DCist.com Column by Kelly Rand Oct. 29, 2009
Project Dispatch Delivers
Once out of college, most of us find it rare to receive care packages. Remember having your day brightened after treking down to mail services to retrieve a package, tearing it open with anticipation of what might be inside? But gone are the days of mystery boxes packed with love and much needed supplies from mom.
Enter Project Dispatch, an artwork subscription service that aims to reclaim a bit of that feeling. Conceived by two area Corcoran graduates, Rachel England and Chandi Kelley, the service allows subscribers to choose an artist who will send you art in the mail each month. Subscriptions are three, six or 12 months, and you can choose your payment level starting at $15 and going as high as $40 per month.
England and Kelley set out with the idea to get artists working and creating. As both attended Corcoran, England explained, the college pushes students to create small works. "That's where you make discoveries [as an artist] and where your larger work comes from," she said. And with the small monthly subscription rate, all the work is expected to be small.
Currently, 18 artists are involved in the project with plans to expand the group to 30. Over half are Corcoran graduates and many are area working artists whose body of works are quite diverse. Subscribers can find visual and digital artists, as well as musicians and poets.
There's a bit of mystery about what subscribers might receive in the mail, but that is all a part of the fun. Some artists are coming up with serial works and others a continuous story that won't be finished when a subscription ends. The advantage to the buyer is the ability to collect artwork at low cost, not to mention help get artists creating.
The regular subscription includes work from just one artist, but a sampler subscription is available, for which an artist will be chosen at random. Future plans for possible sampler customization will be based on customer and artist feedback, where you could choose different artists each month.
Artists that are involved are asked to pay a membership fee of $18 for one year and pay for shipping and handling for any subscriptions. Project Dispatch takes a 10% commission from each subscription to cover administrative costs. England said there won't be a lot of profit for the artists but that was never the main goal. The advantage to the artist is to work small, get in the studio, and be inspired.
Project Dispatch officially launches this Friday with a party and exhibit of the project artists at The Mini, an alternative space in Southeast. Each of the artists were asked to submit up to six works no larger than 12" x 12" for the show. The exhibit will be set up as a marketplace and less like a gallery show, where people can buy subscriptions right then and there and take the works off of the wall. The hope being that by the end of the evening the walls will be empty.
The Mini is located at 29 Kings Court SE and the Project Dispatch launch party and exhibit will take place from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m., Friday, October 30. Subscriptions are being accepted now.
By Kelly Rand in Arts and Events on October 29, 2009 4:00 PM
Project Disptach Blog
The Project Dispatch blog features artwork installments, event information, behind the scenes, and once a month will feature an artist from the project!
Words with ReadySetDC.com :
Words with the Founders of Project Dispatch. By Victoria Milko
Project Dispatch offers the unique experience of surprise to an action that typically requires a great deal of thought and consideration - that of purchasing artwork. Not all aspects are unknown, of course, since the patron has the option of choosing the artist from which they will receive work, but the work received is always a surprise. This experience of subscribing to art is not only for the curious, but for those seeking an affordable way to participate in the artistic process. The work reflects the affordability in a few ways. In most cases the work will be unframed. It will probably be small. It may be a sketch or notes for a grander work. Maybe not more resonating, but definitely more tangible and accessible are the sketches and photographs of Jean Claude and Christos’ monumental and temporary artworks
To quote an artist of Project Dispatch “the greatest part is that the artists can make exactly what they want to make.” Most artists are concerned about their audience when making work, and don’t expect to sell artwork without utilizing certain channels of critique and translation first. If those channels are removed, how will it affect the work? What is the patron expecting, having only seen a few examples? Who is this patron? Is it a friend or a stranger? How much will it change or affect the materials chosen and the time/energy spent on the artwork?
For some artists these questions are of no concern and the Project is simply a venue to distribute their compulsive acts which translate something spectacular, odd, silly, delicate, poignant, beautiful etc., in their own language. For others still it is a desire to give someone an experience that will either brighten their day, or at least provide a thought provoking distraction from routine if it’s not to the subscriber’s particular tastes. Though there is a trade made for a tangible object of art, this collaborative project is more about an experience than a transaction for both the artist and the patron.
The patron becomes part of the process of an artistic venture, and has the privilege to own the first glimpses of new techniques or bodies of work. Subscribing to an artist initiates a series of creative acts, which consequently produces ideas for more substantial works. The desire to support and initiate a creative act is how we define a patron of the arts.
If you would like to invest in our work, contact us individually. If you would like to support the creative process, subscribe.
Rachel England and Chandi Kelley
Support the Project!
This 52 page, full color artist book features work sent for subscription by 22 Project Dispatch Artists!
All proceeds from the sale of this book go to keeping this art machine running. Help us raise money, so we can continue to bring you great art at an affordable price.
Enjoy!
LIMITED TIME OFFER !!
Buy a book and get one installment of art for $5.00.
