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Frostburg gains approval for A&E district "Maryland's arts and entertainment districts have received national recognition for developing vibrant centers of commerce, culture and creativity," Gov. O'Malley said. "With this designation, Allegany County is harnessing the synergy of two creative communities – Cumberland to the east and Frostburg to the west – and is developing a critical cultural mass that offers residents, visitors and students an outstanding place to live, work and visit." A&E districts provide county and local governments with assorted tax benefits designed to boost economic development and create cultural zones that attract artists and arts enterprises. Maryland was among the first states to develop a statewide A&E program. Impetus for the program, said Hannah Byron, assistant secretary for TFA, came partially from a recent National Governor's Association report, "Promoting Film and Media to Enhance State Economic Development." The report viewed film festivals as a significant factor for increasing tourism while elevating civic pride and participation – all elements that enhance a community's quality of life and generate economic activity. "These small community investments will provide seed funding to leverage private-sector support," said Jack Gerbes, director of the film office. "The awards capitalize on one of the most popular and accessible art forms – movies – to cultivate events that attract artists and visitors and promote Maryland's storied movie-making history.
Gov. Martin O'Malley launched Imagine Maryland last spring. The Arts Council assembled the draft using information gathered from statewide meetings and forums, online and telephone surveys, and interviews with community leaders. Detailed notes and summaries from all meetings are also posted on the Council's site. The Arts Council will use Imagine Maryland as a blueprint for guiding its allocation of resources in supporting and promoting Maryland's arts sector. This plan also adheres to best-practice guidelines for state arts agencies as prescribed by the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Association of State Arts Agencies.
Theresa Colvin, the Council's executive director, offered an overview of the state's strategic-planning initiative for the arts community, Imagine Maryland. She also discussed results of the first statewide public-opinion survey concerning the arts in Maryland. Chad Herzon, president of Pennsylvania Presenters, spoke about a booking project that involved nearly two dozen Pennsylvania locations that presented the New York-based Paul Taylor Dance Company. For more information about the Maryland Presenters Network, call or e-mail Sharon Blake at the Arts Council. Arts workshops for nonprofits run through June Funding from the program helps Maryland venues stage performances – music, theater and dance – by roster artists. For information about the program, contact Sharon Blake at 410-767-6536, or visit the Arts Council web site. The applications deadline for Maryland Presenters to apply for grants to support the presentation of roster artists has been extended to March 6, 2009. For this year's program, MAAF selected artists that reflect the region's diverse cultural heritage. The Cultural Currents tour roster includes Cherish the Ladies (Irish), Holmes Brothers (blues and gospel), Klezmatics (world), Crooked Road Tour (old world, bluegrass, etc), Paquito D'Rivera (Latin/Jazz), and TIRTHA (South Asian). Maryland presenters can receive up to 50 percent fee support to present an artist from the roster. Currently, presenters are limited to funding for one engagement. For more information, contact Krista Bradley at 410-539-6656, x110. Music teacher wins $25,000 educator award Christian Slattery, a voice teacher at Hall's Cross Roads Elementary in Aberdeen, accepted congratulations from Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick and Jane Foley, a representative of the Milken Educator Awards program. Called the "Oscars of Teaching" by Teacher magazine, the annual awards go to 80 teachers across the nation. Slattery, who has been teaching for six years, will be allowed to use the award in any manner he chooses. He is one of 53 Maryland educators to have received an award from the Milken National Education Foundations since the state began participating in the program 15 years ago.
The Maryland State Arts Council conducts the Maryland competition in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. This year, the Maryland Poetry Out Loud competition was open to grades 11 and 12 in all Maryland schools, both public and private. (During the pilot-program phase of the program, only two counties in the state were involved.) Twenty-six schools in nine counties participated, and competitions were held at each school this past fall. County competitions will be completed this month. School and county winners will compete in the state finals. The Maryland Poetry Out Loud champion receives an all-expense paid trip to compete in the national finals, April 26-28, in Washington, D.C. Contact Chris Stewart at the Arts Council, 410-676-6476, for information about the Maryland Poetry Out Loud program. Organization profile: Baltimore Clayworks Baltimore Clayworks, a nonprofit ceramic arts center, had proposed the project – the Community Milagros mural – and received funding from the Maryland State Arts Council's ARTvantage program and the Mid Atlantic Foundation, a Baltimore-based organization that supports arts programming across the mid-Atlantic region. Clayworks brought in ceramic artist Laura Jean McLaughlin, who helped the girls express their feelings and imagination by creating milagros, small charms that symbolize miracles and gratitude associated with healing. Milagros are often attached to religious shrines and alters in Mexico and some Latin American countries.
He's referring to a "big-bang" type of moment in his career: the release of the movie Juno. Call it serendipity. Call it cosmic coincidence. Jason Reitman, Juno's director, was searching iTunes for songs that he could use in the film when he discovered "All I Want is You," one of Polisar's songs from 1977. He spoke to Polisar about using it at the beginning of the movie. Soon after Juno's release, Reitman told the Baltimore Sun: "I have always been a big fan of opening title sequences; I find them crucial for setting tone. I narrowed it down to a few songs, but nothing quite had the spark of Barry's twining voice against his harmonica and guitar." The tune – Polisar describes it as a "kid-like love song" – begins: "If I were a flower growing wild and free, All I'd want is you to be my sweet honey bee." It became the first song on the Juno soundtrack, an album that was just nominated for a Grammy. The album "sold almost 600,000 copies in three months," he says. "Juno just propelled me into another universe." OPPORTUNITES: TechSoup Stock 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 percent of retail cost). Chamber Music America National Conference, New York City, January 15-18, scholarships available. The 22nd Annual Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy, Washington, D.C., March 30. Arts Advocacy Day: The 2009 National Arts Action Summit, Washington, D.C., March 30-31. |
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