Emerging Artists Exhibit at Cape Cod Museum of Art

Culminating Exhibition of Elite 2007 New Markets Workshop Group

Centerville, MA, June 26, 2007 - The Arts Foundation of Cape Cod and the Cape Cod Museum of Art will present the Emerging Artists of Cape Cod exhibition at the Cape Cod Museum of Art from July 21 through August 12, 2007. The exhibit showcases the work of 31 Emerging Artists of Cape Cod who have successfully completed the New Markets for Cape Cod Artists program, an intensive, competitive workshop that helps artists bridge the gap between working artist and successful artist in today’s demanding economic environment.

The artists featured in the Emerging Artists of Cape Cod exhibition at the Cape Cod Museum of Art have been selected for the show through a rigorous, two-phase jury process, first to gain admittance to the New Markets for Cape Cod Artists program, and then in competition with their peers within the workshop to be selected for the final exhibit.

“The Emerging Artists of Cape Cod exhibition is the culmination of an exciting, collaborative program that draws on the strengths of many organizations and individuals across Cape Cod,” said Lisa Hergenrother, Executive Director of the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod. “The exhibit catalogue will be an important entrée for these artists into the arts business world. For many of them, it will be their first museum show.”

New Markets for Cape Cod Artists is an intensive marketing seminar series that teaches emerging artists how to gain more year-round exposure for their work and increase their potential to make a living as a working artist. The workshop focuses on practical, proven methods of finding a year-round market that works for each artist.

“Our region’s long tradition as one of the richest artistic centers in the country provides a rich past from which to draw,” said Elizabeth Ives Hunter, Executive Director of the Cape Cod Museum of Art. “But without actively encouraging emerging artists we will become a window on the past with a weak present and no future. This joint venture with the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod demonstrates that our cultural tradition remains strong.”

The program is the result of a comprehensive, Cape-wide partnership of the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod, the Lower Cape Cod Community Development Corporation, the Falmouth Artists Guild, and the Workforce Education Resource Center at Cape Cod Community College. The partners worked together to expand and develop the program, initiated by the Lower Cape Cod Community Development Corporation, by offering the workshop in Upper, Mid, and Lower Cape locations, to reach more artists across the region.

Rick Miller, a psychologist, and Oren Sherman, an artist, both of Truro, helped develop the program at its inception, and continue to facilitate the workshops in each location. These intensive, individualized workshops address both the personal and professional development needs of artists, going beyond the usual nuts and bolts of business and marketing skills to explore how fear, insecurity, and uncertainty can be overcome to achieve success.

The New Markets for Cape Cod Artists program was funded in part by a generous grant from the Cape Cod Economic Development Council.

The Emerging Artists of Cape Cod featured in the show are: Ellen Anthony, Bonnie Brewer, Cheryl Carlson-Perrow, Robert Cipriani, Candice Crawford, Shawn Nelson Dahlstrom, Jeff Drake, Marcia Duggan, Rick Fleury, Nicki Garner, Elizabeth Hoyle, Christina Jacobi, Matthew Kemp, Kathryn Kleekamp, Coco Larrain, Cynthia Lindgren, Bill Lyons, Donna Mahan, Melora H. North, Barry Olofsson, Liz Perry, Gayle Visentine Reynolds, Kathi Smith, Ned Sonntag, Diane Soule, Colleen Vandeventer, Rhonda Venezia, N. Cameron Watson, Wave (a.k.a. Rik Kapler), Bernadette C. Waystack, and Patricia Willis.

The Arts Foundation of Cape Cod supports, promotes, and celebrates the arts and culture of Cape Cod by creating a strong, stable, and diverse arts environment, and contributing to the quality of life and economic vitality of the region. For more information, visit www.artsfoundation.org or call 508-362-0066.

The Cape Cod Museum of Art’s mission is to collect, conserve, study, interpret and exhibit works by outstanding artists associated with Cape Cod and the Islands. Through its programs, the museum seeks to preserve the artistic heritage of the area and to foster artistic and cultural growth within the individual and the community. For more information, visit www.ccmoa.org or call 508-385-4477.