Individual Artist awardees in spotlight

The 2011 MSAC Individual Artists Award celebration is May 16 at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. Laura Byrne, pictured above, will be a featured performer at the event. (See story below.)

Maryland's 9/11 memorial project now online
A new 9/11 Memorial of Maryland web site is live. The site includes information about the memorial, which will be unveiled in September on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. It will be located on the plaza of the World Trade Center in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. A related exhibit on the observation level of the World Trade Center will also open. The centerpiece of the memorial includes three chunks of limestone from the damaged section of the Pentagon and a 22-foot artifact — three rusted structural-steel columns twisted together — from the collapsed World Trade Center towers in New York.

The web site additionally has news items that trace the development of the memorial and names of the 63 Marylanders who died that day. The Maryland State Arts Council is administering the project. For more information, call or e-mail Susie Leong,
410-767-6544

Arts Council honors Individual Artist awardees
The Maryland State Arts Council hosts a free, public celebration and reception to salute recipients of the 2011 Individual Artist Awards, May 16, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at the American Visionary Art Museum 's Jim Rouse Visionary Center.

The program, which starts at 7 p.m., honors artists in these categories: choreography; classical music composition; classical music solo performance; dance solo performance; poetry; sculpture; world music composition; and world music solo performance.

The event also features traditional Irish music by flutist Laura Byrne (an IAA winner), accordion player Billy McComiskey, fiddle player Jim Eagan and pianist Donna Long.

Arts Council gets level funding in new budget
The recent 2011 Maryland legislative session provided an appropriation of $13.2 million for the Maryland State Arts Council in the FY2012 budget — a figure that's consistent with last year's funding.

"We would like to thank Gov. O'Malley and the legislature for their continued support of the arts," said Theresa Colvin, executive director of the Maryland State Arts Council. "We also owe tremendous thanks to Maryland Citizens for the Arts, individual arts advocates across the state and our councilors. Through their passion and dedication, we are able to continue to provide the programs and services t hat bolster the arts infrastructure in Maryland and improve the quality of life for all Marylanders."

On the national level, President Obama signed the FY2011 budget into law, April 15. The bill allocates $155 million for the National Endowment for the Arts. This is a reduction of $12.5 million from last year's funding.

Maryland Film Festival runs this weekend
Harry Belafonte, Marin Alsop and John Waters are three of the featured guests at this year's Maryland Film Festival, May 5-8 in Baltimore's Station North Arts and Entertainment District.

Belafonte's life as an actor, activist and singer is the subject of a closing night documentary, Sing Your Song. Alsop, music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, presents The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Saturday, May 7; she will discuss the film's Ennio Morricone score. Waters introduces the French film Domaine, Friday, May 6 at The Charles Theater. The native Maryland filmmaker-writer selects one film each year as a festival tradition.

Another tradition is the shorts program for opening night. Ann Hornaday, film critic at The Washington Post, hosts the screening of a variety of shorts films and videos, Thursday, May 5 at the Maryland Institute College of Art's Brown Center.

The Maryland Film Office helps to present panel discussions about filmmaking at the festival's Tent Village on Saturday and Sunday, May 7-8, across the street from The Charles Theater. Sessions are free and open to the public. Both the Film Office and the Maryland State Arts Council have been longtime sponsors of the festival, which started 13 years ago.

POL champ gets finalist medal at nationals
Maryland's Poetry Out Loud champion, Kari Barclay, a junior at Richard Montgomery High School in Montgomery County, was one of nine U.S. students who advanced to the finals of the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest, held April 29 at the Lincoln Theatre in Washington, D.C.

Barclay performed recitations of Lawrence Ferlinghetti's Dog and John Donne's Holy Sonnets: Death be not proud. He received a finalist medal and $1,000. Youssef Biaz of Alabama emerged as winner of the competition with his recitation of Elizabeth Bishop's Filling Station.

Poetry Out Loud is a creation of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. It's administered in partnerships with state arts agencies in 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. More than 365,000 students competed in the 2011 program.

Headliners named for Maryland Traditions festival
Maryland Traditions presents an all-day, free festival of traditional and folk arts on Saturday, June 18, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. at the Creative Alliance in Baltimore. The indoor-outdoor festival marks the 10-year anniversary of Maryland Traditions. It features performances on multiple stages by singers, musicians and dancers, in addition to children's workshops, crafts demonstrations and traditional foods.

Maryland-based performers include: Bill Kirchen & Too Much Fun (Charles County), Marcy Marxer (Montgomery County); The Legendary Orioles (Prince George's County); Billy McComiskey (Baltimore City) with Donna Long, Brendan Mulvihill and Laura Byrne; Phil Wiggins (Montgomery County) with Eleanor Ellis and Warner Williams; and Cheick Hamala Diabate (Prince George's County).

To see videos and more about these performers, please visit the festival web site. For further information about the event or Maryland Traditions, call or e-mail cliff Murphy, 410-767-6450, or Elaine Eff, 410-767-6570.

Baker Prize goes to three with MSAC ties
Audrey Chen, Shodekeh Talifero and Gary Kachadourian were named recipients of the Mary Sawyers Baker Prize, April 19. All three artists have connections to the Maryland State Arts Council.

Chen, a past winner of an Individual Artist Award, is an improvisational performance artist who uses a cello, her voice and electronics. Talifero — better known as Shodekeh — is an active member of the touring roster. He is a beatboxer and vocal percussionist. Kachadourian worked with the Arts Council when he was at the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts. He is a visual artist who makes drawings and booklets.

Each artist receives $25,000. They will also be featured in an exhibition at The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA), Sept. 7 – Oct. 2, and at an Oct. 1 celebratory event where Chen and Shodekeh will perform. The winners appeared on Maryland Public Television's ArtWorks Special: The Baker Artist Awards 2011.