Dear Mr. Luca Curci / 2013
This work was sent to the call for artists BorderBody - Mixing Cities, an exhibition that was supposed to take place at Palazzo Barone Ferrara, from Bari (Italy), organized by International ArtExpo and Mr. Luca Curci, after they had mailed me, informing me of the deadline (November 7th, 2013). The exhibition was supposed to take place between November 28th and December 6th, 2013 (for one whole week). I never thought that they would invite me to participate yet again in an exhibition organized by them, after the following:
From: International ArtExpo
To: dndjamo@yahoo.com
Sent: Tuesday, July 2, 2013 11:27 AM
Subject: Border Cities & New Identities | Romania 2013 - Confirmation
Dear Daniel,
we are glad to confirm your participation in Border Cities & New Identities | Romania 2013.
Border Cities & New Identities | Romania 2013 - International Art Exhibition of Photography, Video Art, Computer Graphics, Painting, Architecture and Performing Art will be held in Suceava (Romania), at The Water Plant “Uzina de Apa”, from July 26, to August 02 2013.
In attachment you will find the submission form with all details to take part in the event with the works "And I loved only you" and "Le noir subit". The entry fee for each artwork selected is:
photography / video art / computer graphics / painting / architecture categories
- 100 euro per selected work
performing art category
- FREE per selected performance
Since the deadline for applications was yesterday, we need your confirmation as soon as possible.
Thanks for all your time,
Luca Curci
Director
International ArtExpo
Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 33
70122 Bari (Italy)
+39.0805234018
+39.3387574098
www.lucacurci.com/artexpo
From: dndjamo@yahoo.com
To: International ArtExpo
Sent: Tuesday, July 2, 2013 12:13 PM
Subject: Re: Border Cities & New Identities | Romania 2013 - Confirmation
Dear Mr. Luca Curci, first of all hello to you as well.
I will enlist some of the reasons why I am stunned to hear that you are asking 100 euros\work:
1. never, under no circumstances have I heard someone pay 100 euros\work to exhibit in Suceava for almost a week (I am Romanian and I know things around my country)
2. you never ever said anything about an exhibition fee in the call that I found through the artist call website that presented the exhibition
3. I just wanted to present some works in Suceava because I wanted people from the Romanian region of Moldavia to see what it is that I do
4. I do not need this sort of publicity. I did this only to share something with the artistic community
5. If we are talking about money, I never payed for any exhibitions that I was in - I was actually the one being payed to exhibit in some cases (a few until now, it's true). I am a young artist - 26.
It would had been correct to put in all of your calls the sum of money that you are asking. This is how it would be fair. And 100 euros to exhibit in Romania is totally crazy. And where? In Suceava?!
Yours, poorly,
Daniel Djamo
http://djamo.weebly.com/
P.S.
On November 30th, 2014, at 3:59 PM I received a message from Mr. Curci in which he threatened me with a lawsuit if I would not take down the page from this free website made on weebly.com in 7 days (a website that does not belong to any specific company).
Also, he insisted that he would inform ALL OF THE INSTITUTIONS and my GOVERNMENT (written like this, with capital letters) of my misbehavior.
This happened 1 year and 24 days after I have sent my work to him, in a demand to include it in one of his exhibitions, at Palazzo Barone Ferrara, after he continued spamming my mailbox with news regarding his projects (message sent on November 6th, 2013, at 1:15 AM). I have also provided him with the online link.
From: dndjamo@yahoo.com
To: Luca Curci
Sent: Tuesday, November 6, 2013 1:15 AM
Subject: hello daniel djamo work submission
Hello, Mr. Director Luca Curci. I want to present to you my work - photography - for your upcoming exhibition.
I will have it printed (it is a promise) - and I always keep my word.
Also, I want to have it in an exhibition in Romania. I want to make you famous. You deserve it. You are amazing.
I dedicate it to you: http://djamo.weebly.com/dear-mr-luca-curci.html
Yours, kindly,
Daniel Djamo
He never replied to my demand of being part of the exhibition. So, I was unable to send it. I guess that Mr. Curci does not like my art.
Now, November 30th, 2014: He wrote to me that he is paying between 500 and 1000 euros/day for renting the spaces of his exhibitions. Of course, I do believe that he payed 1000 euros/day to have some works exhibited in Uzina de Apa (in Suceava, Romania). That meant that for the whole exhibition week he payed between 3500 euros and 7000 euros. To have payed this money for the exhibition only, he should have presented 70 works, only to neutralize the payment (for Uzina de Apa, Suceava, Northern Romania, the European center of marketed art). I am also very sure that he has the bills that state that he payed between 500 to 1000 euro/day for Suceava's exhibition space.
Democratic as it should be on paper, the internet can prove a place of censorship.
And as open to dialogue as Mr. Curci seems to be, the content of my website angers him. I did not insult Mr. Curci, I did not use foul language in writing my messages and nor did I lie. I just shared two things with the artistic community: the price and the places of exhibition. And, of course, humor should be censored, as we are all aware.
I am kindly asking ROMANIAN INSTITUTIONS and my GOVERNMENT to take notice of my misbehavior, in presenting one's point of view upon a matter.
I would want to thank all of the people who contacted me in regard to this work. Thank you for your support.
make yourself heard on art-leaks.org: http://art-leaks.org/2014/12/01/artist-threatened-with-censorship-for-critiquing-contemporary-art-organizations-practices/
Thank you for doing so, if you did.
here are some links that might prove helpful, regarding the topic of ArtExpo:
http://badartbad.blogspot.be/2007/12/luca-curci-and-artexpo-scam.html
http://www.cronaca.com/archives/002418.html
http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.culture.internet.spectre/146
