A CALL for ENTRIES:

The Dutchess County Art Association/​Barrett Art Center is seeking entries for PHOTOWORK’12, the 25th Annual National Juried Photography Exhibition.

Photowork is a premier exhibition of new photographic images. The show is visited by art appreciators from a five-​​county area including parts of Connecticut, New York City, and beyond. As a national show, this exhibition brings together photographers from across the country with artists from, on average, 30 to 40 states represented each year. The spirit of the show is a juxtaposition of traditional styles and cutting edge images and celebrates the photograph both as fine art and as social commentary.  Winners in the past have included traditional 35mm photographs, silver gelatin prints, digital prints and even pinhole camera pictures.

 “This show is a marvelous opportunity for artists to exhibit their work in a beautiful, historic venue, as well as for local residents and tourists to see the best-​​of-​​the-​​best new art from around the country,” said Program Director, Loretta Spence.

Over 1,000 images will be submitted by hundreds of photographers from around the country.  Only the 60 best images, as selected by juror Susan Thompson, Curatorial Assistant at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NYC,  will make it into this show.

Susan Thompson lives in New York and in addition to her work as a Curatorial Research Assistant at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum develops her own independent curatorial projects. She received her Masters degree in Modern Art, Curatorial and Critical Studies from Columbia University and was the recipient of the 2009 – 2010 Hilla Rebay Fellowship from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.

For anyone interested in participating, the prospectus is available online at http://​www​.barrettartcenter​.org/​p​d​f​s​/​P​h​o​t​o​w​o​r​k​_​2​0​1​2​_​p​r​o​s​p​e​c​t​u​s​.​pdf.  For more information, call Loretta Spence, Program Director, at (845) 471‑2550 or e-​​mail: LSpence@​barrettartcenter.​org.

The Barrett Art Center & Thomas Weeks Barrett, Jr.

Seventy-​​five years ago a group of local artists met at the home of regional artist Thomas Weeks Barrett Jr. (1902 – 1947) located at 55 Noxon Street in Poughkeepsie. At that meeting, they voted to form the Dutchess County Art Association to foster and perpetuate an appreciation of the visual arts in Dutchess County. This original mission continues to guide the association today.

The 1830’s Greek Revival home of Thomas Weeks Barrett was donated to the DCAA in 1974 by his  sister, Elizabeth, and converted to an art center (which became known as Barrett House and then Barrett Art Center) and home of the association.

An exhibitor at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in the 1930s, Thomas Weeks Barrett, Jr. (the son of Thomas Barrett, Sr., who was a President of the Poughkeepsie Savings Bank, and Katherine Stoutenburgh Barrett) was an American Regionalist painter and printmaker, and a member of the American Art Congress.  He was the founder and first president of the Dutchess County Art Association, now known as Barrett Art Center. He organized the group’s local exhibitions in shops, hotels and on the Dutchess County Fairgrounds. As such, he was a visionary, one of the first individuals dedicated to making community-​​based art accessible to a general public which did not have the leisure to travel to major museums.  Thomas Weeks Barrett was passionately committed to supporting emerging artists, work that lies at the core of Barrett Art Center’s mission. He was convinced, 77 years ago, that local activities and interest in art warranted permanent galleries, a school of art and a meeting place for artists and art lovers.

DCAC’s BARRETT ART CENTER:

Established in 1934 and home of the Dutchess County Art Association, Barrett Art Center is a nonprofit arts organization. Our three story, three bay brick 1800’s Greek Revival Townhouse, located in the Mid-​​Hudson Valley, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is on a raised basement and features brownstone trim and a third story Eastlake style porch. Barrett Art Center conducts a changing fine art exhibition program devoted to contemporary art as well as exhibitions of historic merit. We present shows by our members, as well as national show juried by curators from major museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim, and MASS MoCA, among others. Our mission is to provide a meeting place for art enthusiasts and artists alike to view, exhibit, discuss, create and learn about art. In addition, we offer educational programs: workshops, seminars, lectures, gallery talks and group tours. The public is invited to visit the Barrett Art Center Galleries, step back in time in our home with its floor to ceiling windows, intricately designed moldings, woodwork and marbled fireplaces at 55 Noxon Street in Poughkeepsie, New York.  Some of Tom Barrett’s art work is on display in the house.

Barrett Art Center is open to the public on Wednesday – Friday, 9am – 5pm, and Saturday, 11 am – 3 pm, or by appointment. Admission is free. Barrett Art Center is located within minutes of other Mid-​​Hudson Valley attractions such as Dia:Beacon, the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College, the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College, Kaatsbaan International Dance Center, and the Roosevelt and Vanderbilt historic sites. For additional information, the public may visit www​.barrettartcenter​.org.

DCAC’s BARRETT CLAY WORKS:

Bringing vibrancy and renewal to a block once forgotten, our beautifully restored three story building at 485 Main Street, Poughkeepsie acts as an anchor and community center.  Street level space is devoted to instruction in working with clay for all ages and is equipped with kilns, wheel throwing equipment, a glaze room and galleries.  The second floor is a community workspace where artists have access to ceramics equipment and can rent private or semiprivate studio space. The top floor has private studios available for artists of all disciplines including painters, sculptors, photographers and computer media enthusiasts.

DCAC’s BARRETT SCHOOL OF ART:

Noted for the “salon” style of instruction, the School of Art emphasizes small class sizes and plenty of individual attention for students of all levels, taught by talented, highly qualified Mid-​​Hudson Valley and tri-​​state area professionals. In addition to large classrooms at both locations, Thomas Barrett’s original studio on the 3rd floor of Barrett House with wonderful natural light, has printmaking facilities and a photographic darkroom. For over twenty years, the DCAA/​Barrett School of Art has been a leader in quality art education in Dutchess County.

BARRETT ART CENTER’S NATIONAL EXHIBITIONS:

Every year, Barrett Art Center presents two to four national exhibitions of work by professional artists, juried by curators from major museums, which are accessible to the local community free of charge. Call (845) 471‑2550 or e-​​mail LSpence@​barrettartcenter.​org for more information.

Photowork

New Directions, featuring contemporary art in all media, which often comments on the popular or consumer culture or on “issues” (e.g., political, economic) of the current day. New Directions ’12 is on view in our galleries through March 9th.

Printwork, features work based on printmaking using a wide range of techniques such as intaglio, lithography, silk screen, drypoint, and aquatint, among others, as well as print/​mixed media works.

Cup Show, focuses on interpretations of a utilitarian object both functional and sculptural that has been part of daily life for centuries. The event celebrates the creativity of contemporary ceramic artists through their interpretations of this simple form.  Entries in the show represent the great diversity of approaches through which ceramic artists work today.  Some employ relatively new techniques for ceramics, such as screen-​​printing and linoleum cuts. Others result from traditional techniques such as soda and wood-​​firing.

To view 2012’s prize winning images, visit www​.barrettartcenter​.org/​e​x​h​i​b​i​t​i​o​n​s​.​h​tml
To view some images from the 2011 Cup Show, visit sites​.google​.com/​s​i​t​e​/​b​c​w​3​r​d​n​a​t​i​o​n​a​l​c​u​p​s​h​o​w​/​p​r​e​v​i​e​w​-​o​f​-​s​how

Featured photograph [top], The Priestess by Sita Mae Edwards, Wyoming, MI (www​.sitamae​.com) — Digital Photography on Aluminum — exhibiting artist, Photowork 2011

DRIVING DIRECTIONS TO BARRETT ART CENTER:
From New York City /​ New York Thruway: Take the NYS Thruway North to Exit 18 (New Paltz). After the toll booth, turn right onto 299 East; continue on 299 for several miles until you come to a “T” in the road. Turn right onto 9W South. Look for signs for the Mid-​​Hudson Bridge (Poughkeepsie). Cross over the bridge and go to the third traffic light. Take a right onto Market Street, follow one block and take the first street on the left, Noxon Street. We are 3/​4 of the way down the street on your left, #55, a three story brick building with a side parking lot.

From Across the Hudson River: Cross the Mid-​​Hudson Bridge and continue straight until your third traffic light. Take a right onto Market Street, follow one block and take the first street on the left, Noxon Street. We are 3/​4 of the way down the street on your left, #55, a three story brick building with a side parking lot From the South: Take Route 9 North to the Academy Street exit. Take a right off ramp and follow Academy Street through three traffic lights. After third light, continue straight for one block and take the first street on the left, Noxon Street. Barrett Art Center is the second house on the right, #55, a three story brick building with a parking lot on the side.