About this project
Calling All Art Lovers,
One afternoon in late January, I was horribly disturbed by a conversation between a group of brand new college kids that I overheard in the Philadelphia subway on the way to the theater in which I work as a prop painter.
The conversation....what I heard before I exited the subway car so MY HEAD DIDN'T EXPLODE....went a little like this:
“Art is, like, the most worthless degree anyone can get. Like, haha, they have a degree in making shit with Popsicle sticks and string.”
Now I am not naïve, I realize that this is what some people think about art who do not embrace art as a whole, but people this young? I thought the youth of this country were more appreciative of art as a lifestyle and a valid career choice. Their sentiments severely disappointed me, but, as an born arts advocate, I knew I had to take action.
So, in artistic fashion, I put out a call for artists to make a book full of rebuttals to the “art is worthless” debate. Today, thousands of professionals of the visual, performing, musical and written-word persuasion, arts administrators and arts appreciators have been contacted and hundreds confirmed in coming together to make their own visually rendered statements about the importance of art, where art is hiding that the non-artist does not see and/or statistics about how much money from any art-related field contributes to the economy.
Art is too important to let conversations like this one be ignored, and all of us who love what we do can advocate on arts behalf everyday of our lives. I do not want the people running this country when I am old and cannot lift my hand to paint any more to not appreciate what I dedicated my entire life to. I would feel like I had not accomplished anything.
This is grassroots arts advocacy at its best: Artists and art lovers coming together to creatively fight for their livelihoods. There are plans to have the book be distributed all over the country (then the WORLD!), as there are art lovers representing 50+ American cities so far, plus a few international, with numbers growing daily.
The deadline to submit a rebuttal is May 15th. The book will go into production shortly after. All funds donated on Kickstarter will go towards printing free books to give out for first, the children who contribute to the Rebuttal Book, then (and if we earn enough) free books for all! Oh wishful thinking!
Anyone who is interested in contributing to the book, knows of a place where this book can find a home, or has any questions, can visit http://artisticrebuttal.tumblr.com for image requirements or email artisticrebuttal@yahoo.com
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See who else supports the project:
The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance
The Americans for the Arts - ARTSblog
The Geraldine R Dodge Foundation
Drexel University's Arts Administration Graduate Association
FAQ
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
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Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on May 16, 2011.
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get your name/work/website featured on all Artistic Rebuttal social media and acknowledgment in the book
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all of the above and an Artistic Rebuttal Book Project (ARBP) button
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all of the above and a digital PDF version of the book
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get featured on all Artistic Rebuttal social media, acknowledgment in the book, an ARBP button and a large poster of the postcard
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get featured on all Artistic Rebuttal social media, acknowledgment in the book, an ARBP button and an ARBP T-shirt
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get featured on all Artistic Rebuttal social media, acknowledgment in the book, an ARBP button, an ARBP T-shirt and a free copy of the book
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get featured on all Artistic Rebuttal social media, acknowledgment in the book, an ARBP button, an ARBP T-shirt, a free copy of the book and an invitation to any book launch/exhibit of the rebuttals
Pledge $400 or more Pledge $400 or more
get featured on all Artistic Rebuttal social media, acknowledgment in the book, an ARBP button, an ARBP T-shirt, a free copy of the book, an invitation to any book launch/exhibit of the rebuttals and get your OWN rebuttal illustrated by Amy Scheidegger to take home
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get featured on all Artistic Rebuttal social media, acknowledgment in the book, an ARBP button, an ARBP T-shirt, a free copy of the book, an invitation to any book launch/exhibit of the rebuttals, get your OWN rebuttal illustrated by Amy Scheidegger and dinner with Amy and her Deputy Director, Jazz musician Meg Mitchell. (must be in Philadelphia)
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get featured on all Artistic Rebuttal social media, acknowledgment in the book, an ARBP button, an ARBP T-shirt, a free copy of the book, an invitation to any book launch/exhibit of the rebuttals and a private commission of ANYTHING you want by Amy Scheidegger
Project By
Connected as Amy Scheidegger (706 friends)
Collaborating with artists around the world in an advocacy effort to visually render why the arts are essential to society and place those images in a book to be distributed in mass!! (with a little help from my friends, that is)
