WESTAF Update Notes #76 | June 2013
From Anthony Radich, Executive Director
This is the 76th in a continuing series of updates about the work of WESTAF
CaFÉ™ Launches More User-Requested Enhancements
WESTAF’s CaFÉ system recently released a new “Letters of Reference” feature, which allows organizations to accept formal letters of reference and letters of recommendation as part of their application requirements. With this new capability, CaFÉ can now be used for graduate school portfolio admissions, grant, fellowship, and scholarship awards–as well as any other application process in which formal letters of reference may be required. For more information about this new feature, contact Raquel Vasquez.
ZAPP® Announces 2013 Arts Festival Conference Details
The fifth annual Arts Festival Conference, presented by ZAPP, will feature sessions focused on small business and nonprofit marketing, branding, sales, portfolio reviews, and art fair and festival best practices. In addition, a panel of experts will lead the well-regarded annual art fair symposium, a thought-provoking discussion that has become a staple of the annual conference. This year’s symposium will be centered on issues of fair use, imitation vs. inspiration, and copyright law. The conference takes place October 7-8, 2013, in Louisville, Kentucky. For additional information, contact Leah Charney.
Introducing YouJudgeIt™
In response to requests for a very low cost online adjudication system, WESTAF Technology Associate Osvaldo Gama has built such a system, which is now ready for use. This latest WESTAF offering is designed for community groups that wish to organize art competitions on a low budget, art fairs just getting started that do not need the marketing power of the ZAPPlication system, and galleries collecting works from artists for consideration for future use. YouJudgeIt has significant potential for non-arts use and can accommodate any adjudication process using images and text to select. The site will soon be marketed for use in non-arts jurying applications such as car shows, dog shows, antique shows, and fashion shows. For more information, contact Daniel Aid.
Public Art Archive™ Collection Management Working Group Convenes in Pittsburgh
The Archive team gathered 18 public art administrators and consultants from across the country in Pittsburgh, at the Americans for the Arts Annual Convention. The group advised Archive staff on features and services for the public art field that are to be built into the public-art-oriented collections management system now in development. For more information, contact Rachel Cain.
WESTAF Executive Directors Convene in Albuquerque
WESTAF held its twice-annual meeting of the region’s state arts agency executive directors June 10-11 in Albuquerque. The meeting began with a private tour of the National Hispanic Cultural Center conducted by WESTAF Trustee Tey Marianna Nunn, director of the center’s art museum. The museum featured the exhibition “Stitching Resistance: The History of Chilean Arpilleras and Mundos de Mestizaje,” which centered on work related to the period of “the disappeared “ in Chile. Nunn organized the exhibition, a stunning addition to the body of art about this difficult time that remains not fully resolved. In the main session, Diane Grams, professor of sociology at Tulane University, presented a summary of her research on diversity and change in nonprofit arts and the meaning of Mardi Gras Indian parades and participatory parade art in New Orleans. Afterwards, Kris Swedin of Creative Santa Fe and John Grassham of Creative Albuquerque spoke about their work and the challenges they face providing leadership for arts and culture based community and economic development. The directors also discussed ways to use the WESTAF Resolutions Project to best encourage change in their states and heard a report about the results of the Wallace Foundation leadership project managed by Kris Tucker, executive director of Washington’s state arts agency.

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