SDVAN and FOCUS have embarked on a project to enliven the SD art scene by cross pollinating the fashion and art worlds. By putting together teams consisting of an artist, a fashion designer, a teacher and a documenter, we hope to encourage products with immense creative energy. The collaborations will be showcased April 2011. Finale events will include a VIP fashion show, in a series of independent exhibitions for each of the teams, and a group show, which will present highlights of each team at one venue.

The exhibition will feature the results not only of the collaboration of the artist and fashion designer, but also the documentation of the process by talented videographers, writers and photographers. An exciting component of the team is the educator who will be asked to create lesson plans for their classrooms and general publication. Priority will be given to teachers who work with at risk teens. We are hoping to match emerging with established participants to engender as much mentoring as possible. Our goal is to include teens within the teams when supervision by teachers can be provided.

Mission

The Art Meets Fashion mission is to initiate collaborations between established fashion designers and visual artists of excellence, to showcase the creativity in San Diego, and to encourage local teens to be involved in the Arts.

Goals

• Promote San Diego regional arts through the San Diego Visual Arts Network, FOCUS, and our partners
• Create additional awareness for these supporting organizations
• Foster relationships between visual artists, fashion designers, educators, venues, and supporting industries
• To benefit non-profit Art and Fashion educational programs for teens (15-19 years-old)
• Expose the public to the creativity our region has to offer
• Enlighten the public on the advantages of buying local
• Nurture San Diego style and raise the bar on creativity
• Encourage art collecting and connoisseurship
• Stimulate the San Diego economy

The San Diego Visual Arts Network (non-profit Public Charity 501 (c) 3 EIN #205910283) has a mission to improve the clarity, accuracy and sophistication of disclosure about San Diego’s artistic and cultural life. We are dedicated to reinforcing the idea that the visual arts are a necessary and vital part of the health of our city. By providing a website with a directory and events calendar and facilitating numerous collaborations on visual arts projects, we hope to not only build the confidence of those involved in the arts, but disseminate information throughout San Diego thus raising the bar on the writing, production and appreciation of the visual arts in our region. SDVAN list 1600 visual arts resources, has 4,000-5,000 unique visitors to our website per month and get over one million hits a year. We have approx 35,000 on our opt-in mailing list. SDVAN exhibition resume includes: Little & Large, Movers and Shakers, SD Art Prize, New Contemporaries. 

FOCUS (Fashion Opportunities Connect US) is a fashion industry networking organization for emerging professionals with goals to: Connect - create a community for those in fashion related industries to NETWORK, LEARN & GROW Promote - generate exposure opportunities for the emerging fashion market – designers, stylists, manufacturers, e-tailers, boutique owners, fashion students & other entrepreneurs Inspire - expose the San Diego consumer base to the independent fashion scene in San Diego through the Passport to Style, Art Meets Fashion, and other related events Educate - build a platform where experienced professionals can share their knowledge with the next generation Give back - build the scholarship program and create means to donate to fashion related charities in San Diego.

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