Call for entries: CCRI

CCRI gallery issues call for community members, artists to participate in ‘Cat Show’ exhibition

Warwick, R.I. – Feb. 13, 2012: Knight Campus Art Gallery Director and Curator Viera Levitt is seeking professional artists and members of the community to participate in an exhibition this spring focusing on the image of cats in contemporary art, life and our relationship to them.

“Cat Show (Come to Mama!)” will be composed of work that reacts to the way Americans look at, care for, treat, pamper and love their cats. It will run from April 3 to 25 at the college’s Warwick campus with a reception from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 12.

Levitt writes, “Cats have been companions throughout history – albeit, as all cat lovers know, in a much less predictable way than dogs.” They were supposed to catch mice, but their role has also been that of beautiful and elegant companions ‘pretending’ to be timid and domesticated. Cats were associated with the devil and linked to witches in medieval times. “Their reputations were resurrected after they were celebrated for saving boat cargo from rodents. Of course, as every cat owner knows, a wild animal lurks inside his or her kitty.”

Levitt said cats have been said to have nine lives and know about the future. There are also various superstitions connected to cats such as the serious troubles that could befall one whose path was crossed by a black cat. This show will look at cats as object of our enjoyment, love, care or obsession; hence the subtitle, ‘Come to mama!’

The exhibition is open to:

A. The professional artist community

This part of the exhibition will include art produced by professional artists depicting cats and/or their relationships to humans. Artists may submit one or two old or new artworks inspired by cats and our relationship with them, including painting, drawing, object, sculpture, video, photography, sound piece, etc. These either will be projected as a slideshow or will be displayed as actual art pieces. The curator will pick which work should be delivered and which will be displayed as part of the slideshow. Please e-mail an image (postcard-size jpg, between 100 KB and 2 MB) of your artwork to knightgallery@ccri.edu by March 15 and indicate the size, technique, year of creation and whether the piece is available for display. There is no entry fee. Selected works must be delivered to the gallery by March 29.B. All community members

This part of the exhibition will include snapshots from everyone who loves and/or has cats. Submit a 4-by-6-inch or 5-by-7-inch photo attached to letter-size paper with your answers to the questions below, or e-mail the photo and your answers to knightgallery@ccri.edu by March 29. Please answer all or some of these questions: 1. What is your name and your cat’s name? 2. I love my cat because ... 3. My cat is funny because ... 4. My cat is special because ...

CCRI alumni, faculty and staff are particularly encouraged to participate in this exciting project by sending in your cat photos and quotes.

For more information, contact Levitt, at knightgallery@ccri.edu or visit the gallery Web site at http://ccri.edu/art/galleries/knight.

The Community College of Rhode Island, New England’s largest community college, has full- service campuses in Warwick, Lincoln, Providence and Newport and operates satellites in Downcity Providence and Westerly. CCRI enrolls an average of nearly 18,000 students annually in credit courses and thousands more in noncredit and workforce training classes and programs.