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Press Releases
Arts Exchange Ideas Discussed with Crafts Council of Ireland;
AmericanStyle to Release 2008 Top 25 Arts Destinations on April 8
BALTIMORE, Md. (April 4, 2008) With the goal of building new tourism and trade partnerships to benefit the fine handcrafts industry, officers of The Rosen Group are meeting this week with studios and arts leaders in Ireland.
As guests of the Crafts Council of Ireland, Wendy Rosen and Hope Daniels of Baltimore-based The Rosen Group will present ideas for collaboration in cultural tourism, business education and other ventures that would showcase leading silversmiths, potters, sculptors and other studio artists from both countries.
Ms. Rosen, the company's founder and president, has been asked to provide advice to Irish studio artists who wish to do more business with American collectors and galleries.
She hopes also to spread the word among European collectors and galleries about the economic development movement that has made "arts destinations" of many American cities, large and small.
On April 8, while in Ireland, Ms. Rosen will reveal the winners of this year's AmericanStyle magazine Top 25 Arts Destinations contest. The designation of "Top Arts Destination," determined annually by polling the magazine's readers, is coveted by the convention and visitors bureaus of large, mid-sized and small cities across America.
Hope Daniels, editor-in-chief of AmericanStyle and vice president of The Rosen Group, will join Ms. Rosen in making the announcement from Ireland.
AmericanStyle, www.americanstyle.com, for collectors and travelers, is one of two magazines published by The Rosen Group. The company also produces the Philadelphia Buyers Market of American Craft, the largest wholesale-only tradeshow linking American and Canadian handcraft artists with retail shops and galleries, next scheduled August 2-4, 2008.
"This is an excellent time to consider opportunities for expanding the market for the contemporary crafts made in both countries," Ms. Rosen said. "I believe we have a mutual interest. There is a great deal that we can learn from each other, especially through exchanges of arts business training and programs that promote arts-related tourism."
With the exchange rate currently favoring the European collector of art, she noted, the time is right to help American art studios and galleries by expanding the market for their goods - and by appealing to art-loving tourists from Europe to come here.
The potential benefits to Irish craftspeople are great, as well, said Cornelia McCarthy, collector program manager of the Crafts Council of Ireland, www.ccoi.ie.
"We are trying to find more centralized ways to promote the work of Ireland's finest craft artists, many of whom are living and working in scenic areas that are remote," Ms. McCarthy said.
She mentioned as an example the work of an internationally recognized basketmaker, Joe Hogan, of Loch na Fooey, County Galway, who grows and harvests the willow that he uses to make traditional creel and contemporary art baskets www.joehoganbaskets.com.
"One objective is to work with partners to develop exchanges and tours, which would allow collectors to meet the craftspeople and experience the beauty of the settings that influence their work," Ms. McCarthy said.
Irish tourism leaders have been concerned about the U.S. economy's effect on international vacation travel, and have been developing new promotions to keep Americans visiting their hotels and attractions. Craftspeople in Ireland, meanwhile, are interested in doing more business among American collectors and tourists, Ms. McCarthy noted.
"We appreciate so much the nuggets of advice and insight that Ms. Rosen brings to the studios, to help the artists be more attuned to the needs of American collectors," she said.
While in Ireland, Ms. Rosen and Ms. Daniels are touring the private studios of top silversmiths, woodworkers and other artists, and visiting galleries and museums. They are scheduled to lead a business and marketing seminar for artists in Dublin on April 8.
According to data published in 2001 by the Craft Organization Development Association, handcraft in the United States is an estimated $14 billion industry.
For information, please call:
Jean Thompson
Public Relations Director
AmericanStyle/ The Rosen Group
OFFICE: 410-889-2933, ext. 218; CELL: 443-845-6130
Contacts in Ireland are available.
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