CAA News Today

American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works

On September 21, the 2010 Award for Outstanding Commitment to the Preservation and Care of Collections was presented to the Office of the Architect of the Capitol by Pamela Hatchfield, vice president of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works board, and Mervin Richard, board chair of Heritage Preservation. More than sixty guests, including Architect of the Capitol staff, Congressional staff, and other distinguished guests, witnessed the award presentation, which took place at the US Capitol Visitors Center.

In accepting the award, Stephen T. Ayers, current architect of the Capitol, recognized the essential work of his staff and the invaluable support of the Congress. He closed his remarks by stating that “Every brick, every floor tile, every element of the US Capitol is saturated with over two hundred years of our nation’s art and history. As stewards of this remarkable facility, we will continue to protect and preserve so that we may, like our ancestors before us, pass this cultural legacy onto our children and their children for generations to come.” Following the presentation, Barbara Wolanin, curator of the Capitol, led a special tour that highlighted current and recent projects.

American Society of Hispanic Art Historical Studies

The American Society of Hispanic Art Historical Studies (ASHAHS) invites nominations for its annual Eleanor Tufts Award for a distinguished book in English on the history of art and architecture in Iberia. ASHAHS established the award in 1992 to honor Professor Tufts’ contributions to the study of Spanish art history. A PDF of the submission guidelines is available on the website. Deadline: December 15, 2010.

ASHAHS also invites its student members to apply for the Photographs Grant for those preparing an MA thesis or a doctoral dissertation on topics in the history of Spanish or Portuguese art and architecture, according to the procedure listed in the Fall 2010 newsletter.

Arts Council of the African Studies Association

The Arts Council of the African Studies Association (ACASA) seeks nominations and self-nominations for its board of directors. People interested in serving must be current ACASA members and should contact Jean Borgatti or Karen Milbourne for more information.

The fifteenth ACASA triennial symposium on African art, entitled “Africa and Its Diasporas in the Market Place: Cultural Resources and the Global Economy,” will be held at the University of California, Los Angeles, from March 23 to 26, 2011. The core theme will examine the current state of Africa’s cultural resources and the influence—for good or ill—of market forces both inside and outside the continent. For more information on submitting a paper or proposal, please visit the ACASA website.

Association for Textual Scholarship in Art History

The Association for Textual Scholarship in Art History (ATSAH) has announced a call for papers for a conference on “Artistic Manifestations of Architecture,” to be held on December 11, 2010, at the Whistler House Museum of Art in Lowell, Massachusetts. For further information, please contact Liana Cheney.

Foundations in Art: Theory and Education

Foundations in Art: Theory and Education (FATE) and the Mid-America College Art Association, another CAA affiliated society, will present a joint conference, called ON STREAM, at the Ball Park Hilton in St. Louis, Missouri. Taking place March 30–April 2, 2011, the conference will explore how artists and teachers develop and foster creativity in the second decade of the third millennium. For more details, visit the FATE website or contact Jeff Boshart, conference coordinator.

Historians of British Art

The Historians of British Art (HBA) Travel Award is designated for an HBA graduate-student member who will present a paper on British visual culture at an academic conference in 2011. To be announced in December 2010, the $200 award is intended to offset travel costs during the next calendar year. To apply, please send a letter of request, a copy of the acceptance letter from the conference session’s organizer, an abstract of your paper, a budget of estimated expenses (noting what items may be covered by other resources), and a CV to Pamela Fletcher, HBA prize committee chair. Deadline: December 1, 2010.

HBA also invites applications for its 2011 publication grant, which awards up to $500 to offset the publication costs of, or to support additional research for, a journal article or book manuscript in the field of British visual culture that has been accepted by a publisher. Applicants must be current HBA members. To apply, send a five-hundred-word project description, the name of the journal or press, a projected publication date, a budget, and a CV to Renate Dohmen, HBA prize committee chair. Deadline: January 31, 2011.

National Council of Arts Administrators

The annual conference of the National Council of Arts Administrators (NCAA) will be held November 17–20, 2010. Hosted by the University of Texas at Austin, the conference will focus on “Passages, Portals, and Potholes: How to Maintain Excellence with Diminishing Resources.” Every year the NCAA conference offers great venues, terrific opportunities for networking and dialogue, and new directions for creative leadership, education, and practice. Considering limp economic progress and the looming “cliff” that is the end of stimulus funding, this year’s conference should prove useful to all aspiring and current arts administrators. For more information, please write to Carolyn Henne.

Private Art Dealers Association

The Private Art Dealers Association (PADA) has awarded the seventeenth annual PADA Award to the Hispanic Society of America, located in New York. The award was presented at the annual PADA dinner on November 8, 2010. Master Drawings Association received the award in 2009, and the Frick Art Reference Library was recognized in 2008.

Radical Art Caucus

The Radical Art Caucus (RAC) is gearing up to celebrate its tenth birthday at the upcoming CAA Annual Conference in New York. Benj Gerdes and Nate Harrison are cochairing the 2½-hour session, “Video Art as Mass Medium,” and Travis Nygard is organizing the 1½-hour panel, “Environmental Sustainability in Art History, Theory, and Practice.” Plan now to join us for a birthday toast on Friday, February 11, 5:30–7:00 PM; see the Conference Program for the exact location in the Hilton New York. Find RAC on Facebook or contact Joanna Gardner-Huggett, RAC secretary, if you have additional questions or news to share.

Society for Photographic Education

The Society for Photographic Education (SPE) forty-eighth national conference, called “Science, Poetry, and the Photographic Image,” will examine the confluence of the ideologies of scientists and poets in the context of photography. To be held March 10–13, 2011, at the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel in Georgia, the conference will feature presentations from artists, educators, historians, and curators, as well as one-on-one portfolio critiques and informal portfolio sharing, a print raffle and silent auction, and film screenings, exhibitions, tours, and receptions. Speakers include Abelardo Morell, Catherine Wagner, Carolyn Guertin, and Justine Cooper. Student volunteers receive discounted admission.

Southeastern College Arts Conference

The Southeastern College Arts Conference (SECAC) will hold its sixty-seventh annual meeting November 9–12, 2011, hosted by the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Georgia. The conference headquarters will be the DeSoto Hilton Hotel, located in the heart of historic Savannah. Featuring extensive panels and sessions for the exchange of ideas and concerns relevant to the practice and study of art, the conference will include the annual awards luncheon and the fourteenth annual members’ exhibition, as well as offer a rich array of tours, workshops, and evening events. Dan Cameron, founding director of Prospect New Orleans, will present a plenary address and jury the SECAC members’ exhibition, to be held at one of SCAD’s premier venues. The call for sessions and panels deadline is January 1, 2011. For more information, contact secac@secollegeart.org or secac2011@scad.edu. All are welcome to SECAC membership.

Women’s Caucus for Art

The Women’s Caucus for Art (WCA) has announced the 2011 recipients of its Lifetime Achievement Awards: Beverly Buchanan, Diane Burko, Ofelia Garcia, Joan Marter, Carolee Schneemann, and Sylvia Sleigh. In addition, Maria Torres has been named recipient of the 2011 President’s Art and Activism Award. The awards ceremony will be held on Saturday, February 12, 2011, during the annual WCA and CAA conferences in New York. Free and open to the public, the ceremony will take place from 6:00 to 7:30 PM in the Beekman/Sutton rooms at the Hilton New York, followed by a ticketed gala from 8:00 to 10:00 PM at the nearby American Folk Art Museum. Called LIVE SPACE, the gala will include a walk-around gourmet dinner with three food stations and an open bar, as well as the opportunity to meet the award recipients, network with attendees, and tour the museum. Ticket prices for LIVE SPACE are $75 for WCA members and $135 for nonmembers (Prices will increase after January 12). CAA members receive a special price of $120. All tickets include reserved seating at the awards presentation. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit the WCA website.