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HUDSON ARTSWALK 2008 CALL FOR VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS SUBMISSIONS
Organizing for this year’s14th Annual Hudson ArtsWalk is already underway. The CCCA would like to take this early opportunity to inform its artist members of its plans in order for them to have advance notice of the criteria for submission, if they intend to participate.
Specific to this year’s Hudson ArtsWalk and its relationship with the dog-themed BEST IN SHOW Public Art Project, artists in the community are invited to develop and submit canine-themed projects in the visual arts, literature, theater, film, children’s art projects, and the like. Already proposed – by Walking the Dog Theater – who else? – is a parade of dogs through Hudson culminating in a special theater and/or multi-media project at the Basilica Industria on the Hudson waterfront.
Due to the BEST IN SHOW project, which will be installed in Hudson July 4 and come down Sunday October 12, the visual arts aspect of Hudson ArtsWalk will be focused on an open exhibition of work by CCCA members. THE MEMBERS OPEN SHOW will include a minimum of 1 piece to be shown from any member artist submitting. All artists submitting will be shown.
MEMBERS’ OPEN SHOW
1. Artist must be a current member of the CCCA.* (No artist has ever been excluded from ArtsWalk for lack of ability to pay.)
2. All work submitted should have been created within the last two-three years.
3. Work, as far as possible, should not have been shown in the previous two ArtsWalk exhibits.
4. Submissions must be received by deadline of Saturday JUNE 21
5. Artists may submit representations of up to 6 pieces of painting, photography, sculpture, video, installation or original works on paper in the form of digital / photographic prints, slides or CDs (which, due to popular demand, will be accepted for the first time this year.)
6. Each submission should be marked with artist's name, title of work, size, medium, price, and date.
7. All work should be ready for hanging or installation, and sale. N.B. The CCCA receives a 30% commission on all artwork sold through ArtsWalk.
8. Artists are responsible for delivering selected artwork to their designated exhibition location by dropoff deadline, to be determined.
THE PERFORMING ARTS AT ARTSWALK will again be a major focus, and will again by curated by multi-talented musician and performer Slink Moss at various venues. Proposals and questions concerning The Performing Arts at ArtsWalk may be directed the same as visual art submissions.
For more information, contact CCCA at 518-671-6213, info@artscolumbia.org, or stop by the office and gallery at 209 Warren Street in Hudson.
*A “hanging fee” of $30 or three-hours of volunteer time during ArtsWalk is also required. This is not a “fee”, but a correction of a situation in which some artists have donated uncountable hours of work and others have not. Some artists happily opt to pay the fee rather than to work. This allows us to hire young artists desirous of work to help out with the enormous logistical task of mounting ArtsWalk. Thank you for your understanding!
The ArtsWalk Committee
The Dogs of Summer
By Amanda M. DeWald
Reprinted courtesy of the Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
Last summer, Catskill’s streets crawled with 50 fiberglass cats. Word is their canine counterparts are coming to Hudson’s Warren Street this summer. 
The “dogs and cats” theme of the “Best in Show 2008” public art project is meant to symbolize a cooperative spirit between Hudson and Catskill as two pillars of regional identity.
“I believe this is the one time cats and dogs are the perfect mix,” said Hudson Mayor Richard Scalera as he officially announced the project at a February 14 press conference at Space 360 in Hudson.
Sponsored by the Columbia County Council on the Arts (CCCA) and the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, “Best in Show 2008” is readyto receive applications from artists interested in transforming the fiberglass dogs into works of art for public exhibition, and businesses ready to sponsor them.
Similar to the painted cows that grazed through New York City in 2006, the bears of Boyertown, Penn., or the 2004 “Sheeptacular” in Pittsfield, Mass., Hudson’s painted canines will be unveiled during the “dog days” of summer on the Fourth of July and displayed through Columbus Day. The dogs, seated and standing, are about 25 inches long and will be mounted onto stainless steel pedestals drilled into Warren Street’s sidewalks. The sculptures are meant to boost tourism and local business, highlight the work of local artists and beautify Hudson for the enjoyment of all residents.
This year’s “Cat’n Around Catskill” exhibition will be staggered with Hudson’s, opening Memorial Day weekend and ending in September.
Each of Hudson’s 60 dogs will be matched with a plaque introducing the dog’s business sponsor. Artists’ names also will be displayed on each dog’s plaque and on the brochure map that will guide those who tour the whole display. The project’s Web site will feature each dog, the artist’s biography and information about the sponsor.
John Maiuri, chairman of Columbia County Chamber of Commerce and owner of Dunn Builder Supply, said Thursday the chamber is “happy to be involved” with the initiative to “populate our streets and spend money locally.”
Fourth-generation co-owner of Fingar Insurance in Germantown, Peter Fingar, was on Thursday’s press conference panel to represent the first business to sign on as a sponsor for the project.
“This really works,” Fingar said. Last summer’s increase in Catskill’s pedestrian and tour bus traffic as a result of “Cat’n Around Catskill” was “tremendous,” he said.
Fingar Insurance is an example of a business that is not located on Warren Street, but will benefit from publicity on the main drag of the county seat. Barb Stanley of WKZE 98.1 FM in Red Hook said Thursday the radio station also will sponsor a dog — an example of local business support from neighboring Dutchess County.
COARC and Vasilow’s Confectionary Inc. in Hudson were two of the first sponsors, said Jan Hanvik, executive director of the CCCA. These participants represent the diverse cross-section of the community that already has come forward in support of the project, Hanvik said.
Fifteen business sponsors already are on board who caught word of the project before it was officially announced — a quarter of the 60-dog pack. Interested sponsors can pick up applications and additional information at the CCCA at 209 Warren St. or at the Chamber of Commerce at 507 Warren Street or on the websites. All sponsorship applications must be in by March 14.
Artists interested in decorating a dog must act swiftly. Application and information packets for artists also are available at the CCCA and the Chamber of Commerce, or interested parties may contact CCCA Executive Assistant Tricia DiGregorio at 671-6213 or at info@artscolumbia.org to receive hard copy applications. Artists must submit designs to the “Best in Show 2008” committee for selection by Monday, March 10.
Not all submissions will be matched to a sponsor. Sixty artists whose designs are selected by the committee will be invited to the Sponsor/Artist reception on March 14, where sponsors and artists will match up.
“Once sponsors and artists are matched, they sometimes work together” to finalize the design, said DiGregorio. Artists then have until the week of April 21 to complete their dogs.
Artists will receive a $50 stipend when their dog is delivered to contribute toward the cost of supplies. The exhibition will end in the auctioning of the statues at the “Best in Show Auction and Gala” on Oct. 12 during ArtsWalk 2008. Artists will keep 25 percent of the auction price, and remaining proceeds from the sale will be divided among local nonprofit agencies to support arts, youth programs and future Columbia County promotions.
Hanvik said the Chamber of Commerce and the CCCA are putting together a committee to decide how charitable gifts from the project will be distributed. 
The nine person committee will include three appointments from the Chamber of Commerce, three from the CCCA, one from the Columbia County Department of Tourism, one from the Columbia County Board of Supervisors and one from the city of Hudson Mayor’s Office.
In Catskill’s 2007 project, auctioned cats drew prices ranging from a few hundred dollars to $4,900, with total proceeds from the project reaching $84,000.
“We are excited about promoting the arts as good business,” Colby said.
Hanvik said the Council on the Arts welcomes ideas from community members about related events that could compliment the public arts project this summer, such as film festivals, theater or dance productions with a canine-centered theme.
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To contact reporter Amanda M. DeWald, call her at 828-1616, ext. 2269, or write to adewald@registerstar.com.