and you know that we're half crazy, but that's why you want to be there.

As you may have heard, there is this large-ish art exhibition held in Venice once every two years known as the Venice Biennale.

And as you may or may not have heard, The Biennial Project hosts a big wonderful artist brigade that attends each Venice Biennale during the head-spinning week of press previews that lead up to the opening.

It is SO MUCH DAMN FUN - a chance to hang out with artist friends and get to know new ones in the mesmerizing backdrop of Venice while exploring a mind-bending amount of fascinating contemporary art.

And while here is never a shortage of receptions and parties to be had during this wild and crazy week,  just to be sure, The Biennial Project hosts a fantastic reception/gala of our own during the trip to display all the fabulous art work we have accepted into our very own “biennale within a biennale”.

We will of course give you more details on how to enter your work in our biennale in the months to come, but we wanted to get word about the trip out now for those intrepid souls who might be interested in going with us and experiencing this one of a kind experience for themselves.

Now, perhaps this idea intrigues you but you are thinking “oh come on now you crazy Biennial Project kids, it’s way too early to make plans for a trip so far in advance”. Well, one would think so, except that the Press preview week of the Venice Biennele is SOOO absurdly popular, and attended by so many collectors, gallerists, critics and various VIP-types, that to have any chance of booking a super nice flat close to the proceedings at a reasonable cost, one has to commit, well, yesterday.

Our group currently fills TEN absolutely perfect flats super near each other in a great area - over 40 artists so far! We have tentative holds on a few other lovely flats, and are looking to fill them up with old friends and new ones who want to come along for this glorious ride.

If you think you might like to go, let us know and we can help guide you thru the process. We will admit to being just a teensy weensy bit obsessed with this – we are the Biennial Project after all – and we have accumulated a fair amount of knowledge on the subject which we are more than happy to share with you. Come on now, live while you can.

VENICE CALLING YOU!

The Biennial Project blog and website

Eric – I’ve decided we are going to win Powerball.

          We should have the billion dollars.

          We can move to PR and save every dog there.

          Then summer in the Berkshires and save dogs there.

          And keep a loft in Bushwick and throw big parties.

          And build our own pavilion in Venice.

          Then wonder what happened to all that money 10 years 

          later.

          But look back and smile from our Section 8 on McGrath

          highway.

          And then we’ll spend our ss checks on lottery tickets

          because god will smile on us twice.

          Pennies from heaven…..

Anna–When is the Powerball drawing?

           It will be a very good 10 years with that money.

           We can have that H&G show help us buy one of our

           houses and call it Performance Art, which of course it is.

           And a house by a river outside of Prague.

           And now that I am thinking, we will need a private

           plane so that our dogs can have an easy flight with us

           as we jet back and forth.

           With our logo painted big on the outside.

           Like the Rolling Stones.

Eric -   It’s going to be a great 9 years.

Anna- I can hardly wait. When do we play?

           And the Cuban dogs need our help too. If this takes us

           down to 8 years I am OK with it.

           Because we will win again.

           And if not, we will always have our ss checks, right?

OK, now don’t anybody panic, but this is what we are headed into in Venice.

Mobs of well-dressed, well-presented Europeans, all decked out in their finest art reception outfits.

Not to mention that to get around and see all that is to be seen while there, one needs a pretty high level of aerobic fitness to traverse the one million cobblestone steps of this lovely, elegant city.

You see where this is going don’t you? If not, look at the pictures for a moment and it will come to you.

Now you get it right?

Yep, we must work on ourselves a little by then to get the most out of this trip, and to have any hope of a Successful Presentation of Self while there.

Two options here:

1) Admit that this is the truth, and make vague promises to oneself to work on this as possible, etc., etc., and as usual do too little too late and later regret this course of action.

2) DO something fun and helpful (and arty!) and feel fabulous and strong and prepared for your most flattering clothes in Venice and have the best time ever, and be be proud of yourself for having taken action at a crucial moment.

We know from years of personal experience that this is a tough choice, but this time we are hoping to go for option 2, and you can too.

So now, without further ado, we present to you in more detail:

OPTION TWO

A 25 week program (beginning in November and finishing right before we go to Venice) to support us all in reaching our individual personal body/mind goals. Goals could include weight loss, increased aerobic capacity, improved muscle strength and balance – each person will set their own goals. To help each participant achieve their goals, the program will include:

Weekly 1.5 hour group meetings that will include weigh ins (for those who want them), setting of goals for coming week and review of successes and challenges in previous week, 30 minutes exercise of some kind, and a brief closing meditation. Classes will be led by Oscar E Cruz, a truly amazing trainer and lifestyle coach who has helped MANY people reach their fitness goals. Class to be held at 80 Border Street in East Boston.

Frequent communication to and from Oscar during the week to help us learn and stay on track. This will include a weekly newsletter to the group as well as info targeted to each participant’s needs and struggles, and access to Oscar to ask fitness or workout questions.

Membership in a FB group where we will share info and encouragement.

For those who want, the opportunity to participate in the performance art aspect of this group project. This part is totally optional and we will not share any info on participants who would rather not do this. But if you are into it, a fun opportunity to chart our progress via pics, videos, charts – we are a creative group so the possibilities here are endless.

The cost for this whole program is $250 per participant – which figures out to be only $10 per week. This is a steal for this kind of coaching program. We know not everyone involved will be able to come to every meeting, but if you are away or can’t come – you can still call or skype in to the meeting to give us your update and get feedback.

We have only 12 spots in the program to make sure that everyone gets the personalized support that we need.

So far Anna, Bo, Stephanie, Melissa are committed, and several others are probable.  SO, what’s it to be? Are you in?

Don’t you just love it when you hear that a long-time artistic collaborator is having a major retrospective at a prestigious local institution, and you get to stop by and enjoy their unique contributions to the art world once again? While drinking good wine for a change?

Such was the case last night at the opening of the Tony Conrad exhibit at MIT’s List Center. Entertaiment was had, and it was great to get to know this artist’s overall body of work, since we had previously known him mostly from his input on a joint project.

:

The Biennial Project first had the pleasure of working with Tony (who went by the moniker tOny to his closest friends) in 2010 in our seminal Advice from Artists Who Have Made It series. tOny’s contribution to this series is excerpted below:

XXOO,

The Biennial Project

P.S.S. Seriously, go see this show if you can.