Artrospective Exhibit Opens Tonight!

May 2-Sept. 30 • DeKalb History Center • Old Courthouse on the Square
101 East Court Square

The Decatur Arts Alliance marks the milestone 25th annivery of the Decatur Arts Festival with Artrospective, an exhibit at the DeKalb History Center. The exhibit opens this evening in conjunction with the DBA meeting. Artrospective will highlight the history of the event growth from humble local beginnings to wildly popular regional blockbuster success. The collection includes festival posters and logos, T-shirts, press clippings, and loads of festival memorabilia. A collection of photos taken on the square in the early 1990s will provide newcomers and visitors a unique perspective on the evolution of the city.
Above: The Decatur Arts Festival, circa 1991

The exhibit is curated by Decatur Active Living Assistant Director Cheryl Burnette, who served as the executive director of the Arts Alliance and managed the Arts Festival from 1999 to 2008.

Join the Derby Day Celebration at Leon’s Benefiting the Decatur Arts Alliance

Join your friends at Leon’s Full Service, 131 E. Ponce de Leon Ave. (map) in Decatur, on Saturday, May 4, for a Derby Day celebration featuring a hat contest, mint juleps, horse betting and more, all to benefit the Decatur Arts Alliance. See you then!

The Book as Art Call for Entries

Artists who observe and interpret the idea of the book are invited to submit entries to the Decatur Arts Alliance’s inaugural juried exhibition visually celebrating the book form.

The Book as Art exhibition, July 19-Sept. 20 in the gallery at The Art Institute of Atlanta-Decatur, will be held in conjunction with the AJC Decatur Book Festival, the largest independent book festival in the country. It is expected to draw 75,000 book-lovers to downtown Decatur over Labor Day weekend (Aug. 30-Sept. 1), demonstrating that books are cherished by multitudes in tangible and touchable form even as they morph into new forms and formats.

Entries for The Book as Art must be submitted digitally through www.callforentry.org (CaFÉ) March 25- June 3, 2013. 

Artrospective: Decatur Arts Festival 25th Celebration Plans Shaping Up

April 23-June 2

Join us as we celebrate the 25th year of this popular regional arts event. It kicks off with Artrospective: 25 years of the Decatur Arts Festival, opening April 23 at the DeKalb History Center, followed by the Poster Unveiling on May 2. Mark your calendar for these events, the Artist Market on Memorial Day weekend, and many more! For a detailed event schedule visit decaturartsfestival.com.

Sidewalk Saturdays Happen in April, May and June

April 6-June 15, 3-6 p.m.

Decatur’s sidewalks will sparkle with artists and performers of all types for 10 weeks during Sidewalk Saturdays. Artists and performers will be featured on the sidewalks in downtown Decatur and in Oakhurst’s Harmony Park. Come see storytellers, musicians, chalk artists, dancers, visual artists, spoken word artists and more. Check out the detailed list here.

Artists interested in participating should contact sidewalksaturdays@gmail.com to schedule an audition. Artists are paid an hourly stipend.

Decatur Business? Sign Up for ArtWalk by March 27!

Deadline for entry: Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Artwalk application form (PDF)

Spotlight your business & support the arts. Local galleries, retailers & restaurants have the opportunity to participate in the kick off to the Decatur Arts Festival weekend with a single-night art experience with citywide openings & receptions that are free & open to the public.

Maps and brochures include business names, locations & info about your featured artist(s) will be available for distribution. One ArtWalk poster is provided free to participants.

ArtWalk is promoted with all Decatur Arts Festival marketing & promotions. A listing of businesses who participate in the event will be listed in the Decatur Arts  Festival program.

You provide refreshments (i.e. wine and cheese) and present an exhibition of artwork (2D, 3D, wearable art, etc.)  Artists should be present to meet and greet.

A $35, tax-deductible donation to the Decatur Arts Alliance is required and helps pay for brochures, banners and posters.

SPECIAL OFFER! Join (or renew for 2013) the Decatur Arts Alliance as a Business/Corporate Member ($100) and the ArtWalk participation fee will be waived. The membership application can be found here.

Return the form with your check made payable to Decatur Arts Alliance by Wednesday, March 27, 2013:

Decatur Arts Alliance, Arts Festival ArtWalk, PO Box 401, Decatur GA 30031-0401

Contact Catherine Lee here if you have questions or 404-371-8386

Jan. 20 is the Deadline to Apply to Be in the Artists Market!

Apply now to be in the juried artists market at the Decatur Arts Festival held every Memorial Day weekend on the square in downtown Decatur, Georgia, just minutes east of Atlanta. Offer your work for sale to 50,000 art lovers who attend this Southeastern Tourism Society Top 20 event. Find out more about the festival at decaturartsfestival.com.

Prizes!

Best in Show: $1,000
Second Prize • $750
Third Prize • $500

It’s easy to register online:
1. Visit www.zapplication.org
2. Register and create your online artist profile
3. Prepare and upload your images (see the Image Preparation section)
4. Complete and submit your zapplication by January 20, 2013

Zapplication.org is an online system where artists manage and submit applications to participating art shows and festivals.

The Decatur Arts Alliance is a nonprofit partnership of artists, business owners, residents and government dedicated to supporting and enhancing the arts in the City of Decatur, Georgia. For information call 404-371-9583 or visit www.decaturartsalliance.org.

Join, Renew, Celebrate!

The arts in Decatur continue to grow and thrive. This year kicks off with the grand opening of the new Decatur Arts Alliance office at 113 Clairemont Ave. near the square in downtown Decatur, and an ongoing celebration of the arts leading up to the 25th Decatur Arts Festival in May.

Renew your membership or join today so you don’t miss a thing!

Calling All Artists! Apply to Be in the 2013 Arts Festival Exhibition by Feb. 22, 2013

The Decatur Arts Alliance invites artists working in all media to participate in the Fine Arts Exhibition at the 25th Annual Decatur Arts Festival. The exhibition is a juried multimedia presentation that contributes a fresh and unique perspective to the festival every year. The Decatur Arts Festival draws approximately 60,000 people to downtown Decatur for a celebration of the arts that includes a juried Artists Market, Children Festival, New Dance, Literary Arts, Performing Arts Stage, and a Concert on the Square, as well as the Fine Arts Exhibition. This large audience represents a broad spectrum of knowledge and appreciation of the arts, and the Fine Arts Exhibition addresses this spectrum with a diversity of styles and media. Works selected for the show reflect a wide range of artists experiences and viewpoints, with excellence as a common thread.

Exhibition Location
The exhibition will be in the Dalton Gallery at Agnes Scott College, 141 E. College Ave., Decatur, GA 30030. The Dalton Gallery is in the Dana Fine Arts Building. For directions, visit www.agnesscott.edu.

Receptions
The opening reception of the Fine Arts Exhibition is Tuesday, May 21, from 5 until 7 pm, in conjunction with the Decatur Business Association monthly meeting. The exhibition closes with a Last Call party on Sunday, June 2, from 4 until 6 pm. We encourage exhibiting artists to attend both of these functions.

Eligibility
Artists are invited to participate in a juried exhibition of 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional works. Artwork will be chosen from submitted entries by a panel of three jurors on the basis of creative excellence and quality of execution. All works must be original and completed within the last two years.

Entry deadline: applications must be postmarked by Feb. 22, 2013.

For complete details, please download and review the Call for Entries application here.

Deadline Extended for the Decatur Postcard Project: April 6

Send us those great images for the 2012 Postcard Project!

Last year we thought it would be fun to create a set of postcards that represent the many aspects of Decatur. The project turned out so well, we’re doing it again!

So, all you local artists, both self-taught and pro – if you have an image of Decatur that you would like to see mailed across the country and around the world – send us your work. A jury will select several new images to represent Decatur in a set of classic 6 x 4 tourist cards, to be stamp-ready in May 2012.

Think retro (Greetings from Decatur, Georgia!) or classic, or abstract and modern – we want a range of artistic views in a variety of media. Your submission can be a photograph, a drawing, or any kind of creative media.

Entries will be judged by a jury of local artists and community leaders, who will meet and select the 2012 images for a set of classic tourist-style postcards. Each artist selected will receive a $150 honorarium and a credit line on the reverse side of his/her printed card. The cards will be unveiled at the 2012 Decatur Arts Festival poster unveiling on May 3.

Please note:

• The image will be scaled to fit on a 6 x 4-inch card.
• Please submit a high resolution JPG or PDF file. We can accept files up to 10 MB in size.
• Larger files should be submitted on CD. Files smaller than 500K will fall short of the resolution
  needed for quality printing results.
• Recognizable close-ups or portraits must include a signed release granting permission to use
  the person’s likeness.

Submissions are welcome from all ages, preferably current (or past) residents of Decatur. Detailed instructions for artwork submission can be found in these documents:

Guidelines for the Decatur Postcard Project (.doc)
Artist Release Form (.doc)
Model Release Form (.doc)
Model Release Form for Minors (.doc)

Deadline for submissions: April 6, 2012

Email digital files to decaturpostcards@gmail.com or mail images on CD to Decatur Arts Alliance, PO Box 401, Decatur, GA 30031. Include cover sheet found within the guidelines document.

The Decatur Postcards Project is sponsored by the Decatur Arts Alliance, the Decatur Downtown Development Authority, and the Decatur Tourism Bureau and is spearheaded by Moira Bucciarelli. For more information email decaturpostcards@gmail.com.