Artists!

If the cosmos really is folding in on itself in 2012 as many are predicting, then it's safe to say we're all going to be busy saying farewell to loved ones if we're even still around in March 2012.

That means there is only one Contemporary Art Month left, really, in March 2011, and that's only six months away!  So, there's no more time for your aimless wanderings along the paths of self-discovery, no more time seeking your "voice," and definitely no time to learn how to work in new mediums.  You need to figure out what you're going to share with the human race, and get it out there!  Loud and clear!

At the end of the world, "contemporary art" loses all meaning, and becomes part of the great Singularity, along with your pets, your possessions, your box of old poems and love letters you've successfully kept hidden all this time, and everyone of your friends, whether real or just FB.  All sucked into the black hole of whatever-follows.  We have one last chance to attach a definition to this thing.  We all have one last chance to be a part of it.

Unless, of course, the doomsayers are wrong, in which case, nevermind.  Carry on.

The final weekend of CAM 2010 is here. We'll keep this post to the point: Current's MOSAIC fundraiser for SMART at 1906 S Flores. Push Cart Derby at Dinowity Hill. Cammy Awards / Closing Party at CHRISPark. And a few other things at David Shelton Gallery, Unit B, 523 Stieren, Overtime Theater, Laurie Auditorium, Blue Star Building D, Jack's Patio, Hausmann Millworks, The Jackson Ranch, and Gemini Ink.

It's all here. Don't miss ANYTHING.

Good luck.

Two special events are happening on this blustery Sunday. At 11 am the Potters Guild is holding their annual homeless benefit Empty Bowls. Score a beautiful, handmade bowl, warm up with some soup, and lend a hand to the less fortunate at the Southwest School of Art and Craft.

Then at noon head on over to Pittman Sullivan park for the 1st Annual Kite Festival, organized by the Green Spaces Alliance and the Pittman Sullivan Neighborhood Organization. Lots of good food, great music and artisinal kites will be on tap.

Vote now!

This CAM's closing party on Saturday March 27 will feature the CAMMY AWARDS, honoring our artists and showing respect and appreciation for our home-base talent.

Now is your chance to have your say!  Which San Antonio artist will be chosen by The People?  You can cast a vote for the artists you like here on the CAM website by going to the individual artist page & clicking on the up arrow in the voting box (see image).

Here's a full list of 2010 CAM artists, with links to each of their pages.

Cast your vote no later than 5pm Wednesday March 24!

ARTISTS!  You have your own special vote!  Simply email your ONE vote to: lety (at) potterbelmar (dot) org.  Same deadline.  You must be an artist officially registered in a CAM 2010 event to vote.

The CAMMIES recognizes the best of CAM.  Representatives from a number of respected art institutions in San Antonio have named awards, are in the process of selecting winners, and will present certificates at the upcoming CAM Closing Party.

See you there!!

Tomorrow night is looking to be almost as jam-packed with art events as the First Thursday CAM opening ceremonies. The South Flores Arts District galleries, with the lone exception of Lone Star Studios, have moved their Second Saturday events to Thursday in order to avoid conflicting with Luminaria. FL!GHT is hosting a group show of heavy-hitters including Franco Mondini-Ruiz, Chuck Ramirez, Alejandro Diaz, and Andy Benavides. Down the hall in the One9Zero6 Gallery, Jesse Amado will have a solo show, while the SMART Art Project Space hosts Courtney Reid. Add in a couple of performances by Symphony musicians, and you have a hot bed of activity centered around 1906 S Flores.

But that's just the beginning. Lily's Cookies hosts The Cookie Jar Show, featuring four of San Antonio's best contemporary ceramic artists (Diana Kersey, Ryan Takaba, Wesley Harvey, and Dennis Smith), while a few blocks up McCullough Galeria Ortiz shows The Gallery 12, and just a bit further up the street Parchman-Stremmel opens the Gary Sweeney-curated romp, The Big Top. Nearby at Trinity University's Attic Theater, AtticRep holds the Forum Theatre Project on Love and Marriage.

And those are just my personal highlights. Check out the full Thursday run-down here (tip: you can see details for all of a single day's events by clicking the date number on the Calendar page).

Please join us for the official CAM kick-off openings and party tonight March 4 at Blue Star! Amalgamations 25: 28 Artists for 25 Great Years opens both tonight and tomorrow night March 5 at Blue Star from 6-9pm, along with many great shows in the many exceptional galleries in the complex. Check out Hills Snyder at Three Walls, Anita Valencia at Cactus Bra, Gary Wise at UTSA Satellite Space, and Marcy McChesney at Stella Haus, among many others! Ertan Torgul will be performing Phillip Glass's Strung Out at 6pm at Blue Star. Be there or be blue!

We just posted the details of our collaboration with the San Antonio Symphony. Throughout March, Symphony performers will give solo and small ensemble performances in contemporary art spaces all over the city. Click the "Symphony" tab above for more information.

The Contemporary Art Month Open Studio event is back!  Check the CAM Open Studios page to see the list of artists who will be opening their studios to the public, from 10 am to 4 pm on Sunday, March 7. Visitors will get to see work by the artists, finished and in-progress, and engage in discussion.  It's like a free backstage pass, letting you see how the art you like is made and giving you direct access to some of city's top creative talents.  More information about participating artists, as well as maps to their studios are available on the CAM Open Studios page.  Go there and plan your very own tour.

If you are an artist and you'd like to join in, and open your studio to the masses, it's not too late.  Click here to add your studio to the list.  There is no fee.

This weekend, Bihl Haus Arts is organizing the 3rd annual On and Off Fredricksburg Road Studio Tour in the Deco District. Over fifty artists will have their studios open on Saturday and Sunday, and there will be a special exhibit featuring all the artists tonight at Bihl Haus Arts. This is a great opportunity to see what goes on behind the scenes and discuss the artists' work and process. Click the link above to see all the artists involved and get more details.

There will also be another studio tour organized by CAM on March 7. This is a much looser project: we just gave the artists a date and they let us know who was interested. Unlike On and Off Fredricksburg Road, there's no catalog, no special exhibit, just a bunch of artists opening up their studios. See the list of studios here.