CSArt Madison

press release: Arts + Literature Laboratory is pleased to present the 2018 season of CSArt Madison: southern Wisconsin’s Community Supported Art program, now in its second year. Ten chosen artists will receive a stipend of $1000, an exhibition opportunity, and promotional support to produce 61 limited-edition works of art that will be distributed CSA-style to local buyers. Applications for artists who would like to participate in the program may be submitted to Arts + Literature Laboratory between November​ ​1,​ ​2017,​ ​and December​ ​15,​ ​2017​, for consideration. Arts + Literature Laboratory encourages all interested artists to apply; last year, the program included a range of emerging to internationally recognized artists working across sculpture, glass, textiles, printmaking, mixed media, and book arts.

Public information sessions on the program will take place Saturday, November 18, 2017, at the Alicia Ashman Library from 10-11 a.m.; and Saturday, December 2, 2017, at Arts + Literature Laboratory from 10-11 a.m.

Featured works for distribution may take many forms, so long as they are original and unique to CSArt Madison, including but not limited to: small-scale sculptures, drawings, paintings, textiles, or a limited edition run of prints, photographs, poetry broadsides, or chapbooks.

Arts + Literature Laboratory (ALL) launched CSArt Madison in 2017, in the interest of supporting the local culture and creative economy of Dane County. Through CSArt Madison, shareholders invest directly in the arts community with a ‘buy local’ mentality. Interested collectors or “shareholders” purchase a share, and in return, receive one piece of locally-produced artwork from each of the ten featured artists. Last​ ​year,​ ​all​ ​fifty​ ​shares available​ ​were​ ​sold,​ ​and​ ​it​ ​is​ ​expected​ ​that​ ​shares​ ​will​ ​sell​ ​out​ ​quickly​ ​again​ ​this​ ​year.  

CSArt 2017 featured artists Faisal​ ​Abdu'Allah,​ ​Katharine​ ​DeLamater,​ ​John​ ​Hitchcock,​ ​Helen  Lee,​ ​J.​ ​Myszka​ ​Lewis,​ ​Dakota​ ​Mace,​ ​Jason​ ​Ruhl,​ ​Chelsea​ ​Thompto,​ ​Bernadette​ ​Witzack,​ ​and  Ariel​ ​Wood​, who expressed their appreciation for the platform provided by the program. In an anonymous feedback survey, one artist commented, “It felt like a much needed bridge between an art community ready to create and a … collector community that had the desire for art but not the massive spending budgets collecting normally requires. Truly a win, win, all around.” Arts + Literature Laboratory believes the method of engagement the program fosters brings the community together in recognition of the arts.

This year, the ALL Curatorial Board will receive input from community members about applicants’ art, and will then choose which artists to include. The selected artists will use their stipends to create 61 “shares” for the program (50 for shareholders, 10 for each participating artist, and 1 CSArt archive share). Additionally, participating artists are given the opportunity to display larger-scale works (different from works in the CSArt shares) at ALL during a month-long exhibition in the gallery. Artists will also have the opportunity to either open their studio or participate in a panel discussion in April 2018 for prospective shareholders to meet the artists and learn more about their work. The culminating pick-up event will coincide with an opening reception for the exhibition on Saturday, June 9, 2018, providing another opportunity for the general public meet the participating artists and view their work.  

Important​ ​Dates:

● Open call: November 1 - December 15, 2017 ○ Submit at artlitlab.org

● Participating artists announced: January 12, 2018

● Shares available for purchase beginning April 2, 2018. ○ Full shares: $300 (10 works) ○ Half shares: $150 (5 works) ○ Purchase online (artlitlab.org) or in person (2021 Winnebago St.)

● Exhibition on view: June 9 - June 30, 2018

● Artwork pick-up event & reception: June 9, 6-9pm

CSArt Madison is organized by the Arts + Literature Laboratory Curatorial Board. The project is supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Admission to exhibitions at Arts + Literature Laboratory is free. Located in the historic Patternworks building in the Schenk's Corners area, Arts + Literature Laboratory is a community art space for visual, literary, and performing artists to share their work and create new connections.