eNews - January 2010 Edition
From the Executive DirectorNorthwest Sinfonietta is a 35-member chamber orchestra that is known for its skilled musicians and exceptional concert experiences. But this year, their five-concert season was hit hard by the recession. With declines in ticket sales, contributions and gala proceeds, the Sinfonietta considered cutting rehearsal time to reduce costs. Instead, a WSAC Art Jobs Support grant helps maintains its artistic capacity – including rehearsals for their paid musicians. As well as ensuring more time to prepare for concerts, these funds translate to income stability for the musicians. That’s good for the economy and important to sustain the quality of each performance.
WSAC Art Jobs Support grants are funded by a one-time initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, through funding provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). WSAC is using these funds to preserve and support existing jobs in the arts in more than 20 organizations across the state.
In addition to Northwest Sinfonietta, other recipients include: Stone Soup is using Art Jobs Support funds to staff Shop the Frontier, an online marketplace for rural artists and artisans. Stone Soup also provides training in business and marketing to help artists sell online and in galleries, operates a gallery in Republic, and provides training and other services in rural communities from Pullman to Thurston County. The Community Cultural Project of Tonasket is receiving Art Jobs Support funds for the Executive Director and After-School Program Coordinator positions. Bainbridge Island Art & Humanities Council has Art Jobs Support funding to support the Executive Director position, which was recently reduced to half-time due to budget cuts.
We’re grateful for the ARRA funding to support these important arts leadership positions in communities across the State. In the months ahead, we will be tracking our Art Jobs Support investments for insights about jobs in the arts and the economic health of arts organizations. Stay tuned.
Happy New Year - and keep in touch,
Heritage CaucusOrganized in 1990, the Heritage Caucus is a bi-partisan gathering of state legislators and other elected officials; staff from state heritage, arts, and cultural agencies, and nonprofit organizations; and citizens interested in supporting Washington's culture, heritage, and the arts. The Heritage Caucus meets every Wednesday during the legislative session from 7 to 8 am in Cherberg A/B/C conference rooms on the Capitol Campus.
The Heritage Caucus is co-chaired by Sen. Jim Honeyford (R), 15th District, and Rep. Lynn Kessler (D), 24th District; and co-staffed by the Washington State Historical Society (WSHS) and the Washington State Arts Commission.
The Tacoma Daily Index recently ran a great article on the history of the caucus, Washington State Heritage Caucus: A legislative voice for historic preservation.
New Artwork InstallationSuspended twelve feet off the floor in Tacoma’s Gray Middle School, Rae Mahaffey’s installation, Intervals, fills the commons with bright color and reflected light. The fifteen fused glass panels explore pattern theory and color relationships, with imagery inspired by education and community.
The local art selection committee first met in January, 2008, and began the process of broad criteria discussion and artist selection. Before selecting Mahaffey, the group indicated a preference for an artwork that was colorful, engaging, and inspiring. Once chosen, Mahaffey met with the committee several times, presenting a preliminary concept and finally a formal proposal which was unanimously accepted. The artwork took roughly one year to fabricate and install, and was dedicated in January, 2010.
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.
Articles and InformationWashington State Arts CommissionWSAC will be releasing a new publication next week: K-12 Arts Education: Every Student, Every School, Every Year. The booklet, part of our Arts Education Research Initiative (AERI), includes the results from a statewide survey to principals conducted during the 2008-2009 school year, as well as additional policy and research context, and strategies for improving K-12 arts education in Washington State. The booklet and other supporting material will be available on our website on Tuesday, January 19.
City Arts Magazine has extended interviews online from reporting for their article, "Seeing their Own Shadows," published in January 2010 issues. The interviews cover arts budgets and advocacy with WSAC Executive Director, Kris Tucker, and Washington State Arts Alliance Executive Director, Mary Langholz.
WashingtonBainbridge Island's year in arts news is summed up in Connie Mears' article, 2009 Reviewed: Art and upheaval, which appeared in the Bainbridge Island Review.
And, Skagit Valley arts organizations reflect on the recession's impact in Arts community not immune to recession, by Bev Crichfield, writing for the Skagit Valley Herald.
NationalNational Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman will visit Memphis, Tennessee at the invitation of Barbara and Pitt Hyde of the Hyde Family Foundations, as the latest stop on an “Art Works” tour across America.
Play a role in the 2010 Census by encouraging participation in the nation's once-a-decade population count. The United States Census Bureau has launched a nationwide road tour to motivate America's growing and increasingly diverse population to complete and mail back the census forms when they arrive in mailboxes in mid-March. Census data can impact arts funding and programs in our community. It determines the distribution of more than $400 billion in government funding annually. To help ensure 2010 census data is accurate, arts organizations can display census information in their lobbies and/or include messages in performance programs. To request census materials, contact Brynn Hurlstone, local partnership assistant with the U.S. Census Bureau.
OpportunitiesThe Seattle Center is accepting proposals (PDF) to temporarily activate all or some portion of 68,000 square feet of flat, paved outdoor space to be vacated by the Fun Forest, north of the Seattle Center Monorail station, for all or some portion of the time period between May 2010 and December 31, 2011. Attractions, activities, and events that will enliven the space are envisioned as ranging from single day to seasonal or even longer duration activities/events. Deadline: 01/18/10.
The Washington State Historical Society is accepting nominations for its annual awards recognizing excellence in advancing the field of history in the state of Washington through writing, teaching, historic projects, understanding cultural diversity, and voluntarism. Deadline: 01/28/10.
Seattle's Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs is seeking an artist to develop site-integrated artwork for the First Hill Streetcar line, which will connect the Chinatown/International District transit station to the future Capitol Hill light rail station via First Hill. The selected artist will work with the Seattle Department of Transportation and consultants from the early stages of design through construction. Deadline: 02/22/10.
The Port Townsend Arts Commission is seeking submissions of painting, photography, etching, monotypes, multi-media, wall-hung sculpture, and poetry related to water for the "Shape of Water" exhibit. Deadline: 03/01/10.
The Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Arts Council is seeking submissions for its third annual Poetry Month Celebration. Selected poets will be invited to read at a special event during April, National Poetry Month. Winning poems will be displayed at the Shoreline Arts Festival in June. Poems will be judged in three separate divisions: Secondary Student (grades 7-12), College Student, and Non-Student Adult. Cash prizes will be awarded in College and Adult categories. Deadline: 03/19/10.
Grand Canyon National Park is seeking applications for an Artist in Residence. The Artist-in-Residence Program offers professional artists the opportunity to spend three weeks on either the North or South Rim of Grand Canyon in housing provided by the National Park Service. Deadline: 04/01/10.
The Grand Canyon Association is accepting exhibit submissions (PDF) for their changing exhibit program at Kolb Studio which is located at the head of the Bright Angel Trail on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
EmploymentThe Cascade Youth Symphony Orchestras is seeking an Operations Supervisor to manage details required for rehearsals, concerts, auditions, student registrations, tuition, and related activities, as well as various business details that are part of any non-profit organization. For more details regarding this position, please contact David Endicott.
Cornish College for the Arts in Seattle is recruiting a Communications Coordinator to support the college's communications efforts by providing organizational and administrative support to the Director of Communications and by serving as a liaison between the department, the College, and the public.
EventsOlympia - Join the Washington State Arts Alliance and connect with legislators and peers statewide on February 2, 2010 in the Capitol Building in Olympia for Arts Day. For twenty-seven years the Arts Alliance has coordinated Arts Day as an opportunity for constituents to meet with legislators and talk about arts issues in the current legislative session, and cultural concerns in communities and schools. In the past years, participants have advocated for issues such as increasing the number of days that a non-profit facility can rent their space to a for-profit organization, the extension of lodging taxes for the arts, and inclusion of arts as a core subject in state education reform.
Seattle - Public Belongings: Path with Art at the Frye Museum is a multi-media exhibit exploring ideas of private identity and public space open January 23 through May 31, 2010. Immediately following the opening reception, renowned Seattle artist Fay Jones will present her work and take questions from the audience in a dialog discussing art and the creative process. This free event is hosted by Nancy Guppy from the Seattle Channel's Art Zone. Space is limited. To reserve your ticket please rsvp.
Seattle - Friends of Garfield Orchestra is hosting its 17th annual Winter Waltz, the Sleeping Beauty Waltz, January 23 from 7:30 to 10:30 pm in the Grand Lobby of Benaroya Hall, home of the Seattle Symphony. The event, featuring waltzes and other music for listening and dancing, performed by Garfield High School Orchestras under the direction of noted Seattle-area musician Marcus Tsutakawa, and being MC'd by Dave Beck, award-winning producer of KUOW Presents.
Olympia - The Capital Playhouse will open Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, their first production of the new year, on January 28. One of the all-time favorites from the team of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, "Joseph" is set to an engaging cornucopia of musical styles. Performances run January 28 through February 20, 2010.
Yakima - Students from eight Yakima area high schools will compete in the regional level of Poetry Out Loud, a national poetry recitation contest. The regional competition begins at 2:00 pm, January 31 at Allied Arts, 5000 W. Lincoln Ave. Admission is FREE and open to the public.
Walla Walla - The Walla Walla Symphony is presenting “Sweet Land of Liberty,” an evening of favorites by American composers on Tuesday, February 16 at 7:30 pm at Cordiner Hall.
Shoreline - Book-It Theatre is presenting Johnny Appleseed: a Tall Tale at the Shoreline Community College Campus Theater on Saturday, February 27 at 11 am. The play tells the story of John Chapman (better known as Johnny Appleseed), an adventurous young man born during the Revolutionary War, whose escapes became the stuff of legends. |
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