Mission
The purpose of the Cecilia Beaux Forum is to strengthen the role of women artists by providing programs and resources to enhance the quality, as well as, the public's knowledge and appreciation of their work.
Overview
The Cecilia Beaux Forum will be an active committee within the structure of the Portrait Society of America, a 501(c)3 organization formed with the purpose of educating the public about the practice, techniques and applications of traditional fine art portraiture and figurative works. The Chair of the Forum will serve on the executive board of the Portrait Society of America. Judith B. Carducci has been appointed the first Chair of the Forum.
Implementation
Our programs will increase public awareness of women artists in fine art portraiture and figurative works, including women artists in history and contemporary artists of our time. In addition, the program will provide mentoring for emerging artists, as well as exhibitions, publicity and networking. The forum will accomplish its mission through the following programs.
Collect, Write and Publish Articles on Women Artists
Through the efforts of Forum members publishing articles on women in history and the best women artists of our time will teach the public about the wide variety of contributions by women in the arts.
Annual Meeting
Organize and hold a yearly meeting to gather directives from the members in order to build a forum that fulfills its members' visions.
Mentoring
Provide a structured program to direct and nurture artistic growth focused on the individual's goals through the shared guidance and insights of other artists and professionals in the arts arena.
Exhibitions and Professional Exposure
Provide women artists with the tools to gain exposure and prestige through competition and exhibition of works. Organize an online exhibit that will feature women artists and exemplify different facets of fine art portraiture and figurative works.
Committee Leadership
The Forum is structured around three volunteer committees that serve as creative leadership, authors and project consultants. Meet your Forum Leaders.
Judith Carducci, Cecilia Beaux Forum Chair
Judith began formal art study at age five under Blanche Whiting , receiving a classic art education in the tradition of European realism. Judith studied sculpture with Bashka Paeff, watercolor with Melvin Chevers, landscape and abstract composition with C.A. Brodeur, and pastel with Albert Handell, Charles Basham and Daniel Greene, N.A. Among her awards are Best of Show, Portrait Society of America; Award of Excellence, Degas Pastel Society; Finalist, Washington Society of Portrait Artists; and First Prize, LaFond National Competition.
Literature Committee
Collects, writes, and publishes articles on historical and contemporary women artists published in The Art of the Portrait Journal, International Artist Magazine, and other publications.
Chris Saper, Literature Committee Head
Mentoring Committee
Creates mentoring opportunities for women artists by fostering relationships between established and emerging artists in a 9 month program
Alexandra Tyng, Mentoring Committee Head
Alexandra Tyng is known for her figurative
paintings, portraits, and landscapes. She has had 10 solo shows and has
participated in many themed group shows across the U.S. including, recently, Inspiring Figures at the Butler
Institute of American Art; Women Painting
Women;.and America’s Parks: Through
the Beauty of Art, in which she won the Curator’s Choice Award. In 2010,
her portrait of architect Louis I. Kahn was accepted into the permanent
collection of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C.
Alex’s paintings
have been featured in periodicals including American
Arts Quarterly, Fine Art Connoisseur, The Artist’s Magazine, American Artist,
International Artist, Poets and Artists, and Maine Home + Design; and one book, The Art of Monhegan edited by Carl Little. She has received awards
from the Portrait Society of America, the Allied Artists of America, the Art
Renewal Center, and the Woodmere Art Museum.
Alex is the founder of “Portraits For the Arts,” an ongoing philanthropic
project that uses the power of portraiture to raise money for the arts in the
Philadelphia area. She has been active in the Cecilia Beaux Forum since its
inception.
Mentoring Committee:
Emeritus Committee Heads
Teresa Spinner, Exhibitions
Luana Luconi Winner, Literature
Kay Polk, Mentoring
New Media Relations Committee
Communicates through social media opportunities (facebook, blog and twitter so far) for exhibitions, competitions and other news items and topics relating to women in the arts.
Judy Takács, New Media Relations Head
Judy Takács began her art career in 1986 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the
Cleveland Institute of Art.
A winner of seven Best in Show awards in the past few years alone, Judy Takács has exhibited in solo, group and juried shows around Northeast Ohio and at the Zanesville Museum of Art and the Butler Institute of American Art. Her work has also appeared at the legendary Samagundi and National Arts Clubs in New York City. Her work has been recognized by the Portrait Society of America and the Art Renewal Center. She has Signature Status at the Akron Society of Artists and, at 50 is one of the youngest to be archived with legendary Cleveland artists at the Artist Archives of the Western Reserve.
Most recently she was awarded an Ohio Arts Council Grant for Individual Artistic Excellence for her ongoing traveling painting project, Chicks with Balls. Debuting as a solo show at BAYarts, these larger than life portraits celebrate unsung female heroes…topless and holding balls to symbolize their strengths and struggles. An active blogger, Judy has also published a book to chronicle the stories behind the paintings.
New Media Relations Committee:
Stephanie Depshande
