The Clark Hulings Foundation Adds Two New Advisory Board Members – Artist Camilla Webster and Curator Valeray Francisco
Miami, Florida – The Clark Hulings Foundation for Visual Artists (CHF), America’s only nonprofit solely dedicated to equipping working visual artists to be self-sustaining entrepreneurs, is excited to announce that two wonderful new artworld luminaries are joining The Foundation’s advisory board – noted artist Camilla Webster and curator Valeray Francisco.
Both new board members are based in South Florida, a visual art hub where CHF has been quite active over the last year: presenting at the Figurative Art Convention & Expo, hosting one of their Art-Business Conferences, and facilitating Thriving Art Exchanges both in-person and virtually in the region.
CHF Executive Director Elizabeth Hulings notes, “we are so grateful to existing CHF Board members, business development superstar Samantha MacRae Foerster and noted South Florida financial advisor Paula Oddone for bringing on these new fantastic advisors. Camilla and Valeray have huge South Florida and national reach and we are looking forward to them bringing their energy and experience to serving our mission of helping artists on their entrepreneurship journey.”
Camilla Webster is a museum collected and exhibited fine artist, best-selling author, and speaker. Painting in South Florida since 2017, the New York artist has focused on the essence of Ocean Reef, and the water around the Florida Keys in acrylic on canvas. Capturing the attention of the Miami art scene upon her arrival, Webster was given a solo show during Art Basel Miami Week at The Edition Hotel sponsored by Sotheby’s ONE. Her work was then chosen by interior designer Elizabeth Ghia for “The Grand Salon” in the Miami Designer Show House at The Deering Estate. In the summer of 2018, her portraits and abstracts were part of “The Power of Her” exhibit curated by art patron and expert Tanya Brillembourg at IdeoBox in Wynwood, Miami. Mercedes Benz celebrated Webster’s work during Miami Art Week in 2018 with a special installation exhibit curated by Jill Deupi, director of The Lowe Art Museum. The Ocean Reef Art League curated a joint exhibit of Camilla Webster and Pasta Pantaleo in January, and a solo exhibit of her work is planned at the Roberto Russell Gallery in Islamorada from October 5 – December 30, 2019. Camilla Webster’s solo museum show at The Coral Springs Museum of Art (CSMOA) opens to the public on June 13 and runs through August 23rd, 2020. Webster’s painting “Cocktail Hour” was acquired in the fall of 2019 for the museum’s permanent collection. Her work is in private and corporate collections in New York, Palm Beach, London, and Hilton Head.
Clark Hulings was noted for supporting other artists on their path to success, and Webster also tries to help fellow creators to be as successful as she has been. Camilla notes, “as you know an art career can be the loneliest, tense and most baffling of journeys. Marrying the practice, exhibiting and then developing and maintaining real cash flow and sustainability is a remarkable achievement for any artist. The trifecta. I am so grateful to Clark Hulings and now CHF for shedding light on the path and look forward to helping my fellow artists become more successful.”
Valeray Francisco is the Co-Founder of The Directed Art Modern (DAM) and engaged nationwide notably in popular art markets Miami, Aspen, Santa Fe, and Jackson Hole. The mission of The DAM is to be a service to and for artists in all levels of their careers, including in exhibitions management, and opening doors to not only collectors but also to the public, in general. To facilitate this, The DAM is a melding of individuals from the art world – an artist and a curator bringing 27 years of art market experience and by combining these aspects The DAM is able to cover a myriad of topics relating to the career of the artist. With this combination, The DAM is able to not only encourage the artist but is also able to negotiate terms for the artist and navigate the labyrinth of today’s modern art market seeking the best opportunities for the artist to move forward in his/her career. With the ever-increasing prices of exhibiting in the modern art market, The DAM believes that the art market should be taken back from the vanity trend and returned to the realm of reward for one’s creativity – to do this The DAM will explore not only traditional modes of exhibition but also innovative locations.
The addition of these two Advisory Board members comes at a time of increased momentum at CHF. They have just completed their 3rd Annual Art-Business Conference in Santa Fe, including an emotional and gratifying Thriving Artist Exchange event, and have their Virginia Art-Business Conference and Thriving Artist Exchange event coming up November 7-9. Additionally, they are releasing their first major research effort “The Report on the Working Artist” October 16. Finally, they are hosting a panel “Artist as Entrepreneur: Becoming the CEO of your life” at the StartUp Art Fair in Houston on October 12.
