NEW YORK- Workhouse Publicity cordially invites your press coverage to attend the gala opening of the Art + Commerce 2004 Festival of Emerging Photographers to take place at the Tobacco Warehouse located at the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park section of the Brooklyn Bridge in DUMBO on Friday, 17 September 2004 at 6pm. This is a closed event and by invitation only. The Art + Commerce 2004 Festival seeks to encourage the recognition of the diverse and unpredictable community of photographers throughout the Tri-State area whose work has not yet been appreciated by traditional print and exhibition venues. The Festival, which will be open to the public and take place from 18 September -26 September, 2004 from 10am-7pm and will connect the disparate photography community by opening itself to all forms of photography and by integrating and appealing to a host of established professionals as well as the unknown artists whose work will be shown. Featuring an influential and distinguished panel culled from the magazine, educational, museum and gallery communities, the panel includes Kathy Ryan, Photo Editor: The New York Times Magazine; Peter MacGill, Director: Pace MacGill Gallery; Rick Woodward, Cultural journalists; Tim Barber, Photo Editor: Vice Magazine; Janine Foeller & Jane Hait, Co-Directors: Wallspace Gallery; Ellen Salpeter, Director: Heart of Brooklyn; Alex Wiederin, Art Director: Buero New York; Josette Lata: BBH New York; Christian Rattemayer: Artists Space; and photographer Glen Luchford. Press requests should be faxed to 212. 645. 1950 or contact Lehua Chong by telephone 212. 645. 8006 or via email at chong@workhousepr.com.

The Art + Commerce Festival seeks to encourage the recognition of the diverse and unpredictable community of photographers throughout the tri-state area whose work has not yet been appreciated by traditional print and exhibition venues. The Festival will connect the disparate photography community by opening itself to all forms of photography and by integrating and appealing to a host of established professionals as well as the unknown artists whose work will be shown. Featuring an influential and distinguished panel culled from the magazine, educational, museum, and gallery communities will choose the work to be exhibited.  As of the date of this release, the panel will include Kathy Ryan, Photo Editor: The New York Times Magazine; Peter MacGill, Director: Pace MacGill Gallery; Rick Woodward, Cultural Journalist; Tim Barber, Photo Editor: Vice Magazine; Janine Foeller & Jane Hait, Co-Directors: Wallspace Gallery; Nayland Blake, artist and educator; Ivan Shaw: Photo Editor: Vogue Magazine; Ellen Salpeter, Director: Heart of Brooklyn; Alex Wiederin, Art Director: Buero New York; Josette Lata: BBH New York; Christian Rattemayer : Artist Space; and photographer Glen Luchford.  The gala opening will take place on 17 September 2004 at 6pm and the work will remain on exhibit open to the public through 26 September 2004 from 10am-7pm.

The Festival's venue will be unique: The Tobacco Warehouse at the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park section of Brooklyn Bridge Park in DUMBO. Standing at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, with stunning views of lower Manhattan, this nineteenth century landmark roofless warehouse structure offers approximately 25,000 square feet of open space. Saved from demolition in 1998 and repaired and stabilized in 2002 by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation, the Tobacco Warehouse is the historic heart of the growing 75 acre Brooklyn Bridge Park. The Art + Commerce Photography Festival is presented in cooperation with New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, and the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation.  A CD with the work that will be presented in the exhibition will be available at the Press Preview. Interested media should contact Lehua Chong at 212. 645. 8006 or via email chong@workhousepr.com.

ART + COMMERCE
Founded in the early 1980s, Art + Commerce represents creative talent in the areas of photography, art direction and styling. Photographers represented by the company include Annie Leibovitz, Steven Meisel, Terry Richardson, William Eggleston, Jack Pierson and the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. The company's awareness of the pool of young and talented but unacknowledged individuals working in the photographic medium formed the impulse of the festival. By presenting diverse and challenging work, Art + Commerce seeks to provide a forum for the discussion and discovery of new artists.