For Featured Artist Molly Gambardella, the start of a piece rarely looks the same twice. Sometimes, it begins with a formal idea that pops into her head. Other times, something external—a conversation, an object, a memory—triggers a path she needs to follow. And then there are days when the research begins first and guides her creative direction. Sponsored by: Art8 "Webinars for Creatives" https://art8.net #art8 “My process is fluid and continues to evolve with my experience as a studio artist,” Gambardella describes. That fluidity is part of what keeps her work dynamic. She moves between improvisation and planning, curiosity and execution. Her experience with installations has deepened this instinct. “Working with installations has taught me the delicate balance between magic and logistics," she says. On any given day, she might be reworking an idea to make it physically possible, while trying to protect the core sense of curiosity that brought it into being. https://www.artworkarchive.com/blog/why-this-artist-assembles-hundreds-of-small-objects-to-say-one-big-thing

Dr. Liza Calisesi Maidens Named UIC Rising Star Researcher Sponsored by: Art8 "Webinars for Creatives" https://art8.net #art8 Dr. Calisesi Maidens’ research focuses on historically underrepresented composers of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, particularly women and composers of color. Her recent project, Expanding the Choral Canon—a recorded album produced with Bella Voce and supported by UIC’s Award for Creative Activity—has received national recognition and advanced the accessibility of early choral repertoire. This summer, she will continue her research at the Imogen Holst archives in England, highlighting the work of the long-overlooked 20th-century female composer. Congratulations, Dr. Calisesi Maidens! Click below to read more about Dr. Calisesi Maidens’ research, as featured in UIC Today. https://cada.uic.edu/news/dr-liza-calisesi-maidens-named-uic-rising-star-researcher/

Dutch National Ballet ‘corrects’ La Bayadère in a new version Sponsored by: Art8 "Webinars for Creatives" https://art8.net #art8 Dutch National Opera & Ballet, La Bayadère with Olga Smirnova, photo by Hugo Thomassen In March 2026 Dutch National Ballet will debut a new production of La Bayadère, based on a revised libretto that “recalibrates the historical context” to correct its inherent cultural appropriation. “Cultural appropriation happens,” says Britannica, “when members of a majority group adopt cultural elements of a minority group in an exploitative, disrespectful, or stereotypical way.” Hemce the Bayadère problem. Co-director of the new production and director of Dutch National Ballet, Ted Brandsen, says: Just as you don’t just replace a Rembrandt with a new painting, you don’t let such wonderful ballet heritage go to waste either. The only way to preserve it is to keep performing it. That can only be done by putting it in a different context, away from the orientalist gaze of the nineteenth century and towards equality. https://www.gramilano.com/2025/06/dutch-national-ballet-la-bayadere/

From the outside, we often think success as an artist is having our work in galleries and selling to distinguished collectors. I used to believe that, but I was wrong. Sponsored by: Art8 "Webinars for Creatives" https://art8.net #art8 How do you define success? I was 12 years into what looked like a “successful” art career when I learned that true success can look very different, and I realized I had never considered what success meant for me. I had blindly followed in the footsteps of other artists and that was one of the biggest mistakes I made in my career. I ended up pigeonholed, stuck, and miserable, painting what gallery owners and collectors wanted, not what was in my heart to create. The good news is this… you define what success means for you. https://www.mastrius.com/how-to-build-a-sustainable-art-career-without-burning-out-or-selling-out-2/

Kevin Haden, Senior Associate Dean of Strategic Engagement and Institutional Excellence at the Curtis Institute of Music, shares the importance of giving young people the space to define their own creative vision. Sponsored by: Art8 "Webinars for Creatives" https://art8.net #art8 https://youtu.be/eq8m0gE9XWA

As the crypto landscape evolves beyond speculative tokens and meme-driven trends, a new class of digital assets is rising to prominence. Digital Asset Securities, or DAS, represent a fusion of traditional investment logic and blockchain efficiency. Sponsored by: Art8 "Webinars for Creatives" https://art8.net #art8 Among the most talked about newcomers are the ArtBits, DAS developed by Global Art Exchange, which merge the exclusivity of blue-chip artwork with the liquidity, transparency, and structure of regulated digital finance. The ArtBits are not typical cryptocurrencies, and that is precisely why they are drawing global interest. Cryptocurrencies come in various forms. Coins like Bitcoin serve as decentralized stores of value. Tokens like Ethereum power smart contracts. Stablecoins like USDC provide price stability. Some tokens offer access to digital services, while others function as digital equivalents of stocks or bonds. https://www.artsmanagementmagazine.com/article/the-artbit-revolutionizing-crypto-with-fine-art-backed-digital-asset-securities/

VCA50 Creative Development Grants: Enabling artists to innovate and inspire Sponsored by Art8 - "Webinars for Creatives" https://art8.net #art8 A creative practice grants scheme for graduates of the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) has recently been significantly expanded to support 16 talented artists this year. Henri Matisse once said creativity takes courage — and in today’s world, it takes a lot more besides. The difficulty of establishing a successful artistic career is well known, but in recent years the challenges have been exacerbated by persistent arts funding cuts, rising costs of living, precarious work conditions and the COVID-19 lockdowns. At the same time, a recent report conducted by Creative Australia for Service and Creative Skills Australia (SaCSA) found that Australia’s creative industries are facing critical workforce and skills shortages, with creative roles experiencing the most acute shortages. https://finearts-music.unimelb.edu.au/about-us/news/vca50-creative-development-grants-enabling-artists-to-innovate-and-inspire

Mark Seliger was born in Amarillo Texas in 1959, where he lived with his parents, Maurice and Carol Lee, and his two older brothers and younger sister, until 1964, when they moved to Houston. He attended Houston’s High School for Performing & Visual Arts and, from there, went on to attend East Texas State University, where his education began in earnest, as he studied graphic art and photography. He moved to New York City in 1984. In 1987, he began shooting for Rolling Stone. He was signed as their chief photographer in 1992. During his time at Rolling Stone, Seliger shot over 125 covers and began a long-term collaborative relationship with Design Director, Fred Woodward, which continued into their work with GQ. They have co-directed numerous music videos for artists such as Hole, Lenny Kravitz, Gillian Welch and Elvis Costello. In 2001, Seliger moved from Rolling Stone to Condé Nast. He shoots frequently for Vanity Fair, Elle, GQ, Italian Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and German Vogue. Sponsored by Art8 "Webinars for Creatives" https://art8.net #art8 https://www.artsmanagementmagazine.com/article/amm-featured-artist-mark-seliger/

The lead storytellers in artist Isaiah Johns’s paintings are nature’s sweeping vistas, dense forests, brawny mountains and large land animals. “I’m inspired by creation. There’s something that’s within me that loves the land, the wildlife, the water, the sunrise,” Johns said. “I would sound like a weirdo running around telling people about how beautiful all of this is, so that’s why I paint. That’s my way of sharing it.” But that doesn’t mean Johns, 44, believes in happy accidents. The Fargo-Moorhead-based representational artist whose work is in galleries across the country tends to see creative “mistakes” as a green light to scrutinize the details until they are just right. “A painting or a photo or a video is just a continuation of correcting mistakes until you give up correcting,” Johns. “ [You keep doing it] over and over and over until you’re tired of doing it.” Johns primarily sells to private collectors and is currently showing at Western Skies Fine Art, Afton, Wyo., Underbrush Gallery, Fargo, and Native Jackson Gallery, Jackson Hole, Wyo. Sponsored by Art8 "Webinars for Creatives" https://art8.net #art8 https://theartspartnership.net/artist-profile-isaiah-johns/

Recent world events have left us — me, anyway — reeling, angry, confused. Though there is a glut of self-helpy, life-coachy accounts for artists, and though I read daily affirmations like “every creative act is one of resistance/rebellion/revolution” or “artists are the conscience of society,” I find myself battling cynicism. Insta-activism, and especially Insta-artivism, can be so facile. I could liken myself to the “diffuse public” that critic Ben Davis described in a recent article, a public that “squints at the wall label, and wonders, “Wait… how is this inscrutable object supposed to bring about the revolution, again?” But the better me, the one that finds cynicism too easy, wants to have an answer to that question. At this moment in time, does my art matter? Does yours? Can it do anything to lift this psychic toll? Can it, in fact, be revolutionary? #art8 Art8 - Webinars for Creatives! https://www.gallerieswest.ca/magazine/columns/artists-save-yourselves/

Flying To The Sun is a collection composed of 18 illustrations by artist, illustrator, and writer Narges Noori. Currently in residence at the University of Alberta, Noori curated this exhibition as a part of this year’s campus-wide International Week (I-Week). Drawing from her own experiences navigating oppressive societal constraints, Noori’s evocative illustrations seek to educate and empower young women to resist barriers and achieve their ambitions. Noori is also a passionate advocate for women’s rights and access to education in Afghanistan. https://thegatewayonline.ca/2025/02/exhibit-review-flying-to-the-sun-at-fab-gallery/

Inspired by a true story, Invincible recounts the last 48 hours in the life of Marc-Antoine Bernier, a 14-year-old boy on a desperate quest for freedom. Watch Now! A Short Film by Vincent René-Lortie Directed by: Vincent René-Lortie Written by: Vincent René-Lortie Produced by: Samuel Caron https://www.wikiart.org/en/app/court-metrage/invincible Art8 - Webinars for Creatives! - https://art8.net #art8