CWA Forum 2007 in Scottsdale, Arizona
January 17-20, 2008

Scottsdale, Arizona, considered one of the premier art destinations in the United States, not to mention the warm January weather, will be the venue for the next Collectors of Wood Art Forum.  The Forum will begin on Thursday evening, January 17 and conclude with a brunch on Sunday morning, January 20 (see schedule inset).  The Forum will be held at the Marriott Suites Old Town Scottsdale and the adjacent Sonoran Conference Center in the center of Scottsdale’s art gallery district.

The Collectors of Wood Art is completing its first ten years and the theme of our Forum will be Building the Next Decade.  The highlights of the program carrying out that theme will be:

·        Keynote speaker, to be announced,

·        Hal Nelson, independent curator, will lead a discussion by museum curators on the future of the studio wood art movement,

·        Connie Mississippi, artist and journalist, has assembled a panel of artists—Merryll Saylan, Wendy Maruyama, Susan Hagen and Virginia Dotson—to discuss the influences on their work and future directions,

·        A series of presentations to aid collector’s in thinking about the future of their collecting and collections.

·        Presentations by artists on their future directions

Another reason for holding the Forum in Scottsdale is the Arizona State University Art Museum and its extensive collection of studio wood art starting with the Edward Jacobson Collection and ever expanding.  On Friday afternoon, Forum attendees will visit the ASU Art Museum and College of Art with a tour of the Ceramics Research Center permanent collection, tour and talk by Tom Eckert, wood artist and head of the wood program in the College of Art, and view two wood exhibitions at the Nelson Fine Arts Center—

·        Moulthrop Generations: Turned Wood Bowls by Ed, Philip and Matt Moulthrop, and

·        Selections from the museum’s permanent studio wood art collection 

The tour will also include the museum’s print and Latin America art collections.  In the evening, there will be a reception at the museum with the museum’s staff and their local patrons.  During the reception, you will have a final opportunity to browse the exhibitions, before returning to the hotel.

The Scottsdale area is home to a number of collectors, artists and interesting art sites.  The Saturday tour program will offer Forum attendees a selection of tours including artists’ studios, collectors’ homes, and art sites and galleries not in the Old Town Scottsdale area.  More information on the tour selection will be sent with registration information.  The Phoenix/Scottsdale area also has several world famous art landmarks that attendee could visit on their own before or after the Forum:

·        Heard Museum of Native Cultures and Art with exhibitions of cultural objects and fine art to jewelry and fashion, the Heard Museum offers the best in traditional and contemporary Native American art.

·        Taliesin West and the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture.

·        The Desert Botanical Garden of Phoenix with not only its array of Sonoran Desert flora but in situ sculpture.

Scottsdale is adjacent to Phoenix and a short drive from the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX).  Taxis, shuttles and rental cars will take you to our Forum hotel—the Marriott Suites Old Town Scottsdale (www.marriott.com/phxst). The facility is an all-suite hotel and each suite includes a separate living room, bedroom, and oversized marble bath. For those who want to economize and share a suite, each suite also has a double sofa bed in the living room.  To not miss out on the special CWA Forum rate, reserve your room before Monday, December 17, 2006.  The special suite rate will be available to Forum attendees three days before and after the Forum dates depending on the availability of rooms.  Hotel reservation details can be found on the Forum registration form. 

The registration fee will include all meals during the Forum, transportation for the ASU visit and tours, and participation in the program.  Two of the meals (the Thursday gallery reception and the Friday ASU reception) will be “hardy grazing” style while lunches and dinners will be seated meals and breakfast and breaks will be buffet style with seating.  Beverages are included with the meals including wine and beer in the evenings. But there will be time in the evening for those who need to step out and supplement their diet with some delicious Southwestern cuisine and hospitality.

If you have any questions or comments about the Forum, please contact Bruce Heister, Forum Chair, at 650-328-9606 or sbheister@juno.com.

Remember to books those airline tickets and hotel rooms early and to enjoy a great Forum in a great art destination with a great winter break thrown in.

For a registration form click here