Press Release

For Immediate Release, April 8, 2009

Contact: Tiffany Glass Ferreira
Project Coordinator, Real Small Art League
tiffanyglass@gmail.com
804-852-9151

Richmond’s Real Small Art League Offers Summer Workshops to Inspire Random Acts of Artistic Kindness and Creative Awareness

Richmond, VA – Two upcoming summer art workshops, lead by Richmond’s Real Small Art League, will encourage artists of all ages to create, document and give away tiny original works of art. The first workshop will be hosted by Crossroads Art Center on Saturday, June 20 from 2-4 pm. Artists of all ages are encouraged to attend. There is a $25 fee to cover the cost of space and materials. The second workshop, designed for children with adult chaperones, will be hosted by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on Saturday, July 18, from 1-3 pm. There is a fee of $25 per child, with each child being accompanied by an adult.

The hands-on workshops will teach students how to create original Real Small Art, document the process, and join the Real Small Art League’s online forum. Currently over 25 participating artists leave small samples of their body of work for public discovery around the world. The posted artwork is documented online via www.realsmallart.com, along with public response to the found art.

The Real Small Art League asks artists to post their works in publically acceptable places, like the bulletin board at Ellwood Thompson’s Coffee Shop. When a recent finder was asked “How did finding Real Small Art effect your day, if at all?”, they replied, “It totally made me smile. I was on my first weekend getaway with my girlfriend and we were having a wonderful time already - this made it even more of a whimsical, fun, who-knows-what-we'll-find adventure.”

“We believe a little art can go a long way,” says Tiffany Glass Ferreira, founder of Richmond’s Real Small Art League. “When people find real art in everyday places, it reminds them that artists are part of their community. We need to be aware of the creative talent in our own backyard, and support the imagination, passion and our dedication of local artists.”

Links to participating artists, images of artwork, posting sites and public responses can be found online: www.realsmallart.com. For more information, contact the Real Small Art League; realsmallart@gmail.com.

About Crossroads Art Center
Crossroads Art Center exhibits the work of emerging and established artists from the mid-Atlantic region; promotes public awareness and understanding of the concepts of all art forms; and offers instruction and education in the visual arts. Crossroads Art Center is located at 2016 Staples Mill Road in Richmond, Virginia. For more information, contact Crossroads Art Center; (804) 278-8950: info@crossroadsartcenter.com; www.crossroadsartcenter.com.

About The Real Small Art League
Real Small Art League is an ongoing public art project to inspire random acts of artistic kindness and creative awareness. A growing number of artists make, post, document and give away tiny works in surprise locations. We believe a little work of art can go a long way. For more information, Contact Real Small Art League, realsmallart@gmail.com; www.realsmallart.com.

About Tiffany Glass Ferreira
Tiffany Glass Ferreira received a Bachelor of Science in Art Education from Radford University in 2000. Her experience includes teaching elementary art at Greystone Elementary in Birmingham, Alabama; Bushey University in Watford, England; and Visual Arts Center of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia. She also has over 5 years of experience in developing SOL-based programming at Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. She is the founder of Richmond’s Real Small Art League and currently coordinates projects for the Virginia Commission for the Arts. For more information, contact Tiffany Glass Ferreira; 804-852-9151; tiffanyglass@gmail.com; www.iknowtiffany.com.

About the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
VMFA is a state-supported, privately endowed educational institution created for the benefit of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its purpose is to collect, preserve, exhibit, and interpret art, to encourage the study of the arts, and thus to enrich the lives of all. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is located at 200 N. Boulevard in Richmond, Virginia. For more information about VMFA’s Summer Classes for Children and Families, contact Megan Liles; 804-340-1438, megan.liles@vmfa.museum, www.vmfa.museum/summerclass2009.html.