MakeSpeak: Why Craft Now? Kate Kenney November 10, 2016 -- Inside Massachusetts College of Art and Design’s Tower Auditorium, the night crackles with creativity. A jaw harp resonates along the room’s high ceiling as the audience settles into their seats for the start of MakeSpeak, an ongoing series of events intended to encourage greater conversation on craft. Seven presenters are given seven minutes to discuss their take on craft. The forums are “choreographed” by the Commonwealth of Craft, a consortium of Massachusetts educational and cultural organizations. This evening’s discussion is centered on Why Craft Now? Presenters range from a woodworking student to a representative of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. While each presenter comes from a very different art background, the collective appreciation of craft, and its importance in everyday life, is apparent. In … [Read more...] about MakeSpeak: Why Craft Now? at Massachusetts College of Art and Design

Artscope correspondent J. Fatima Martins is filing ongoing reports from Art Basel Miami Beach 2016 and many Art Week Miami fairs taking place throughout the week. Here she offers her 'top 5' selections based on her professional and personal preferences. At Artscope, we believe that art is most relevant when the viewer is able to find an authentic connection with the artist or their work that transcends market value, celebrity status or historical pedigree. In her next report, Highlights Part 2, Martins will focus more specifically on artists showing at Art Basel Miami Beach. By J. Fatima Martins December 1, 2016 — Miami Beach. As expected, the Miami Art Fairs are exhilarating and perhaps overly abundant, making it impossible to see and analyze everything they have to offer. While Art Basel Miami Beach, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary as the world's primer art … [Read more...] about THE MIAMI ART FAIRS: EXHILERATING AND PERHAPS OVERLY ABUNDANT

Artscope Magazine publisher Kaveh Mojtabai and correspondent J. Fatima Martins have arrived at Art Basel Miami Beach 2016; this is the first of a series of reports Martins will be filing from the host Miami Beach Conference Center and surrounding Art Week Miami locations.l By J. Fatima Martins The Public Sector at Art Basel is now on view through December 4 at 21st and 22nd Streets in Miami Beach. Opening night reception is November 30 at 8 p.m. Walking tours at 2 p.m.; no reservation required. Inspired by David Bowie and given the name “Ground Control” in his honor (taking a lyric from Bowie’s first worldwide hit, “Space Oddity”), the Public Sector at Art Basel Miami includes art that bridges world culture with spirituality and technology. The exhibition's curator, Nicholas Baume, said that sculptures on view in the outdoor garden at The Bass Museum of Art at Collins Park … [Read more...] about Artscope has arrived at Art Basel Miami Beach

As Art Basel Miami Beach 2016 is about to open its doors to the public, Nancy Nesvet files this report on the pre-opening buzz surrounding this year’s show as well as the surrounding Miami Art Fairs. She did not attend the fair. By Nancy Nesvet Although artists and gallerists could not know the results of the recent United States presidential election, nor Cubans of the death of Fidel Castro, a fear of the unknown of what will come next WILL permeate the Art Basel Miami Beach 2016 and Miami Art Fairs. Major galleries’ shows of artists’ earlier work and newer abstract and non-political recent work seems a safe place to be for artists and gallerists in this show, with exceptions, of course. Brin Boucher reported in ArtNews online on November 22, 2016, “The months leading up to the fairs have been in the shadow of the Zika virus, which has led to travel alerts to Miami this … [Read more...] about Recent World Events Hover Above Art Basel Miami Beach 2016