Announcing New Members To The Spectrum Advisory Board

Hi, everyone,

I am thrilled to make the announcement that Rebecca Guay and Virginie Ropars have joined the Spectrum Advisory Board. I also want to thank Cathy Fenner for stepping into a more active role in the Advisory Board 2016 session. Between these three, I am honored to have their help, guidance and support while serving as the director of Spectrum.

Please read the official press release for the full details.

Enjoy,

John

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: JOHN FLESKES/Director Spectrum Fantastic Art
http://www.spectrumfantasticart.com
408-206-2346

ANNOUNCING NEW MEMBERS TO THE SPECTRUM ADVISORY BOARD

Santa Cruz, CA, December 16, 2015. Director John Fleskes has announced changes to the Spectrum Advisory Board, including the addition of two new members. “One of the qualities that makes Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Art the preeminent annual for the creative community is the desire to continuously improve and look to those who I admire for their advice and guidance,” John says. “With that goal in mind I would like to welcome our new Advisory Board members Rebecca Guay and Virginie Ropars, who will help keep the enthusiasm, focus, and love for the artwork championed by Spectrum moving forward in the years ahead.”

Rebecca Guay is an award-winning illustrator, gallery artist, and educator; as the founder of the annual workshop The IMC and the online mentoring program SmArt School, Rebecca has had a profound impact on today’s fantastic art community.

Virginie Ropars is a highly respected and influential sculptor and educator based in Brittany, France who has been profiled by The Huffington Post and Art Doll Collector magazine among many others. Her work appears in galleries around the world and resides in major collections in the U.S., Europe, and Russia.

Rebecca and Virginie join the current board consisting of Brom, Alice Carter, Mark Chiarello, James Gurney, Charles Kochman and Iain McCaig. Spectrum co-founder and Honorary Lifelong Board Member Cathy Fenner has also agreed to step into a more active role for the 2016 session. Other lifelong members are Harlan Ellison, Tim Underwood, and Spectrum co-founder Arnie Fenner.

In conjunction with the new, we would also like to give our heartfelt thanks to our outgoing Advisory Board member, Irene Gallo, for her many years of hard work and assistance to Spectrum and her passion to our art and artists.

The Advisory Board assists the Director of Spectrum Fantastic Art in answering questions relating to growth, staying current in the genres Spectrum represents, identifying areas of neglect that require attention, encouraging discussion within the group to think outside of Spectrum’s area of experience when selecting jury members, aid in connecting Spectrum with schools or institutions, advising on how Spectrum can better serve the community and individual artists, and in general how to improve the annual, the competition, and its other outreach activities. The Advisory Board also nominates candidates and votes to determine the Grand Master Award recipient each year. Spectrum Advisory Board members are rotated on occasion to help keep the Spectrum’s outlook vibrant, fresh, diverse, and inclusive; any previous Advisory Board member can be re-invited for another term after a one year break at the Director’s discretion.

Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art is the award-winning and internationally renowned art book series established in 1993 by Cathy and Arnie Fenner. The contents of each book is determined by a competition that is open to all artists; a jury of peers—different each year—selects the best works from those entered for inclusion in the book and presents awards in eight categories. The deadline for entries to Spectrum 23 is January 25, 2016.

The prestigious Museum of American Illustration in New York City has hosted three exhibitions dedicated to Spectrum, shattering museum special-event attendance records. It is the sponsor of Spectrum Fantastic Art Live, a yearly convention devoted to creators of all disciplines and sensibilities. Spectrum is published annually by Santa Cruz-based Flesk Publications and is distributed globally by Publishers Group West.

To learn more about Rebecca Guay: www.rebeccaguay.com and http://www.artimc.org
To learn more about Virginie Ropars: http://vropars.free.fr/
To learn more about Spectrum: www.spectrumfantasticart.com

For more information, contact:
spectrum@fleskpublications.com
Spectrum Fantastic Art, 2871 Mission St., Santa Cruz, CA 95060

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