Call for Artists!

La Reunion and The Belmont Hotel present
‘Art With a View’ - La Reunion in the OC

The La Reunion artist selection committee is making a call for art relating to Oak Cliff and specifically La Reunion if possible. All media will be considered, although works wired and ready to hang will be given preference.

Inspiration:
The original La Reunion colony was instrumental in the cultural formation of Dallas and specifically Oak Cliff in the mid-1800’s. The first piano and brewery were here as a direct result of their settlement. Although they failed as a utopian artist colony, they have had a lasting impact on current Dallas through street names, descendants, and artistic sensibilities. Feel free to Google the colony for access to pictures, maps, and other historical information. Be creative!

Important dates:
- Entries due: 5PM on Wednesday, Jan 17. (see below for digital requirements)
- Selected Art Delivered to the Belmont: 2PM on Sunday, Jan 21.
- Reception: 7-10PM on Wednesday, Jan 24.
- Pickup of unsold works: 5PM on Wednesday, March 14.

Art requirements:-
- Submission: a good quality digital photo resized no larger than 1000 pixels in either vertical or horizontal direction emailed to sarah@lareuniontx.org.
- Include your name, title of work, medium, and dimensions in the body of the email.

Other Important information:
- Commission split is 70% to the artist and 30% as a tax deductible donation to La Reunion.
- Show will be promoted through The Belmont Hotel, La Reunion and a press release will be sent to all local media.

Please contact Sarah@LaReunionTX.org for more information!

art con wrap up

The numbers have been punched and the net for La Reunion is somewhere close to $12,000. A nice shot in the arm to start 2007 off with. We have thank you's to so many people for such an amazing event.

bands:
John Holiday
The Happy Bullets
Spitfire Tumbleweeds
Peter Schmidt and His Gentleman Scholars
Fishboy
Salim Nourallah

volunteers:
Jason Roberts
Andrea Roberts
Cari Weiberg
Tim Ruble
Shea Wood
Courtney Miles
Minus
Josh McKibben
Kris Youmans
Robert McCollum
Kevin Nash
Coy Green
Edward ruiz
DJ Stephen R
Erica Felicella
Pia Koch
Elisa Belsley
Scott Horn
Nicole Cullum
Melanie levy
David Marquis
Alex Taliercio
Ligh Tomlinson
Chad Stocklager
Paul Semrad
John Weedon
Rob Shearer
Alvaro Garcia
Harley Jebens
Tj Pendergrass
Mary Truitt
Julia Gregory Schloss
Jennifer Sobieraj
Mary Solomon
Marcus Striplin
Daniel Miller
Leah Shafer

sponsors:
Orr-Reed
Davis Hawn Lumber
Cliffdweller Magazine
Fusion Advertising
Print Place
HBS Media

and last, but totally not least, all the visual artists that participated. wow. pictures on flickr soon. some already on the art con site.

A bow to you all.

Art Conspiracy II

December 1 at the Longhorn Ballroom. The countdown is officially on. www.artconspiracy.org for all the details.

$50K for a TX artist; apply by Nov. 17

This isn't La Reunion-related, but still an interesting opportunity

Hunting PLC, an international oil services company, has announced their call for entries for the 2007 Hunting Art Prize—a $50,000 award open to established, emerging, and amateur artists from throughout Texas. Artists submit a single two-dimensional work (excluding photography) for consideration for the prize. Initial entries include one slide and a completed online form, all submitted no later than Friday, November 17, 2006.

While last year's competition focused on the Houston region, which is where Hunting's North American headquarters are located, the scope for this year's prize has expanded to include any Texas resident 18 years of age or older. For more information or to download a flyer, visit their website.

We are official!

Last week, we got THE LETTER. The one from the IRS that states we are officially a 501c3 non-profit corporation. This has been such a wonderful journey so far and we can't thank everyone enough for continued support.

That being said, please mark your calendars for Friday, December 1 for Art Conspiracy II. It's going to be held at the legendary Longhorn Ballroom on Corinth @ Industrial. More than 100 artists and 5 bands are participating. Go to www.artconspiracy.org for ALL the info.

Thank yous.

We had a little art show over the weekend that barely made it into the La Reunion newsletter and onto the La Reunion website and yet we still had a great turn-out and sold a ton of work! Thank you to the not-yet-open ZEN Sushi over in the Bishop Arts District for donating their empty space on Saturday during the Bishop Arts Block Party. Thank you to Richard Ross, Zachary Broadhurst, Carissa Byers, Lance Jones, Kelly Berry, Therese Power, Margarita Buenaventura, and Patrick Rhodes for providing work on such short notice and donating a portion of sales to La Reunion. Seriously guys, that was awesome.

Barry Crosno with DonateIT was also there to stimulate interest in a new company he works for that allows folks to donate their old non-functional computers, cell phones, printers, cartridges etc with a portion of proceeds going to various non-profits. He'll be on hand at our booth at the Urban Street Bazaar the last weekend of September. Come check it out.

Last, thanks to all of you who stopped by and said Hi. Clearly none of this would be possible without community support. And for this, a bow.

Upcoming events. Check it.

La Reunion is gearing up for all sorts of events this fall. Friend and fund raisers loom as the weather cools and our lives settle back into a routine.

First up: a lecture by Dr. Charissa Terranova on the philosophy of Fourier and the original La Reunion colony that settled Dallas over 150 years ago. It will be held at the Santa Clara Catholic Church, adjacent to our La Reunion land on Thursday, September 28 at 8PM. Complimentary dessert and coffee provided generously by Crosby Catering and Cafe. If you've never heard Charissa speak, you're totally in for a treat! Mentally stimulating and super friendly, she'll impress you with her ability to craft well-thought out commentary on whatever she presents. Admission is free. 321 Calument Avenue, Dallas.

Second: La Reunion will have a booth at the Urban Street Bazaar that our pal Julie over at MAKE organizes September 30-October 1. Featuring arts and crafts by local artisans and live music all weekend, La Reunion will also be the beneficiary to the live auction! Our own board prez Catherine Cuellar will be the auctioneer. Admission to the bazaar is free. Stop by on your way to the fair! Thomas at Boll in the St. Thomas Historic District, Dallas.

Third: Art Conspiracy 2 benefits La Reunion. If you missed last year's stellar event, well, there's just no excuse this year! Details TBA, although go ahead and save the date: December 2. Check out the Art Conspiracy site fill yourself in on last year.

humble beginnings & major progress

From the bottom of our hearts, thanks to everyone we knew before and especially everyone we met for the first time this morning at the first Community Clean-Up Day! Before-and-after photos will be posted soon on flickr. Thanks to all the amazing volunteers who braved 100-degree heat, stinging insects, and poison ivy to help us fill the largest dumpster we could find with heaps and loads of trash, *including* a kitchen sink! Many helping hands posted signs so volunteers could find us; shared tools, gloves, trash bags, sunscreen, and snacks; worked very hard quite early on a Saturday morning; and documented our progress. It's inspiring to see so many willing to give of themselves for the benefit of the community, and as a whole we are far more than the sum of our parts.

Special thanks to The Oak Cliff Tribune for getting the word out in advance and covering our event, Gus Treviño at Nodding Dog Coffee Company in the Bishop Arts District for donating five gallons of cool iced tea to refresh our volunteers, and to Moonlady Amy Martin for helping us set the tone.

The La Reunion coffers are still light about $100, which will cover the cost of removing our now-full walk-in dumpster from the site. So if you were unable to attend and still want to aid our effort to transform Dallas through art and green living, please contribute through our website, or PayPal us some funds c/o donate [at] LaReunionTX [dot] org.

Local media continues to smile upon us. Thanks to Daily Candy for advance publicity, and to Frank Trejo, who interviewed several La Reunion supporters for The Dallas Morning News.

Please plan to join us for future clean-up efforts and a lecture in late September by advisory board member Dr. Charissa Terranova from SMU. For details, sign up for our mailing list online.

Reminder : Clean-Up : This Weekend

With well over 30+ volunteers and two days left, we are gearing up for the Community Clean-Up day this Saturday from 8AM to noon. Please join us. Email sarah@lareuniontx.org for directions etc..

Long pants, sturdy shoes, and water are a must! All volunteers must sign a waiver. Please join us as you are able.

Behind the scenes // updates

We have all been busy doing mundane behind the scenes work lately. It's a learning curve to be sure, but nice to know all the intricacies of zoning, platting, engineering, and escarpments. In gearing up for the community clean-up day on July 15, I met with the city arborist and had an interesting conversation about the land, the vegetation, and some creative options on how to proceed. Catherine and I also did an interview with Quin Mathews for Art Matters that will air on WRR on Sunday, July 9 at 4PM and Thursday, July 13 at 6:30PM. Be sure to tune in! Catherine and I have also met with an architect who is a member of the USGBC for advice on a LEED certified structure. It's all been fascinating thus far.

Other behind the scenes work? We're working on putting together our advisory board. With a killer interdisciplinary cross-section of working Dallas artists and professionals, we will have the qualified input to make decisions about which artists stay and for how long. More information on that on the La Reunion website soon.

La Reunion update, resources, community clean-up

La Reunion held its first board meeting over the weekend. Sarah Jane Semrad (wow, that's me!) has officially been hired as executive director for the project. Community interest in this residency grows as we talk with more and more people. This is exciting! We have added a button on the main La Reunion site to add your name to the mailing list. Also, a paypal button! Money is always appreciated. Please click one or more of those buttons.

Although La Reunion is new to Dallas, the concept of an artist residency is certainly not. There have only been a few to exist in our fair state over the years. An excellent resource to explore other programs across the United States and abroad is www.artistcommunities.org. As La Reunion plows forward, we look to other programs' best practices and then modify to fit our community. Conversations with green architects knowledgeable in LEED certification and with the potential Chalk Hill Trail situated very near our site have proven inspirational, to say the very least.

Last, more announcements on this as exact plans develop: COMMUNITY CLEAN-UP DAY! Slated for Saturday, July 15 from 8AM - 12PM, the community clean-up day will not only be an opportunity for folks to come check out the site, but also to participate in clearing the land, which has been neglected for many years. Long pants, bug spray and water are a must! Please contact Sarah Jane Semrad if you are interested.

La Reunion Prom was a blast!

la reunion prom (2)
Originally uploaded by La Reunion TX.

A huge public thank you to all who attended the La Reunion Prom last night at Sons of Hermann Hall. Most especially Jeremy Ordaz, Mike Graff, Allison Graham, Harley Jebens, Alvaro Garza for working the door. Paul Semrad and Stephen Ruiz for playing DJ. Jason Woefel, Carissa Byers, and Jonelle Doughty for their photographic prowess. Glenn Goodfellow for the amazing baked goods and Sons of Hermann Hall for being the coolest venue in town. The party was a smash and we suceeded in raising enough funds to cover our 501(c)3 filing fee and additional administrative start-up costs. We took the opportunity to announce the news of the generous anonymous gift of 32 acres of wooded land in Oak Cliff that we have rent free for many years. In addition, we introduced our first three board members: Catherine Cuellar, Lisa Taylor, and Allison Graham. More pictures on the flickr page linked above well have yearbooks for sale here once all images have been compiled.

We have a home!

Ah, but we're not divulging full details just yet! We'll be doing that at the 'prom' we're hosting on May 6 at Sons of Hermann Hall. Please let us know if you're interested in coming and we'll make sure you get the evite. Funds raised from this event will be used to defray the administrative startup costs for launching a 501(c)3.

Welcome to the blog of La Reunion, Dallas' first artist residency program to host the conversation between new and traditional media. Thoughts/ideas/updates will be posted here periodically.