RAM Talks Art: Calling all artists! Tuesdays @ RAM begin Aug. 19

By Elizabeth Dailing, Education Director, Rockford Art Museum         

As a regional art museum, we try to serve a number of audiences. From students to teachers, to community members and tourists. Now, it's time to give our artists some special attention.

The “2008 Rockford Midwestern” features artwork by 90 regional artists. We provide opportunities to show artwork in the form of exhibitions, but also see a need to provide educational opportunities to our art community.

After a number of conversations with local artists about how things were going, a couple of issues began to present themselves.

One: Artists who have been cataloging their work for years in slide format are now faced with a challenge—conversion to digital images. Turning 50 carousels of slides into one DVD of images seems like a daunting task, especially when the resolution is going to be affected, the integrity of the image is in jeopardy and so much more! For some artists, these slides are the only proof of the work once it has been sold.

Two: The Internet. It seems that more and more artists are asked immediately for their Web site address, and the expectation of an online gallery of work follows. This presents a problem to artists who have been too intimidated to enter the online world. And, it means maintenance, images and content. Ugh.

In response to these artist hindrances, we have come up with a solution: Tuesdays @ RAM: Artist Workshop Series.

In honor of the “2008 Rockford Midwestern,” we wanted to offer some assistance to local artists without asking them for even a dime. (If they are always asked to do work for free, we thought we'd reverse roles and do our work for free.) So, in this case, for nothing, you get something.

Tuesday, Aug. 19, 6-7 p.m., at RAM—The first session we are offering is called “Preservation is Paramount!” To ensure you have cataloged your work to be useful in the future, attend this lecture to learn from an expert how to convert, save and archive your images of work. The event is FREE.

Tuesday, Sept. 23, 6-7 p.m., at RAM—Attend this free workshop to get information about starting your own Web site, necessary software, design and content tips. It's a great place for information if you are ready to take those first steps to bring your artwork into the World Wide Web. The event is FREE.

So, now comes my request. Tell artists you know. Tell art students you know. Tell art teachers you know. Come yourself, if you are interested. And remember, these workshops are free.

If you have questions, please call (815) 972-2880 or e-mail me (address below). If you have a group you want to bring, let us know. And we hope to see you Tuesdays @ RAM.

Contact Rockford Art Museum Education Director Elizabeth Dailing at edailing@rockfordartmuseum.org.

from the Aug. 13-19, 2008, issue

 

< previous article

> next article

 

home | visit | exhibition | collection | education | support | museum store | calendar & events | contact