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Individual Artist awardees in spotlight
The Maryland State Arts Council hosts a free, public celebration and reception to salute recipients of the 2013 Individual Artist Awards, May 20, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. at the American Visionary Art Museum's Jim Rouse Visionary Center. The program honors artists and their achievement of excellence in these disciplines; Fiction; Solo Theatrical Performance; Painting; Works on Paper; and Media/Digital/Electronic Arts. A recipient is Phil Davis of Baltimore City, who received a 2013 Individual Artist Award in the category of Media/Digital/Electronic arts for the video animation Living Things (above).
The event features a performance by Piedmont Blues harmonica virtuoso Phil Wiggins, remarks and readings from Michael Downs, author of The Greatest Show and House of Good Hope, winner of the 2007 River Teeth Prize for Literary Nonfiction and 2013 Individual Artist Award recipient (Fiction), and poetry recitation by Blessed Sheriff, the 2013 Poetry Out Loud Maryland Champion. Attendees must RSVP in advance.
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Arts Council at pre-recession funding
The recent legislative session brought the Maryland State Arts Council's funding back to its pre-recession funding level of $15.2 million. With the leadership of Gov. O'Malley, and the support of the General Assembly, House Bill 1337 passed, which calls for the inclusion of public art in all state funded construction projects. This ensures that public art is included in all state construction projects, including renovations, of 15,000 square feet or more and ensures that art created through this funding is the property of the Maryland Public Art Commission.
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Maryland places second at POL Nationals
Maryland’s Poetry Out Loud (POL) state champion, Blessed Sheriff, a sophomore at Richard Montgomery High School in Montgomery County, placed second at the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest, held April 29 at the George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium Washington, D.C. Read more in the Washington Post.
Sheriff performed recitations of “Heaven,” by Cathy Song, “The Lamb,” by Linda Gregg and “Love Armed,” by Aphra Behn, with her teacher, Ms. Davina T. Smith in the audience to cheer her on. Smith was also the teacher of Nora Sandler—now a senior at the University of Chicago—who placed third at the Poetry Out Loud Nationals in 2010. As 2013 Poetry Out Loud National Champion runner-up, Blessed will receive a $10,000 award and her high school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books.
Langston Ward of Washington state emerged as the winner of the competition with his recitation of “The Bad Old Days,” by Kenneth Rexroth. 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 375,000 students competed in the 2013 competition. All Maryland schools are invited to participate in POL. Registration for the 2013-2014 competition opened May 1, 2013 with an application deadline of October 1, 2013.
Pictured left: Chris Stewart, MSAC Arts in Education Program Director; Blessed Sheriff; Davina T. Smith. Photo credit: Jack Smith
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Strathmore plans new venue at White Flint
Montgomery County arts and cultural center Strathmore and developer Federal Realty Investment Trust plan to open a new concert venue at Pike & Rose, the 24-acre mixed-use site in the White Flint Development District. The 250-seat venue is slated to be completed in 2014, with concerts and other events starting in 2015.
Strathmore CEO Eliot Pfanstiehl announced the plan at Strathmore's April 20 gala. Strathmore will book the venue on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and rent the space for non-music events. It's intention is to present an assortment of performances similar to the way Strathmore's Music Center and Mansion already do.
With the Concert Hall and Arts Education Center approaching capacity and the Strathmore name well established in the region, “It’s time to reach out to ages and tastes beyond our current programming and facilities," Pfanstiehl says in a press release. The venue is timed to open during the year of Strathmore Music Center's 10th anniversary.
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Write a six-word story about a museum experience
Visit Baltimore and the city's cultural community are celebrating Baltimore Museum Week, May 19-24, as a way to showcase the local cultural landscape to the 6,000 museum professionals from 64 countries who will attend the American Alliance of Museum (AAM)'s annual conference and trade show, May 19-22 at the Baltimore Convention Center.
The city plans to present thousands of submitted six-word stories – that respond to the question "What is your most unforgettable museum experience?" – in an interactive exhibit at the convention center. Museum Week officials say the exhibit will tie into AAM's conference theme: "The Power of Story."
Baltimore Museum Week's public programs committee has borrowed the six-word story concept from an incident involving Ernest Hemingway. The writer answered a challenge that required him to write a story in just six words. His story: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."
The committee is accepting six-word museum story submissions online. Prospective volunteers may also register online and attend the conference at no charge.
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Maryland Film Festival celebrates 15 years
The Maryland Film Festival (MFF) runs May 8-12 in Baltimore’s Station North Arts & Entertainment District, presenting approximately 50 features and 80 short films on 7 screens.
Films with local connections include Lotfy Nathan’s much-anticipated 12 O’Clock Boys, Matthew Porterfield’s I Used to Be Darker and If We Shout Loud Enough, the documentary about the band Double Dagger.
Said New Yorker film critic Richard Brody in his 2011 MFF review, “In their wisdom, the programmers dispensed with the second-rate celebrity-spangled productions that so often make film festivals festive in name only and turned the screens and the calendar of activities over to independent filmmakers whose aesthetic displays as much independence of thought as do their mode of production and, significantly, their attitude toward the cinema itself.”
Other fascinating films include Ryan White’s documentary Good Ol’ Freda about the Beatle’s secretary; The Rambler, starring the intriguing Dermot Mulroney; and AJ Schnack’s and David Wilson’s We Always Lie to Strangers, which is described as “documentary story of family, community, music and tradition, built over five years and set against the backdrop of Branson, Missouri, one of the biggest tourist destinations in America.” For full-listings click here.
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MCA announces Curate Maryland
Sponsored by Maryland Citizens for the Arts, Curate Maryland is a new series of "on-the-ground" experiences designed to highlight and promote the arts in cities and towns from across the state of Maryland.
Each Curate Maryland event will spotlight a selection of one town's local arts organizations while fostering dialogue about issues that concern arts advocates at all levels of governance. The series is a site-specific celebration, one city or town at a time, for art lovers from around the state.
The first Curate Maryland event is May 18 in Hagerstown, and features visits to The Washington County Arts Council, The Maryland Theatre, Maryland Symphony Orchestra, Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, with performances, tours, refreshments and workshop discussions throughout. The event is free with RSVP to Brian Francoise at 410.467.6700 or at brian@mdarts.org.
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IN THE NEWS
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EVENTS
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 The 3rd Annual Maryland Traditions Folklife Festival is Saturday, June 15 at The Creative Alliance in Baltimore, with jazz sensations Lafayette Gilchrist and the New Volcanoes, Baltimore-born Globe Poster and Letterpress, Doo-Wop originals The Swallows, Irish dynamos Old Bay Ceili Band and more. The free, family-friendly festival features live music, Maryland foods, interactive workshops and narrative stages.
- Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA)’s sixth annual ArtWalk Preview Party on May 16 welcomes hundreds of art enthusiasts for a visually energizing 3K walking tour through seven art-filled buildings along the Mount Royal Avenue campus. The Preview Party offers the opportunity to meet and talk with the artists and purchase their work before the exhibit opens to the public on Friday.
- DelFest, an annual family-friendly music festival in Cumberland, will feature The Del McCoury Band, Trey Anastasio Band, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Younder Mountain String Band—among more than a dozen others—at the Allegany County Fairgrounds during Memorial Weekend (May 23-26). On-site camping is available.
- The 4th Gaithersburg Book Festival, a celebration of books, writers and literary excellence, is Saturday, May 18 from 10:00 am– 6:00 pm at the Gaithersburg City Hall Grounds. The free festival features a Children’s Village, interactive panel discussions, a free adult writing workshop presented by The Writer’s Center and more.
- The Deer Creek Fiddler’s Convention sponsored by Common Ground on the Hill starts at 11:00 a.m., June 8 at the Carroll County Farm Museum. The event features Oldtime, Bluegrass and Celtic music, clog dancing, crafts, Maryland foods and more. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for teens and seniors and free for children 12 and younger.
- Presented by the Cecil County Arts Council with support from Upper Bay Counseling & Support Services, the 16th Annual “Expressions of Healing XVI” is a collective exhibit that celebrates Mental Health Awareness Month. The exhibit is on display at the Elkton Arts Center, May 1-May 31.
- Americans for the Arts’ Annual Convention takes place June 14-16 in Pittsburgh, PA. The gathering features more than 1,000 arts and community leaders sharing innovative ways of enriching communities through the arts. Theresa Colvin, Executive Director of the MSAC and Ben Stone, Executive Director of Station North Arts & Entertainment (A&E) District, are presenters at the Convention’s Cultural Districts Conference.
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OPPORTUNITIES
& DEADLINES |
Deadlines for Maryland State Arts Council programs:
- Maryland Touring Grant: Presenting arts organizations are eligible to apply. The application is now open on eGrant, with an extended deadline of 5:00 p.m., May 9.
- Arts & Entertainment Districts Technical Assistance Grant: Designated Arts & Entertainment Districts are eligible to apply. The application is now open in eGrant. There are four application deadlines:
- May 9, 2013 for activities that will begin or take place between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014
- July 25, 2013 for activities that will begin or take place between October 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014
- September 12, 2013 for activities that will begin or take place between January 1, 2014 and June 30, 2014
- January 23, 2013 for activities that will begin or take place between April 1, 2014 and June 30, 2014
- Artist in Residence Grant: Teachers and schools are eligible to apply. The application is now open on eGrant, with a deadline of 5:00 p.m., May 17.
- Individual Artist Award: Individual Maryland artists practicing within the disciplines of Choreography, Classical Music Composition, Classical Music Solo Performance, Poetry, Sculpture, Solo Dance Performance, World Music Composition and World Music Solo Performance are eligible to apply. Grant guidelines will be posted by April 15 and the application will open in eGrant around June 1, with a deadline of July 26, 2013. Webinars to assist applicants with the process will be announced.
- Poetry Out Loud: Registration for POL 2013-2014 opened May 1, 2013 with an application deadline of October 1, 2013. All Maryland schools are eligible to apply.
The Maryland State Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Business and Economic Development, Division of Tourism, Film and the Arts, seeks a qualified Fiscal Officer to join its staff. Applications are due by Monday, May 6.
Baltimore artists are encouraged to attend Mind Your Business: Homeownership Opportunities for the Creative Leaders of Baltimore’s New Economy, sponsored by PNC Bank. The symposium covers incentives to buying a house in Baltimore, obtaining a mortgage, using a realtor, the purpose of the Vacants to Value Program, tax benefits to buying and working in a home, and buying a home in one of the city’s three Arts & Entertainment Districts. The event takes place Monday, May 13, 2013 from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at The Charles Theater in Baltimore, with lunch provided after the event. The session is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
Through the 2014 Film Festivals Grants Program, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences supports film festivals that make festival events more accessible to the general public, provide greater access to minority and less visible filmmakers, and help strengthen the connection between the filmmaker and the public. The deadline to apply is June 26, 2013.
Lucy School, an arts-based (ages three through fifth grade) school and teacher training center in Middletown, MD, offers a 5-day arts integration summer institute titled "Integrating the Arts into the Early Childhood Curriculum: A Powerful Medium for Young Children," August 5-9. Participants receive three MSDE Continuing Education Credits upon completion. Graduate credit can also be arranged. Applicants must register by June 1. |
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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