eNews - August 2010 Edition
From the Executive DirectorIn today's difficult budget environment, the arts are likely to receive increased scrutiny. I hope you will find opportunities to talk with your friends, neighbors, and audiences about why the arts are important to you and your community, and why public funding for the arts is important.
Hard times require public officials to make the most of available resources, and to adopt policies that maximize the potential for economic recovery. The arts are a proven part of that mix: arts investments leverage other resources, help communities regain economic stability, and maintain quality of life.
Key points about the arts:
Compared to other branches of state government, WSAC is a very small agency, with limited human resources and funds that get spread very thin in order to serve residents across the state. In the current two-year period, legislative general fund appropriations to WSAC total $3.2 million. That’s just twenty cents per capita, equal to one-hundredth of one percent of the State’s total general fund expenditures.
Due to the state budget shortfalls, WSAC has lost 45 percent of our state funding in the past two years. We know that these reductions damage the cultural sector’s ability to provide jobs, goods, and services to communities. Furthermore, arts cutbacks can lead to much larger losses, since arts grantees use the “seal of approval” of state funding to attract dollars from other sources.
State and national public opinion polls find that a strong majority of Americans favor a governmental role in funding the arts. In the year ahead, it’s even more important to be clear about the reasons.
Keep in touch,
New Artwork InstallationFractal Tree Archway consists of two stainless steel trees that join each other over the walkway between the new Laura Angst Hall and the existing campus at Skagit Valley College. The sculpted trees are based on fractals; each part of the tree is an identical copy of the other parts, scaled and rotated in space. The trees are approximately 15½ feet tall and each spans nearly 17 feet. They are illuminated at night by programmed LED lights.
The local selection committee chose artist Paul Sorey for this project and presented him with recommendations that the work be: environmentally-focused; a destination; community-gathering; challenging – not provocative but intellectually engaging; a signature work; and provide strong site lines to other campus buildings.
It was installed in May, 2010. Laura Angst Hall, Skagit’s new science building, is the first Washington state higher education building to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification, the highest possible energy certification by U.S. Green Building Council.
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.
Arts Participation Leadership Initiative ForumJoin us for the Arts Participation Leadership Forum and Workshops presented by the Washington State Arts Commission and The Wallace Foundation. Participate in this timely discussion of emerging practices in Audience Engagement by nationally recognized researcher and consultant Alan Brown of WolfBrown.
The forum and workshop sessions are designed for arts managers, board members, artists, and volunteers. During the forum and workshops, Alan and participants will delve into the questions of how audiences like to engage with different art forms, and how arts organizations can respond to the changing expectations and demands of audiences.
The forum will be introduced by Daniel Windham of The Wallace Foundation with a discussion led by Sandra Jackson-Dumont of the Seattle Art Museum.
Both events are being held in the McCaw Hall on the Seattle Center campus, and are free, seating is limited and registration is required (click on the links above for each event).
^Articles and InformationCommissioner Cindy Hill Finnie, of Port Townsend, was recently elected chair of WSAC. Other Commissioners elected to leadership positions at the board's August 4 meeting are Kent Carlson of Seattle, first vice chair; and Elizabeth Conner of Vashon, second vice chair. Andy Fife, Executive Director of Shunpike was recently appointed by Governor Chris Gregoire to serve as a WSAC commissioner.
Tacoma's first traditional welcome figure will be installed next month in Tollefson Plaza by Rosemary Ponnekanti,The Olympian. Shaun Peterson, is in our Apprenticeship Program this year—as a student of tool maker Steve Brown.
Foundry leaves lasting impression on art world by Dori O'Neal, Tri-City Herald. The artwork featured in the article is being created by artist Tom Otterness and is commissioned as part of our Art in Public Places program.
Grants / OpportunitiesThe Project Support grants deadline for FY 2011 Round Two, is October 4, 2010, for projects taking place between January 1, 2011 and June 30, 2011. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) have announced two new funding opportunities for the arts community. Local arts agencies are encouraged to work with their city and county governments to apply for these new funding opportunities to create more livable communities through the arts. The two new opportunities are the Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant and a combination of the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery program and the Sustainable Community Challenge Grant program. Deadline (pre-application): 07/26/10. Full application deadline: 08/23/10.
The American Composers Forum has announced a new national composition contest to encourage creativity by composers across the U.S. and to recognize and reward their accomplishments. Entries are welcome from composers of all ages. Deadline: 09/15/10.
The Snohomish County Arts Commission is seeking concepts from qualified artists to design and integrate a site-specific artwork for the Centennial Trail in Arlington, WA. The trail is over 17 miles long and is an enormously popular for walking, bicycling, hiking, and horseback riding. The Snohomish County Arts Commission seeks an artist to integrate an arch or arches in one or more locations along the northern portion. Proposed arches could act as gateways, way finders or trail markers or simply a pleasant surprise along the passage. Deadline: 09/27/10.
All kindergarten through 12th grade students are invited to participate in the 2010 Constitution Day Poster Contest. Entrants must create a poster that demonstrates how the freedoms embodied in the U.S. Constitution affect their daily lives. Entries will be judged on both artistic merit and relevance to the U.S. Constitution. Deadline: 10/01/10.
The City of Olympia is seeking to purchase (PDF) original studio art, two-dimensional or low relief wall-mounted art, for permanent installation, created and submitted by experienced artists who reside or create their work in a studio within 30 miles of the new City Hall in Olympia. Deadline: 10/11/10.
Employment / Volunteer / InternshipsThe City of Auburn is seeking a temporary Cultural Arts & Special Events Assistant to perform a variety of duties related to box office accounting/ticket sales, special event administration and activity planning, volunteer training, scheduling and supervision of cultural arts and special event recreational programs.
The Seattle Opera is seeking a Development Director (PDF) to act as the chief fundraising officer for the company, responsible for the annual, capital, special fundraising campaigns and other ongoing fundraising efforts including planned giving, endowment and major gifts.
SIFF is currently recruiting for two positions:
Events / Workshops / ConferencesSeattle - KEXP and the Seattle Center are presenting Concerts At The Mural, a summertime series of free outdoor music series curated by KEXP. Every Friday now through August 27 from 6 - 8 pm (doors open at 5 pm), on the lawn of Seattle Center Mural Amphitheatre.
Mercer Island - Youth Theatre Northwest wraps up its summer season with a Tony Award winning musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie, August 27 through September 5.
Seattle - Bumbershoot is the largest contemporary music and arts festival in North America, featuring a progressive mix of live music, comedy, dance, indie crafts, spectacle, film, theatre, children’s activities, literary and visual arts. The three-day festival, September 4-6, showcases over 250 scheduled performances at the 74-acre Seattle Center, home of the iconic Space Needle.
Twisp - Join Methow Arts on Saturday, September 11 at 7 pm at TwispWorks. The very first performance at the Twisp Forest Service Complex in the warehouse. Enjoy a special evening of vintage jazz, swing dancing, 20’s-30’s inspired cocktails and light fare, and be transported back in time to the earliest days of the Jazz Age with Miss Rose & Her Rhythm Percolators. |
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