Central New York Artists Display their Wares on a New Web Site

By Carl Mellor, Syracuse New Times, April 30, 2003

Consider for a moment a project showcasing work by 75 local artists, including 27 painters, sculptors and a woodworker, among others. That sounds like a large group exhibition, but the venue isn't a gallery or a museum. It's on the Internet, within a Web site run by the Cultural Resources Council.

For about six months, the CRC has provided an opportunity for artists to show their work online free of charge. Just go to www.cspot.org and click on Portfolio, then view images of artworks such as Cynthia Reidy's monotypes and Arlene Abend's sculptures, Bill McDowell's custom-made jewelry boxes and Barbara Beard's art jewelry.

They and other artists have utilized what is in essence a community directory, with each page having space for not only images but also a brief description of the artist's specialty, past and upcoming exhibits, and avenues for contacting her or him. Getting into the directory is a pretty straightforward process. Artists who have images stored on a home computer and some computer savvy can create Portfolio sites without any interaction with the CRC staff.

"It's not complicated," says photographer Kathy Maniaci. "I typed in information about my work and followed directions for downloading images from my computer. The site turned out fine."

That's only one of the possibilities for accessing Portfolio. Abend attended a workshop where CRC staff scanned slides and photos of her work and offered guidance on other tasks necessary for setting up a site. "They walked us through the process," she comments. "It was very user-friendly. For me, this has been a blessing. My work is on view within Portfolio, and that's also pushing me to take the next step: to create my own Web site."

Such workshops are held on a quarterly basis; the next one is scheduled for Saturday, May 3, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the CRC's Mulroy Civic Center office, 411 Montgomery St. Because the workshop is limited to 10 people, it's necessary to register in advance by calling Kendra Lawton, the CRC's public relations and marketing coordinator, at 435-2161.

Beyond that, Lawton also meets with individual artists interested in participating in Portfolio. And there are plans for additional outreach efforts. "At some point, we want to get over to Delavan Center," she says, referring to the 509 W. Fayette St. building housing many artists' studios. "We want to go where the artists are."

In discussing Portfolio's future, Lawton adds that she hopes for an expanded artists' roster and for greater visibility. She's convinced that online projects like this will play a vital role in the future. "It's an important tool for connecting artists with the public," she says.

Those who choose to sample Portfolio will find a listing of artists by discipline and by rough alphabetical order. Some sites are minimal, with just a few images and a paragraph of text, and some fill up a virtual page.

The images on display are quite diverse, encompassing work from Reidy's "Sacred Spaces" series and McDowell's "Teknodeco" series, as well as paintings by Linda Bigness and Matthew Davis. It's possible to view images like a slide show or to click on an individual image and see it in a larger-size format. Moving from a Portfolio page to an artist's own Web site poses no problem: there are links between Portfolio and such sites.

The overall project is more complicated than traditional arts councils' endeavors such as publishing a monthly newsletter. Thus, it's not surprising that it took several years to move Portfolio from concept to reality. A number of technical issues were resolved when Purplewire, a local company based in Armory Square, agreed to host the site at no charge.

In one sense, Portfolio is very much an innovative program, one that operates without a curator and offers direct access to any local artist interested in showing work online. In another, it ties in with other CRC projects; for many years, the organization has sponsored group exhibitions, first at the Civic Center and currently at WCNY's television and radio studios in Liverpool.

"It fits in with the general notion of CRC as an information hub," says Leo Crandall, the CRC's executive director. "The specific project, free Web sites for artists, creates a digital connection with our constituents."

View this article on the New Times web site.

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