Call to artists especially those who are trans and/or queer

Hello Fellow Artists,
As the Collective of Geniuses, CoG’s mission is to create art that challenges the notions on which class, gender, privilege, etc. are based. Furthermore, we empower minority artists, especially those who identify as trans, queer and/or womyn, and help them create sustainable economic stability through educational programs and creative opportunities. (*Art: Performances, events, films, videos and animation shorts, t-shirts, clothing, zines, cards, notebooks, journals, zines and chapbooks, buttons, activities and everything else that is fun.) We are mostly focusing on the trans and queer community but we believe community is more complicated than that so if you are not queer or trans identified but you are receiving this it is because you are an ally and part of our community.

This announcement is regarding our studio space (the CoG factory) at 532 SE Belmont #202. We are starting next year with a bang and a grand opening on January 30th, 2009! This day is also Lee District Last Friday Artwalk, and Jack's Birthday!

Before 2009, we plan to have in place a calendar. For each month we will feature a visual artist in the calendar and at the studio (the COG Factory). Our January opening will be a group show of all the different artists. For all of you who are performance and spoken word artists; we are offering monthly opportunities to try out new material. This is an opportunity to create a community space, it is NOT a “gig”. Our ceilings are, I think, 14 feet so you should be able to do most aerial apparatuses. We plan to get at least one mat. We have fabric, and the parts for a trapeze and plan on purchasing a hoop.

We will look to our last Friday events to find performers to slot for a quarterly event called Queers heart Geeks, which will be a “gig”. We already have scheduled the IFCC for Pride weekend late show after Key Productions (also queer) for our first show but we might change to have the show at our studio since it is so close to all the downtown nonsense and due to economic circumstances. Mostly right now I need to know if you want to perform on Jack's birthday so I can start promoting and figuring out tech.

**The fine print: Performance artists selected can pass the hat if they like but (in order to be fair to those who are participating as visual artists) they will be asked to donate 25 -60% (sliding scale) of their profit (this can exclude relevant costs), and of course they can donate more if they like. These are the same terms we are asking of the visual artists! We will also be asking for donations at the door to help defray our costs. But please remember that we are paying rent on the space and also giving our time to organize and promote these opportunities. We will be available to help the artists create other income generators, if they so desire. We are asking the same donation from all income generated through the factory.

Although we will always encourage the artists to do their own promotion, we will be promoting the openings via the calendar, our list serve and our social networking sites. We have also developed relationships with people who support our mission by help us with copy and press releases.

Our idea is that artists with more experience serve as mentors to emerging artists and as an organization, we support the artists by offering a space to create their dreams, the encouragement to make them happen and assist them with marketing, public relations, promotion and business sense that are necessary in this market.

Before 2009 we plan to have in place a calendar. For each month we will feature a visual artist in the calendar and at the studio (the CoG Factory). Our January opening will be a group show of all the different artists. We are asking the visual artists to submit a few pieces (3-5) they would like to see in the calendar and their top three choices for months, in order of preference. Submissions can be emailed to cog.pdx@gmail.com. Submissions will be accepted until slots are filled but if you can get them to us by the end of the week you will earn a gold star. Getting them in early will also benefit you for your choice placement and to insure this opportunity doesn't pass you by! To be clear: artists will be selected to be in the calendar AND to put up a gallery show for a given month.

*The fine print: Artists selected will be asked to donate 25 -60% (sliding scale) of their profit (this can exclude framing costs) from pieces in the show that sell, and of course they can donate more if they like. We will be asking for donations at the door to help defray our costs. We will try and help the artists create other income generators such as reproductions. We are asking the same donation from all income generated through the clubhouse. We will be selling the calendars but at cost, as more of a promotional gimmick since we are so late in the calendar season. As the year flows by and we schedule more artists for the coming months we will update the calendar. Although we will always encourage the artists to do their own promotion, we will be promoting the openings via the calendar, our list serve and our social networking sites. We have also developed relationships with people who support our mission by help us with copy and press releases.

Our idea is that artists with more experience serve as mentors to emerging artists and as an organization, we support the artists by offering a space to create their dreams, the encouragement to make them happen and assist them with marketing, public relations, promotion and business sense that are necessary in this market.

This also means that we will be opening the space up to rental for your rehearsals and classes as well as offering classes come January such as, of course, screen printing. Furthermore, we are also setting up the painting of the walls to facilitate use for photo shots, with one side white and one side blue (it will be a sky scene but it will have lots of blue spaces that can be used like a blue screen). The idea is that through events such as the last Friday openings we can generate income to offset our costs thereby being able to offer more affordable rentals and class fees.

The idea is that through events such as the last Friday openings we can generate income to offset our costs thereby being able to offer more affordable rentals and class fees. So the artists who perform will also benefit by having access to affordable classes and space rental. Not to be a broken record but for clarity, this is an opportunity to create a community space, it is not a “gig”.

Thus far we have started setting up our articles of incorporation to operate as a membership based non-profit where members receive benefits such as reduced rental rates and class fees. This applies to both visual artists and performance artists. We are mostly looking for people, right now, that believe in our mission and want to be part of this community and to help us grow. For those of you who don't know; we have already received one grant and have written two more. We are fiscally sponsored which means we are borrowing another organizations non-profit status to be able to write grants, they in turn take responsibility for us spending the money. We have a business license and a Employer Identification Number. We are currently applying for a grant for the filing fees to incorporate, even if we don't receive it we plan to have the paperwork in order and file next fall anyway.

Does this make you excited? It makes me excited! So if you are excited then send me an email with what you are excited about. Or if you have any feedback about how we can do things better. If you want to show your visual work then send me some high resolution images of your choice pieces for use in the calendar and your three top months in order of preference. If you are interested in being a part of the driving force of the organizational efforts clue me in. We especially need an accountant, a grant writer, someone who knows more than me about website and web hosting, someone who can give legal council about the articles of incorporation and an office assistant intern. We are also looking for people who are interested in and understand what it means to serve on a board of directors as we will need to have a board in order to receive 501c3 non profit status.

Everything we have written thus far...

is on our other blog. http://denialofself.blogspot.com
Stay tuned as we start posting here as well.