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Governor launches strategic planning effort for arts community
Coordinated by the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC), Imagine Maryland is intended to stimulate economic development, boost Maryland’s quality of life, attract visitors, and support artists and arts organizations. “Maryland has one of the strongest state-supported arts programs in the country because we value access and diversity by all citizens – to all types of arts experiences,” Gov. O’Malley said. “We know by the number of people participating in the arts – and the growing number of locally based arts programs – that our steadfast commitment has nurtured a growing creative economy.” Continue...
Arts Council distributes $13 million in grants Gov. Martin O’Malley approved more than $13 million in grants to 236 arts organizations and 24 local arts councils throughout Maryland for the new fiscal year that started July 1. The awards are made through the Maryland State Arts Council. “When we invest in the arts, we invest in our communities, our businesses and our citizens,” said Gov. O’Malley. “We’re fortunate to have such a thriving and vibrant arts community in Maryland – a community that reinforces our creative economy.” Arts organizations will receive $10,819,808 in grants for FY 2009 and another $2,590,172 will be in the form of awards for community arts development to county arts councils. The total amount of the grants is $13,409,980. Continue...
New chair, councilors emerge as Blair, Pipkin and Hug step down Johnson received a gubernatorial appointment to the Arts Council in 2004. He was re-appointed in 2007 by Gov. Martin O’Malley. As a principal with Ober, Kaler, Grimes & Shriver, a Baltimore-based law firm, Johnson works with a wide range of intellectual property issues that affect individuals, companies, nonprofits and educational institutions. The new chair is a board member of CityLit Project, Inc., Creative Alliance and Maryland Lawyers for the Arts. He was also selected for the 2008 edition of Maryland Super Lawyers. Continue...
A&E program expands with two new districts Annapolis and Havre de Grace are the newest additions to Maryland’s Arts and Entertainment (A&E) District program, announced Gov. Martin O’Malley, and Hagerstown has been approved for expansion and recertification in the program. Administered by the Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) through the Maryland State Arts Council, the A&E program provides local and county governments with tax benefits designed to stimulate economic activity and development while increasing the number of cultural enterprises in designated communities. Continue...
Five county arts councils receive public art grants Celebrating its 40-year anniversary, the Maryland State Arts Council approved grants to five county arts councils for public arts projects at its June 6 annual meeting. “We recognize public art as a significant element for community building and shaping landscapes,” said Theresa M. Colvin, executive director of the Arts Council. “These grants are also a salute to the launch of the Maryland Public Art Program and the Maryland Public Art Commission.” The grantees must use their awards for permanent community-based public art that is accessible to the public. Work on these projects must begin before the end of this calendar year. Here are the five recipients and their projects: Continue... Arts Council honors 97 Maryland artists Clarence Bishop, deputy secretary for Maryland’s Department of Business and Economic Development, was a guest speaker at the Maryland State Arts Council’s Individual Artists Awards ceremony and reception, June 14, at the Brown Center on the Baltimore campus of the Maryland Institute, College of Art. (See photo gallery.) Scott Johnson, recently-elected chair of the Arts Council, and Theresa M. Colvin, executive director of the Arts Council, also addressed the gathering. Tom Hall, music director for the Baltimore Choral Arts Society and WYPR radio host, was master of ceremonies. Continue...
Fine arts curriculum gets approval from state After years in the making, the Voluntary State Curriculum (VSC) for Fine Arts gained acceptance from the Maryland State Board of Education, May 28. VSCs, despite their name, are mandatory. “State regulations require arts instruction and the VSC now defines what that means for Pre K-8th grades,” says Mary Ann Mears, founder of the Art Education in Maryland Schools Alliance (AEMS). Continue...
National arts advocacy group selects Baltimore for 2010 meeting Americans for the Arts (AFTA) will hold its 50th anniversary meeting, June 24-27, 2010, in Baltimore, said Gov. Martin O’Malley and Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon. The annual meeting is expected to draw 2,400 arts leaders, educators and artists from around the country. The AFTA event will use more than 4,000 hotel rooms and generate an estimated $2.5 million in direct spending for the region, according to the recent joint announcement. Continue...
Maryland, D.C. promote artistic exchange The Maryland State Arts Council and the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) are conducting a pilot phase of the new Capital Region Performing Arts Touring Program – an initiative designed to promote artistic exchanges between Maryland and the District of Columbia. Both the Arts Council and DCCAH created rosters of performing artists from their jurisdictions who are eligible to participate in this initial phase of the program. Also, Maryland nonprofit organizations were invited to apply for funding that would go toward presenting D.C. artists at Maryland venues, between June 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009. Contact Sharon Blake, program director at the Arts Council, for information, 410-767-6536.
Maryland Traditions showcases performers, chefs, craftsmen
The event is sponsored by Maryland Traditions, in partnership with the Maryland Historical Trust and the Maryland State Arts Council, along with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Tatiana Sarbinska, a prominent Bulgarian folk singer, was the first performer. She was joined by her apprentice, Elin Zurbrigg, and a chorus of four other Bulgarian singers and an accordion player. Continue.... Cameron, Newsome, Schlosnagel end terms at local councils Three county arts council directors – Theresa Cameron, Steve Newsome and Steve Schlosnagel – have ended their terms. “We have deep gratitude for these three former directors,” said Theresa M. Colvin, executive director of the Maryland State Arts Council. “So much of our success on the statewide level is tied to the effective operation of local councils.” Continue...
Artist profile:
Just so happens that Jaya has ready access to these complementary performers. Her son, Srinath Balasubramanian, is a percussionist and her daughter-in-law, Sandhya Srinath, is a violinist. All three live in the same extended-family household in Laurel, and all three are 2008 Individual Artist Award (IAA) recipients. Jaya was also an IAA recipient in 2004. As happy as she was four years ago to receive the award, she said she “was thrilled” this time as she had encouraged Srinath and Sandhya to apply for this year’s awards. Continue...
Arts organization profile: A year or so after Andy Vick, executive director of the Allegany Arts Council told an official of the local transit system that he’d be interested in taking an old bus off his hands, he got a call. Allegany County Transit was upgrading its fleet and willing to donate a retired bus to the Arts Council. Students from a vocational school in the county reconfigured the interior of the bus, removing some of the seating and installing tables in its place. The revived arts bus – a brightly decorated art-mobile – now travels throughout Allegany County, offering art-related activities to children who might not have opportunities to engage in art experiences, says Vick, who’s one of the designated drivers of the bus. Then, came the new building – actually, it’s a century-old building that dates back to the 1890s. Continue...
GRANTS & OPPORTUNITIES MSAC GRANTS: Deadlines, forms and more
OPPORTUNITIES
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Gov. Martin O’Malley has invited public participation in a new cultural planning initiative –Imagine Maryland: 2008-2013 – that will identify opportunities to enhance the arts landscape in Maryland. 
Baltimore attorney E. Scott Johnson (pictured left) was elected chair of the Maryland State Arts Council, effective July 1. Johnson, who previously served as the Council’s vice-chair, succeeds Dania Blair (pictured), the longtime Council board member and St. Mary’s County resident, whose term expired.
A variety of accomplished folk-art performers and their apprentices entertained an overflow crowd at the Creative Alliance in East Baltimore, site of the former Patterson Theater, in the annual Maryland Masters Showcase: Down the Block and Around the Globe, June 19.
Jaya Bala, an award-winning Indian vocalist, says a performance of South Indian, or Carnatic, classical music, usually requires three performers: the vocalist, an instrument-playing musician such as a violinist, and a percussionist.
First, came the bus.  |