eNews - July 2009 Edition
From the Executive Director Budget Realities
July 1 begins a new fiscal year for WSAC and the budget realities here aren't good. Our state funding is down 26%, requiring the Commission to make tough choices to reduce spending and trim expenses. Compared with last year’s spending, this year brings the following changes:
Even with limited funds, it’s important that we seek to reach all parts of the state. Grants to organizations – including general operating support, project support, and Art Jobs Support – now consider geographic service/outreach as criteria for funding.
We are maintaining a strong commitment to ensure that our grants are distributed through processes that are fair and efficient. And so that the return on our investments is well-documented, we now have more specific reporting requirements about the public benefit that results from WSAC funding.
Some organizations we’ve long funded will not be receiving general operating support this year. The cuts are less severe for Project Support grants, although we anticipate more applications – and more competition in this category. And thanks to the National Endowment for the Arts, we have one-time funding for Art Jobs Support, an initiative to support the arts workforce. (Note that applications are due Monday, July 13.)
We’re grateful to you for fending off deeper cuts to our state funding, and for putting WSAC funds to work to provide meaningful arts experiences across the state. As the economy recovers – and it will – we need to work together to build a strong future for the arts.
Keep in touch,
July 11 In my half sleep the owls
"July 11" ©2008 by Poet Laureate Sam Green; from his book, The Grace of Necessity, Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2008.
New Artwork Installation Mauricio Robalino’s Big World was installed in early June near the entrance to Jason Lee Elementary, in Richland. Featuring a larger-than-life blue dragonfly, purple lily flower, and
The sculpture is complemented by a five-by-three foot indoor mosaic, Dragonfly on Leaf, which greets students as they enter from the playground.
A native of Ecuador, Robalino lives and works in Tacoma and has created numerous public and private commissions. Prior to Big World, his most recent public art project was a series of murals for Sound Transit at Seattle’s Rainier Beach light rail station.
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.
Governor's Arts and Heritage Awards The Washington State Arts Commission invites you to nominate outstanding artists, arts organizations, arts educators, supporters, and cultural leaders in our state. Nominations are due September 30, 2009.
The Governor's Arts and Heritage Awards will be presented in January 2010. The Awards are among the most prestigious honors bestowed by the Governor; 150 individuals, artists, and organizations have received Arts Awards, and 51 individuals and organizations have been honored with a Heritage Award.
To be eligible for either the Arts or Heritage Awards, individuals or organizations must be current Washington residents or have resided in the state during the time the contributions were made, and not be a previous Governor’s Arts Award or Heritage Award recipient.
Washington State Arts Alliance Advocacy Awards The Washington State Arts Alliance (WSAA) is accepting nominations for the 2009 Louise Miller Arts Advocacy Award to honor a statewide official, and the 2009 Local Hero Award to recognize public/elected officials who have shown outstanding leadership in advancing the arts and arts education on a local, statewide, or national level.
To be eligible for the awards, the nominees must be an elected or appointed (in case of a city manager) to a position of governance -- e.g. U.S. Congress, Washington State Legislature, Washington city or county council, or school board. Cultural workers and heads of local arts commissions or councils are not eligible.
To make a nomination, send a one-page letter of nomination that describes:
Additional letters of support, while not necessary, are accepted. Email your nomination to Mary Langholz at mary@wsartsalliance.com or mail to Washington State Arts Alliance, 1204 Minor Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101. Deadline: 07/13/09.
Articles and Information Seattle-based environmental artist Buster Simpson was presented the 2009 Public Art Network Award at the recent Americans for the Arts conference held in Seattle. In presenting the award, Robert L. Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts said, "Buster Simpson has helped define contemporary and environmental public art. He is an accomplished artist and an exemplary leader in community arts. His innovation and dedication has been recognized regionally and nationally in the public art field.” Simpson has been making intelligent, provocative, entertaining, and challenging public artworks for more than 30 years. View a recent project, Instrument Implement: Walla Walla Campanile and Poetic License, installed at the Walla Walla Community College, commissioned by the Washington State Arts Commission.
The National Endowment for the arts has released their latest study on Arts Participation 2008: Highlights from a National Survey. The study shows persistent patterns of decline in participation in every art form, except literature. Only 35 percent of U.S. adults (ages 18 and older) - or an estimated 78 million - attended an art museum or an arts performance in the 2008 survey period, compared with about 40 percent in 1982, 1992, and 2002.
Opportunities Art Jobs support funding is available to protect jobs and contracted positions in nonprofit arts organizations, such as theatres, museums, arts festivals and arts education programs. Read the guidelines and then apply online for both the WSAC and the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) Art Jobs Support Grants. Deadline: July 13, 2009.
As part of a national tour for Arts in Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative, Kennedy Center President Michael M. Kaiser will visit Washington state August 20-21 to conduct free arts leadership symposia in Seattle and Tacoma. The Seattle symposium will be Thursday, August 20, 10 am to noon. The Tacoma symposium will be Friday, August 21, 9 - 11 am. These symposia are aimed at engaging arts organization staff, trustees, volunteers and funders, as well as leaders in the arts education community in the discussion around sustainability. To sign up for a priority invitation to these free events visit ArtsEd Washington, a Kennedy Center affiliate through the Alliance for Arts Education Network.
NALAC, the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture, is accepting Fund for the Arts applications from Latino artists and organizations. This grant program is designed to help Latinos develop their creative talents and make lasting contributions to our communities and society as a whole. Deadline: 07/13/09.
Art Calendar, the business magazine for visual artists, is hosting a Studio Makeover Contest. The contest is free to enter and features more than $9,000 in prizes donated by Art Calendar’s business partners. Entrants for the Studio Makeover Contest must provide a 100-word statement about why they should win a studio makeover. Deadline: 07/30/09.
The City of Lynnwood is turning 50 this year and to help celebrate, the Lynnwood Arts Commission is looking for artists of all ages and abilities to create work that uses the ideas of celebration or the number 50, or both! Deadline: 07/31/09.
The Columbia City Gallery has issued a call to artists for TOUCH, its 4th Annual Juried Exhibit. The exhibit will run from September 30 to November 15, 2009. Artists in all media are encouraged to submit artwork completed within the past three years which reflects the theme: touch. Deadline: 07/31/09.
Visual artists working in Washington, Oregon or Idaho are invited to apply for the Seattle Art Museum's (SAM’s) annual Betty Bowen Award. For 31 years, the Betty Bowen award has provided artists with an opportunity to introduce their work to SAM’s curators of modern and contemporary art and the Betty Bowen Committee members, and to have their work critiqued by their peers. Deadline: 08/01/09.
The Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs is accepting applications for the 2010 CityArtists Projects program that supports Seattle-based individual artists working in visual, literary and film/media arts. Deadline: 08/11/09.
LINC (Leveraging Investments in Creativity) has announced the MetLife Foundation Innovative Space Award, a competitive national funding program that recognizes outstanding efforts in the design and development of affordable spaces for artists. Deadline: 08/24/09.
The Dozen Distinctive Destinations program is accepting nominations to recognize unique cities and towns across America that are working to preserve their historic character, promote heritage tourism, enhance their community and encourage others to enjoy all they have to offer. Each year since 2000, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has selected 12 destinations that offer an authentic visitor experience by combining dynamic downtowns, diverse cultural activities, attractive architecture and a strong commitment to historic preservation, sustainability and revitalization. Deadline: 09/01/09.
Applications for the 2010 Denali National Park Artist-in-Residence Program are now being accepted.The Artist-in-Residence program at Denali National Park began in 2001, and offers artists the opportunity to pursue their work amidst the natural splendors of Denali Park. The park currently provides the use of the historic East Fork Cabin for ten-day periods from June through August. Deadline: 10/31/09.
TechSoup.org offers software donations to nonprofits from 35 major technology providers, including Microsoft, Cisco, Symantec, Intuit, and Adobe (for an administrative fee as little as 5% of retail cost). To qualify, organizations must be a 501(c)3 or a library.
Events Tacoma - The Museum of Glass is proud to present Preston Singletary: Echoes, Fire, and Shadows, the first mid-career survey of this renowned artist, July 11 through September 19, 2010. For nearly two decades, Singletary has straddled two cultures—melding his Tlingit ancestry with the dynamism of the Studio Glass Movement—and in the process creating an extraordinarily distinctive and powerful body of work.
Pasco - The Folk and Traditional Arts in the Parks Program invites the public to Festival Mexicana at Sacajawea State Park, near Pasco, on July 19 from 1 to 7 pm. All are welcome at this free event. Headlining the program will be Tri-Cities’ own Tormenta de Durango and El Arranque Norteño, and the folklórico dancers and costumes of the Yakima Valley’s Los Bailadores del Sol.
Winthrop - The Winthrop Rhythm and Blues Festival is a three-day event with national and regional rhythm and blues entertainment for all ages from July 17 - 19.
Sequim - 13th Annual Sequim Lavender Festival, July 17 - 19, is the premier celebration of the joys of lavender and the largest lavender festival in North America. The festival features arts and crafts, concerts, dances, and live theatre.
Seattle - Dancin Z Path is a site-specific dance event, July 18 and 19 from 2 to 3:30 pm. Created by Charlene Curtiss of Light Motion, and Joanne Petroff and Debbie Gilbert of Whistlestop Dance Co., Dancin Z Path honors the beauty of the Olympic Sculpture Park and highlights its accessibility. The event is free and open to the public.
Kirkland - Studio East, a youth performing arts organization, is presenting Sweeney Todd July 24 - 26 at the Kirkland Performance Center. This gripping musical thriller features heartbreak, mayhem and bloody good meat pies.
Spokane - Through July 31 the Jundt Art Museum is presenting Jacob Lawrence: Genesis, an exhibition featuring the print series Eight Studies for the Book of Genesis.
Seattle -Off the Cuff: Dance Innovators in Concert, August 8 - 9 at the Broadway Performance Hall is part of the 16th annual Seattle Festival of Dance Improvisation, August 2 - 9, a world-renowned dance festival offering master classes with internationally recognized faculty, public performances, jams and more. Seventeen dance artists and hundreds of students from around the world converge upon Seattle to teach and perform a wide variety of improvisational and related dance techniques.
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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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twelve-foot tall sunflower, and including two multi-colored mosaic-covered bollards, Big World is an uplifting, whimsical sculpture intended to bring joy to the students and inspire their imagination.