(e)merge, a new, vetted art fair focused on emerging artists and galleries with emerging art, announces it is now accepting applications from galleries, nonprofits and artists without gallery representation. The Fair will take place September 22-25, 2011, at the Morris Lapidus-designed Capitol Skyline Hotel in Washington, DC.  Applications are available on (e)merge’s Web site: http://www.emergeartfair.com; the deadline is Monday, May 23rd and acceptances will be sent out by early June. Organizers also announced the launch of a Web-based map, Mapping the World of Emerging Art, (http://www.emergeartfair.com/programs/). When visiting the Web site artists, gallerists, curators, arts professionals, or collectors who work with or support emerging art, can identify their city to create a marker on the world map. The populated map will be on view online and at the Fair. A picture of the world community of emerging art will be created as colleagues from Baltimore to Brasilia to Beijing put themselves on the map.

(e)merge will feature international galleries and nonprofits along with artist, curator and collector panel discussions, tours, and performances. Artists currently without gallery representation will have the opportunity to exhibit their vetted works at no charge throughout the hotel grounds and in the hotel itself.

Vetting committees are being formed to select a mix of galleries and to select artists. Confirmed Committee Members include:

·       Matthew Higgs, Director/Chief Curator, White Columns, New York, NY

·       Kristen Hileman, Curator, Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD

·       Mera Rubell, Rubell Family Collection, Miami, FL and Washington, DC

·       Manuel de Santaren, collector, Boston, MA and Washington, DC

·       Nico Vascellari, artist, New York, NY and Vittorio Veneto, Italy

·       Yvonne Force Villareal, co-founder Art Production Fund, New York, NY

"I'll be looking for artists' work that presents a unique, thoughtfully-developed and provocative vision,” said Kristen Hileman, Curator at the Baltimore Museum of Art. “While the strongest artistic voices do respond to today's culture, work that distinguishes itself cannot be pigeonholed into trends of the moment, rather it leads us to see the world in new ways. That's what I look forward to viewing and championing in the jurying process."

The (e)merge art fair will take place within blocks of the National Mall, home to internationally renowned cultural institutions including the National Gallery of Art, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and many Smithsonian museums.  “Washington, DC is a natural base for this art fair,” said Helen Allen, one of the Fair’s three organizers. “The city’s museums are among the world’s best and most visited, and it has a vibrant artist and gallery scene. According to recently released business reports, the DC area comprises some of the nation’s wealthiest communities, a highly educated populace and strong job and housing markets.”

Along with Ms. Allen, founder and former executive director of PULSE Contemporary Art Fair, (e)merge is being organized by Leigh Conner and Jamie Smith, co-founders of Conner Contemporary Art, in Washington, DC.

Press registration is now open at http://www.emergeartfair.com/press/