eNews - April 2009 Edition
From the Executive Director
Located in a windy spot high above the Columbia River, the Maryhill Museum of Art has a new partnership to site 15 wind turbines that will produce energy for the region – and generate at least $100,000 per year to support the museum’s programs and services.
Colleen Shafroth, Maryhill’s Executive Director calls it a “wind-win solution.”
Our future requires creative thinking - and no better time than now.
The Economic Recession’s Impact on Cultural Organizations in the Puget Sound Region (PDF) reports that about 25% of arts organizations are creative, nimble, proactive and strategic in facing the recession. Another 60% are informed but cautious, considering the immediate challenges but not thinking long-term. And about 15% of arts organizations are “in denial,” busy with the day-to-day and continuing with business as usual.
Other studies support these findings. The Nonprofit Finance Fund surveyed nearly 1,000 nonprofits nationwide to assess the real-time financial challenges they face. The survey identified a long list of actions now being pursued or considered: developing a worst case scenario contingency budget (65% of those surveyed); engaging more closely with the board (59%); collaborating with another nonprofit to provide programs (42%); business as usual (4%).
Here at WSAC, we’re awaiting news of our budget for the next two years. We expect some funding cuts that will impact programs. Guiding those decisions will be our strategic plan and mission, and some creative thinking about the arts for the future of this state. Stay tuned.
Keep in touch,
April 10
The sickle is so sharp
"April 10" ©2008 by Poet Laureate Sam Green; from his book, The Grace of Necessity, Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2008.
May is Arts Education Month in Washington State
Attend the Arts Education Month Kick-off Celebration! Help ArtsEd Washington kick-off Arts Education Month on Monday, May 4, 5:30 pm, at Seattle Center’s Rainier Room.
Meet and greet with fellow arts education advocates as you enjoy a buffet dinner. Then get inspired by special guest Eric Liu: State Board of Education member, former speechwriter for President Bill Clinton, and author of several books, including Guiding Lights: How to Mentor - and Find Life's Purpose. Learn how ArtsEd Washington is advancing arts education in our state, and work together at your table to create strategies you can use the very next day to advance arts learning in your school and community. Tickets are $10/person. Purchase your tickets online.
Arts Education Month is coordinated by ArtsEd Washington and sponsored by the Washington State Arts Commission, 4Culture, the Boeing Company, Russell Investments, and the City of Seattle Mayor’s Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, in cooperation with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
New Artwork Installation
In late February, artist Garth Edwards installed Paradise, a multi-element installation on the central stairwell wall of White Bluffs Elementary in Richland. Utilizing textured aluminum, Edwards created a relief “drawing” of the earth, sky, flora and fauna (real and fantastical) of the Columbia basin region. The imagery is meant to inspire wonder and imagination.
The local art selection committee at White Bluffs met over several months, beginning in December, 2007. The committee established criteria that included the environment, the history of the area, whimsy, and education. Garth Edwards’ playful sculptures are integrated into scores of buildings and parks throughout Washington and the United States. In 1991-93 he served on the design team for the Seattle Children’s Theater. He lives and works on Bainbridge Island.
Artwork acquired through Washington State’s Art in Public Places Program becomes part of the State Art Collection - a collection of over 4,600 works of art located at state agencies, public schools, colleges and universities throughout the state.
Americans for the Arts Conference
Americans for the Arts’ annual conference Renewable Resources: Arts in Sustainable Communities will be held in Seattle June 18 – 20. Register online to receive a discount.
The conference is geared towards Washington State artists, arts advocates and arts administrators and will investigate the theme of arts and sustainability. Over 1,400 of our peers and colleagues from around the country will visit our region to: Reflect on innovative ideas from speakers in more than 75 field-crafted sessions; Rethink the possibilities to grow our greatest renewable resources—the arts, culture, and creativity; and Renew our commitment to creating a sustainable future for our communities.
Dr. Peter M. Senge, noted author and senior lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was recently announced as the convention Keynote Speaker. Senge will present a keynote Friday, June 19, on how today's challenging times require innovative leadership strategies that guide the sustainability of our organizations, communities and the world.
WSAC is pleased to be a co-host and hope participants throughout Washington can take advantage of the close proximity of this year's conference to network, learn, and enjoy the arts and cultural experiences that Seattle has to offer.
Articles and Information
Peter Donnelly, one of the most important figures in Seattle's arts community over the past 45 years, and a 2007 recipient of a Governor's Arts Award, died on March 28, 2009 after complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 70. Peter F. Donnelly, champion of Seattle arts, dies at 70, Seattle Times, 03/29/09.
The free 2009 Guide for Small Business in Washington State (PDF) is a comprehensive guide that provides entrepreneurs and small business owners clickable access to a variety of resources needed to start and successfully manage a business.
Each year, archives, libraries, museums, and historic preservation organizations set aside May 1st to participate in MayDay, an initiative to protect cultural heritage from disasters.
WSAC Deadlines
WSAC is holding a meeting April 9, 2009 from 3:30 to 5 pm at the Spokane Civic Theater, 1020 N. Howard Street (across from the Spokane Veteran’s Memorial Area) to answer questions about changes to the guidelines for Grants to Organizations.
The application deadline for the Roster of Teaching artists is June 1, 2009. Updated guidelines and application materials are available.
Applications for Arts Participation Initiative (API) grants are due June 8, 2009. This grant opportunity is open to small non-profit arts organizations or community organizations that sponsor arts events and primarily serve one of these demographics: ethnic, rural, disabled, or low income persons. The Arts Participation Initiative provides multi-year support grants that include training for capacity building and can be used for either operational or project support. Applicants are invited to join a conference call workshop on Tuesday, May 5, 2009 from noon to 1 pm to get more information. Please RSVP to program assistant Josie Bayon to participate.
Folk Arts Apprenticeship applications and Fellowship applications are available. Deadlines: 04/24/09.
Opportunities
Survive or Thrive: What are the Artful Solutions? is the theme for this year's Cultural Congress, an annual convening of arts organizations and artists, April 27 - 29 at the Sleeping Lady Mountain Retreat in Leavenworth.
American University (AU), National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and the U.S. Department of State are accepting applications for the inaugural International Arts Journalism Institute in Visual Arts, to take place June 12 - 26, 2009. Deadline: 04/17/09.
America's Got Talent is holding auditions in Seattle on April 25 - 26. The Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs in partnership with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is seeking an artist or artist team to design on-street bicycle parking. Deadline: 04/13/09.
The 27th Annual Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts is seeking entries (PDF) for its visual arts show, June 5-7 2009. Most mediums accepted; no film, performance or installation. Deadline: 04/13/09.
Northwest Film Forum has issued a call for films based on the surrealist game Exquisite Corpse. Participants will be free to film anything they want, but will begin and end their segments with images chosen randomly out of a hat. For example, one person might pick from a hat a slip that says "Begin with man with a hat/ End with barking dog." This is how they begin and end their film. Another person will draw a slip that says "Begin with barking dog/ End with girl riding a bike." What happens in the interim will be the filmmaker's choice. The finished films will be shown in sequence with the chosen images anchoring the films together. Deadline: 04/28/09.
Applications for the 2010 Screenwriters Lab program, the first point of entry for the Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program, are available online. Through this program, up to twelve Screenwriters Lab Fellows will spend five days at the Institute crafting their screenplays. There is a $35 application fee. Deadline: 05/01/09. Parklane Gallery, in Kirkland, Washington has a call to artists to submit entries to their 17th Annual International Miniature Show which will run May 5 - 31, 2009. Deadline: 04/28/09.
Artist Trust is accepting applications for the 2009 EDGE Professional Development Residency Program for Visual Artists. The EDGE Program provides artists with a comprehensive survey of professional practices through a hands-on, interactive curriculum that includes instruction by professionals in the field as well as specialized presentations, panel discussions and assignments. Deadline: 05/01/09.
The Evergreen State College Longhouse Education and Cultural Center has announced the third round of national funding for Native Artists (American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians) in the U.S. There are two grant programs available through the Longhouse. Deadline: 06/01/09.
Washington Artists Health Insurance Project (WAHIP) is an ambitious effort to forge new strategies to improve artists’ access to health insurance in Washington State. A new Artist Clinic at Country Doctor Community Clinic in Seattle offers artist-focused hours every Wednesday from 5:30pm-8:30pm. Appointments can also be made at other times to accommodate varying schedules. Artists of all creative disciplines are encouraged to avail of this service. Make an appointment today by calling 206-299-1600; be sure to mention WAHIP when you call.
Employment / Internship / Volunteer
The Auburn Arts Commission and Parks Special Event department is seeking a part-time temporary Cultural Arts & Special Events Assistant for the upcoming season of events.
Events
Seattle - The Seattle Art Museum in conjunction with Sundance Institute will celebrate Native American filmmaking with free screenings on April 15th, 2009 of Sikumi, a short film directed by Andrew Okpeaha MacLean, followed by Miss Navajo, a full-length film directed by Billy Luther. Highlights of the evening will include a Q&A with filmmaker Billy Luther moderated by Bird Runningwater, Associate Director of the Native American and Indigenous Program for the Sundance Institute. The free screenings will be begin at 7 pm. Registration is required.
Spokane - Eastern Washington University’s Get Lit! Festival – a weeklong celebration of reading and writing – will present more than 50 festival events for people of all ages April 10-19. Headliners include: journalist Paul Roberts, Pulitzer prize-winning author Jane Smiley, award-winning fiction writer Charles Baxter, renowned environmental author David Suzuki, leading British poet Simon Armitage, young adult author Ellen Wittlinger and children’s author and storyteller Margaret Lippert. More than 30 other local and regional authors will participate in the festival as well.
Seattle - Welcome spring with Taiko drumming, green teas, ikebana flower arrangements and more at the 34th annual Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival, April 17 – 19, 10 am to 6 pm, at Fisher Pavilion and Lawn.
Tacoma - The Washington State History Museum and the Washington State Arts Commission are partnering to present a ten-month long folk art celebration, which includes an exhibit, festival, demonstrations, film viewings, and a lecture series. With Our Hands: World Folk Art Traditions of Washington will run through August 23.The exhibit, on view in the Inviting the Spirit gallery, features artwork from past Arts Commission folk art award recipients, and explores the history of folk art studies in Washington.
A weekend festival with live demonstrations from more than 20 artists will be held April 18 and 19 in the Great Hall of Washington History at the History Museum. Guests are invited to check out traditional folk arts traditions such as Chinese paper cutting and Mexican embroidery. Artists will perform throughout the festival in the Grand Lobby.
Walla Walla - A brass quintet will perform on Saturday, April 18 at 7:30 pm at the Walla Walla Symphony Saturday Soirée Chamber Music Series at the Walla Walla Country Club. Principal Trumpet player William Berry leads a group of brass players from the Walla Walla Symphony. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres, wine, coffee and tea will be served.
Seattle - ArtSpring is a free arts festival for students with disabilities grades 1-12 held at the Seattle Center May 5 - 6. This year’s theme “Cirque Du Couleur” will focus on colorful art lessons and include live entertainment and prizes. Registration (DOC) is required.
Yakima - Washington State Poet Laureate, Samuel Green, will be spending one week in Yakima, sharing his enthusiasm for poetry with students and poetry-lovers of all ages. Allied Arts of Yakima is coordinating Sam’s free public reading, classroom visits throughout ESD 105, after-school high school workshops, and a Saturday workshop for adults. The public reading, in partnership with Yakima Valley Community College, will be at YVCC’s Kendall Hall on May 8 at 7 pm. This event is free and open to the public. Following the reading, Mr. Green will host a brief question and answer period.
Photo credits
Artwork Installation: Paradise, Garth Edwards, 2009. Aluminum. White Bluffs Elementary School, Richland. Photo by the artist.
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The Washington State Arts Commission (WSAC) is the state agency established in 1961 to support the arts as essential to the state's social, educational and economic growth, and to contribute to Washington's quality of life and the well being of its citizens. WSAC is governed by four legislators and 19 Governor-appointed citizens.
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