Last weekend, Light Work had the pleasure of hosting the MARK10 closing event for the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA). The three-day event brought together over one hundred artists, curators and arts administrators for coaching in professional practices, lectures, panel discussions and networking opportunities.

The NYFA group of artists, coaches, and presenters included a number of familiar faces, such as Ellen M. Blalock (AIR 2002), Lida Suchy (AIR 1994, LW Grant 2010), and Willson Cummer. But there were also a few surprises that reached further back into Light Work/Community Darkrooms history. Tatana Kellner was published in Light Work’s publications in the seventies, long before she participated in our residency program in 1992. Sylvia de Swaan completed residencies, received the LW Grant multiple times, and has served on our board. Carla Shapiro and Carlos Loret de Mola both were thrilled and surprised to see our state-of-the-art facility, that looked completely different from the modest darkrooms they worked in during their college years at Syracuse University many years ago. This made for a celebrated homecoming that was sweetened as they shared how formative their experience at Community Darkrooms was.

The MARK10 event was a sounding success and a pleasure to host due to the relentless efforts of NYFA MARK10 organizer and instructor Amber Hawk Swanson, and on a local side, the MARK10 liaison and CRC communication specialist Courtney Rile.

The MARK program is now in its third year and provides New York artists from all different disciplines with training in professional practices. It is a unique training and networking opportunity. The six-month program for 2010 was organized through partner organizations in five regions in New York State: Cultural Resources Council, Syracuse (Central New York), East End Arts Council, Riverhead (Long Island), Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, Buffalo (Western New York), The Arts Center of the Capital Region, Troy (Capital Region), and Women’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale (Hudson Valley).

Image: Ellen Blalock, MARK10 participant, Skylar, 2002, from the series The Father Project

We had a great preview yesterday at Art Chicago/NEXT. The booth was full all day with hundreds of people interested in our mission and the beautiful prints and books we’re selling in support of our programming.

The Eatonville Portfolio attracted a lot of attention in the booth during the preview. This amazing set of four images explores the history, geography, and people of Eatonville, FL, the oldest incorporated African American town in America. The portfolio features work by Carrie Mae Weems, Lonnie Graham, Deborah Willis, and Chicago artist Dawoud Bey.

Bey’s other print in our Fine Print Program, Five Children, Syracuse, New York, 1985, has also been very popular with Chicago collectors. The gorgeous prints by fellow Chicago artists Judy Natal and Ben Gest are drawing a lot of people into the booth as well.

If you’re in Chicago, definitely stop by the Light Work booth at 7-8034. We have some great neighbors in our corner of the fair, including Jon Feinstein and Amani Olu from Humble Arts Foundation. We’ll be here through Monday.

Our entire selection of fine art prints and books, all of them donated by the artists who made them, is also available online at our website.

Syracuse artist Jennifer Wilkey is the 2010 recipient of the Lucie Foundation’s Scholarship Professional Grant. This new grant includes a cash award of $5,000 plus a one-week workshop at the Maine Media Workshops. The grant will go toward completing her project and preparing for an exhibition of the work in Syracuse.

Wilkey is recognized for her series that records the life of her brother, who is developmentally disabled. Wilkey eloquently documents his day-to-day activities and discoveries, as well as his relationship with their mother, a constant presence in his life.

The artist holds an MFA in Fine Art Photography from Syracuse University as well as a BS in Anthropology and BFA from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. In 2010 her work will be exhibited at Project Basho in Philadelphia in addition to other venues.

Congratulations, Jennifer, for this well-deserved honor.

[Image: Jennifer Wilkey, James in the Kitchen, 2008]