The Stock Roundtable has shaped up as a tightly focused event. Since we plan to videotape it and distribute tapes to art schools, we've decided to conduct it before a largely student audience.

This will not be a wide-ranging debate about stock. Since it will be the first of several such events, we plan to open up future roundtables to more complex discussions. But first, we think its important to reach students who are not otherwise being informed or advised about this issue. So this time, we want to stick to the basics. A live student audience will help us keep our focus.

Consider this roundtable a video stock primer. And think of the event as the taping of a TV show. The auditorium seats 180. We've booked about 100 students. This will leave us with limited seating for professionals. Admission will be free. All opinions will be welcome.

Barbara Nessim, artist and Chair of the Illustration Department at Parsons will host the event. Panelists will include:

• Bruce Lehman: Founder of IIPI (International Intellectual Property Institute); former Assistant Secretary of Commerce and US Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks; and founding board member of the Illustrators Partnership of America.
• Gerald Rapp: Artists representative; founder of theispot; partner in theispot-Showcase.
• Alexis Scott: Proprietor of Workbook and Stock Workbook.
• Richard Weisgrau: Executive Director of ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers); creator of MIRA (a licensing system for stock photographers).
• Tammy Shannon: Artists representative.
• Paul Basista: Executive Director, the Graphic Artists Guild, New York.

And these artists:

• Anita Kunz
• Cathleen Toelke
• C.F. Payne
• David Lesh
• Claudia Karabaic Sargent
• Ken Dubrowski
• Sally Wern Comport

Brad Holland will moderate. The schedule will consist of two panel discussions:

What Is Stock and How Does It Work?
12:00-1:20pm

Featuring: Anita Kunz, Cathleen Toelke, Ken Dubrowski, C.F. Payne, Sally Wern Comport, Tammy Shannon, and Jami Giovanopolous

Making Stock Work For You
1:30-3:00pm

Featuring: Gerald Rapp, Paul Basista, Richard Weisgrau, Alexis Scott, Bruce Lehman, Dave Lesh, Claudia Karabaic Sargent

After the panel discussions we'll tape a number of short interviews with other speakers and various members of the audience. These will be edited into the finished tapes. If you are a student or professional and would like to participate, your contribution will be welcome. But because seating will be limited, please contact us as soon as possible.

Brad Holland, fax 212-941-5520, brad-holland@erols.com
  or
Graphic Artists Guild, phone 212-791-3400 ext. 101, pr@gag.org

Please note: Because of the taping, audience members are expected to arrive by 11:30 am and be seated by noon. For technical reasons we cannot allow traffic in and out of the auditorium during the panel presentations. Members of the audience should also understand that their image and comments may appear on the final videotape. Attendance at this event will be taken as your consent to appear without reservation or compensation.

I'd like to thank these instructors who are bringing their students to the Stock Roundtable: Alan Reingold and Lauren the Cartoon Goddess (Parsons); Rudy Gutierrez (Parsons and Pratt); Marshall Arisman (School of Visual Arts).

Thanks also to Claudia, Glenda, Michael, Tricia and Jamie at the Graphic Artists Guild's Campaign for Illustration for their public relations help.

This event is being hosted by The Illustrators Partnership of America, Parsons School of Design and The New School. Taping of the event will be carried out by John Rosenblatt of Rosenblatt Productions, LLC, whose clients include A&E Biography, MTV, VH1, NBC and CBS. This is the same production company responsible for the Milton Glaser and Steve Heller videos shown at the First Illustrators Conference in Santa Fe.

One last note: More potential speakers have volunteered for this roundtable than we can include. I hope all will attend and contribute from the audience. Since we hope to make this a semiannual event, please accept our invitation to participate on future panels.

--Brad Holland