JUSTSEEDS ARTIST UPDATE 07.05

Hi Everyone-
This is only the second post to this list, so I'll go over the basics again: My name's Josh MacPhee and I run justseeds.org, a radical art distro on the web. You're getting this email because our paths have crossed along the way somewhere, and it was lodged in my head that you're an artist of some sort. I've started this list to help spread the word on radical art opportunities, so if you're interested in getting info about:
-radical art calls/events/activities
-street art/graffiti projects
-political art publications and shows

then stick around. If I've got you on here by accident, there's info at the bottom of this email so you can remove yourself from the list. I'm trying to help, not spam anyone, so if you're not interested, please just take yourself off the list. I can't imagine sending out more than 1 or 2 emails a month, so this won't be heavy traffic.


This month I have a bunch of exciting news, projects and calls to share:
(1) Shopdropping Call
(2) Chicago AREA Call
(3) Yo! What Happened to Peace? Show
(4) Tour dates for Belltown Paradise/Making Their Own Plans
(5) Dead Wrong: International Posters Against the Death Penalty
(6) Seize the Week
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(1) My friend Ryan and Relapsed.net sent this call over, seems like a great project, similar to a great show that was held at POND Gallery in SF a couple months back:

SHOPDROPPING OPEN CALL:

Deadline: November 1, 2005
Shopdropping is an ongoing project in which I alter the packaging of canned goods and then "shopdrop" the items back onto grocery store shelves.

Shopdropping strives to take back a share of the visual space we encounter on a daily basis. Similar to the way street art stakes a claim to public space for self expression, Shopdropping subverts commercial space and activities for artistic use.

I am currently organizing an open call to create a large collaborative Shopdropping installation.

Please submit all types of works on paper: photography, drawing, painting, printmaking, computer printouts, etc.etc. but please no cardboard, heavyweight paper, or other “thick” surfaces that won’t adhere easily to the cans.

All submitted materials should be 4 inches by 9.5 inches. Please send 2 copies of each submission so that one set can be “shopdropped” into grocery stores and another set can be displayed as a group project in a gallery in NYC.

Also, please include $1 US per submission to help cover the cost of buying canned goods. (I’m not making any money off of this but if I get 100 submissions that’s 200 cans of beans.)

Please include your name, or alias with your submission. Please include your email address with your package so that I can confirm that I received your work, and keep you updated on how the project is going.

If you have any questions please let me know at ryan [at] relapsed.net

I look forward to hearing from you!

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(2) For those in the Chicago area or have lived here:

Dear Chicago Seasoned Activists,

::1.Request for Historical Chicago Activist Ephemera/Documentation::

AREA is a publication dedicated to surveying the intersection of art, education and activism in Chicago. This also means that we want to look at historical examples of this work occuring in Chicago's past, and put it into direct conversation with work being done today. We are committed to being a force of sub-cultural memmory, and looking back while we create a shared space in this publication that attempts to look forward.

Ideally, every issue of AREA will incorporate reproductions of relevant historical materials in "sidebars" that accompany the texts that have been produced for that issue. (For example: an article about an urban agriculture program on the west side today, might feature a timeline or photos from agricultural collectives working in Chicago in the 1950-90 time period).

If you, or any of your past collaborators, cohorts or comrades have archived or saved material (flyers, photos, notes, sketches, video) from past events/actions that could be related to the following subjects- we would love to include it in our upcoming online/printed publication being released Labor Day 2005. Please look through those old boxes and files and share the wealth with AREA!


::2. TOPICS::

DO YOU KNOW ABOUT HISTORICAL CHICAGO ACTIVITIES RELATED TO:
-Privitization of public housing, schools, lake michigan, and other services
-Worker run factories/industry
-CTA (Fare hikes, service cuts) related struggles
-Corporate Graffiti
-urban agricultural barter networks
-Carlos Cortez, IWW in Chicago
-Non Institutional discussion/lecture groups (ie. College of complexes, public square, etc)
-Relationship between Little Village/North Lawndale
-Creating a directory of community health resouces
-Biodiesel Car Conversion


::3. How to Send AREA your material::
Scan the material at a high resolution yourself and email us: areachicago [at] gmail.com
or loan us your material and we will take special care of it, as we
scan it for publication.

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(3) The Yo! What Happened to Peace! show is finally coming to Chicago (just as I'm leaving of course, but's the way it goes...). If you're not hip to this show, it's great, it's got 100's of artists, and has been traveling far and wide around the world:

Calling anti-war poster artists!
"Yo! What Happened to Peace?", an exhibition of contemporary pro-peace, anti-war & anti-occupation posters, is seeking to add new works for its upcoming shows in Chicago and beyond. Yo! has exhibited across the US and internationally and has been steadily growing in size and impact as it continues. The Chicago show will open August 19th at Binary Mine gallery- the deadline for submission (hard copy in curator's hands) for that show is Wednesday August 10. Future dates will be announced on yowhathappenedtopeace.org as they are confirmed.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSIONS:
1. Posters must be handcraft printed, meaning almost any printing technology besides commercial offset or digital printing. We're looking for silkscreen, stencil, letterpress, block print, lithograph, etc. Contact us if you have questions.
2. Posters must fit the theme of peace and anti-war.
3. All sizes welcome, unframed. If you want a size suggestion, 18" x 24" works really well.
4. Best to send jpegs of submissions before mailing hard copies.
5. Submissions will not be returned, and if accepted, one copy will become part of the permanent traveling Yo! collection.
6. Sales arrangements for short editions must be made in advance directly with John Carr, show curator (info [at] 33graphic.com).
7. Artists are responsible for shipping posters to Yo!.
SHIPPING ADDRESS AND CONTACT INFO:
Hard Pressed Studios
Attn: John Carr / Yo!
1308 Factory Place
Studio #111
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Email: john [at] hardpressedstudios.com

For more info: yowhathappenedtopeace.org

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(4) I'm a little late on the jump for this one, but my friends Ava and Brett are on tour supporting their latest, greatest book project, and if you're on the east coast or in the midwest, definitely check them out:

Belltown Paradise/Making Their Own Plans
Book release and presentation
This double-book tells inspiring stories through the eyes of artists, environmental visionaries, and local citizens who have reshaped their neighborhoods in Seattle, Chicago, Portland, Hamburg, and Barcelona. Each section highlights examples of successful community initiatives: neighborhood renovation, urban farming and gardening, community resource centers, open space reclamation, environmental planning, and community housing. Co-compilers and editors Brett Bloom and Ava Bromberg will present their double-book, share stories, and answer questions.

Sunday, July 17
The Brian MacKenzie Infoshop
3 - 5 PM
1426 9th St. NW
Washington, DC / 20001
202-986-0681
www.dcinfoshop.org

Monday, July 18
Red Emma's
7 PM
800 St. Paul St.
Baltimore, MD / 21202
410-230-0450
www.redemmas.org

Tuesday July 19th
Tower Gallery
8 PM
969 N. 2nd Street
Philadelphia PA / 19123
Call BASEKAMP for details:
(215) 206-8176 / (215) 592-7288
www.basekamp.com

Wednesday, July 20
A-Space
7:30 PM
4722 Baltimore Avenue
Philadelphia, PA / 19143
215-727-0882
riseup.net/~clarissa/whatisaspace.html

Thursday, July 21
Storefront for Art & Architecture
Starts at 7:30 PM (short talk due to lack of air conditioning)
Reception to follow @ Storefront until 9pm
97 Kenmare Street
New York, NY / 10012
212-431-5795
www.storefrontnews.org
Sponsored by CUP: www.anothercupdevelopment.org

Saturday, July 23
A garden in the South Bronx
Details will be posted on our web site.
www.inthefield.info/book_tour.html

Monday, July 25
16 Beaver Group
7:30 PM
16 Beaver Street
5th Floor
New York, NY 10004
212-480-2099
www.16beavergroup.org

Tuesday, July 26
The Steel Yard
8 PM
27 Sims Ave.
Providence, RI / 02909
401-273-7101
www.thesteelyard.org

Wednesday, July 27
Contemporary Artists' Center
7 PM
189 Beaver St.
North Adams MA 01247
413-663-9555
www.thecac.org

Friday, July 29
Victory Cafe
7:30 PM
581 Markham Street (South of Bloor)
Sponsored by: Toronto Public Space Committee
Dave Meslin, Coordinator
contact@publicspace.ca
www.publicspace.ca

Saturday, July 30
No borders organizing space
4 PM
3535 Cass Ave. (1 blck. E of Woodward, 2nd building N. of MLK Blvd.)
Detroit

About the book:
This double-book details inspiring examples of artists, environmental visionaries, and concerned citizens who have had a direct impact in shaping their urban environments. The groups were invited to write their own accounts of their histories, failures, and triumphs while working to redesign neighborhoods in creative and exciting ways.

Belltown Paradise—is a concentrated study of urban renovation activities around the corner of Elliot and Vine Streets in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle. The first three chapters present the work of community activists who successfully preserved open land in one of Seattle’s most densely packed neighborhoods to create the Belltown P Patch, a community garden, and transform three adjacent early 20th century workers’ cottages for writer’s residencies and a community center all making up the Cottage Park. One chapter highlights Growing Vine Street, an initiative to slowly convert Vine Street, which runs along one side of the garden, into a “green” street that cleans rainwater runoff from adjacent high-rise condo buildings while providing pedestrian-friendly space for urban dwellers. The fourth chapter is the first comprehensive chronicle of artist Buster Simpson’s 30 years of public work in Belltown. Buster’s work and dedication have had an important impact on the aesthetics and conceptualization of environmental planning in the Belltown neighborhood.

Making Their Own Plans—shares the histories and tactics of four independent groups from four distinct urban centers: Portland, Oregon; Chicago, Illinois; Hamburg, Germany; and Barcelona, Spain. City Repair (Portland) began a number of neighborhood initiatives aimed at promoting a sense of community; their primary initiative creates public squares in and around the middle of the traffic intersections, resulting in what they call “intersection repair.” The Resource Center (Chicago) had been working since the late 60s to find creative solutions to environmental and social problems in the city, primarily through reuse and recycling initiatives. A recent plan, detailed in their chapter, works to convert 6000 acres of vacant city land into farms that simultaneously clean the air, produce local organic produce, employ homeless persons, and beautify the city. Park Fiction (Hamburg), starting in 1995, organized exhibitions, design workshops, protests, and spectacles in their successful fight to preserve an open waterfront space and create a community-designed park on the Elbe River. The inhabitants of Can Masdeu (Barcelona) squatted then rehabilitated an old hospital and the surrounding grounds into space for living, gardening, neighborhood events, workshops and classes. Their chapter details their struggles with local authorities and the challenges of radical communal living.

View the book at: www.inthefield.info/doublebook.html

About In the Field:
In the Field (Brett Bloom and Ava Bromberg) explores complex social constellations around urban land use issues. We share ideas and take action inhabiting, transforming, and opening up spaces to new possibilities for creatively generated public space and autonomously produced neighborhood planning. Activities include public projects and written Field Guides, examples are available on the web site: www.inthefield.info
contact: info [at] inthefield.info

For up to date tour information call 773.807.1159.

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(5) I'm excited that one of my stencil prints is included in the latest Center for the Study of Political Graphics show, DEAD WRONG: International Posters Against the Death Penalty. If you are in the LA area, please go to the opening and tell me how it is!:

DEAD WRONG:
International Posters Against the Death Penalty

July 30 - August 27, 2005

Opening Reception:
July 30, 6 - 9pm
Artist talk by Malaquias Montoya

Track 16 Gallery
Bergamot Station
2525 Michigan Ave. - Bldg. C
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Gallery Hours: Tues. - Sat. 11 - 6 pm

Dead Wrong will illustrate numerous death-penalty related issues, including the impact of racism, poverty and unpopular political beliefs on sentencing. Many posters were produced while the prisoners were on trial or in jail, and thus convey the urgency of the issue. Some are commemoratives, marking the deaths of prisoners later deemed innocent or those whose guilt is still debated, including the Haymarket Martyrs, Sacco and Vanzetti, and Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Some are the focus of international campaigns, such as Mumia Abu Jamal, while others are unknown to most of us. The majority of the posters simply and eloquently focus on Capital Punishment as uncivilized, inhumane, and unjust.

These posters remind the viewer of histories too often hidden and warn that the judicial system frequently errs. State sanctioned murder is still murder. Innocents are still condemned to die, and even one executed innocent is too many.

Showing in conjunction with PreMeditated: Meditations on Capital Punishment Recent Works by Malaquías Montoya

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(6) If you're anywhere in the Midwest from August 10-16th, you should be in Ann Arbor, MI! My friends Josh Redd and the rest of the Bad Ideas crew are putting on the fourth annual SEIZE THE WEEK (formerly punk week). The highlight is the amazing shopping cart races, don't miss them!!:

here's our basic schedule so far, it's subject to change at any time if we flake out or come up with any better ideas. oh, and if you want better updates as we figuer everything out write me back and i'll e-mail you more info.

wednesday aug. 10th- staring off with our potluck picknick to give out schedules and say hi to everyone. it will be at 2:00 pm within walking distance of down town but we're not sure where yet.
8:00 there will be a show, for free or for a doller if we still need any money. bands are yet to be found

Thursday aug 11th- 2:00pm our traveling Generator show were we put equipment in the back of a truck and have five bands play in five difernt locations around town. the Pussy Pirates are the only band shedualed for this so far.
that night there is suposed to be some kind of Zombie dress up and storm the streets thing going on. i'm not sure whats going on but it should be fun if it happens.

Friday aug. 12th- daytime will be a "totally totally Kickball" turnament
at midnight will be a generator show under the bridge with "Random axe of Terror" and one other band.

Saturday aug 13th - all day, will be the fifth "Buryl Gril Mud Wesaling" tournament. There is useualy a show or at leasta bon fire and alot of gutars after everyone is done fighting each other.

Sunday aug 14th- day time we've been thinking about haveing a bike rally or race, or something to do with bikes but that may not happen.
at dark (around 10;00 ) we will be showing punk/indy made movies. my film "Dummer" should be done by then and we will probably have fotage of the last years shopping cart race. IF YOU HAVE MADE A MOVIE? SHORT FILM OR KNOW SOMEONE WHO HAS PLEASE LET US KNOW SO WE CAN SHOW IT THAT NIGHT.

MOnday aug.15th- monday will be spent at Whealer park. we will have some carnival type games and a three on three ican'tplay basketball turnament. also we will hopefull have people bringing crafts, zines, records, patches or anything else to traid and buy from each othe. and an open "stage" fror acustic preformers to play. this is the day that we need the most help if you have stuff to sell/traid you should bring it, if you play music come play it will be open for anyone who shows up. the idea right now is that anyone who wants to play can play as many ten minet sets as they want. also if anyone wants to set up a game to play, they should. besides Basket ball we're planing on "human Bowling" and "lawn darts for Beer" if all works out it should be fun. also bring food to share if you can.
that night will be a free show at the Nutral Zone with "7 songs" and more bands TBA.

Tuesday aug 16th- mostly everyone spends the day geting their shopping cart ready for the race that night. so we don't plan any events for the day.
BUt, at 11:00 pm meet at the Fleetwood with your shopping cart and your partner and get ready for the race down main street at midnight. awards will be givein for first plase in both modified and un-modified carts, as well as best cart and best costumes.
there may bebe a party or an after show or something.

thats it. so far. there may also be a show on the 17th as a post Seize The Week show.

we also might have a night were we will be wheat pasting posters up, but we need to either make the posteres that week or before hand. if anyone wants to help with that let me know. also if there is an event you'd like to put on, pick and open slot and let us know.
thanks, and hope to see you there. josh redd
reddjosh [at] hotmail. com