes of Ottoman rulers and mosques to create the prize-winning structured dresses of lamé brocade and cotton. [link]

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‘12 Years a Slave’ Honored by Hoosier Film Critics

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR
By Bob Bloom

HOLLYWOOD---“12 Years a Slave” was the big winner today as the Indiana Film Journalists Association announced its awards for 2013. “12 Years a Slave” was honored as best picture, with Steve McQueen named best director and star Chiwetel Ejiofor named best actor. Composer Hans Zimmer was recognized was his musical score. “Her,” a feature about a man who falls in love with the voice on his computer took three honors: original screenplay by director Spike Jonze, the association’s Original Vision Award and runner-up for best film. Adele Exarchopoulos was named best actress for her performance in “Blue Is the Warmest Color,” which also was selected as best foreign film. [link]

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Op-Ed Column: Gay Catholics Still in Exile Under Pope Francis

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Frank Bruni

The Pope by Ben Wiseman for The New York Times

HONEYMOON isn’t a word usually associated with pontiffs, but Pope Francis is having an extraordinary one. Last week Time magazine named him its person of the year, saying that he had given fresh hope to many Catholics estranged by the church’s censorious ways. The magazine noted the absence of harsh condemnation in his mentions of divorced couples, of women seeking abortions and of gay people, including his statement that “if a homosexual person is of good will and is in search of God, I am no one to judge.” From all of this, Time concluded that he had lifted the church “above the doctrinal police work so important to his recent predecessors.” Well, they didn’t get the memo in the suburbs of Philadelphia,...Little Rock,...[or] Atlanta. The church’s treatment of gays and lesbians is especially rife with mixed messages and hypocrisy. [link]

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Jason Seiler, the Artist Who Painted TIME's Person of the Year 2013

TIME
By D.W. Pine and Skye Gurney

ILLINOIS---To capture the essence of Pope Francis, we turned to Chicago-based artist Jason Seiler, a classically trained oil painter who recently taught himself to paint digitally on a 21-inch LCD display. Seiler spent more than 70 hours creating the Person of the Year artwork, which continues the rich tradition of great portraiture on the cover of TIME. “A lot of times before I start a painting, I see it finished in my head,” he says. “With the Pope, I let it happen organically.” [link]

Photographs courtesy Jason Seiler, Ava Seiler, and Jacqueline Patrice

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Finalists for National Book Awards Announced

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS

PUBLISHING---The finalists for the National Book Awards were announced on Wednesday, one month before the winners will be named at a ceremony in Manhattan, according to The New York Times.  Only citizens of the United States are eligible for National Book Awards, which are administered by the National Book Foundation. The night before the Awards, each Finalist receives a prize of $1,000, a medal, and a citation from the panel at a private Medal Ceremony. The four Winners in Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People’s Literature are announced the following evening at the National Book Awards Ceremony and Benefit Dinner, where each Winner receives $10,000 and a bronze sculpture.

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Russian Billionaire Launches $100,000 ARTprize in United Kingdom

BLOOMBERG WEEK
By Farah Nayeri

UNITED KINGDOM---Ukrainian billionaire Victor Pinchuk launched his third $100,000 Future Generation Art Prize (for young talent) at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery, the new scene-shaper by Zaha Hadid. Pinchuk’s guests included Marc Quinn and Damien Hirst. When a guest noted 52-year-old Pinchuk’s relative youth (by billionaire standards), the Ukrainian shared a hug with Hirst and cried, “Young British artist -- young Ukrainian collector!”[link]

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Artist Trevor Nickolls Wins Australia's Blake Prize for Religious Art with "Metamorphosis"

THE HERALD SUN
By Louise Nun

Late South Australian artist Trevor Nickolls in 2012 with his painting "Metamorphosis", which has won the 2013 Blake Prize for religious art. Source: News Limited

AUSTRALIA---A NEW indigenous art prize established in the memory of late South Australian artist Trevor Nickolls has been given a $25,000 boost after the painter was awarded the Blake Prize, the first ever to be awarded posthumously. Nickolls, who died last year aged 63, won top honours in the national prize for religious art for his painting Metamorphosis, which depicts an Aboriginal man transformed into a butterfly, surrounded by peace doves. Metamorphosis, which melds the Western and Indigenous iconography Nickolls was known for, was commissioned for the 2012 Adelaide Festival exhibition Deadly: In-Between Heaven and Hell, held at Tandanya. [link]

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Artist's Suggestion to Quiet Some Criticisms of 'Populist' ArtPrize Contest

THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
By Maurice Jacobson

Visitors look at photographs in Maurice Jacobsen's ArtPrize entry "Facing Al Aqaba" at Ah-Nab-Awen Park along the Grand River on Thursday, September 19, 2013. (MLive.com File Photo)

ARTPRIZE---Grumbling over the ArtPrize Top 10 and eventual first place winner persists every year. ArtPrize 2013 finalist Maurice Jacobsen has an idea about how to solve this problem and, perhaps, quell the naysayers who discount the contest as a mere popularity show. Jacobsen's "Facing Al Aqaba" was a "series of large photographic portraits of the men, wom6en and children of the village of Al Aqaba, Palestine." So is there a solution … perhaps yes … I offer one here for ArtPrize to consider. To pool both the expert short list and the popular short list into one list upon which the general public can vote. This would draw viewers to more challenging works and more deeply expose the entire viewing audience to art in its many forms other than that which is simply "easy on the eye".

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Vandals Damage ArtPrize Installation Featuring Documentary on Controversial Subjects

GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
By Andrew Krietz

Vandals broke into a tent sometime Saturday morning hosting a documentary film featuring people discussing controversial topics. (Courtesy JD Urban)

MICHIGAN---The documentary "united.states: an everyday people project" is meant to spur conversations about sensitive and sometimes controversial topics people deal with on a daily basis across the country, its creator said. JD Urban, the Brooklyn, N.Y., based artist said he's heard a wide range of reactions to his work — some heated — at ArtPrize, which doesn't really come as a surprise considering the subjects: Gay marriage to gun control to politics and more. The damage comes almost a week after ArtPrize jurors named Urban's work as one of their top 25 favorite entries. [link]

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ArtPrize 2013: Why I Voted for 1,427 Amazing Works of Art

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Greg Disney-Britton

"Tall Budda" is at a courtyard of amazing outdoor works, and I voted for him.

Okay, I admit to being skeptical about enjoying 3-days at an artfair in the town of Grand Rapids, MI, but I loved this! I voted for 1,427 works of the art (real number later); and I wanted more time to see and vote for more! The Editorial Board for Grand Rapid's Press wrote: "As the voting for this year’s ArtPrize Top 10 heats up, it’s a good time to remember the biggest winner of this unique competition" is the Grand Rapid's community, but I disagree. The biggest winner was me.

Artist painting scene of The Last Supper
at entrance to Gerald Ford Museum (I voted for him)

There are over 1,500 pieces of artwork entered into the Artprize competition, but what makes this so much fun is my ability to vote, it's free but you have to go to Grand Rapids to register (smart!). I feel like I am in the driver seat for awarding over $560,000 in cash prizes, including $200,000 for first prize.

I found this sleeping giant fishing by the river (I voted for him).

There is no jury to say this artist-is-in, and this artist-is-out. Everyone is in, and the venues are everywhere. I voted for artwork in a gay bar, a Baptist church, a shoe store, an ice cream shop, a hospital, and the list goes on and on.

I was scared "not" to vote for her, and she was at a church.

Many of the pieces are large scale but many are also small scale, and the venues are negotiated between the artist and the venue host. For example, Kilwins Ice Cream picks their favorite artists and so does the Grand Rapids Art Museum. Everyone has an equal chance at display and at winning the grand prize of $200,000.

Ernest made me pose, but I voted for him.

I made Ernest pose, and I voted for him.

The interactive experience of this artfair is thrilling. It's like American Idol where there is really nothing to sell or buy, but there are lots of commercials. Traditionally, when I think artfair, I think of a booth with pressure to buy something from the poor artist hawking his ware, but this is not about commerce, it's about democracy and philanthropy engaged as one.

It's a pencil drawing, and at the end people will erase it.  I voted for it.

The art is everywhere you look (169 venues), and everytime you think you've seen it all....We'll you've not even come close. I mean, we stayed at the Holiday Inn and there was art in the lobby and on the front lawn. How I possibily voted for 1,427 I am not sure but that's what I counted up, and I did vote for a lot. This is not an art lover event, this is a "fun" lovers event, and my vote cost me nothing but it helped the artist get one step closer to winning one of the ARTprizes ($5,000 to $200,000).

It's Beeswax, and I voted for it.

I'll have to create a Pinterest and Tumblr account for all my pictures. It's insane the number of pictures I've taken. The ones listed here are just the ones where I'm included.

I love Milk Duds, and I voted for it. 

My favorite venues for artworks included the Calder Plaza where Quincy Owens had his piece "Confessions" which is across the street from the DeVoos Convention Center, which is filled to the maxiimum with artworks.

There were lots of serious themes here, and I voted for this one.

We were there for two nights, and three days (Arrived opening day on Sept. 18), so we could beat the crowds, and the hotel room-rate increases. Over 400,000 people are expected over the 19 days of the ARTprize festival.

Third floor of the contemporary art institute

Upon closer examination on 2nd floor

Yes, I voted for this one too.

There is no reason, that every artist I know shouldn't be part of ARTprize. It's a win for everyone. Congratulations to Grand Rapids, and thanks! I'm looking forward to finding out the winners, but also to returning next year for ARTprize2014. My real vote count? 122, but it seemed like 1,427.

More than 64 ways to vote here.

ArtPrize 2013 from ArtPrize on Vimeo.

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Controversial Artist SinGh, Booted Out of ArtPrize 2012 for Saddam Hussein Effigy, is Kicked Out Again

GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
By Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk

MICHIGAN---Artist SinGh, whose controversial installation of an effigy of Saddam Hussein was torn down shortly before the opening of ArtPrize last year, returned to ArtPrize 2013. And now he's out again. Artist SinGh's ArtPrize 2013 entry, "The World's Longest Painting," intended for Sixth Street Bridge Park, was removed before opening day of the fifth annual exhibition and competition. The problem, according to ArtPrize officials is the artist flagrantly disregarded the rules by expanding the scope of the project beyond the original, signed agreement, without permission. Last year, Gilmore, who had hosted SinGh's work the previous two years, summarily removed the installation titled "Captivity," concerned that SinGh's storyboards accompanying it alluded to bestiality, suicide and similar topics. After recovering "Captivity," SinGh later set fire to the installation in protest over its removal. [link]

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Booker Prize Panel Is Said to Consider Allowing Americans to Be Eligible

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Julie Bosman

UNITED KINGDOM---For more than four decades, the Man Booker Prize for Fiction has been a uniquely British award, seeking to identify the best novel by authors from Ireland and the Commonwealth. Now that distinction may end. The prize committee will break with tradition and allow American authors to be eligible, beginning next year, The Sunday Times in London reported. It will include Americans because the Booker committee “believes U.S. writers must be allowed to compete to ensure the award’s global reputation,” The Times said. The winner of this year’s Booker will be announced at a ceremony in London on Oct. 15. [link]

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Six Steps to Making the Most of ArtPrize

PURE MICHIGAN

MICHIGAN---If you’ve never explored the unique buildings or graced the diverse streets of Grand Rapids during ArtPrize, you may be wondering where to start. No worries, there are few simple things you can do to make visiting the world’s largest art competition simple, fun and inspiring. Todd Herring, Director of Communications for ArtPrize, shares these steps with us below. [link]

• Step 1 – Get Inspired
• Step 2 – VOTE!
• Step 3 – Keep Moving
• Step 4 – Stay in the know
• Step 5 – Attend ArtPrize Events
• Step 6 – Make it Your Own.

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All Eyes on the ArtPrize in Michigan

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By John Miller

MICHIGAN---There may be more prestigious awards for artists, such as the Guggenheim's Hugo Boss Prize or the Tate's Turner Prize. Yet none gives away more money than ArtPrize, which begins its fifth season on Wednesday and runs to Oct. 6. Before it's over, organizers will bestow a total of $560,000 on winners in 16 categories, including a $200,000 award selected by the hundreds of thousands of people expected to visit the event here, a city otherwise known for furniture making, President Gerald Ford and a nickname it would rather forget—"Bland Rapids." [link]

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ArtPrize 2013: Exploring Event's Effects on Grand Rapids in Numbers

GRAND RAPIDS PRESS 
By Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk

Detail of 2012 Top Prize winner: "Elephants" at Grand Rapids Art Museum.

MICHIGAN---Last year, an estimated 400,000 visits were made to ArtPrize with viewers casting 412,560 votes to award Adonna Khare, of Burbank, California, the $200,000 ArtPrize First Prize for her large-scale drawing “Elephants.” Five years later, the conversation begins once again. ArtPrize 2013 opens on Wednesday, Sept. 18, for 19 days of looking at art and talking about art. Time magazine, earlier this year, named ArtPrize one of its “Five Festival Events You Won’t Want to Miss in 2013.” It’s safe to say $560,000 in prize money is plenty of incentive for artists. An economic impact study of ArtPrize 2011 determined it added $15.4 million to the local economy, attracted more than 320,000 visitors that year and created the equivalent of 200 new jobs.

Detail of 2011 Top Prize winner: "Crucifixion" 
by Mia Tavonatti at DeVos Place Convention Center.

2013 By the Numbers:

• 1,812 artists
• 1,524 works of art
• 169 venues
• 96 hours (minimum official open hours)
• 47 countries represented
• 45 U.S. states represented
• 31 percent of artists coming from outside Michigan
• 19 days in the exhibition
• 18 years old – the minimum age to enter ArtPrize as an artist
• 16 years old – the minimum age to vote in ArtPrize
• 14 public spaces – parks, plazas, parking places – showing art
• 11 days to vote in Round 1
• 10 cash prizes chosen by the people
• 9 Exhibition Centers and Showcase Venues
• 7 percent of artists are from foreign countries
• 6 cash prizes chosen by jurors
• 5 days to vote in Round 2
• 3 square miles in event’s main downtown district
• 2 National Endowment for the Arts grants awarded to ArtPrize to date
• 1 official beer: Founder’s Brewing Co.’s Inspired Artist Black IPA

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RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS 
By TAHLIB

Jerry is white but chose a pastor who is a black. Angela is an Evangelical, but stood alone to defend the Hindu girl being bullied at her school. Tom is straight but painted Jesus waving a Gay rainbow flag, and then delivered it to his Catholic priest. Not every American thrives on divisiveness and competition. Instead many of us choose community-building. Frankly, I hate the win/lose outcomes of competitions, but I'm inspired by prizes, events, and occasions that celebrate risk-takers who bridge divides. The ArtPrize, Burning Man, Fringe Festivals, and our own A&O Prize are such celebrations; and that makes the Race Prize from the Spirit & Place Festival (above) our  NEWS OF WEEK.

In other religious art news from across the USA, and around the world:

1. A&O Invitational: Participate in "First & Last: Religious Risks" in November [Ends Oct. 1, 2013]
2. Hoosier Students: Register a High School student to win a college scholarship. [Ends Oct. 5, 2013]
3. American Clergy: Nominate a strong advocate for artistic freedom. [Ends Oct. 15, 2013]
4. American Museum: Nominate an exhibit that inspired religious dialogue. [Ends Oct. 15, 2013]
5. American Artwork: Nominate most impactful contemporary artwork of 2013. [Ends Oct. 15, 2013]

It's more than Art. It's Religion. We are believers (and skeptics too), united in the search for human meaning through art from the religious imagination. We believe in the artists and craftsman who dare to explore religious themes through their creativity. When you believe, you join other believers. Some of us join the A&O Project as dues-paying members; others support the A&O Prize - Youth Scholarships as donors; most subscribe to this "free" weekly newsletter (or follow on: Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook or Soundcloud). Join us. 

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Arts Prizes: A Revised Kennedy Center Awards Process

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Ashley Southall

ART PRIZES---When Herbie Hancock learned he was one of the five artists to be honored this year by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the surprise, he said, brought him to the verge of tears. “And that doesn’t happen to me very often.” The Kennedy Center has been criticized for using a selection process that is too secretive and has yielded too few Latino recipients. Before Ms. Arroyo and Mr. Santana, the actress Chita Rivera and the opera star Plácido Domingo were the only Latinos among 185 artists who had received the award since it was created in 1978 with a single criterion: excellence. After an internal review, the Kennedy Center expanded its artists’ committee, which picks the nominees, and began accepting recommendations from the public. It also created a committee that includes two previous winners, Ms. Rivera and the cellist Yo-Yo Ma, to narrow the list of nominees for the Kennedy Center board of trustees, which makes the final decisions. [link]

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$20,000 Prize to Improve Race Relations in Indianapolis

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

INDIANA---During a year of risk-taking philanthropic ideas in Indianapolis, the Spirit & Place Festival has now announced a $20,000 award for a daring idea that reshapes notions of race in Central Indiana, and the public will get to vote for the best ideas. The innovation began this Winter with the power2give from the Arts Council of Indianapolis, and was followed this Summer by the 5x5 program of the CICF. Individuals and organizations from any sector and discipline—artists and cultural organizations, faith leaders and congregations, scholars and educational organizations, social entrepreneurs and civic organizations—are invited to submit original projects by October 1. Details and submission info at www.spiritandplace.org.

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