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Arts Council convenes in Ocean City, Berlin
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E. Scott Johnson, MSAC Chair; Hannah Lee Byron, DBED Assistant Secretary for Tourism, Film and the Arts; Theresa Colvin, MSAC Executive Director; Mayor Gee Williams of Berlin, gather at a reception in Berlin Maryland during MSAC’s annual planning meeting.
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Arts Council to give 98 Individual Artist Awards
Gov. Martin O’Malley announced that 98 Maryland artists have been selected to receive Individual Artist Awards (IAA) totaling $250,000 from the Maryland State Arts Council. The Arts Council received 619 applications for the $1,000, $3,000 and $6,000 awards.
“Maryland’s creative community is a vibrant force that strengthens the state on both cultural and economic levels,” Gov. O’Malley said. “These awards are a tribute to the work of Maryland artists and represent a solid investment in an industry that continues to pay dividends.”
The annual IAA program has categories that alternate yearly. Award categories for the FY 2010 cycle are: digital/electronic arts; fiction; media; solo dance performance; solo musical performance; solo theatrical performance; visual arts (painting); and visual arts (works on paper). Out-of-state judges used an anonymous process administered by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation to review the work of the applicants.
The application deadline for next year’s (FY 2011) awards will be in 2010 July.
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The Puppet Co. wins Arts Council award
The Puppet Co. – a Montgomery County-based theater company dedicated to the art of puppetry – received the Maryland State Arts Council’s 2010 Cherry Adler Award for excellence in children’s theater. Founded in 1983, The Puppet Co. also won this award in 2000.
“Maryland has a strong and incredibly vibrant network of arts organizations devoted to encouraging children to become involved in the arts,” said Theresa Colvin, executive director of the Maryland State Arts Council. “The Puppet Co. has an outstanding record of reaching out to students with innovative programming, while maintaining a fee structure that is affordable for families.”
Productions at The Puppet Co. Playhouse – a 250-seat theater in Glen Echo Park – change about every six weeks. Between eight and 12 performances are presented weekly. The company operates in cooperation with the National Park Service, Montgomery County, and the Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture.
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Nine students vie for Poetry Out Loud title
The Maryland State Poetry Out Loud Finals will be held at the Enoch Pratt Central Library's Wheeler Auditorium, Feb. 27 at 1 pm. WYPR radio personality Aaron Henkin hosts the event and guitarist Bruce Casteel will perform. Also, Maryland’s poet laureate, Stanley Plumly, will be a guest speaker.
Nine regional winners will compete for the title of Maryland State Poetry Out Loud Champion, a prize of $200, and an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C., for the Poetry Out Loud National Finals, April 25-27.
Maryland State Arts Council partnered with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation for the contest, which was open to 11th and 12th graders in both public and private schools across the state. The Poetry Out Loud program encourages students to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance. For more information, e-mail Chris Stewart at the Arts Council.
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NEA unveils new initiative to transform communities
Five Maryland cities – Annapolis, Baltimore, Bowie, Frederick and Hagerstown – are eligible to apply for funding in a new grants program offered by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) designed to transform communities through the arts - The NEA Mayors' Institute on City Design 25th Anniversary Initiative Awards run from $25,000 to $250,000. Eligible cities must have participated in the “Mayors' Institute on City Design,” a 25-year-old program established by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
Recently, the NEA asked state arts agencies about strategies that use the arts as economic generators for the advancement of communities. “They were looking for programs to align with the “artWorks” theme that the new chairman, Rocco Landesman, introduced,” said Theresa Colvin, director of the Maryland State Arts Council. “We provided information about our arts and entertainment districts, as did other states.”
"Artists are entrepreneurs, small businessmen all, great place-makers and community builders,” Landesman said. “Bring artists into the center of town and that town changes profoundly.”
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Arts Council convenes in Ocean City, Berlin
Members and staff of the Maryland State Arts Council traveled to Ocean City for a Council Meeting and Planning Session, Jan. 21-22. Acting on the findings of Imagine Maryland, its strategic plan, the Arts Council has been holding scheduled meetings in different parts of the state. Last November, the Council met at St. Mary’s College in Southern Maryland, and last September at the Olney Theatre in Montgomery County.
From Ocean City, the Arts Council contingent went to Berlin for a tour of the town’s Arts and Entertainment District, including visits to two art studios and a gallery. Stakeholders in the art communities of Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties attended.
During the Council’s meetings, Kelly Barsdate, chief program and planning officer for the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA), addressed the group. Barsdate manages NASAA’s strategic-planning practices and is a consultant for state arts agencies.
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Five Maryland theater groups receive 21 Hayes nominations
Forum Theatre – a Silver Spring theater company that uses an experimental approach to its productions – and Rep Stage – a professional theater in residence at Columbia’s Howard Community College – received a total of 13 nominations for 2010 Helen Hayes Awards.
Forum picked up seven nominations, including one for Angels in America: Millennium Approaches as “outstanding resident play.” Rep Stage also received a nomination in that category for Wittenberg.
The three other Maryland theatrical companies that were nominated are:
The annual awards – to be given April 5 at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C. – have recognized the work of the now 73 professional theater groups in the Greater Washington region for the past 26 years.
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Eastern Shore group honors gospel quartet
The Zionaires – a gospel quartet from Princess Anne formed in 1954 – received the Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Council’s 2009 Legacy Award at the Council’s annual luncheon, Jan. 20, held at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne. More than 40 musicians have been members of the group since it began.
WYPR radio, in collaboration with Maryland Traditions, will profile The Zionaires on the March 19 episode of The Signal – a weekly show that explores arts and culture in Maryland. Arts Council folklorist Cliff Murphy wrote an overview of The Zionaires and their music for The American Folklife Center portion of The Library of Congress web site.
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| IN THE NEWS |
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| EVENTS |
Black History Month exhibitions and special events
MSAC Events:
- MSAC Literary Arts Summit
Feb. 12, 2 – 4 pm
Frostburg Center for Creative Writing
20 E. Main St., Frostburg
E-mail or call: Chris Stewart, 410-767-6476
- Poetry Out Loud Finals
Feb. 27
Enoch Pratt Free Library, Central Branch
Baltimore
- Arts & Entertainment Districts 2010 Annual Meeting
March 10
Location: Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, Annapolis
Contact: Keena Stephenson 410-767-8832
- National Arts Advocacy Day
April 12-13
Washington, D.C.
Sponsored by Americans for the Arts
- National Arts Education Association Conference
April 14-16
Baltimore
Online registration available
- Maryland Traditions Showcase
June 10
Creative Alliance
Baltimore
Contact: Cliff Murphy 410-767-6450
- Dance Beyond Borders
Dance/USA 2010 annual conference
June 16-19
Washington, D.C.
- Americans for the Arts Half-Century Summit
June 25-27
Baltimore
Online registration available
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OPPORTUNITIES
& DEADLINES
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- Community Arts Education Leadership Institute sponsored by the American Express Foundation July 14-18 Philadelphia PA. Application deadline March 15 http://nationalguild.org/LeadershipInstitute/index.htm
- 2010-11 ArtsCONNECT eGRANT for support of projects taking place between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011. ArtsCONNECT supports performing arts tours across the mid-Atlantic region developed through consortia of presenting organizations. Deadline: March 22, 2010 www.midatlanticarts.org
- National Endowment for the Arts Grants for Arts Projects Guidelines
The FY 2011 NEA Grants for Arts Projects application guidelines are now available. The three
funding categories - Access to Artistic Excellence, Challenge America Fast-Track, and Learning
in the Arts for Children and Youth - represent the Arts Endowment's primary support for organizations. www.arts.gov/grants/apply/index.html
- MSAC
- COMMUNITY ARTS DEVELOPMENT NEA/CHALLENGE AMERICA February 24, 2010
- Arts in Communities, April 21, 2010
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175
W. Ostend St., Suite E
Baltimore, MD 21230 |
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410-767-6555 TTY1-800-735-2258 |
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www.msac.org |
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Martin
O'Malley, Governor |
Anthony
G. Brown, Lt. Governor |
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