The Language of Objects

Councilors meet in Southern Maryland

The Arts Council traveled to St. Mary’s College of Maryland in Southern Maryland for its regular council meeting, Nov. 20. Councilor Barbara Bershon, who is director of the college’s annual River Concert Series, hosted the meeting. Larry Vote, acting president and provost at St. Mary’s, along with Jeffrey Silberschlag, music director for the concert series and head of music performance at the college, welcomed the group with both a tour of Boyden Gallery and a student performance in Montgomery Hall.

Pictured: (L to R) Nathaniel Silberschlag and Mary Coy with E. Scott Johnson, MSAC chair, and Theresa Colvin, MSAC executive director, following performance.

Cultural community salutes Nancy Haragan

Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance (GBCA) celebrated its 10th anniversary and paid tribute to its executive director, Nancy Haragan, at a Nov. 22 dinner in honor of her decade of service to the organization and the cultural community. E. Scott Johnson, chair of the Maryland State Arts Council, presented Haragan with a congratulatory citation from Gov. Martin O’Malley. Haragan, GBCA’s founding director, will retire from the organization at the end of this month. GBCA’s board of directors also established a Founder’s Fund in Haragan’s honor, which will provide working capital for sustaining GBCA. Haragan was praised for her leadership in forging regional partnerships and community forums, along with her efforts in creating the Baltimore Fun Guide and her involvement in bringing the Cultural Data Project to Maryland. For information about the Founder’s Fund, call or e-mail GBCA, 410-230-0200.

PIctured: Nancy Haragan

Regional forums support literary arts groups

Literary arts summits – designed to promote communication, foster a collaborative spirit and share resources among literary arts organizations – have been held in the greater Baltimore area, Western Maryland and the Eastern Shore. Future meetings are planned for the greater Washington, D.C. area and Southern Maryland. Chris Stewart, program director for Literary Arts at the Arts Council, says committees have been formed to address the top issues that face literary groups: funding, venues, outreach, programming and technical assistance. For more information, call or e-mail Chris Stewart, 410-767-6476.

Pictured at an earlier summit (l to r): Reggie Harris, Enoch Pratt Free Library; Andrea Lewis, Maryland Humanities Council; and Andy Rubin, Cyclops Books.

Maryland Presenters meet at annual session

More than 40 presenters of performing arts gathered at Strathmore Music Center in Bethesda, Nov. 23, for the second annual Maryland Presenters Network meeting. The event featured a panel presentation that addressed funding opportunities and how to develop corporate sponsorships during the current economic downturn. Panelists included: Bianca Beckham, Strathmore Hall Foundation; Krista Bradley, Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation; Theresa Colvin, Maryland State Arts Council; Mario Garcia Durham, National Endowment for the Arts (pictured); and William Mandicott, Frostburg State University Cultural Events Series. (Mandicott is also a Maryland State Arts Councilor.) Two guests from Pennsylvania – Chad Herzog, Juniata Presents; and Amy Dupain Vashaw, Pennsylvania State University’s Center for Performing Arts – joined a discussion about future projects. Call or e-mail Sharon Blake for information, 410-767-6536.

Pictured: Mario Garcia Durham, National Endowment for the Arts

Arts centers partner for community outreach

Baltimore Clayworks, a nonprofit ceramic-arts center, is using a Maryland State Arts Council ARTvantage grant to offer programming at the Jubilee Arts Center, a newly developed arts facility in West Baltimore. The Arts Council offers these grants – designed to help extend arts programs into underserved communities – through funding from the Challenge America Program at the National Endowment for the Arts. For the Jubilee project, Clayworks has arranged for Justin Rothshank, a Pittsburgh-based artist, to work out of a Clayworks satellite studio at Jubilee during the upcoming spring as resident artist. He will guide a community arts project called 1,000 Cups of Hope.

Image courtesy of www.rothshank.com

Register for workshop on ARTvantage grants

An informational workshop for ARTvantage grants will be held at the Arts Council office, 175 W, Ostend St. in South Baltimore, on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 4-5:30 p.m. ARTvantage grants allow arts organizations and artists to expand and diversify their audiences. These grants can promote accessibility to the arts by helping arts organizations extend their programming into underserved communities. Registration required. Call or e-mail Doreen Harmon, 410-767-6555, to register.