myartspace announces a new juried art competition; to represent winning artists at the Scream LONDON gallery

Myartspace.com, the premier online venue for contemporary art has launched a new juried competition to its community members. The top-3 winners of the competition will have their work represented at the Scream London Gallery in June 2009. Deadline for submission is May 15, 2009.

Palo Alto, CA. January 9, 2008 -- myartspace.com, the premier online venue for contemporary art has launched an exciting new juried competition for its community – London Calling 2009. The top 3 winning artists will have their work represented at the Scream London Gallery in June 2009.

The deadline for contest registration and submission of work is May 15, 2009.In order to enter the competition, artists must be a member of myartspace or the New York Art Exchange (www.nyaxe.com). Membership is free, and members can upload an unlimited amount of fine art, music, video and audio narration and create a highly contemporary art viewing experience.

Registration for the London Calling 2009 competition is $50, but will be reduced by 50% to $25 before March 31, 2009. The winners will be announced by May 31, 2009. The exhibit at the scream London Gallery will occur the week of June 22nd.

Catherine McCormack-Skiba, the Company founder of myartspace noted “We have assembled a world-class team of jurors from the Tate Modern, The Hayward Gallery, and the Barbican Gallery. We've got a great venue in the heart of Mayfair in London. And we think this is a great opportunity for artist's development to have their work on exhibit in London. London and New York stand side-by-side in terms of influence in the contemporary art market. We think this is an ideal venue for our best community members to have their work on exhibit.”

Brian Sherwin, senior editor at myartspace notes "The Scream London gallery touches shoulders with some of London's most established art galleries in the traditional hub of the capital's art market. scream, known for its edgy and progressive atmosphere, is located in the heart of the West London art district. Notable gallery guests have included Claire Danes, Beverly Knight, Cilla Black, and Tracey Emin. Scream London is co-owned by Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones."

Artists interested in learning more about the juried competition can do so by clicking on the following link:

www.myartspace.com/londoncalling.

About myartspace:

myartspace, the premier online venue for contemporary art, is one of the fastest growing and diverse communities on the internet. Its members include more than 50,000 artists, collectors, galleries and other art world professionals from across the globe, and it currently has on display hundreds of thousands of pieces of fine art. Membership is free and artist can upload an unlimited amount of work including images, music and video. Myartspace is created and run by CatMacArt Corporation. CatMacArt Corporation is located in Palo Alto, California.
www.catmacart.com.

Website: www.myartspace.com
Sign-Up: www.myartspace.com/signup.html
Blog: www.myartspace.com/blog
info: info AT catmacart.com

Press Reception for the New York Art Exchange (NYAXE)

The New York Art Exchange

The press reception for the launch of the New York Art Exchange(NYAXE) took place earlier this month in Miami during Bridge Wynwood. The New York Art Exchange is a marketplace for buying and selling contemporary fine art online. NYAXE enables the art community to capitalize on new digital mediums through technology by connecting artists, gallerists and art collectors via the World Wide Web. The site is designed to be an ecommerce solution for members of the ‘art world’ social networking site myartspace.com.

Catherine McCormack-Skiba, CEO and founder of NYAXE, mingles with press

Catherine McCormack-Skiba, the CEO and founder of myartspace and NYAXE, was on hand to answer questions from members of the press during a cocktail party. Visitors included journalists from the Associated Press, The Miami Herald, and prominent art blogs. Curious gallerists, art collectors, and members of the press observed what myartspace and NYAXE offers to the global art community by participating in site demonstrations. Opinions, ideas, and drinks were shared in a casual setting that was energized by a meshing between art, technology, and design.
Brian Skiba demonstrates the capabilities of the New York Art Exchange

Brian Skiba, the interim Chief Technology Officer and Chief Financial Officer for myartspace and NYAXE, demonstrated the capabilities of NYAXE during several presentations that allowed onlookers to participate. Members of the NYAXE staff directed visitors to experience the site first hand by accessing computers in a media center that was conveniently located within the design of the reception structure.

The New York Art Exchange press reception brought design, technology, and art together.

Catherine McCormack-Skiba, CEO and founder of NYAXE, stated, "It's been my vision for years to make great art accessible to a broader audience through technology and the internet. I'm excited that we can empower gallerists and artists to expand the awareness of their fine art and help them connect with a new audience of buyers on a global level."

Links of Interest:
www.catmacart.com
www.myartspace.com
www.nyaxe.com
www.nyaxe.com/storeSellerSignUp.do

http://www.myartspace.com/marketing/workflow.html

Frequently Asked Questions About the New York Art Exchange (NYAXE)

The New York Art Exchange is an online marketplace for buying and selling contemporary fine art. NYAXE (http://www.nyaxe.com/) was officially launched on December 2nd at the Bridge Art Fair in Miami. The New York Art Exchange (NYAXE) enables the art community to capitalize on new digital mediums through technology by connecting artists, gallerists and collectors via the World Wide Web. NYAXE can be used in association with myartspace (http://www.myartspace.com/). NYAXE and myartspace are owned by the Catmacart Corporation.

Below are some frequently asked question about the New York Art Exchange (NYAXE).

Q: Why the two sites - myartspace and nyaxe?

A: "We debated this issue quite a bit. We decided that we wanted to see the social network, myartspace, continue to flourish as a great place for free expression, unlimited uploading or work, and a healthy balance of artists, collectors, gallerists, educators, students and art appreciators. Artists can upload their studies as well as their best work, and gain valuable feedback and support. It's almost like a museum exhibit for the artists.

The New York Art Exchange is highly focused on providing a market for selling and buying art, and so the items for sale are likely to be amongst the best people have to offer, and the buyers are there not only to look and appreciate, but to purchase. We see this nyaxe personal store more like a Chelsea Gallery. People can wander in to admire, but many will be on a mission to buy. We think the overwhelming majority of members will co-exist between the two sites as there are ways the sites are tightly linked."

Q: Can I use my art on myartspace for nyaxe?

A: "Yes. When you go to create a listing, you can either upload a fresh new piece of work directly into your online store OR you can import work from your image library in myartspace. If you feel the images you uploaded in myartspace are perhaps not high enough resolution or don't capture you work well, you can always upload new images. You can access your NYAXE store by logging into your myartspace account. Simply visit your account page and click on Manage Store."

Q: What resolution images should I upload for nyaxe.com?

A: "You should try to upload the highest resolution images possible onto nyaxe as buyers will want to use the zoom feature to scour your work for details and because on-demand printing is always better with a higher digital image to print from. We would recommend a minimum of a 5 megapixel camera, and today if you are buying a new camera, the lowest resolution should be 10 megapixel. A Digital SLR camera will generally take much better photos than a non-SLR even with the same megapixel rating."

Q: How many photos of my piece of work should I upload?

A: "For each listing, you can have one primary image, and 4 secondary images. You may want to show different perspectives on the work, or perhaps some images more zoomed in that others. You don't need to provide additional images, but the capability is there."

Q: How many listings (items for sale) can my store have?

A: "There is no practical limit to how many items can be listed on your site. But realistically, you will need to use Categories in order to keep them in smaller groups so that the buyer doesn't get lost. Each store plan has a limit to the number of free item listings you can have that year, and after that there is a cost with each listing. You probably would like to balance the incremental listing costs against the traffic you see going to your store before committing too many listings."

Q: Do I get my own web address with my store?

A: "Yes you do. It will be something like www.nyaxe.com/lois.foley. You get to choose that address when you sign up to create your store."

Q: How does the representation work?

A: "Gallerist have more advanced stores and have the option to "represent" other artists work found in a nyaxe store by making a formal request. The gallerist would propose a representation to an artist through the nyaxe messaging system. He or she would propose a price that the artist would receive upon sale of the work, and a shipping arrangement. In some cases they may leave the work with the artist and simply represent them online. Either way, the art listing is immediately transferred from the artists store to the gallery store. We expect more galleries to develop an physical and online presence."

Q: What is the commission I pay to sell my work?

A: "The commission varies from 5% to 15% depending on your store program. You can choose a free store, and you would have a limited number of free listings and a 15% commission when your work is sold. Or you can choose a professional store, list up to 100 pieces of work for free, and pay a 10% commission. For galleries, they have substantially more advanced capabilities and pay a 5% commission. So the actual figure depends on how active your store is."

Q: How does the escrow program work?

A: "nyaxe is based on an escrow model for selling original work. The program is designed to protect both the buyer and seller. The money is put safely aside when the artist sells some work is held by us until both parties are satisfied. The way it works is pretty straight forward.

The buyer purchases a painting and pays for the item and the shipping. Our escrow system dispenses the shipping money to the artist and the artist then safely ships the work to the buyer. Once the buyer receives it, he acknowledges it and the rest of the money due is released."

Q: If I have questions about the New York Art Exchange who should I contact?

A: "The best way to get technical support for the New York Art Exchange is online. We have a support form which can be filled out, and our technical staff will respond to technical questions when submitted on that form. Go to: www.catmacart.com/techsupport to submit a technical support question."