News from AICA-USA: Letter from the President
November 5, 2011
Dear AICA Members:
It is time to renew your membership. In the next few days, you will receive an e-mail notice from our webmaster Jason Irla to remind you how to renew by mail, or by credit card via our website; instructions will also be posted on our website www.aicausa.org. We will start mailing your 2012 stickers in early December. Please be patient! You can expect to receive your 2012 sticker before the end of December. If you have any questions, please write to our Membership Assistant Dan Wever at aicausaprogram@gmail.com.
As I have previously mentioned, AICA International has been very strict in monitoring our renewals: members who have not paid their dues for two consecutive years are being removed from their list, which means they are no longer considered valid members of AICA.
In addition to encouraging you to renew as early as possible, I would also like to ask you to add a donation to your payment if possible. Our organization fiscally depends on your support. The more money we have at our disposal, the more we will be able to organize new programs with the participation of our members, particularly those who reside outside the three-state (NY-NJ-CT) area. The 2011 renewals were very successful and we received a substantial number of donations. Please donate again.
I hope you will be able to attend our fifth AICA-USA Distinguished Critic Lecture at The New School University, which will be presented by Peter Schjeldahl under the title The Critic as Artist, in 2011. Is updating Oscar Wilde possible? It seems worth a try. The lecture will be on Thursday, November 17, 2011, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., at The New School University’s Tishman Auditorium, located at 66 West 12th Street in Manhattan (ground floor). Admission free for all AICA members with a valid AICA card.
In mid-November you will receive a notice about our next AICA Awards. Responding to your demands, we will ask ALL AICA-USA members to recommend their favorite show in different categories (the list will be provided with the notice). Your recommendations will be added to those of the AICA Awards Committee, which will monitor the votes and determine the winners. The ceremony will take place in March, 2012. (We will determine the date and the location in early December). The voting will take place in mid-December, 2011, and the results will be announced in January, 2012.
During the 44th AICA International Congress in Asunción (Paraguay) I was elected the new President of AICA International. It is a big honor and responsibility. Many thanks to all of you who voted for me. I look forward to strengthening the relationship between AICA-USA and AICA International. The Board of AICA-USA has already preliminarily approved a program of yearly international symposia devoted to criticism in different parts of the world; the first one focusing on criticism in Europe, which will take place in 2012. As the new President of AICA International, I will make sure that more of our members are included in international programs abroad.
I look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming events.
Kind regards,
M Bartelik
Marek Bartelik
President of AICA-USA