We don't think so. All games seem complicated at first. Then you play. At first you make a few mistakes. Then, over time you get better. Before you know it, the rules are second nature and the real fun begins!

​Here are a just a few of the many, many comparisons we could have posted:

​Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 is a program of Rochester Art Collectors.
​
Participating in Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 is FREE and open to the public. None of the players are paying to play or receiving any compensation. The program is privately funded and entirely non-commercial. Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 is not a fundraiser of any kind for any organization.

​The works of art chosen by Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 players for their fantasy art collections are not being purchased with real money. Red Dot Challenge is a FANTASY art collecting GAME. Players are having fun PRETENDING to buy/collect the art and modeling art collecting behaviors.

In all instances the artists retain the copyright for their work as well as all other rights and privileges provided by the law.

If you are interested in purchasing a work of art you've seen during Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 gameplay, please inquire at the venue where the work is exhibited.​​

Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 begins on Friday, November 1st!

November 1, 2024 happens to fall on the first Friday of the month. If you don't already know, the first Friday night of each month is a really big deal in the Rochester arts scene. Many art venues hold special exhibition events (read: parties!) on the first Friday of every month. It's so popular that Rochester Contemporary Arts Center (RoCo) provides a special page on their website to share information about events scheduled on "First Fridays": FirstFridayRochester.org

First Fridays have evolved to become a sort of progressive party celebrating the artists, arts organizations, galleries, and the art scene. To make First Fridays even more exciting it's common for art venues to host their exhibition "OPENING" event right on First Fridays. When you combine the excitement of a progressive party with an opening night event you get a crowd. Fun! 

On Friday, November 1st there will be OVER TWENTY-FIVE First Friday art events around town! See a sampling of the offerings below. 

As of November 1st Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 players will be out and about looking at art, taking pictures and posting their activities to their Instagram accounts. Pretty soon each player will start posting photographs of their choices to their fantasy art collection albums on Facebook.

Learn more about all the ways you can participate in Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 alongside the players HERE.

Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 includes 12 players assembling 12 fantasy art collections.

Members of the public are challenged to match the players with their collections. Correctly match at least one player with their fantasy art collection to qualify for a prize to be given out at the BIG REVEAL event in February, 2025. (Details about the event will be announced soon.)

We want you to succeed! So, we're going to give you the tools you need. BUT it's up to you to apply those tools and report back to us. Then, we'll all celebrate together at the BIG REVEAL!

Gameplay begins on November 1, 2024. Gameplay ends on January 31, 2025.

STEP THREE:  Track your progress using a simple online form. (The link and QR code are below.) Update the information at any time. 

We have a super-cool way for you to keep track of your research then save and send in your final answers to this challenge: a google form. Amazing, right?!

This google form will remember your answers every time you sign in. Revise/Update your answers anytime. The form will be finalized automatically when the challenge ends on Sunday, February 2, 2025 at 11:59 pm.

Click here or use the QR code to start using the Challenge #2 form.

​Over the course of gameplay each picture of art chosen by a player for their fantasy art collection will be posted in a photo album on Facebook associated with that player. The venue where the work may be found will be identified; the title of the work will be identified and the price will be identified. Initially, the artist's name will not be identified. The public will be CHALLENGED to figure out who the artist is and post the artist's name (or Instagram "handle") in the comments. The most obvious way to correctly identify the artist is to go to the venue in person. There are other ways as well. (More on that below.) The game administrator will confirm a winner and post the correct information in the notes within a few days. We hope you and everyone else following the game will learn more about all the wonderful artists in our community thought this challenge.

STEP ONE: Find the fantasy art collection photo albums on Facebook.

On Facebook search for Rochester Art Collectors. Follow the page, if you're not already. Click on the "Photos" link just under the Rochester Art Collectors logo. Each of the twelve fantasy art collection albums will have a cover image that tells you the collection # and the fantasy budget amount of that collection. Links: Rochester Art Collectors > Photos > Albums

​​If you're having trouble finding the fantasy art collection albums on Facebook, CLICK HERE for detailed instructions.

Click on one of the albums and advance to STEP TWO

STEP TWO: Look at one of the pictures.
​
Once you are looking inside one of the collection albums you will see the album description at the top. (Click on the description to read ALL of it.) You will also see a series of images. Two of the images inside each album will be administrative: the album cover image and a QR code. (More on the QR code in a later post.) The remaining pictures will be of the artworks that player has chosen for their fantasy art collection.

​Click on a picture and advance to STEP THREE.

STEP THREE: Read the description associated with the work of art.

Once the picture of the work of art is open you will have to look for the description of the work as you would with any other picture.

On a desktop computer the description will be off to one side near the top of the screen. If you are using a mobile phone, you may have to tap lightly on the image to see some of the description and then once more on the description to read all of the description. The description will contain the following information:

• The venue where the work was found
• The title of the work
• The price of the work
• The fantasy collection number
• The fantasy budget allocation for this fantasy art collection

If the artist's name is listed, then someone got there before you. At that point, if you feel inspired, you can comment on the work before moving on OR just move on to another work of art (picture) in the collection album or another collection album altogether.

If the artist's name is NOT listed, this is your queue to take action! Advance to STEP FOUR.

STEP FOUR: Research!

There are at least three options to find out who made the work of art.

OPTION A:  Go to the venue where the work is on exhibit and find the work & the artist's name in real life. We LOVE this option. We hope you'll visit the venues to see all the wonderful artworks in person.

OPTION B:  On Instagram search #🔴player to find the players and all their game related posts. At least one of those posts will depict the artwork you found in the album. The post should indicate the artist's name or Instagram account. Within a few clicks you'll have the answer!

OPTION C:  You recognize the work as soon as you see the picture because you already know the artist.

THE LAST STEP:  Post the artist's full name (or instagram handle) in the comments section of the picture of their work.

Yes, it's that simple!

If your answer is correct, you will be the WINNER! The game administrator will add the artist's name to the description of the work and sing  your praises while they're at it.

FINAL NOTE:

If no one identifies the artist within a few days, the game administrator will add the artist's name to the description but there will be no winner. And that will be sad...

​​We are super-excited to post the Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 players list.  As you scroll down read a little bit about each player's background and get their Instagram link. Those Instagram links will come in handy during gameplay!

The players are listed below in alphabetical order. The order of the list is no indication of which player is associated with which fantasy art collection. The players' numbers, fantasy art collections and budget amounts will only be disclosed at the public REVEAL event in February, 2025 (details TBA).

​Why, you ask?

Well, one of the ways you can participate in Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 is to follow the players' Instagram accounts to see if you can match up what the players are posting on Instagram with what is being posted in the official Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 collection albums HERE on Facebook. Match players with their fantasy art collections to WIN!

​Gameplay begins on November 1, 2024. Gameplay ends on January 31, 2025.

Yes, her name is Jappie.

Her grandfather’s name was Jasper and his nickname was "Jap". He had 4 daughters. Jappie's mother was the youngest. Jap invented the name "Jappie" for her mom and her mom gave it to Jappie.

King was her father’s last name and Black her husband’s. All together they are what she considers her real name. Her husband suggested that she add his name to hers so that when names were alphabetized for exhibitions hers would be first. That doesn’t always work since her name is sometimes placed with the Ks. She says she doesn’t hyphenate her last name because that costs extra to print.

Jappie moved around a lot as a child with her parents, 1st to Argentina then back to the states, later to Mexico. She's a graduate of the Ateneo Fuente/Universidad de Coahuila and the Interlochen Arts Academy and has a BFA in Textile Design from Rhode Island School of Design as well as a MFA in Fibers from Syracuse University. Jappie was a tenured professor commuting to NJ from Brockport for nearly a decade. She may have felt somewhat rootless in the past, but at this point she has lived in New York longer than anywhere else in her life.

Jappie is now retired from teaching and spends her creative energy making and exhibiting her visual art.

Instagram @jkbreddot (Jappie King Black)

​​Richard Glaser is a community activist and organizer. Richard is passionate about emerging artists from under-represented communities in Rochester and is the founder of RocGrowth. He proudly sports a tattoo with the Flour City logo containing a heart. He lives downtown and calls it his neighborhood.







​Instgram: @richardglaser (Richard Glaser)

Reaghan is a fiber, ephemera, and microscopy artist focused on the re-use of found materials and tactile art. He is a proud volunteer for Rochester Contemporary Art Center and an avid art collector. A voracious book nerd, he spends his free time researching human-made disasters.




​


​
​

Instagram: @reg_droid (Reaghan McCan)

Paul began his art career photographing people and still life in high school. With his entire family working at Eastman Kodak, it came very naturally to him. He completed his degree at RIT in Professional Photographic Illustration, and started photographing professionally in 1989. From 1989 to 2003, Paul concentrated his business in Rochester, NY, photographing for clients including Wegmans Food Markets, Eastman Kodak, Chase Pitkin, Circuit City, and other local businesses. In 2003, Paul took a job in the Federal Government and moved to Washington DC, where he currently resides.
​
Paul's current position is Lead Photographer/Videographer for the U.S. Department of Education, where he has worked for 21 years. He splits his time between DC and Rochester, where his family continues to reside.

Paul has explored the intersection of fine art and photography for some time, exhibiting in DC, Rochester, Colorado, California, and various other states. 

Michelle & Paul are playing as a team. They are considered ONE player in Season 1.

Instagram: @mlmgraphic (Michelle L. Miller)

Mike was born under the sun, inches from the ocean: in the coastal Haitian city of St Marc. His involvement with photography started at age 14. By seventeen, he was already doing on-site portraiture as a business.​

Mike came to Brooklyn, NY in July 1971. He used my  his first paycheck from a summer job to buy a photographic darkroom set that he used at night in the bathroom while everybody was sleeping. (He was enrolled in a correspondence photographic course with Modern Photography.) By September, while attending New York Technical College to study chemistry, he had started a (successful) wedding and portrait business.


Upon graduation Mike was recruited by Eastman Kodak Company and moved to Rochester, NY in 1974. Mike traveled extensively as a Kodak employee around the US and on a few international trips. On every trip he arranged a vacation day to photograph each city he visited. He has amassed a large library of landscape scenes. 

Mike describes himself as a photo-artist, not a photojournalist. He does not report, inform, nor teach unless a particular project draws him to that approach. He wants to evoke your senses, your emotions, your feelings. He wants to stimulate, project, induce, provoke, excite, perk up, animate, arouse.

Mike had a successful scientific career as a chemist and executive (Michel (Mike) F. Molaire | LinkedIn):

• A prolific inventor holding 67 US Patents. Author of numerous scientific publications and presentations.
• Senior Research Associate Chemist/Project Manager at the Eastman Kodak Research Laboratories (36 years).
• CEO and Founder of Molecular Glasses, Inc., developing novel  organic semiconductors materials for OLED television (nine years).
• CEO, EarlyDetek Inc, developing screening tests for early detection of cancer and other diseases, to save lives and reduce health care cost (7 months).
• Principal, and Founder of  Molaire Consulting LLC (14 years).

Mike is author and publisher of:

•  African American Who's Who Past & Present, Greater Rochester Area 12/1/1998.
• Shadow of Dreams (poetry) 12/1/1995. 
• Plus Pres (Nearer) (poetry) 12/1/1968
• La Vie des Oiseaux Morts (The Life of the Dead Birds) (poetry) 12/1/1965.

Instagram: @mikemolairefineart (Michel (Mike) Frantz Molaire)

Susan & Seth are now fully retired and loving it. They enjoy art, traveling, reading, and walking.

Susan  taught art in public school for 30 years. She creates art and also is an art collector.

Seth formerly owned and operated a Rochester-based printing company for 30 years. His dog is named Cayenne Pepper and he drives an EV.






​
​Seth & Susan ​are playing as a team. They are considered ONE player in Season 1.

Instagram: @sethoze (Seth Oser)

* Susan & Seth participated in the Pilot Season of Red Dot Challenge in 2023-2024.

​Nancy has been a working artist and educator in the Rochester area for too many years for her to count. Her professional experiences have included teaching visual arts at the elementary, middle, high school, and college levels as well as leading professional development workshops for teachers and art workshops for adults in the community.

Because of her many wonderful art experiences and interactions with other artists, she has come to greatly value Rochester's extraordinary arts community.

As a working artist, Nancy has engaged with many visual art forms & media including painting, graphic design, sculpture, metal-smithing, glass, ceramic sculpture and, most recently, printmaking.

Nancy maintains a studio/gallery in Rochester in Village Gate as well as an outdoor studio in rural Greenwood, NY, a source of great inspiration for her work.

Instagram: @nancy.valle.1 (Nancy Valley)

Matt is an artist, curator and New York State certified educator practicing in Rochester, New York. He also creates artworks; facilitates arts programming; writes about art; talks about art and curates art exhibitions in collaboration with a variety of local organizations that include The Yards Art Collective, Rochester Artist Collaborative  and Frank’s Chop Shop.

Matt owns Hungwell Art Services which specializes in installing art in homes and businesses; packing & shipping art for clients and developing unique frames for works of art using handmade and found materials.

Instagram: @matt_vanderlee (Matt Vanderlee)

* Matt participated in the Pilot Season of Red Dot Challenge in 2023-2024.

Background: Click here for a SUMMARY of all the ways members of the public can participate in Red Dot Challenge, Season 1.

This post will give you some general guidance on following the individual players and the fantasy art collections using Instagram. "Finding Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 On Social Media Part I: Facebook" will provide similar guidance about following all the fantasy art collections using Facebook.

In addition to the general guidance found in this post, a DETAILED breakdown of each element of public participation is available HERE.

​Gameplay begins on November 1, 2024. Gameplay ends on January 31, 2025.

The players will be posting many of their Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 activities on Instagram. Primarily they'll be visiting art venues to find works for their fantasy art collections. Some may also conduct studio visits or otherwise meet with artists informally to learn more about their work. The ONLY place you'll see these activities will be on the players' individual Instagram pages. Then it will be your chance to visit new venues and see some wonderful art in real life. Don't miss out!

In addition, ​following the players on Instagram will be one of several ways to solve Public Participation CHALLENGE #2 (connecting the players with their collections). Correctly match at least one of the fantasy art collections with the correct player to qualify for a prize. We'll announce winners, give away the prizes and show you all the correct answers at the big REVEAL event in February, 2025.

Complete details about all three Public Participation CHALLENGES will be posted soon here on RedDotChallenge.org.

​Click here for a summary of all the ways you can participate in Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 and a good general description of all three Public Participation CHALLENGES.

​Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 is a program of Rochester Art Collectors.
​
Participating in Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 is FREE and open to the public. None of the players are paying to play or receiving any compensation. The program is privately funded and entirely non-commercial. Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 is not a fundraiser of any kind for any organization.

​The works of art chosen by Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 players for their fantasy art collections are not being purchased with real money. Red Dot Challenge is a FANTASY art collecting GAME. Players are having fun PRETENDING to buy/collect the art and modeling art collecting behaviors.

In all instances the artists retain the copyright for their work as well as all other rights and privileges provided by the law.

If you are interested in purchasing a work of art you've seen during Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 gameplay, please inquire at the venue where the work is exhibited.​​​

The organizers of Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 have scheduled THREE exciting interactive podcasts on ZOOM to cover all aspects of the game and talk about the regional art scene. Organizers chose ZOOM because the format allows everyone involved to participate.*

Over the course of three podcast episodes we will talk about how the game works and answer your questions about the game. You'll get updates on gameplay as it progresses in real time and you'll find out about game related events and activities.

Then everyone on this highly interactive ZOOM podcast will be able to take part in a freewheeling conversation about the regional art scene with invited curators, art collectors, arts administrators, and Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 players.

This is your chance to talk directly with players about the game and others involved in the local art scene. So, don't be shy! Add your voice to the conversation.
​
It's Your Move!

• Episode #1:  Tuesday, November 12th at 7:00 pm EST (Click to register & get the link.)

We'll kick off the first episode with an introduction to the game and how you can participate alongside the players. Then everyone will have a chance to share their views of the regional art scene with invited guests.

• Episode #2:  Tuesday, December 10th at 7:00 pm EST (Click to register & get the link.)

In this episode we'll dig into the emerging fantasy art collections and game strategies followed by a conversation about the massive exhibitions being offered this year. Then we'll open up the conversation to topics of interest to participants.

• Episode #3:  Tuesday, January 14th at 7:00 pm EST (Click to register & get the link.)

The Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 "BIG REVEAL" event in February will be the focus of the first part of the final episode. We'll also update you on gameplay as we approach the closing days of Season 1. After that we'll talk about the local art market in 2024 among other topics.
Each of the three podcasts has it's own registration & ticketing. Please look closely when you register to make sure you have the correct dates.

All the podcasts are FREE and open to the public with registration in advance on Eventbrite.

* All the episodes will be recorded live and posted here on reddotchallenge.org

​Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 is a program of Rochester Art Collectors.
​
Participating in Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 is FREE and open to the public. None of the players are paying to play or receiving any compensation. The program is privately funded and entirely non-commercial. Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 is not a fundraiser of any kind for any organization.

​The works of art chosen by Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 players for their fantasy art collections are not being purchased with real money. Red Dot Challenge is a FANTASY art collecting GAME. Players are having fun PRETENDING to buy/collect the art and modeling art collecting behaviors.

In all instances the artists retain the copyright for their work as well as all other rights and privileges provided by the law.

If you are interested in purchasing a work of art you've seen during Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 gameplay, please inquire at the venue where the work is exhibited.​​​

Background: Click here for a SUMMARY of all the ways members of the public can participate in Red Dot Challenge, Season 1.

This post will give you some general guidance on following the Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 fantasy art collections using Facebook. "Finding Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 On Social Media Part II: Instagram" will provide similar guidance about following the players using Instagram. 

In addition to the general guidance found in this post, a DETAILED breakdown of each element of public participation is available HERE.

Like/Follow ROCHESTER ART COLLECTORS on Facebook. Doing so will help connect you to information, players, artists, venues, events and, of course, gameplay.
​
The official Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 fantasy art collections will be presented on Facebook in a series of twelve photo ALBUMS (one for each fantasy art collection).​ Each of the twelve ALBUMS will be assembled by one of the twelve players.

The newest additions to all the fantasy art collections appear on the ROCHESTER ART COLLECTORS main page on Facebook. The twelve fantasy art collections are grouped as ALBUMS. Each ALBUM contains one fantasy art collection.

To find the ALBUMS on Facebook go to ROCHESTER ART COLLECTORS > PHOTOS > ALBUMS. 

Your mobile version of Facebook may be set up differently. If so, on Facebook search for ROCHESTER ART COLLECTORS and click on the PHOTOS link. The ALBUMS are typically presented above the individual PHOTOS. You may have to "swipe" to see all the ALBUMS.

Each album cover will tell you the fantasy art collection number and the budget allocation for that particular fantasy art collection. Click on the album cover to see the fantasy art collection. When you click on an album cover you should go to a page with more than one picture. One picture will be the album cover. You should also see a QR code with more information. (More on the QR code in a different post.)

Please remember, players will be posting works to their collections starting on November 1, 2024. Initially, you may not see many works of art in each album. Check back. Over time you'll begin to get a sense of each collection as it develops. More on this topic in a subsequent post here on RedDotChallenge.org.

We are NOT telling you which players are associated with which fantasy art collections.

"What's that, now," you ask?

Followers are being challenged to match the players with their collections. We're calling this CHALLENGE #2. Hint: following the players on Instagram will help.

In all there will be three "Challenges" for followers during Season 1. Here are the first two:

• Challenge #1: Identifying artists in the fantasy art collections
• ​Challenge #2: Matching players with their collections.

The third Challenge will be announced during gameplay. Gameplay begins on November 1, 2024 and ends of January 31, 2025.

Click here for a summary of all the ways you can participate in Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 and a good general description of all three Public Participation CHALLENGES.

​Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 is a program of Rochester Art Collectors.
​
Participating in Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 is FREE and open to the public. None of the players are paying to play or receiving any compensation. The program is privately funded and entirely non-commercial. Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 is not a fundraiser of any kind for any organization.

​The works of art chosen by Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 players for their fantasy art collections are not being purchased with real money. Red Dot Challenge is a FANTASY art collecting GAME. Players are having fun PRETENDING to buy/collect the art and modeling art collecting behaviors.

In all instances the artists retain the copyright for their work as well as all other rights and privileges provided by the law.

If you are interested in purchasing a work of art you've seen during Red Dot Challenge, Season 1 gameplay, please inquire at the venue where the work is exhibited.​​​