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 Music, food, dance and crafts featured at free Folklife Festival
The 2nd Annual Maryland Traditions Folklife Festival is on Saturday, June 16 at the Creative Alliance at the Patterson in Baltimore—rain or shine. The festival is sponsored by Maryland Traditions, a program of the Maryland State Arts Council.
The free, family-friendly Festival features two music stages, workshops for kids and adults and a mix of distinctive Maryland foods.
Du-Wop group The Legendary Orioles will return to the festival this year.
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WYPR’s The Signal profiles Folklife Festival performer
Maryland Traditions Director Cliff Murphy, Ph.D. and 2nd Annual Maryland Traditions Folklife Festival performer Baile McKnight were recently featured on a special episode of The Signal, which Murphy also co-produced. Through the lens of three generations, the segment explores the fascinating legacy of the griot, West African historians, storytellers and mediators who work through the medium of music.
McKnight—an institution in Maryland’s African drum and dance community—will be at this year’s festival demonstrating African drum making. More than a dozen other traditional artists and performers will lead workshops or demonstrations in arts that include screen painting, banjo making, quilting, boat building, decoy carving and more. View the full line-up of workshops, demonstrations and performances at http://www.marylandtraditions.org/festival.
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Maryland designates Bromo Tower Arts & Entertainment District
On July 1 a large section of downtown Baltimore’s west side will become Baltimore’s third and Maryland’s 20th state-designated arts & entertainment (A&E) district.
The Bromo Tower Arts & Entertainment District joins Station North and Highlandtown A&E Districts as areas where individuals and businesses may be eligible for tax breaks for arts-related activities and investments.
A seven-member panel assembled by the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) met earlier this spring to evaluate the city's application and forward a recommendation to Christian Johansson, secretary, Maryland's Department of Business and Economic Development.
The new designation is expected to help revitalize downtown's west side by filling vacant storefronts and making the area more of a magnet for theaters, galleries, other attractions and activities, and artists' housing.
In addition to Bromo Tower’s new designation, four existing A&E districts (Bethesda, Station North, Hagerstown and Cumberland) were granted ten-year redesignations.
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Arts Council celebrates 100 awardees
More than 200 people attended an open reception to honor recipients of the Maryland State Arts Council’s 2012 Individual Artist Awards, May 16 at the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM). Awards of $1,000, $3,000 or $6,000—totaling $250,000—were made in these categories: crafts, non-classical music composition, non-classical musical solo performance, photography and playwriting.
In his remarks, Kwame Kwei-Armah, guest speaker and CenterStage Artistic Director emphasized the role of the individual artist within the community and congratulated recipients for achieving excellence in a highly challenging field. He also applauded the critical support and encouragement the families and friends of artists provide.
During the past decade, the Arts Council has awarded $2.75 million to more than 1,000 Maryland artists. Applications for next year’s awards are due by July 27, 2012 and are open to these categories: fiction, theater: solo performance, visual arts: media/digital/electronic arts, painting, and visual works on paper. Photos from the 2012 Individual Artist Award celebration are on Facebook.
Pictured (from left to right): Rebecca Hoffberger, founder and director of AVAM, Kwame Kwei-Armah, and Theresa Colvin, Executive Director, MSAC.
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Piedmont Blues legend visits Germantown school
Phil Wiggins and guitarist Rick Franklin visited Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School in Germantown to launch Maryland Traditions in Schools, an MSAC program developed in collaboration with the National Council for Traditional Arts and Class Act Arts.
The program matches master traditional artists with local schools in which they teach or perform and provides grants that significantly defray the cost to schools. After the Martin Luther King Middle performance, each student received his or her own harmonica. Wiggins and Franklin then led two private practice sessions for about two dozen students and worked with them on the basics of the instrument. The Maryland Traditions in Schools program covers two-thirds of the artists’ regular fee, and is open to public and private schools in Montgomery County, with plans to soon expand to Prince George’s County and the Eastern Shore. Read more in the Washington Post.
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Bethesda receives 2012 Arts & Entertainment Outstanding Achievement Award
At a meeting of Arts & Entertainment (A&E) District managers earlier this week, Bethesda A&E District was presented with the 2012 Arts & Entertainment Outstanding Achievement Award.
The Award recognizes Bethesda’s success in creating and sustaining high-quality arts and cultural development, programming and promotions that attract residents, tourists and new businesses, and support the community’s vitality and growth.
Among Bethesda’s achievements last year are attracting 17 new retailors and 15 new restaurants, adding three new public events (Bethesda Poetry Contest, Bethesda Upscale Yard Sale, and Bethesda FRESHFARM Market), creating an online public art directory of the downtown Bethesda area, managing the Safeway (5000 Bradley Avenue) and Tunnel Vision public art initiatives, and opening the new nonprofit art space, Gallery B.
Pictured (from left to right): Pamela Dunne, A&E program director, MSAC; Margaret Footner, founder and executive director of Creative Alliance and MSAC Councilor; Stephanie Coppula, director of marketing and communications at Bethesda Urban Partnership, Inc., and Theresa Colvin, executive director of the MSAC.
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MSAC hires Public Art Program Director
Later this month, Lucas Cowan will join the MSAC staff as Program Director of Public Art. Lucas comes to the Arts Council from Chicago, where he served as Senior Curator of Exhibits at the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture/Millennium Park. He holds a master’s degree in arts administration from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree from Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in fiber/material studies.
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IN THE NEWS
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Artscape returns for the 31st year in Baltimore
America’s largest free arts festival is set to take place Friday, July 20 through Sunday, July 22 on Mount Royal Avenue and North Charles Street. Read more
- The Walters Uploads More Than 19,000 images of artwork to Wikimedia (Urbanite)
- Metro tunnel under Wisconsin Avenue decorated with art (Gazette.Net)
- Baltimore Museum of Art receives major works by Morris Louis (artdaily.org)
- A Community of Talent: Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts at 40 (Business Monthly)
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EVENTS
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- Star-Spangled Symphony
Star-Spangled Symphony on June 17 at the Meyerhoff will feature Governor O’Malley’s band, O’Malley’s March and the world premiere of Overture for 2012 by composer Philip Glass. The event is part of Star-Spangled Sailabration, the international maritime festival taking place from June 13-19 in and around Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The festival will also feature a Blue Angels air show and more than 40 tall ships and a score of naval vessels in waters around Baltimore to launch the national bicentennial of the War of 1812. To purchase tickets, call 410.783.8000 or visit the BSO Box Office (1212 Cathedral St., Baltimore, MD 21201).
- Western Maryland hosts plein-air event
The Allegany County Arts Council presents its third annual Mountain Maryland Plein Air event, June 2-10, featuring 30 juried artists from across the U.S. The artists painted throughout Allegany and Garrett counties, May 31-June 1. Their work goes on sale, June 3 at the Arts Council's Saville Gallery in Cumberland.
- Tenth Silverdocs Film Festival kicks-off June 18
Silverdocs is a seven-day international film festival and five-day concurrent conference that promotes documentary film as a leading art form. Presented by American Film Institute (AFI) and The Discovery Channel, The festival, June 18-24, takes place in and around Silver Spring, Maryland.
- 25th Arts festival in Columbia opens June 15
Roseanne Cash performs at 8:00 p.m., June 22 at the Rouse Theatre during the annual Columbia Festival of the Arts. The overall festival is an array of all-things-arts that runs June 15-30. The Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and includes a number of free events.
- Southern Maryland arts festival celebrates 20 years
Charles County Arts Alliance presents River Artsfest, an annual free festival on the Village Green in Indian Head, June 9. It's the largest outdoor arts festival in Charles County. Visual, performing and literary artists from the Southern Maryland region participate in the event.
- Weekend of arts & crafts returns to Annapolis
The third annual Annapolis Arts & Crafts Festival takes place at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, June 9-10. The event features a wide selection of juried work by regional artists and also includes performances, wine tastings, food and a “KidsArt Tent.” Please, no pets. Tickets are available online.
- Salsa, meringue and mariachi at Latino Fest
Hispanic culture, music and art come into the spotlight at the 32nd annual Latino Fest, June 23-24 at Patterson Park in East Baltimore. The event presents live performances – featuring Jose Alberto El Canario – arts & crafts, Latino cuisine and family activities. Admission is $5 for adults and free for children under 12.
- Big Band and Fireworks on the Eastern Shore
Jazzy big band sounds come alive on the Bay, June 30 at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum’s Independence Day Celebration. Stay into the evening to enjoy the St. Michaels fireworks over the Miles River.
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OPPORTUNITIES
& DEADLINES |
- Arts Council offers Individual Artist Awards (IAA) application assistance
Learn how to navigate the application process for the 2012 Maryland State Arts Council's Individual Artist Awards by participating in an online webinar. The webinar schedule, registration information and the IAA grant application are available online. The deadline to apply is July 27, 2012.
- Canton Branch Library
The City of Baltimore, the Baltimore Public Art Commission, and the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA) in collaboration with the Baltimore City Department of General Services is seeking to commission a professional artist or artist team to create artwork for permanent display for the Canton Branch Library. To learn more or to download an application, visit the BOPA website. The deadline is July 2, 2012.
- Casting Call
Central Casting seeks union and non-union extras for the original Netflix series House of Cards. The series is currently shooting in Harford County and the Baltimore area. Extras may also be considered for recurring or featured roles. The open call is from 3:00-8:00 p.m., June 10 at the Bel Air Armory. Business attire and a headshot or current photo is required. Extras are being casted for the following roles:
- Hill staffers, aides, and reporters: male or female of all ethnicities (age 21-34)
- Politicians, lobbyists, reporters or elegant Washington types: male or female, all ethnicities (age 40-60)
Politicians, lobbyists, reporters or elegant Washington types: male or female, all ethnicities (age 40-60)
- Teenagers: young men and women ages 18 and older.
- Grant opportunity for American individual artists and crafters
The Ruth and Harold Chenven Foundation gives annual awards to individual artists and craftpersons who live and work in the United States and are engaged in or planning a new craft or visual art project. The 2012 deadline is July 15.
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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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