Blogging for DoNArTNeWs and Side Arts is one of those opportunities people talk about when they say, “Do what you love,” DoN loves writing about Philadelphia art, artists, photographers, designers, sculptors and cultural leaders of all stripes. Helping the creative community get publicity is self serving and generative simultaneously resulting in the opportunity to publish this book. Thank you to the Philadelphia art community for accepting DoNArTNeWs and DoN Brewer on Side Arts as a reliable art review resource . Thank you to Philly Side Arts for helping DoN think bigger. Thank you to Lilliana S. Didovic for trusting me with Her Philadelphia Tales, The Art of Lilliana S. Didovic (Volume 1).
DoNArTNeWs finally appears on page one in Google for the search term “Philadelphia art blogs“, thank you very much! DoN has written more than four hundred reviews, interviews and promotions about the Philadelphia regional art scene for DoNArTNeWs. The most frequently accessed pages include the term “Philadelphia art” in the web site statistics, “art” is the number one search term. Philadelphia art is a search term that thousands of people are investigating because the Philly art scene is, as Mayor Michael Nutter stated at the West Collects press conference, “Strong!” Great art has become synonymous with Philadelphia because of the high end cultural institutions like PMA and the innovative neighborhood artist enclaves, clubs, alliances and collectives that pervade the city and the region, creating an amorphous idea of what is Philadelphia art? Is it the great art speak that PAFA teaches it’s students? Is it the gritty allure of Fishtown, Northern Liberties or Germantown and the satisfaction of getting in early on something bohemian, eclectic, outrageous or controversial? Is Philadelphia really the sixth borough of NYC?
Art is strong and vibrant in Philadelphia with wonderful resources but DoN has heard institutional leaders say the majority of public dollars get directed to the top tier while smaller groups compete for shrinking grant money and must endure its grueling paperwork. Rachel Zimmerman of InLiquid, one of the oldest artist profile websites of its kind in Philadelphia, told DoN this past Summer that artists have three jobs: making art, selling art and the job to pay for buying art materials. Artist Gregory Prestegord told DoN there are more like seven jobs to get to what he calls “a state of meditation“, the time he actually gets to spend making art, a broad circle of activities, many unrelated to art production, must happen to get to the moment of meditation when art appears out of seemingly nowhere. Art and the creative economy is enormous in Philadelphia, the competition for money is daunting, yet artists keep pushing against the obstacles and work hard to be known as a Philadelphia Artist, the second most popular search term for DoNArTNeWs‘ Philadelphia art blog.
Search Philadelphia art, who knows what you might discover?
Download the West Collects Smart Phone App, available on iTunes. DoN Brewer is grateful for the opportunity to present his photography for consideration for the prestigious and unique art collection, please vote for DoN and all your Philly favorite artists. DoNArTNeWs and Philly.SideArts were first to report the announcement of a $100K award set aside for purchase of artwork by Philadelphia artists - we literally had Mayor Nutter’s speech on YouTube within hours. DoN highly recommends Philadelphia artists take the time to enter their artwork at the West Collection website, it’s free and easy and they offer great tech support.
Philadelphia Open Studio Tours is the best value in artist public relations available to artists looking to promote their public image in the Philadelphia region.In it’s twelfth year, the city wide art event has artists of all stripes opening their studios to the public – no kidding, a public art event of regional scope with many of the town’s top artists welcoming visitors into their think tanks.The event is imbued with freedom, sharing, transparency, creativity and cooperation along with healthy American spirited competition.The open-ness of Philadelphia Open Studio Tours is the coolest part; visitors experience environments that normally are private spaces where artists create and folks are not just allowed but encouraged to go behind the scenes. DoN’s claim that POST is the best value from a PR perspective is based on a cost/benefit analysis and target audience response.
POST offered a substantial early entry discount for artists, providing entrants with an artist profile web page with links on their comprehensive web site, listing in the information packed tour book with maps of every corner of the city inhabited by artists, a city and region wide advertising campaign, with banners, posters and art cards strategically supplied to almost 100 locations likely to attract interest to the appropriate demographic as well as special events, venues and workshops for artists whose studio is far off the beaten path.POST’s goal was to get the right materials into the hands of art tourists likely to use them in a real way.Every visitor to Haus of DoN held a curled back copy of the glossy catalog with their itinerary planned out to cover the neighborhood they had chosen to explore.Each participating artist is provided with posters, art cards, catalogs and red balloons to promote their studio; the red balloons are a simple, effective signal to art crawlers that they’re heading in the right direction.
DoN’s decision to pay the $45 entry fee back in early Spring brought many dedicated friends and art enthusiasts to the Haus of DoN, South of South Street, a mostly residential area not near many commercial businesses. The event pushed DoN to re-organize and display the wide array of interests he explores as part of his multimedia empire.DoN had to spend no other money to promote the event instead advertising through FaceBook and DoNArTNeWs; no new art card this year, even though post cards are cheap to print and fun to design, mailing is costly and impact difficult to track.DoN has had art cards returned by the Post Office months after the event was over.DoN promoted the annual art crawl event on DoNBrewerMultimedia home page, on DoNBrewerMultimedia YouTube channel,@DoNNieBeat58 on Twitter and Philly.SideArts.com, all free media outlets that directly targeted people interested in arts and culture.
Good advise from Ann Koivunen, director of exhibitions for POST, led DoN to think about what he wanted to present to the public and ponder his goals for the event; DoN decided to put on an art show.Simply displaying photos, graphics, paintings and drawings in a beautiful, clean, pure way opened an opportunity to engage with visitors about what DoN does, his interests and connections and get his business card into the hands of each visitor.The result is DoN met and interacted with more than fifty different citizens interested in the arts, including gallery owners, art curators, educators, fellow photographers, new neighbors, old friends and colleagues, he gathered contact information, intercepted feedback on what people like about his art and experienced an authentic feeling of community for well less than a dollar per head including Candy Corn and SweetzelsGinger Snaps.
Super Nova, Photoshop collage, digital print, DoN Brewer, 2011
Decorating the Haus of DoN has been very gratifying, reinforcing the DoN brand with his abstract landscape photographs, including the “light being” series, original graphic prints and oil paintings, setting tableau’s and displays throughout the studio and is ready for visitors.DoN’s body of work has grown substantially, DoN’s first creative job was Display Manager for a department store retail chain in the 1970’s, tapping into those skills has been nostalgic and liberating, marketing DoN’s product line like he did in the garden department at J.M. Fields.Usually DoN’s major art works are packed and ready to show when opportunities arise and the Haus is decorated with the works of DuSold, DuPree, Stango and outsider artist Danny Gayder, the work of Masters influencing the path of DoN’s interests and goals.The DoN collection would not exist if not for the influences of artist friends and mentors as well as collectors, helping refine DoN’s eye and continue art production with confidence.After weeks of preparation DoN is looking forward optimistically for a delightful weekend of seeing old and new friends and sharing his art.
The Haus of DoN is dedicated to all the artists participating in Philadelphia Open Studio Tours 2011; DoN understands the aches and pains of finishing projects, solving problems and decision-making involved in making an art work space inviting to visitors.Thank you to the Center for Emerging Visual Artists for undertaking the task of organizing the citywide art event that is unique to Philadelphia.Thank you to all the readers of DoNArTNeWs and Philly.SideArts; DoN is grateful to all the artists who share their skills, talents and stories for the art enthusiasts not just in Philly but around the world who follow DoN’s incursions into the realms of the art world throughout the city.This weekend is also the opening of a month long exhibition by the Photographic Society of Philadelphia, the oldest photography society in America, at the Plastic Club with opening receptions each Sunday afternoon 2:00 - 5:00 PM; DoN has two favorite photographs included in the prestigious show of fine art photography.
A special shout-out to DoN’s nephew Bud Irwin serving in the Army in Afghanistan; knowing Buddy’s marching across arid desert mountains loaded with gear makes DoN stronger and braver to make new work, produce more videos, write more reviews, do more crunches at the gym and plan challenging new projects for the future.Philadelphia Open Studio Tours 2011 is an opportunity to be optimistic, to brush off the haters, ignore the art bullies, defy the critics, escape the economic reality and be free to be an artist living, working and producing art in America. The Haus of DoN, 2028 Pemberton Street, welcomes you.
Ann Koivunen is the Director of Studio Tours and Exhibitions for Philadelphia Open Studio Tours, one of the top art events of its kind in the USA. Ann offers great advice on what to do and what not to do to have a successful, fun event. The clip is nine minutes, so get a cup of coffee and sit a spell, Ann has a wonderful perspective on POST. DoNBrewerMultimedia is participating in POST 2011, October 1 & 2, 12 - 6:00PM, check the awesome on-line resources for information on neighborhoods and events at the POST website.
Karen Schechter is a relatively new member of the Photographic Society of Philadelphia but she is enjoying the society debut show at their new permanent showplace, Café Twelve, 212 S 12th St, Philadelphia19107, in the heart of the Philly’s famous Gayborhood, with great long walls to show art and an inviting casual vibe.DoN asked Karen how she felt about having a PSoP show? “It’s very nice because it’s the first one I’ve had and I have another one coming up that I’m hanging next week.One falling on the heels of the other is awesome.”DoN commented on the style of the collection of photographs in the lounge area of the café, “I work primarily in black and white but do some color, the first half of this show, which isn’t up anymore was more color pieces.I go from muted color to extremely vibrant.” Karen showed DoN a lovely close-up photograph of a hydrangea flower with its lurid red silkiness and delicate stamen.
Photographic Society of Philadelphia @ Cafe Twelve featuring Karen Schlechter
“I used to do everything on film and sadly had to get rid of my dark room a couple years ago as I finally made the complete switch-over to digital; it’s sad but it’s convenient.I can go though things a lot quicker, I can process things a lot quicker.”Schlechter is working with Photoshop, the dark room experience gave her a grounded background for using the digital tools.The collection of gear went to a friend’s daughter studying fine art photography.“It’s so nice to be able to sit in a coffee shop and go through my photos and go from there.”
Karen Schlechter got involved with PSoP because she was previously a member of the Delaware County Camera Club, which had a different focus towards improvement of skills via competition as to the education bent of the Philly Society.“I was missing the camaraderie and exchanging ideas.And it was a wonderful gift from my boyfriend.”
Photographic Society of Philadelphia @ Cafe Twelve featuring Karen Schlechter
The Photographic Society of Philadelphia meets Second Tuesdays at Café Twelve; a wide array of photographs by Philadelphia fine art photographers and a solo show by featured photographer Karen Schlechteris on exhibit with new work being installed every other month. The evening DoN met Karen was rainy and miserable but sipping coffee and talking about photography with friends is worth wet feet.
Author and art-marketing consultant Alyson B. Stanfield, of ArtBizCoach.com, focuses on sharing the artwork directly with potential buyers through electronic and traditional communication outlets—in a manner that is comfortable, not artificial. Artists match Internet marketing strategies with sincere personal skills to take charge of their art careers.
The book includes online worksheets and downloads.
