Arts.Council.Blog

What We're Reading: The Creativity Crisis

2010-07-30T12:02:00.003-04:00

A recent Newsweek story reported on research that shows American creativity is declining. Torrance's Creativity Test scores of both adults and children, which were steadily rising from the time the test was created in the 1950's until 1990, have been declining ever since.

What's going on? The author suggests that the number of hours kids spend watching TV and playing video games are to blame. In addition, education's emphasis on testing and curriculum standards often leave little room in the school day for creativity and the arts.

Ironically, the report of diminished creativity comes on the heels of a May Bloomberg Business News report citing a new survey of 1,500 chief executives conducted by IBM's Institute for Business Value in which CEOs identified 'creativity' as the most important leadership competency for the successful enterprise of the future.

One Man's success story

2010-03-26T14:34:00.006-04:00

At Wednesday's Connecticut Arts Advocacy Day in Hartford, we heard from Erik Brown, Principal of Walsh Elementary School in Waterbury. Erik owes his career success to the arts. As a child growing up in New Haven, he struggled in school due to dyslexia. It was through the arts, through song and rhythm and story that he learned to read. His mother encouraged him to audition for the Trinity Boys Choir, and he was accepted. The arts took hold of Erik and guided him through his education. He went to Betsy Ross Magnet School and later Education Center for the Arts. (we subsequently learned that Representative Toni Walker taught Erik at the Dixwell Arts Center) This kid who was math challenged as an elementary student later aspired to be a math teacher. Instead he was offered a job teaching language arts. The teacher became a principal, one who claims he is "of the arts." This principal needs no convincing that the arts are valuable; he knows it. Erik Brown lives and breathes arts education. He made us all want to be kids again.

Cindy Clair

Read Paula Billups' comments about the artists' reception for her show with Meredith Miller at Gallery 195

2010-03-11T09:26:00.004-05:00

Paula Billup's painting "The Leaving" is on view, along with photographs by Meredith Miller, at Gallery 195 at NewAlliance Bank through June 4.

Image courtesy of Paula Billups

Kickin' it Tunisian Style — Collaborative Painting with David Black

2010-02-22T10:18:00.005-05:00

Check out Paula Billups' blog entry, "Kickin' it Tunisian Style — Collaborative Painting with David Black."

Image courtesy of Paula Billups

Rocco Landesman Declares Art Works

2009-10-22T14:44:00.004-04:00

National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman delivered a keynote address this week to close the 2009 national Grantmakers in the Arts conference: Navigating the Art of Change.

In his remarks, Chairman Landesman laid out the guiding principle that will inform his work at the agency, which can be summed up in two words: "Art works." Chairman Landesman explained that he means this in three ways:

"Art works" is a noun. They are the books, crafts, dances, designs, drawings, films, installations, music, musicals, paintings, plays, performances, poetry, textiles, and sculptures that are the creation of artists.

"Art works" is a verb. Art works on and within people to change and inspire them; it addresses the need people have to create, to imagine, to aspire to something more.

"Art works" is a declarative sentence: arts jobs are real jobs that are part of the real economy. Art workers pay taxes, and art contributes to economic growth, neighborhood revitalization, and the livability of American towns and cities.

Chairman Landesman announced that he will spend the next six months learning and highlighting the ways that art works in neighborhoods and towns across America.

This national tour will begin on Friday, November 6, 2009 with a visit to Peoria, Illinois, at the invitation of Kathy Chitwood, executive director of the Eastlight Theatre, and Suzette Boulais, executive director of Arts Partners of Central Illinois. The Chairman's visit to Peoria will begin with a round table discussion about the impact of the arts that will be moderated by Carol Coletta, president and CEO of CEOs for Cities, and will include Peoria's political, civic, business, and arts leaders. It will also include a tour of Peoria's "warehouse district" and a performance of Eastlight Theatre's production of the musical Rent.

The "Art Works" tour will continue on to St. Louis, Missouri, the week of November 23, 2009; to Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee, the week of November 30, 2009; and to other states, including California, Idaho, Kentucky, and Washington over the next months.

To help inform this tour, the NEA is hosting a blog at www.arts.gov where Americans can post examples and stories of how art works in their own communities. Chairman Landesman will also post dispatches from the "Art Works" tour on the website, beginning after his visit to Peoria on November 6.

"In the coming months, I look forward to seeing downtown sculpture gardens, art walks along waterfronts, public performances and exhibitions, adaptive reuse of abandoned buildings, and subsidized work spaces for artists," said Chairman Landesman. "Despite the economic realities we are all confronting, art continues to work."

Michelle Obama on Arts Education

2009-10-07T15:02:00.003-04:00

When world leaders recently gathered in Pittsburgh for the G-20 Summit, First Lady Michelle Obama hosted a concert at the Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts School for students and spouses of international leaders. In her introductory speech, she affirmed the importance of arts education:

“We believe strongly that the arts aren't somehow an 'extra’ part of our national life, but instead we feel that the arts are at the heart of our national life. It is through our music, our literature, our art, drama and dance that we tell the story of our past and we express our hopes for the future. Our artists challenge our assumptions in ways that many cannot and do not. They expand our understandings, and push us to view our world in new and very unexpected ways…..

"It's through this constant exchange -- this process of taking and giving, this process of borrowing and creating -- that we learn from each other and we inspire each other. It is a form of diplomacy in which we can all take part….
“[T]oday ... we're presenting the gifts of these wonderful American artists to our friends from all around the world. And these artists are passing on the gift of their magnificent example to these young people who are here today, studying in this school -- showing them that if they dream big enough, and work hard enough, and believe in themselves, that they can do and achieve some uncommon things in their lifetime….

"That is the core of my mission as first lady -- to share the gifts that come with life in the White House with as many of our young people as I possibly can find. That's why I've worked to make the White House a showcase of America's rich cultural life….

"[T]he truth is, is that even though many….kids are living in Washington, D.C. and in cities across the country, just minutes away from the centers of culture and power and prestige, many of them feel like these resources are really miles away, very far beyond their reach. That's something that I felt growing up.And my husband and I are determined to help to bridge that distance. It is critical that we begin to bridge that distance.

"We want to show these young people that they have a place in our world, in our museums, our theaters, our concert halls.... We want them to experience the richness of our nation's cultural heritage, one on one, up close and personal, not on TV. We want to show them that they can have a future in the arts community -- whether it's a hobby, or a profession, or simply as an appreciative observer….

"In the end, those efforts, and the performances we're enjoying today, and the work these artists do every day here in America and around the world -- all of that reminds us of a simple truth: that both individually and collectively, we all have a stake in the arts, every single one of us.

"And you don't need to be rich or powerful to lift your voice in song or get out of your seat and shake your groove thing. [Laughter.] You don't need to be a Van Gogh to paint a picture, or a Maya Angelou to write a poem. You don't need a Grammy or an Oscar or an Emmy to make your work on the cultural life of your community or your country a valuable one."

"And ... people who might not speak a single word of the same language, who might not have a single shared experience, might still be drawn together when their hearts are lifted by the notes of a song, or their souls are stirred by a vision on a canvas.
"That is the power of the arts -- to remind us of what we each have to offer, and what we all have in common; to help us understand our history and imagine our future; to give us hope in the moments of struggle; and to bring us together when nothing else will. That is what we celebrate here today.”

Listen Here! is loud and clear

2009-09-11T13:33:00.009-04:00

Thanks to everyone who came out for the launch of the Listen Here! short story reading series last night. And thanks to Troy and everyone at Koffee on Audubon for helping to make it a success. Check out Allan Appel's story "Listen Here! Debuts" (with photos and video) from the New Haven Independent.

A full schedule for Listen Here! can be found on the Arts Council's Facebook page and on the New Haven Review's website.

See you next week at Blue State Coffee for The Impious of the Perverse: High Holidays Special featuring readings of Philip Roth's "The Conversion of the Jews" and Melvin Jules Bukiet's "The Golden Calf and the Red Heifer."

Listen Here! is a collaboration between the Arts Council of Greater New Haven, New Haven Review, New Haven Theater Company, and four area coffeehouses. On Thursday evenings, from 7-8pm, short stories selected by New Haven Review editors are read by local actors. Readings take place on a rotating basis at Blue State Coffee, Koffee on Audubon, Lulu: A European Coffeehouse, and Manjares Fine Pastries (Westville).

Music is something people do

2009-09-08T10:24:00.004-04:00

By Lucile Bruce
Photo by Harold Shapiro

One rainy night in July, I drove to my dad’s house in Middletown to learn about my early childhood music education. From the kitchen where we sat I could see the door to his large studio, with the grand piano and piles and piles of music. I asked him what music I heard during my first five years of life, 1966-1971.

Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 8 in A minor. Chopin’s Piano Sonata no. 3 in B minor. Works by Boulez, Chabrier, Fauré, Haydn, Webern, and others. Songs of the Sacred Harp tradition. At my maternal grandparents’ cabin on the Elk River, my dad recalled, “They had lots of sheet music. We’d gather around the piano and sing – ‘Singin’ in the Rain,’ ‘I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles,’ many popular songs like that.”

At home, my dad – composer/performer Neely Bruce – didn’t “perform” classical piano works; he practiced them on the old upright piano in our living room, the only instrument my parents could afford. Listening to him practice, I heard short phrases played, repeated, changed, replayed. The right hand, the left hand, two hands together. When he composed, I heard him puzzle through notes and chords at the piano. He went slowly. He wrote things down. It was my first exposure to the artistic process.

Over the last 15 years or so, public interest in early childhood music education has exploded, spurred in part by new research showing that music is good for the developing brains of children. I have my own children now, and most parents I know are at least vaguely aware that music helps make children “smart.”

This popularizing of scientific theory can be traced to the 1993 study that coined the term “the Mozart effect.” Researchers at the University of California, Irvine concluded that listening to Mozart increased spatial reasoning in adults. Other scientists have theorized that good music increases “neural plasticity” in the brain – a kind of structural flexibility believed to facilitate learning. More recently, exposure to music has been linked to increased mathematical ability; improvements in memory; enhanced verbal ability; and an increase in overall cognitive functioning.

But when my two young children spontaneously break into song, dance around the backyard, and bang on pots and pans, my first thought isn’t their neural plasticity. Of course, positive brain development is one great reason to expose children to music at an early age. But the research, as fascinating as it is, doesn’t capture the essence of what music is or why it’s good for children.

There are three major methods of music education, each developed by an individual musician in the 20th century: Kodály, Orff, and Suzuki. Today, early childhood music education programs continue to draw on these three great traditions, often explicitly, sometimes in hybrid forms.

The work of John Feierabend, Professor of Music and Director of the Music Education Division at The Hartt School, University of Hartford, is rooted in the Kodály method, developed by Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály.

“Kodály believed that the voice is the most personal, accessible instrument,” Feierabend explained. “A lot of parents don’t know how to sing songs to their children. My goal is to teach songs to parents, so they can sing to the children.”

Kodály felt that folk songs from one’s own culture are the best songs to sing to young children. As they grow, children take their knowledge of folk songs and use it to develop classical music abilities. For older children, Feierabend explores classical music and movement in a program – available in two DVDs – that he developed with former Martha Graham Company dancer Peggy Lyman. But for the little ones, he says, singing folk songs is the best.

“I’ve Been Working on the Railroad,” “This Land is Your Land,” “Shoo Fly, Don’t Bother Me” – these are some American folk classics that I know by heart. I sing them easily. Kodály, I suspect, would say there’s a reason I know these songs. They are simple, elemental, and passed down through generations.

“I think it’s great that there’s a burgeoning market in children’s music,” reflected my dad. “But that kind of music doesn’t necessarily have a life after you grow up. Other music you can return to throughout your life, and find new meaning in it.”

The Kodály method de-emphasizes built instruments. The Orff-Schulwerk method is different. In the 1920s and ’30s, German composer Carl Orff designed a system of percussion instruments for children including xylophones, metallophones, and glockenspiels. Orff-Schulwerk (which roughly translates to “Orff for Schooling”) incorporates singing, movement, chanting, storytelling, rhyme, and keeping the beat in a process that gradually moves children into ensemble music-making.

Since 1978, Margaret O’Hara-Best has been teaching preschool and elementary-age children in the New Haven Public Schools using the Orff-Schulwerk method. The Orff instruments, she said, are completely accessible to people who have never been exposed to music before. To play them, children use gross motor, rather than fine motor, skills, ensuring a high degree of comfort and success.

In her classes, preschoolers have limited access to the Orff instruments. They use them to play “Stop and Go,” with O’Hara-Best serving as conductor, and they improvise within certain tonal scales. As they grow older, the instruments enable them to make musical sound together.

“A big part of the Orff philosophy is that instruments used to teach children should sound good. And they do,” said O’Hara-Best. “They’re beautiful.”

“Music is an art,” my dad reminded me. Children respond to music that is beautiful, expressive, and emotionally rich. For me, this is a key to understanding early childhood music education. As Feierabend put it, “We want children to be beatful, tuneful, and artful. It isn’t enough to give children skills. We want them to feel something. We want them to express something.”

Aesthetic values were important to Dr. Shinichi Suzuki, founder of the Suzuki method. Suzuki observed how easily children learn their “mother tongue” (their first spoken language) and believed that every child could learn music just as easily. He recognized that even babies in utero appreciate music.

“He recommended that pregnant mothers choose one piece of baroque or classical music, five minutes in length, and listen to the same piece every day,” explained Dawn Rockwell, director of the early childhood music program at the Bethwood Suzuki Music School in Woodbridge. “The baby will recognize the music immediately after birth, and mother and baby will have this wonderful shared experience of music.”

The Suzuki method is famous for its approach to instrumental lessons for young children, sometimes as early as ages 3 or 4. Suzuki placed great emphasis on listening. Before young children learn to read music, they learn to hear music through a process Rockwell describes as “listening and translating.” The Suzuki early childhood method of pre-instrumental group classes was developed by Dorothy Jones. This method incorporates Suzuki’s core principals of listening, parental involvement, and exposing young children to classical music.

Is there anything young children shouldn’t listen to? Absolutely. According to John Feierabend, very young children respond best to the unaccompanied voice.

“Research has shown that as you add layers of accompaniment to a song, babies and young children lose their ability to hear the melody,” he told me. “When a child hears heavily accompanied music, they ignore it. They can’t take it in. This kind of music actually desensitizes young children to music.”

Feierabend described a 1997 study by a high school student who exposed mice to different kinds of music, then recorded their progress navigating a maze. Mice listening to no music reduced their maze time by 5 minutes; mice listening to Mozart reduced their maze time by 81⁄2 minutes; and mice listening to acid rock added 20 minutes to their maze time. Incredibly, these mice actually ate each other.

“They did the study twice and got the exact same results both times,” laughed Feierabend. “I guess children shouldn’t listen to acid rock.”

For parents seeking to enroll their children in early childhood music classes, Neighborhood Music School (NMS), located in downtown New Haven with satellite programs in Guilford and Madison, offers a range of opportunities, reflecting the school’s understanding that every child is unique and learns differently. Beyond being a great place to expose young children to music, NMS fulfills an important civic function: it’s a community resource for people of all ages, a center for the learning and sharing of all forms of music and dance.

“We have a philosophy that creating a rich and stimulating atmosphere is critical for human development,” said Larry Zukof, director of NMS. “The more stimulating, the better. We know that children need human contact, song, vocalization, movement, and a variety of materials that they can manipulate. We also know that putting young children into lessons – more structured learning – too early can impede their musical development.”

At NMS, early childhood music classes combine music and movement and expose children to a variety of musical forms. Pam Welch, director of the school’s early childhood music program, and many of the early childhood educators at NMS have trained with Feierabend and draw on his Kodály-based approach. They also incorporate classical repertoire. Some NMS early childhood faculty members are Orff-Schulwerk educators. This fall, the school has added two Orff-Schulwerk classes for children in grades 1-2, further increasing the diversity of its program. NMS also offers early childhood Suzuki classes through the Teddy Bear Rhythms program in Guilford (older children may continue with Suzuki lessons at the New Haven site).

For children ages 6 months to 4 years, NMS’s core early childhood classes, “Making Music,” offer an integrated approach that keeps kids playing, singing, listening, and moving. For children ages 3 and 4, the program branches in two directions: “1-2-3 Sing With Me,” a more singing-based class, and “Rhythmic Movement,” which is more dance-oriented.

For a different approach, Liz McNicholl, director of Musical Folk, teaches Music Together classes at two locations in New Haven and will soon be expanding to Branford. Music Together, a play-based program, offers fun, interactive musical learning for young children using songs, rhythm instruments, and recorded music. Songs are arranged or composed to appeal to children. They demonstrate particular musical principals and build on one another. Some of the music is traditional folk; many songs are composed by Music Together founder Ken Guilmartin.

Like Music Together, Kindermusik, another early childhood program, operates as a for-profit business. Music by the Sea offers Kindermusik classes in Branford, North Madison, Guilford, and Old Saybrook. Music Together works with a mixed group, ages 6 months to five years. NMS, Kindermusik, and Suzuki classes group children within more limited age ranges.

While classes offer valuable learning opportunities for parents and children, they are expensive. It costs several hundred dollars to provide continuous early childhood music classes for one child for one year. For many families, especially those with more than one child, the cost may be prohibitive.

But singing at home is free. I have an anthology of folk songs, and I search the Internet for new song ideas and lyrics I’ve forgotten. The public library has resources too. Neighborhood Music School offers scholarships in early childhood classes. And McNicholl periodically offers free Music Together classes at the New Haven and North Haven public libraries. For parents so inclined, religious communities such as churches and synagogues have always played an important role in music education by exposing children to live music. As they grow older, many children in the Greater New Haven region are fortunate to work with wonderful music educators like O’Hara-Best and others, both in public and private schools.

Music educators agree: live music is best. As my dad put it, music doesn’t come from a box.

“You saw from a very early age that music is something people do,” he said. “Today many people basically think that music is recorded. In the music stores of my childhood, there was only one small section of recorded music. The rest of it was sheet music, instruments, music stands – things for making music.”

When people make music together, they embody community in its best, most joyful sense. I see it in my own children and have experienced it in my life. Most children won’t become professional musicians. And that’s fine.

“Teaching music is not my main purpose,” Suzuki said. “I want to make good citizens. If children hear fine music from the day of their birth and learn to play it, they develop sensitivity, discipline, and endurance. They get a beautiful heart.”

It was late. My dad yawned. He’d gotten up at 4am that day (to practice the piano of course). I had 35 miles to drive and a busy day of work and children ahead of me. I thanked my dad. For the dinner. For the conversation. For the love of music he instilled in me from the beginning.

Percent for Art: Beecher School

2009-08-27T14:32:00.009-04:00

by Tia Blassingame

Every time I see this whimsical sculpture at Beecher School it brightens my day. The City of New Haven's Percent for Art in Public Spaces program mandates 1% of construction costs for the City's newly built and renovated projects be set aside for commissioned art. The program started 28 years ago. In the recent construction and renovation of numerous New Haven Public Schools, Percent for Art has successfully integrated artwork and artistic accents into the lives of countless students, teachers, parents, and residents. This is just one example.

Hugo Kauder Competition '09

2009-08-25T17:07:00.004-04:00

It’s not very often that a young musician gets the chance to premiere a piece written half a century ago by a prolific European composer. But this September at the Hugo Kauder Society’s Fifth Annual International Music Competition, ten talented finalists—oboists, clarinetists, and flutists—will showcase Hugo Kauder’s musical works, several of which are being publicly performed for the first time. Kauder, a mid 20th-century Viennese composer, is being celebrated today as an artist who penned beautiful, lush works. This was rare at a time when the music of the Romantic Era was being cast aside to make way for the atonal minimalism of the mid 20th-century.

The Kauder Competition is a great opportunity for the finalists, who hail from all over the world and who come from prestigious music schools such as the Yale School of Music, The Juilliard School, and the Eastman School of Music. The Competition’s live final round will be held on September 11 at Neighborhood Music School from 9 AM to 6 PM. Admission is free. The winners will be decided by three esteemed judges: Doris Goltzer, the solo English Hornist of the New York City Opera for fifty-one years; Jeanne Baxtresser, Solo Flutist of the New York Philharmonic; and Richard Stoltzman, a two-time Grammy Award winner and one of today's most sought-after concert artists. On September 12, a Winners Concert will take place at Firehouse 12 in New Haven from 2-4 PM. The first place winner will receive $4000 as well as a NYC performance opportunity. The second and third place winners will receive $2000 and $1000 respectively.

So check it out- It’s a rare opportunity to attend a premiere of non-contemporary pieces, and it’s looking like this year’s Kauder Competition will be fantastic.

--Cynthia, Arts Council Intern

Working at Woodstock

2009-08-13T11:46:00.004-04:00

By Jonathan Waters

I was working as a carpenter that summer, rebuilding a cape
cottage. I knew some tech people who worked at the Fillmore East in
New York City who asked me to give them a hand building a stage, etc. for a music festival in rural New York. I was eighteen.

I packed the car with tools, a tent, some grub, and a few friends and we were off. It was about a week before the festival and there was a lot to do.

I was assigned to work on a bridge over a road between the performers' pavilion area and the stage. We pitched the tent in the performers' area, so we were in a restricted area. We worked pretty much 24/7, supplemented by vitamin
b12 shots administered by the festival Dr. Feel Good.

At a certain point it started to get really crowded. There was concern that it
could easily get out of hand. We were sort of at the epicenter. The
only way in or out was by helicopter. They flew in food for us.

After the building was done I was assigned to work security on the bridge, to talk
down climbers. I watched a lot of the show from that area behind the
stage and in a video trailer that a friend was working in.

We had about ten people sleeping in a four-man tent.

The rain ...

My memories are mostly informed by the movie. What I remember of the
actual festival is a blur of images. Like most people, probably, I had
never seen so many people in one spot, all in the same situation. It
was a great leveler and there was a feeling of togetherness of which much has been spoken.

After it was over and our job was done we packed up our things and attempted to leave. I had been there two weeks and needed to get back, but the roads were blocked by abandoned cars and it took a while get out. It looked like the aftermath of some
great storm, lots of garbage and abandoned belongings, detritus from the event.

I saw a sunburned, half-naked man riding on top of a van fall off onto the highway at around sixty, bounce once, and roll into a ditch. Amazingly he was OK.

About six months later I received a check. I think it was about $250. I never expected I would be paid.

The next summer I worked the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music in England.

But that's another story ...

Katro gets some well-deserved press

2009-08-05T14:00:00.002-04:00

Arts Council member (and friend) Katro Storm is (deservedly) in the news. Katro, along with students from Hillhouse High School, is working on a mural at the Stetson Branch Library on Dixwell Avenue. Read Adzua Agyapon's story in New Haven Independent and leave a comment. Then come back and leave a comment here.

Reality TV show to crown contemporary-art star

2009-07-20T09:45:00.003-04:00

The winner of a new reality TV series will be awarded "a gallery show, a cash prize and a sponsored national museum tour," according to a story in The New York Times.

What do you think about this?

Were you on the bus?

2009-07-13T10:11:00.002-04:00

Saturday, five CT Transit bus routes featured live performances including those by poet Deborah Elmore, the New Haven Theater Company, djembe master Lansana Touré and dancer Mabinty Keira, The Viola Question, and Urban Concept.

The program was called Exact Change.

Were you part of the experience? If so, tell us what you thought.

All Michael, all the time ...

2009-07-08T10:01:00.002-04:00

Check out a collection of today's front (newspaper) pages. What are your thoughts about the continuing coverage of Michael Jackson's death?

"White Collar. Blue Collar. Pink Slip."

2009-07-08T09:38:00.004-04:00

Have you experienced the Arts Council's White Collar. Blue Collar. Pink Slip. exhibition at The Parachute Factory?

Allan Appel recently wrote about the show in the New Haven Independent.

The exhibition, which includes this image by David Ottenstein, explores the uncertainties, anxieties, and rewards of the workplaces that shape our identities. It is the first of a two-part exhibition called Work/Place, which examines the environments on which our survival depends. The second part of the exhibition, Out of House and Home, opens in October.

Arts Council news

2009-07-01T10:36:00.004-04:00

Join our new online social network. Don't forget to upload a photo of yourself when you become a member!

We've moved our Facebook page to New Haven Arts. Become a fan today!

And while you're online, follow our Twitter feed!

An Appeal to Connecticut Artists

2009-06-20T04:10:00.002-04:00

Where is the art that opens a dialogue about race? After the post-9/11/Bush years of silencing all dissenting dialogue, I had expected this flourish of art that would challenge assumptions, assess where we had been and were going. More importantly I had expected artists to do what they do so well: stimulate dialogue on difficult and oft avoided topics.

Despite news reports to the contrary, we are not in a post-racial era. I measure our progress by the number of times shortly after President Obama was elected that my white counterparts let doors and elevators close in my face. I measure it by the length of a drive- to a meeting in Bridgeport the day after the election that I took with a corporate vice president- during which every topic was discussed save the one at hand- the election. I measure it by the Connecticut schools and workplaces that had outright bans in place on watching or listening to the Inauguration Ceremony. I measure it by the vitriol that I hear on a daily basis with regard to “that one,” “this is what happens when a black is president,” the evils of socialism, or referencing of the President simply as “Mr. Obama.” I measure the need for art that challenges us to stand and speak on difficult topics- which we shy away from save with the like-minded- by the veritable silence and mournful tone of my office the day after the election.

A fundamental truth has died regarding the ability and intellect of non-white Americans. Mistakenly it seems that many had long thought this belief to have been overthrown by the deeds and achievements of careers, lives. Hidden hatred and prejudices are bubbling to the surface, and to tacitly say we are past race seems a dangerous game of denial.

I ask again: where is the art that will force us to grapple, see, and progress? Can we as a community and nation afford to remain silent? May brushes and musical notes, lens and keystrokes soon compel us to speak and argue, but invariably see one another.

Tia Blassingame

On art, Web 2.0, and physical/digital seamlessness

2009-06-10T12:10:00.015-04:00

Last month, New York-based photographer and digital-media artist An Xiao participated in a panel discussion called "Big Love: Artists and Social Networking Technology," a conversation organized to complement "Status Update," an exhibition presented by the Arts Council of Greater New Haven in collaboration with Haskins Laboratories that explores the use of emerging social networking technologies.

More recently, An was kind enough to put some of her thoughts about art, Web 2.0, and physical/digital seamlessness into words. Enjoy ...

Toward the end of the "Big Love" panel discussion, moderator Sharon Butler asked an intriguing question: "What do you see as the future of all this?"

By "this," she meant art and social media, and social media and society. I believe strongly that if you want to understand the future of social media and the tools of Web 2.0, you should look at either digital natives (i.e., teenagers and younger) or citizens of developing nations (i.e., those whose first important encounters with communications technologies were via cell phone, rather than the Web).

During the panel discussion, I discussed briefly the idea of digital/physical seamlessness, a world in which our digital and physical lives intersect seamlessly. In this view, the line between "real life" and "virtual life" is blurred, for activities in the digital realm can and do have very real consequences in the physical realm, and vice versa. Whereas computers and phones first evolved as tools for business and communications, they have further evolved into extensions of ourselves, storing vast amounts of personal information and allowing us to keep in touch with thousands of people.

This is most true in the lives of today's teenagers, who have scarcely known any other life but that which is infused with social media technology. Witness the 21st century teenage break-up. Teenager A posts a dramatic Status Update about Teenager B, her boyfriend. Teenager B leaves a comment about Teenager A's photos. All of this is carried out on the stage of common news feeds viewed by mutual friends, and rumors quickly spread both via texting and Facebook, and then, when school starts, via traditional whispers and notes. News of the break-up, along with the attendant emotions, spreads rapidly through the physical and digital worlds.

The future of social media is simple: it won't be known as social media. Online social media will simply be part of a balanced social diet, a mixture of both online and offline interactions. And with this seamlessness will come new values and norms, as Web 2.0 becomes Life 2.0.

Edutopia, a project of the George Lucas Education Foundation, has identified that digital natives, armed with tools and technology unlike any other generation, prefer to create, collaborate, and teach while learning. In other words, the TV generation sits on a couch and absorbs; the YouTube generation wants in on the fun.

Edutopia has a number of suggestions about what this means for education, and we're already seeing how digital/physical seamlessness and online social media have influenced everything from political campaigns to business. But what does all this mean for art? If I had to guess, there are three things artists working in any medium should consider as we look toward "Art 2.0," that is, art infused with the principles of Web 2.0.

1. Engage your audience in new ways.
While the traditional artist statement, Web site, and interviews will continue to serve your audience, your audience will continue to demand more. The social media audience wants to keep the conversation going and ask their own questions. Set up a Twitter account, set up a blog, set up a Facebook fan page (or make your own page public). Give your audience a way to interact with you after seeing your work, to learn more about your creative practice and the concepts behind it.

But, perhaps more radically, give your audience a way to interact with your art. You can convert your art to desktop backgrounds, yes. But what if you also made select works available in low-res digital form via a Creative Commons license, so fans of your work can "remix" it? It can sound shocking and uncomfortable, after pouring your heart and soul into your work, to release it to the world not simply for criticism but for editing. And yet musicians, including the ever-popular Nine Inch Nails, have been doing this for years.

This is the ethos of the YouTube generation: they want to create as often as they want to absorb. Try it with one or two of your more popular pieces and see what happens.

2. Connect your audience with one other.
Instead of thinking of art as a two-way experience between artist and audience, start thinking of Art 2.0 as a multi-way experience between artist and audience, and between audience members and one other. This is no different from chatting with your friends after seeing a movie, or going with your family to a museum exhibit and discussing it over coffee afterward. What's changed is that the audience has grown larger and more global, and the tools for connecting them to one another have become much more sophisticated.

The Obama campaign's success with the new generation partially came from the idea that anyone could help him run the campaign, as he crowdsourced campaign calls, meetings, and flyer distribution. He's doing this again as he tries to drum up support for his health-care program. You may not have the million-dollar resources of a national political campaign, but the tools of social media are free and available to all. Your audience will stay more engaged with your work if they can engage with one another.

Here's one basic idea: a Facebook-based guestbook at your next show, so folks can not only see one another's comments, but comment on their comments and stay in touch afterward.

3. Strike a balance between online and offline media.
Don't get me wrong: Art 2.0 can still hang on the wall and sell, and you can preserve your artistic mystique just fine (no one needs to know about the toil and trouble of every little detail in the studio!). I believe firmly that artists deserve fair compensation for their work. But audiences also deserve greater interaction with the work as well. This is true now (just look at how MoMA and the Brooklyn Museum have been giving visitors new ways to interact with their collections), but it will become even more so if we want to engage a world quickly growing accustomed to the values of Web 2.0.

Contrary to beliefs I've heard numerous times, the digital generation doesn't live on their computers and cell phones. They live through their communications devices, which make up a percentage of their lives. They still get together for movies and parties and study sessions and what have you. The need for in-person human interaction will never change; no one can deny the power of seeing a painting in person versus seeing it on the screen. The key is finding a balance by seamlessly integrating your physical art practice with the tools of the Internet.

In the end, what I hope to get across here is that Art 2.0 is less a difference of quality as it is of scale. The eroding borders between digital and physical life have led to new values and norms around interactivity and engagement being emphasized, but these values and norms have always existed. Artists have forever borrowed from and built upon one another's work, and audiences have forever chatted with one another after seeing a good show.

What's new is that the digital world has emphasized audience ownership to a greater degree, and it's allowed that audience to stay in touch for a longer period of time and across the world. A generation raised on YouTube and Facebook is no longer accustomed to passive experiences, whether with the Web or music or art. What artists do to engage this new audience with their art practice will, I suspect, come to define art in the 21st century.

An's Web site
An's blog
An's Twitter feed

The Arts Council's Web site

The Cellutations experience

2009-06-06T11:30:00.011-04:00

From the Urban Dictionary:
“1. Cellutations
slang for cell phone
Call me on the cellutations”

Cellutations is an evolving exhibition of cell-phone art presented by the Arts Council of Greater New Haven.

Cell-phone images have been sent by friends and strangers, from locations near and far, to a dedicated e-mail address, cellutations@gmail.com. Many of these can be viewed on the our Cellutations page on Flickr.

This is an exhibition that will evolve without end, a show whose beauty lies in the fact that anyone can see it, and anyone can be a part of it.

While its physical home is in the Arts Council's Sumner McKnight Crosby Jr. Gallery at 70 Audubon St., in New Haven, Conn., Cellutations really exists in the frozen moment each image represents.

Cellutations

2009-05-21T09:52:00.007-04:00

Cellutations, the Arts Council's evolving cell-phone art exhibition, has gone viral. This recent submission (above) came from K. Brian Söderquist in Copenhagen, Denmark.

This image (Brusselsislookinggreytoday) was submitted by Johan Orye.

And Susan Farricielli sent in this image (Joe Munroe at McSorley's).

Be part of Cellutations. Send your cell-phone images to cellutations@gmail.com today!

Has the down economy affected your creativity?

2009-05-20T09:29:00.002-04:00

The New York Times recently talked to several artists about how the down economy has affected their work. The story is worth a read (it's not all doom and gloom).

What about you? Has the down economy affected your creativity?

Orchestras are taking requests by text message

2009-05-18T16:49:00.003-04:00

Have you had an interactive audience experience like this?

Would New Haven be an Arts Hub Without Yale?

2009-05-18T16:44:00.003-04:00

Chris Arnott wrote an interesting piece for the Yale Alumni Magazine suggesting that New Haven was destined to be a cultural hub, even without the abundant resources of Yale. He asserts that "New Haven arts can be just as inclusive as Yale can be exclusive. . . ."

Ian David Moss' "Revisiting arts advocacy"

2009-05-06T09:47:00.003-04:00

Today, on his blog, Createquity.com, Ian David Moss posted a piece called "Revisiting arts advocacy." Take a few minutes to read this and other posts on Moss' blog. It's a blog worth adding to your "Bookmarked" Web sites.

Have you seen the NEA's latest grant announcement?

2009-05-02T13:56:00.004-04:00

See how $83 million in arts funding will be distributed, then share your thoughts here.

BSO musicians surprise management with $1 million "donation"

2009-05-02T09:11:00.004-04:00

This past week, the musicians of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra "donated" $1 million to help the organization weather the economic downturn. Read the story in the Washington Post and share your thoughts here.

2009-05-01T16:25:00.002-04:00

"In the Write," a column by New Haven Review publisher Bennett Lovett-Graff, appears each month in The Arts Paper. It's a valuable source of information about the literary scene here in New Haven.

In addition to writing about literary goings-on in the Elm City, Bennett and the editors at the New Haven Review have been organizing literary events around town.

Yesterday, the New Haven Independent published a story about the recent Westville Poetry Crawl, which was organized by the New Haven Review and the Westville Village Renaissance.

Check it out and share your thoughts.

On the importance of riding the curve

2009-04-14T12:19:00.000-04:00

It’s about more than just the economy …

David A. Brensilver

On St. Patrick’s Day, representatives from eight small cultural organizations gathered in the conference room at the Arts Council of Greater New Haven to discuss the greening of the arts in the Elm City — that is, how they are faring and adapting to the current economic climate.

In attendance were representatives from the Arts Council, Artspace, Collective Consciousness Theatre, Elm Shakespeare Company, Music Haven, New Haven Folk, New Haven Oratorio Choir and Orchestra, and Orchestra New England.

The spirit of the meeting was decidedly optimistic. Organizational and cross-sector collaborations, marketing strategies and resource sharing were discussed once fiscal woes were aired and shared. The Arts Council-hosted happy-hour conversation was much more a brainstorming session than it was a collective lament. This was not a woe-is-us, group-hug sort of get-together, but, rather, a forum on looking, and moving, forward. This was representatives from eight institutions looking into a mirror and asking: Is my organization relevant?

Several local arts administrators recently shared their thoughts on the arts and the economy, a topic that has been as unavoidable in these circles as bailouts and bonuses have been in others. It is a painful, reactionary time for many. After all, no one forecasted just how pronounced the economic downturn would be. And many are at the whim of others’ whose purse strings have been pulled tighter.

Leslie Shaffer, executive director of Artspace, said in an interview after the Arts Council gathering that her organization has been feeling the pinch of the economy for about a year. Artspace relies heavily on foundation and some corporate support, as well as state and federal support, all of which, Shaffer said, has diminished. Over the past six months, one staff position has been eliminated and remaining staff members have accepted reduced hours and pay cuts instead of seeing another position eliminated, and the budget has been reduced by 25 percent.

“What’s hurting the most are the creative things people see,” Shaffer said, pointing out that what comes off the top are non-fixed expenses.

With the glass inarguably half empty, is it possible to focus on new ways to fill it? In some voices one hears fear. Others sound determined to figure it out. After all, there is no other choice.

It should be said that a sense of entitlement is a dangerous thing. Nonprofit arts and cultural organizations cannot simply expect to exist because they currently exist.

Mary Lou Aleskie is executive director of the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, an organization whose $1 million line-item in the state budget is eliminated over two years in Gov. M. Jodi’s Rell’s proposal. Like the Arts Council, whose $125,000 line-item in the state budget would also be eliminated over two years — first halved, then zeroed out — the festival would be eligible to apply and compete for state grant funding. Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s budget “would seriously impact” festival programming, Aleskie said, as state funding is what makes the heart and soul of the festival possible, the heart and soul being “free programming that engages people broadly.”

Still, Aleskie sees the glass half full.

“There is a committed understanding of the value of arts and culture, in particular the festival,” she said with regard to legislators in Hartford.

Aleskie is not at all consumed with fear in the face of the current economy. Yes, there are serious issues that require attention in the short term. Looking to the future and thinking long-term though, she’s hopeful. And she’s frank.

“Anyone who thinks that hanging on to what they know today as a way to survive should be voted off the island,” she said.

She’s talking, of course, about being able to adapt and staying relevant. Aleskie said she’s tired of hearing about “sustainability, as if that should be a goal. I’m not interested in it. I’m really not.”

John Fisher, vice president and executive director of the Shubert Theater, knows his organization, too, has to adapt to the times, and is aggressively pursuing the development of younger audiences. The Shubert’s Red Carpet Club for Young Professionals, for example, offers a wealth of member benefits for $150 annually.

(Of course, audience diversification is something arts and cultural organizations have been talking about for years.)

For Fisher, whose organization is “down 15 to 20 percent in general” in terms of ticket sales and contributed revenue, audience development has been an area of focus for the last five years. And that focus has intensified in the face of the economic crisis. Fisher said his organization is working with area schools with an eye on developing audiences for the future, and is tapping into the concert market, booking acts such as Ryan Adams Ben Folds, k.d. lang and John Prine to attract the 20s demographic.

Fisher also talked about selling tickets at a discount, something his organization is doing more of than it used to.

This is an area that needs to be approached carefully. Fisher said one doesn’t want to send a message that his or her organization is discounting all the time. He believes discounting in the retail sector may lead to people expecting discounts. Sales do go up when the Shubert does promotions and discounts tickets, Fisher said. The challenge is to put more people in seats without forfeiting income.

There is another balance to strike, as well: the balance between accessibility and devaluation.

Jamie Gilpatrick, general manager at Long Wharf Theatre, said his organization’s income is 50 percent earned (through ticket sales) and 50 percent contributed. Ticket sales, he said, are on track. The organization did well selling subscription packages before the economy went south.

“It’s clear that this community wants and needs theater,” Gilpatrick said, pointing out that culture and entertainment have played important roles during down economies.

Even so, the Long Wharf Theatre is not immune to the fiscal crisis. Contributions have diminished and the organization’s endowment earnings are down about 25 percent. So the theater, more than ever, is looking to its donors for support.

Gilpatrick said Long Wharf Theatre is doing a lot of analysis and reassessment, and is aware of the importance of being appropriately realistic about future revenues. He echoed Aleskie’s sentiment about sustainability, saying there’s been a lot of talk in the industry about the nonprofit model being broken, that the goal has been to break even.

“I think that’s what’s broken,” Gilpatrick said.

Projecting that contributions to the Long Wharf Theatre will be down by 15 percent, Gilpatrick said the organization has to raise a lot of money by the end of its fiscal year, June 30, to meet that number.

“We have a big challenge in front of us,” he said, a challenge that’s bigger than the moment.

“(You) can’t rely on (the) history of what your organization can do in a good economy,” Gilpatrick said.

If the nonprofit model is broken, and history is an unreliable guide, perhaps service-oriented arts and cultural organizations especially should be asking what they can do for their constituents, instead of telling their constituents what’s being offered them.

Lawrence Zukof, executive director of Neighborhood Music School, echoed some of Gilpatrick’s remarks, saying, “People come to this place, they need it more than ever.”

Recently, Zukof offered free music, dance and drama classes to employees of local social-service agencies. He was hopeful they’d see the value of the classes and tell their friends. It was an altruistic gesture that could generate some free marketing.

Neighborhood Music School’s income is 80 percent tuition based, 20 percent contributed. For the first time, Zukof has seen a decline in enrollment (the school serves 2,500 to 3,000 students each year), and, along with declines in contributed revenue and grant funding, is facing a budget deficit. Zukof said there have been some salary reductions, that retirement contributions “will likely be suspended,” and that there could be some staff cuts.

Organizations, Zukof said, may want to consider aligning with other institutions and look for ways to partner and share resources — not a wholly original idea but nonetheless a vitally important one. He said, for example, that he’s been in touch with administrators at Creative Arts Workshop about the possibility of implementing some cost-sharing measures.

Arts and cultural organizations, large and small, must be able to adapt and ride the curve, not react when they find themselves behind it. That’s not to say organizations should or will be able to insulate themselves from economic crises. But knowing what they know now, arts and cultural institutions should look to other sectors for guidance in terms of what to do and what not to do.

The recording industry has changed dramatically to keep up with technological advances. The newspaper industry, on the other hand, has reacted, and, in Aleskie’s words, realized way too late in the game that their value was in the intellectual capital of their journalists, not in their printing presses.

Aleskie talked about Metropolitan Opera General Manager Peter Gelb, who has “started to think outside the confines of his industry.”

The Met’s live high-definition simulcasts are a pioneering initiative. The Met also offers subscriptions for those who want to watch world-class productions online, as well as live and recorded performances on Sirius Satellite Radio.

“If you are living in cataclysmically changing times,” Aleskie said, to do the same thing you’ve been doing is “a sure-fire ticket to extinction.”

It would be, by Einstein’s definition, insane.

2009-04-07T15:17:00.002-04:00

Last week I was in Washington, D.C. for Americans for the Arts' annual Arts Advocacy Day.

A highlight of the event was the Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

This year’s speaker was Wynton Marsalis, who wove words and music together in a powerful message about art, unity and freedom.

Americans for the Arts posted video of Mr. Marsalis' lecture on its Web site.

Watch the video at http://www.americansforthearts.org/news/afta_news/default.asp#item18 and post your thoughts about what Mr. Marsalis had to say.

~ Arts Council Executive Director Cindy Clair

The Armory Show, NYC

2009-03-31T13:30:00.008-04:00

The show was a mildly conservative explosion of flashy contemporary art, many of which were composed of mirrors, body parts, or words. The manipulation of light and reflections was a common theme, and many artists seemed to revel in the beauty of words, whether it was multiple words crafted as a list of questions an adult man might ask his father, or simply one word: vulnerable. Mirrors were a common sight; broken shards on the outside of a purse, a rippled reflective surface distorting and inverting its reflections, a reflective wall with shapes cut out of it, blurring the edges of its reflection. Body parts seemed even more popular; da Vinci’s belief that the human body is perfect was recaptured in all mediums. A twisting fluorescent light depicted the brain, a mannequin made of clay circles stood in a corner, and a naked female is having sex with a cockroach the size of a Great Dane (the possibility of censorship is scoffed at). Popular culture, humor, and contemporary issues were not ignored either; there was surprisingly only one piece of art concerning President Obama, and one American flag, made of ribbons weaving around Venetian blinds. A large egg, tucked into a baby carriage, nestled in hay A chair and its surrounding walls was made entirely of unraveled VHS tapes, with the film sitting on the mirror that makes the floor, providing a disconcerting illusion of a never ending pit lined with tapes. A clear glass bowl, cut into only three-fourths its size, sits in a corner hugging the mirror on the wall, yet another illusion created by a clever artist.

The show was scattered across an amazing volume of space. It was guaranteed that anyone who visits the show would get lost within minutes, and even knowing the number of the exhibit where he is currently located is a useless indicator of location. The space, however, made it difficult to tell the difference between bona fide art and constructional necessities. A tangle of thick black wires obscured an artist’s small gallery, yet did not draw attention away from the rest of the art; whether that is a testament to the art or the building I cannot say. Altogether, between jelly donuts, free beer, references to a 50 Cent album, and a massive cord telephone, the show was a proud collection of audacious artists who, in these economic times, cannot afford to be too bold.

-Geeta Talpade
March 7, 2009

If I Ruled the NEA

2009-03-05T16:10:00.002-05:00

Many in the arts world are wondering who the next chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts will be and what vision she/he will bring to the job. The LA Times asked several prominent artists (including Tim Robbins, Bill T. Jones, Eve Ensler) what they would do if they ran the NEA. Check out their responses on the LA Times blog.

Ice Sculpture

2009-02-17T16:35:00.006-05:00

I cut through The Green today on the way back to my dorm and came across this beautiful Valentines ice sculpture on the lawn. It's always a nice surprise to stumble across public art of such high quality.

A quote from the New Haven Bulletin: "This weekend and next sculptors will transform 300 pounds of block ice (donated by Elm City Ice) into temporary public art throughout downtown New Haven. The sculptures will remain in place through February at the following locations: The Green, Broadway Island, Temple Street Garage, The Shubert Theater, and Temple Plaza."

--Cynthia
Arts Council Intern

Essence & Artifact

2009-02-12T08:58:00.005-05:00

TONIGHT:

Essence & Artifact featuring works by Silas Finch and Michael Shapcott
Opening Reception
Thursday, February 12, 2009
5:00pm - 10:00pm
HULL'S FINE FRAMING & GALLERY
ONE WHITNEY AVENUE
New Haven, CT

NOT TO BE MISSED!

ACT

2009-02-06T11:29:00.003-05:00

Join ACT for Economy: Save Arts, Culture and Tourism in Connecticut on Facebook.

Recruit friends to join the cause and sign the petition at tourism4ct.org.

Obama Art

2009-02-05T13:30:00.009-05:00

Arts Council friend Katro Storm traveled to Washington, D.C. on inauguration day to "document history." Armed with a video and digital camera, and without any particular agenda, he came across the Manifest Hope: DC Gallery in Georgetown.

Check out some of the work Katro and others saw over the course of this two-day exhibit.

New Haven Meets Mass MOCA

2009-01-07T17:10:00.004-05:00

Over the holidays, I took a trip up to the Berkshires. I hadn't been to MASS MoCA in over a year and looked forward to visitng this wonderful sprawling art space that always offers a show or two that wows or perplexes me. I was delighted to discover "Badlands: New Horizons in Landscape," a show curated by Denise Markonish, the former curator of New Haven's own Artspace, who is now a curator at MASS MoCA. The exhibit explores and stretches the concept of landscape, contrasting the beauty of the natural world with the ugliness perpetrated by man. It's a compelling show featuring work by artists from throughout the U.S., including two New Haven area artists. Leila Daw is a textile artist, who creates amazing fabric images. Her tapestry of a volcano plays with perspective in a fascinating way. Joe Smolinski created a turbine inspired by cell phone towers disguised as trees (like the one on the Hutchinson Parkway). Not only are his sketches on display, but a real turbine tree with rotating trunk is set in the outdoor courtyard. The rotating trunk is connected to a generator that converts the wind energy into electricity. Pretty cool. It was exciting to find artists from our region represented at one of the country's most respected contemporary museums. Also at MASS MoCa is a new wing devoted to Sol LeWitt's wall drawings. This mammoth, three-story retrospective of the Connecticut artist (who passed away last year) is a collaboration between the Yale University Art Gallery, the Williams College Museum of Art and MASS MoCA. Over 100 of LeWitt's exquisite drawings are displayed chronologically. ( The LeWitt Drawing Retrospective is on view for 25 years, but you'll have to get to North Adams before April 12th to catch Badlands)

Cindy

How do you take your art?

2008-12-11T16:01:00.000-05:00

Earlier this fall, we conducted an online survey on arts participation in greater New Haven. More than 300 individuals responded. Not surprisingly, many of the respondents are arts mavens, individuals who self- identified as arts supporters (51%), artists (36%), and arts professionals (26%).

Some highlights of the findings:

Over 90% of respondents rate the New Haven region as either a good or excellent place to live. 96% believe that New Haven has a vibrant arts and culture scene and 98% think that arts and cultural activities make New Haven a better place to live and work.

When asked about the types of arts activities they participated in within the past year
77% attended an art exhibit
75% attended a live musical concert
70% attended a live theater performance

Arts education is valued by this group of people. Those respondents who are parents, responded that their children have taken courses in music (62%), visual art (51%), and dance (45%).

When asked about a recent arts event that made a significant impression on them, the responses covered a wide range of experiences—Van Gogh at Yale Art Gallery, Long Wharf’s production of The Bluest Eye, courtyard concerts at the International Festival, jazz at Firehouse 12, Passion Play at Yale Rep, the Westville Art Walk, even our own Arts Awards luncheon. While most responses were from an audience perspective, some people mentioned learning experiences—Flamenco lessons, a sculpture class at CAW. Others noted the experience as participant, such as singing the Brahm’s Requiem as part of a large choral ensemble.

New Haven is perceived as a good place for artists. 95% responded that there’s an active artist community here. 87% indicated that New Haven is supportive of artists.

We also asked about what’s lacking in the arts in New Haven. Among the most frequently mentioned missing assets were more venues for live music, particularly blues and jazz; the need for more commercial galleries; and contemporary dance. Several individuals lamented the loss of the New Haven Film Festival.

And finally, why don’t folks participate in more arts activities? Lack of time (75%) and money (44%) were the main reasons.

Arts in Transition

2008-12-04T15:32:00.005-05:00

The presidential election has finally come to a close, but many are wondering what the election of Barack Obama will mean for the arts. Many arts and culture leaders got excited during the campaign, as Obama released a relatively detailed arts policy statement. To view the statement, click here.

But now with inauguration day drawing near, arts leaders want to make sure that the Obama administration doesn't forget about its promise to make arts, culture and the creative economy a priority. With that in mind, 16 arts service organizations recently submitted a detailed list of arts policy recommendations to the Office of Presidential Transition. To view the policy brief (and to see which organizations sent it), click here.

For another interesting take on what an Obama presidency might mean for the arts, check out this blog posting by Ian Moss.

And let us know what you think. What does a new Obama administration mean for the arts? What ideas/policies would you like to do instituted or changed?

2008-11-12T14:24:00.003-05:00

On September 16th, the Arts Council kicked off the fall arts season with a preview of what’s happening in New Haven. There were over 30 arts organizations highlighted on the screen with a projection performance created by the New Haven Theater Company along with a band of their actors helping. This networking and informational event happened on the historic Shubert Theater stage and even backstage tours of the Shubert were available.

This was a fun night, sort of like a reunion – it was great to see the arts organizational leaders together after the summer break, and also many of our tried and true old ArtSpot! attendees came plus many new faces from the community joined us.

It was neat having the event backward – we were on the stage networking and then looking out into the audience and up into the balcony for the performance.

Click here to see photos of the event!

Bobbi Griffith

MFA as the new MBA

2008-09-29T15:05:00.002-04:00

I recently spoke at a brunch celebrating the Alliance Theater’s 30th anniversary. My remarks centered on the best selling book, A Whole New Mind, by Daniel Pink. After hearing Pink speak last spring at the national Arts Advocacy Day in Washington, I eagerly read his book.
According to Daniel Pink, “the MFA is the new MBA.” He claims that left brain skills (skills that focus on logic, analysis, mathematics) are necessary, but no longer sufficient in this rapidly changing world. Today, we are moving from an Information Age to a Conceptual Age. Pink argues that in the past century, so-called “knowledge workers” have ruled—lawyers, doctors, accountants and engineers who got paid for putting to work what they learned in school.
But now, US knowledge workers have intense competition in China, India and other countries. Big corporations are outsourcing computer programming, tech support—even accounting services. Hospitals are sending CAT scans to be read by radiologists overseas.
This new Conceptual Age requires more adept right brain functions: understanding the context around the facts, the relationships between ideas. . . the BIG picture. When I was growing up there was great stress on focus and specialization, which created angst for generalists like me. But according to Pink, this in-depth knowledge of a single area no longer guarantees success. In the future we will need those who can see beyond the individual puzzle pieces to envision the whole picture. People must learn to see connections between things that may seem diverse and separate, linking uncommon elements to create something new. And now more than ever, there’s a widespread search for meaning and purpose, something that people discover through the arts.
Not surprisingly, Daniel Pink is being enthusiastically embraced by those of us who value the arts, who know in the deep core of our beings that there is an intrinsic value to the arts which has gone unrecognized by mainstream society. Here is a respected author who not only gets it, but who has appeared on CNN and NPRr, who is going around the country declaring his message of innovation and change.
With our lives overflowing with information and data, knowledge alone is no longer enough. Communication, persuasion, and the ability to turn facts into a compelling story is the key to success.

Cindy

A Trip to the CT Children's Museum

2008-09-18T16:08:00.029-04:00

Last week I took my daughter, Jocelyn, to the Connecticut Children's Museum located on Wall Street in New Haven. We had a wonderful time. The museum is a great place for imaginative play consisting of eight "thematic and community inspired rooms".

Our favorite was the musical room.

In the spatial room we enjoyed blocks.

In the "Great Green Room" from Goodnight Moon, Jocelyn took a very important phone call.

And of course everyone enjoys the bees in the naturalist room.

For more information about the Connecticut Children's Museum go to http://childrensbuilding.org/index.htm

-Winter Marshall

Seeking Nominations for the 2008 Arts Awards

2008-09-16T09:55:00.002-04:00

The Arts Council of Greater New Haven is currently seeking nominations for the 2008 Arts Awards. This year, the annual awards luncheon will celebrate "Ground Breakers" in the community-visual, performing and literary artists, arts educators, arts organizations, advocates and administrators-whose creative, colorful thoughts enrich our community in countless ways. This year's Arts Awards will be held on Friday, December 5, at the New Haven Lawn Club.

Deadline for nominations is Friday, September 19. To download a nomination form, click here. Forms can also be picked up at the Arts Council offices at 70 Audubon Street, New Haven. You may also email your nominations to info@newhavenarts.org. For more information, please call the Arts Council at (203) 772-2788.

How do you take your art?

2008-09-12T16:39:00.000-04:00

In an effort to better understand how our community participates in the arts, we're conducting a simple online survey—and we need your input! Tell us about your favorite arts pursuits--concerts, plays, visits to musuems--and where you go to hear live music or catch an exhibit. And let us know what's lacking--what would make for a livelier arts community? To take the short survey, Click Here. Thank you for your help!

Pilot Pen Happenings

2008-09-02T15:23:00.009-04:00

From left to right: Ginny Kozlowski, President and CEO of the Greater New Haven Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB); Cindy Clair, Executive Director of the Arts Council of Greater New Haven; Daisy Abreu, Acting Director of the Town Green Special Services District and Linda Telier-Smith, Board Chair of the Greater New Haven CVB greeted Senate President Don Williams (Brooklyn, CT) at a recent legislative luncheon held at the Pilot Pen Tennis Tournament. The luncheon, co-hosted by the Arts Council, the CVB and Pilot Pen, gave arts advocates an opportunity to thank the legislative leadership for their support. The New Haven region is fortunate to have strong legislative champions who have vigorously supported state arts funding.

A panel of legislators advised arts supporters about how to best advocate for the arts in the upcoming legislative session. From left to right: Senator Toni Harp, Chair of Appropriations; Senator Donald Williams, President Pro Tempore of the Senate; House Majority Leader Chris Donovan; and Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney.

For the second straight year, the Arts Council teamed up with Pilot Pen to provide a stunning exhibit of local artwork for the pro tennis player's lounge. The display included work from local artists Barbara Hocker, Clint Jukkala, Claudia Cron, Keith Johnson, Hank Paper, Cham Hendon, Willard Lustenader and Rachel Hellerich. A special thank-you to Rashmi Talpade for curating the exhibit.

Public art for New Haven

2008-08-14T14:56:00.002-04:00

Last week, I got a sneak peak at the finalists for a public art project that New Haven's Office of Cultural Affairs plans to present next summer. Artists from throughout the U.S. were invited to submit proposals for a public art installation highlighting the nine squares of the City of New Haven. The four finalists are all well seasoned artists who have created large scale public art projects throughout the country. There are some wonderfully innovative ideas proposed, projects incorporating bells, video, and light. Some are interactive, others involve performances. From now through the end of August, the public is invited to view the final proposals at Artspace. Here's your chance to weigh in on what should be an exciting addition to the cultural scene next summer.

Cindy

Audubon Arts on the Edge Festival Report

2008-07-29T15:11:00.012-04:00

The thirteenth annual Audubon Arts on the Edge festival was a huge success this year! Audubon Street was transformed into a music and art venue with a variety of activities including musical and dance performances, hands on activities, children’s performances, and nine coordinated gallery openings. A couple thousand people attended to enjoy the free events. Join us next year for an even more fun-filled day!

--Jen

Favorite Route

2008-07-15T10:31:00.002-04:00

We hope you've already visited the Parachute Factory Gallery, an exciting new collaboration between the Arts Council, the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health (PRCH) and the Community Services Network of Greater New Haven. But just in case you haven't, we wanted to share a special part of the show with you. Several members of the PRCH staff wrote pieces in response to the current exhibition Routes, and we hope you'll join in the fun. Add a comment and let us know what you think of the show. What pieces stood out to you-and what pieces really made you think?

For more info on the current exhibit Routes, click here. To learn more about the Parachute Factory, click here.

Choice
The arts, in some fundamental way, are about choice. Looking at the works in Routes, I began to think about the choices these artists have made. "...it is an exploration of possibility and choices, made along the way," writes Jonathan Waters of his wood and pipe sculpture that greets us at the door. I've driven north and south along I-95 many times. What vantage points did Lawrence Morelli choose for his dramatic highway series? In Morelli's paintings, I don't see a single car.
Lucile Bruce
Co-Founder, The Parachute Factory

From Where I Sit
As time moves forward to reveal more of the past, there are pieces in this exhibit that appear to have no beginning and no end. The circuitous route, the pathwork design and the textured layering of color all demonstrate the organic and dynamic nature of living in, recovering from and moving through experiences.
Timothy Schmutte
Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health

Change
A friend once told me that life is all about making connections. The multiple ways and levels on which to do so is brought to life in Routes-networks, connections, each imply change to me. The route itself changes when you change. Taking the same path and not seeing it anymore, until someone else puts fresh eyes on it for you, as Larry Morelli's paintings of 95 transformed my view of the road. Often we don't realize how the route we take can change us, and how the route inself can change.
Becca Miller
Co-Founder, The Parachute Factory

Reflections on community arts

2008-07-02T11:20:00.004-04:00

I've been reflecting on several of the Ideas talks I heard during the International Festival of Arts and Ideas. Dancer Liz Lerman, who was in residence here during the past year, spoke about Art in a Democratic Society. Liz is an artist I've admired for many years. She has worked in communities throughout the country, engaging citizens of all ages, from all walks of life, in communicating stories of their lives and communities. In her talk, she pondered why a dance she performs on stage at the Kennedy Center in D.C. is more highly regarded than the dance she does with residents of a nursing home. She explained that her Dance Exchange strives to shift this way of thinking, elevating the importance of art created in and with community.

I think Liz is right on. While I love the opportunity to experience accomplished artists performing in a venue with professional lighting and sound, there is something profoundly powerful about art that is of the people-real people expressing themselves through singing or dancing. So why are the so-called community arts relegated to lesser status?

In another Ideas program, I heard Jude Kelly speak about the Creative Economy. Jude's comments echoed those of Liz as she lamented that culture has become "something you go to in the evening." Both Liz and Jude affirm the ability of art to tell real stories, to make meaning and create identity.

We hear alot of talk about the achievement gap between students of affluent school districts and those in poorer inner city districts. As the arts have become more professional, as arts organizations have morphed into institutions, have we perhaps created a cultural divide?

-Cindy

The Creative Capital of CT

2008-07-02T10:36:00.008-04:00

Last night, AC Executive Director Cindy Clair and I attended the Town Green Special Services District 10th anniversary bash (a fantastic evening to honor an unbelievable organization). Included in the evening's festivities was a rare presentation by world-renowned architect Cesar Pelli. In the Q&A following his talk, Cesar was asked how living and working in New Haven has influenced his art (his office is located right downtown). Cesar said that is his view, New Haven is the perfect place to foster creativity. He can walk to the office, engage in stimulating conversations, find space for real reflection. So I pose a question to our readers: Do you think New Haven is the ideal city for creative thinkers/workers? Why or why not? And what place in New Haven seems to spark your creativity the most? -Kara

GALLERY 195

2008-01-14T11:09:00.000-05:00

Artwork by Pamela T. Dear

Gallery 195 is currently featuring the works by local artists Claudine Burns and Pamela T. Dear. The exhibit runs from January 8 to March 28. Gallery 195 is located at the New Alliance Bank, 4th floor.

ARTSPOT!

2007-11-27T13:42:00.000-05:00

Celebrate at Artspot!, the only happy hour with an arts twist at Creative Arts Workshop on Thursday, December 13, and get your holiday shopping done too at The Celebration of American Crafts.

If you choose to, you can begin at the Shubert Theater with Unsilent Night, a boombox caroling processional with Phil Kline and the International Festival of Arts & Ideas. End the caroling on Audubon Street, and keep the good time rolling at Creative Arts Workshop, filled with special holiday treats. Shop for breathtaking, hand-crafted gifts by over 400 artists from across the country at the Celebration of American Crafts!(runs through December 24), enjoy fantastic food and drinks from local eateries, learn how to make your unique craft, groove to the music, and talk the night away with some wonderful new friends. Doors open at Creative Arts Workshop at 6pm, the fun goes until 9.

Special $10 admission for all!!!!!!

2007 ARTS COUNCIL AWARDS

2007-11-26T11:27:00.000-05:00

The Arts Council of Greater New Haven will honor oustanding individuals and organizations from the region at the annual Arts Awards Luncheon on Friday, December 7, at the New Haven Lawn Club. This yera's theme, "Mentors and Shakers," celebrates those whose selfless dedication and behind-the-scenes magic enrich the great community in countless ways. For more information about the Arts Awards, or to purchase tickets, please call (203) 772-2788.

ALL PHOTOS BY HAROLD SHAPIRO

Herbert S. Newman - Recipient of the C. Newton Schenck, III Award for Lifetime Achievement in and Contribution to the Arts – An award-winning architect and inspirational mentor whose breathtaking vision and love of beautiful lines has changed how we look, how we feel and how we interact within the Greater New Haven community.

Louise Endel—A true champion for the arts and humanities, whose boundless energy and steadfast guidance to dozens of organizations and boards have helped foster and connect a thriving cultural community.

Linda Friedlaender—Curator of Education at the Yale Center for British Art whose innovative programming brings the power, beauty and nobility of the arts to all members of the community, from doctors and nurses to students and teachers.

Jesse Hameen II—An accomplished jazz musician and devoted educator at Neighborhood Music School and ACES Educational Center for the Arts whose encouragement, dedication and lively spirit have inspired generations of students, audiences and peers.

New Haven Chorale—A distinguished organization whose commitment to mentorship and community cultural enrichment provides vocalists of all ages the opportunity to study and perform electrifying choral music.

Rafael Ramos—A gifted artist, talented producer and passionate visionary whose groundbreaking company Bregamos Theatre has transformed and revived the spirit of community theatre in the region.

ARC Workshop

2007-10-29T11:27:00.000-04:00

The Arts Resource Center (ARC) at the Arts Council of Greater New Haven offers affordable expert-led workshop for the community throughout the year. The workshop include: marketing, technology, legal issues, health insurance, housing, finance and much more.

How to build a WEB site!

Co-sponsored with the Shoreline Arts Alliance.
Two part series, $25 AC members, $40 nonmembers.

November 14 and November 28, 5:30 to 7:30 pm
ACES Educational Center for the Arts.

Learn what it takes to start and run your own website!

This workshop is currently FULL. If you'd like to add your name to the waiting list or wish to be contacted for technical workshops in the future, please contact Kara Arsenault at karsenault.ac@cshore.com or (203) 772 2788

Small Space Gallery

2007-10-29T11:23:00.002-04:00

Spectra 2007, the Photographic Arts Collective Annual Members Show.

70 Audubon Street, 2nd floor

November 5 to December 28. Artist's reception on December 13 from 5 to 7 pm.

HASKINS LABORATORIES GALLERY

2007-10-29T11:15:00.000-04:00

Enviromental Visions: Beauty and Fragility

Photo by Sheila Hale

Haskins Laboratories, 300 George Street, 9th floor
Through November 23, 2007

Works by Diane Barcelo, Stephen Grossman, Sheila Hale, Mitche Kunzman, Roger Mudre, Dorothy Powers, Jeremy Saladyga, Eve Stockton and Torrance York. Curated by Gerald Saladyga.

Photo ARTS COLLECTIVE

2007-10-29T10:46:00.000-04:00

The Photo Arts Collective meets on the firs Thursday of the month at the Kehler Liddell Gallery, 873 Whalley Avenue, New Haven, at 7 pm.

For updated information concerning PAC, please visit web site, www.photoartscollective.org

ARC Workshop Series

2007-09-17T16:03:00.001-04:00

The Arts Resource Center (ARC) at the Arts Council of Greater New Haven offers affordable experts-led workshops for the community throughout the year. The workshops range in topic and scope to include: marketing, technology, legal issues, health insurance, housing, finance and much more.

Upcoming Fall Workshops

A Healthy Practice:
A Look at Medicare

October 2, 5:30 to 7:30 pm
ACES Educational Center for the Arts

Join Coordinated Financial Resources/ Chamber Insurance Trust and Health Net as they explore the latest in Medicare coverage. Learn who's eligible and how to apply for Medicare in this important and free workshop.

A Healthy Practice:
Health Insurance for Artists and Independent Contractors

October 23, 5:30 to 7:30 pm
ACES Educational Center for the Arts
Co-sponsored with Artspace

Join Coordinated Financial Resources/ Chamber Insurance Trust as they discuss the best health insurance options for artists and self-employed individuals. Learn about the types of insurance available, find out how to avoid being denied coverage, and discover how to access insurance whether an artist, self-employed or small business.

Don't miss out on this fall's free series on health. To register for the "Healthy Practice" series, please call the Arts Council of Greater New Haven at (203) 772-2788

Still to come this fall: The Wonders of Websites.

Small Space Gallery

2007-09-17T14:41:00.000-04:00

Photography by Ben Melendez

EXTRAordinary: Contemporary Comic Books and Cartoons

Discover the history, beauty and intrigue of cartoons and comic strips.

Exhibit will be available until October 31, 2007
Location: 70 Audubon Street, 2nd floor.

GALLERY 195

2007-09-07T11:30:00.000-04:00

Image by Irene Miller

Remenbering

An exhibit featuring works by local artists Irene Miller and Jan Murdock. The exhibit will run from September 10 to December 14. Artists' Reception is Tuesday, September 18, 5 to 7 pm with an Artists' Talk at 5pm. Gallery 195 is located at the New Alliance Bank, 4Th floor.

HASKINS LABORATORIES GALLERY

2007-09-07T10:54:00.000-04:00

Photography by Torrance York

Environmental Visions: Beauty and Fragility

Paintings, prints, drawings, photographs and installations that explore the beautiful, fragile and impermanent world around us. The exhibit will run from August 29 to November 23. Artists' reception will be held on Thursday, September 6: 5 - 7 pm. The Artists' Talk is at 5 pm. Haskins Laboratories is located at 300 George Street, 9Th floor.

ArtSpot! July 12, 2007

2007-07-09T16:45:00.000-04:00

Join us for ArtSpot!--the monthly Happy Hour with an arts twist--from 6 to 8 Thursday, July 12. Enjoy a lovely Summer evening in Park of the Arts, located on Audubon Street behind the Neighborhood Music School. Drinks, snacks and a celebration of Site Projects' newest art installation, created by artist Matej Andraz Vogrincic and located in the Farmington Canal, which borders the Park. Hope to see you there!

Admission: $10 for Arts Council Members, $15 for Non-Members

Small Space Gallery

2007-07-09T16:31:00.000-04:00

Off the Wall 2007

2007-07-09T16:10:00.000-04:00

CUBICLES FOR ART

2007-06-07T11:42:00.001-04:00

Organia by Isaac Canady takes place at Rumberos ( 216 state street) and the Arts Council from June 8 to July 16. Artists' Reception will be held at Rumberos on June 27 from 5 to 8 pm.

2007-04-27T13:32:00.000-04:00

Small Space Gallery

The Show is over, but the Blog is still up! Check it out: www.acmailart.blogspot.com

2007-04-27T13:23:00.000-04:00

Gallery 195

art by Laura Barr

Two Painters
An exhibition featuring paintings by local artists Laura Barr and Laurie Flaherty, will take place at Gallery 195, New Alliance Bank, 4th floor, through July 27.

2007-04-27T12:51:00.000-04:00

Haskins Laboratories Gallery

art by Kelli Newton

Table Tops Discover what items on a table top can reveal. The exhibit is at Haskins Laboratories Gallery, Haskins Laboratories, 300 George Street, 9th floor, May 10 to August 17. Gallery hours: Wednesday-Friday, 10 to 4, with an artists'reception on Thursday, May 10, 5 to 7 pm.

ArtSpot! comes to Artspace

2007-04-03T15:27:00.000-04:00

Come and preview the contemporary art auction of the year with over 100 contributing artists at ArtSpace, 50 Orange Street on Thursday, April 12, from 6 to 8 pm. Live auction artists will include Donald Baechler, Walker Evans, Chris Mir, Eve Stockton and more. And not only will the ArtSpot! crew get a unique, up-close peek at all auction items on display, but they'll also get to enjoy tasty food, sip fantastic drinks and flex their networking skills — and all for quite a steal. ArtSpot! costs just $10 for Arts Council members, $15 for everyone else. Hope to see you there!

International Mail Art Exhibition

2007-04-03T15:20:00.000-04:00

Wishing You Were Here is the theme for this year's annual International Mail Art Exhibition, which will be held at The Arts Council of Greater New Haven's Small Space Gallery from May 9 through June 27. Deadline for entries is May 7. For more information, call the Arts Council at (203) 772-2788 or visit www.acmailart.blogspot.com.

SMALL SPACE GALLERY

2007-04-03T14:58:00.000-04:00

Small Space Gallery is at 70 Audubon Street, 2nd floor. Gallery hours: Mondays through Fridays, 9am - 5pm. Third Annual Young Artists Show through April 27. Paintings, pictures, photographs and more by area artists aged 18 and under.

GALLERY 195

2007-04-03T14:27:00.000-04:00

An exhibit featuring paintings by Laura Barr and Laurie Flaherty will take place April 26 to July 27 with an artists' reception on April 26, 5 to 7 pm.

Painting by Laurie Flaherty

HASKINS LABORATORIES GALLERY

2007-02-13T14:39:00.000-05:00

In Dreams, Memory and Sleep, artists explore themes of dream and sleep through a variety of art forms. The exhibit is at Haskins Laboratories, 300 George Street, 9th floor, from January 24 to April 25. Gallery Hours: Wednesday-Friday, 10 to 4. Artists reception on Thursday, April 19, 5 to 7 pm. Featured artists include David Coon, Ann Holley, Lisa Hess Hesselgrave, Julie Fraenkel, Joan Gardner, Judy Gelles, Mary Lesser, Maryann Ott, Jay Seeley, and Greta Stromberg. In collaboration with the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health.

Artwork by Julie Fraenkel Mamis

CUBICLES FOR ART

2007-02-13T14:21:00.000-05:00

Grits and Soul, a collection of paintings by local artist Katro Storm. The exhibit, located at the Arts Council and Sandra's Place, runs through March 28. An artists' reception will be held at Sandra's on Saturday, February 17, 1 to 3 pm

Roadside Attractions

2007-02-02T13:05:00.000-05:00

Roadside Attractions explores quirky roadside sites from February 5 to March 16. Gallery hours: Wednesday- Friday, 10 to 4. It takes place in collaboration with the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health. Artists' reception will take place Friday, February 9, from 5 to 7 pm.

GALLERY 195

2007-01-02T15:46:00.000-05:00

Artwork by Karen Klugman

An exhibit featuring digital photographs by Karen Klugman and paintings by Peter Ziou will take place at Gallery195, New Alliance Bank, from January 17 to April 18.

Late Night Thursday

2006-12-13T15:17:00.000-05:00

Arts Council supporters welcome new Director

2006-12-13T15:01:00.000-05:00

Barbara Lamb, Cindy Clair, and Mimsie Coleman.

.

On Monday, November 28, arts organizations and artist members turned out in style to welcome the new Arts Council Executive Director Cindy Clair. The reception, held in Neighborhood Music School’s beautiful new recital hall, featured music by and lots of friendly faces. Welcome Cindy!

Seniority Rule

2006-12-13T14:47:00.000-05:00

On Friday, November 17, community members, family, artists and friends packed the Small Space Gallery to celebrate the opening of Seniority Rule. The exhibit featured paintings and collages from area senior artists, ranging in age from their late 60’s to 91. Participating artists included Mary Lee Neale, Mary Grant and Jo Garguilo of West Haven, Brenda Harvey and Lee LaForte of Orange, New Haven’s Phil Foxx, Ruth Blum and Mary Lou Horan.

Random Intention

2006-12-07T12:49:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, November 9, the artists’ reception for Random Intention at Gallery 195 was held at NewAlliance Bank. The exhibit, which features works by local artists Oi Fortin and Liz Pagano, explores the interactions of chance and control in the creative process of printmaking.

To read a review of the show in the New Haven Register, please visit the link below: http://www.ctcentral.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17513068&BRD=1773&PAG=461&dept_id=566798&rfi=6

SMALL SPACE GALLERY

2006-11-30T11:41:00.000-05:00

Spectra 2006, the Photographic Arts Collective Annual Members Show, takes place December 11 to January 26, with an artist's reception on Thursday, December 14, from 5 to 8 pm. Small Space Gallery is located at 70 Audubon Street, 2nd floor. Gallery hours: Mondays through Fridays, 9 am- 5 pm.
Artwork by Majorie Wolfe.

The Greater New Haven's Revolutionary Visionaries

2006-10-20T15:17:00.000-04:00

The Arts Council of Greater New Haven will honor six outstanding individuals and organizations from the region at the annual Arts Awards Luncheon on Friday, December 1, at the New Haven Lawn Club. This year's theme, " Revolutionary Visionaries," celebrates those with insightful and revolutionary actions and ideas that enrich the greater community countless ways. This year's awardees are:

Arte Inc
Yale Peabody Museum of National History
Nick Lloyd of Firehouse 12
Ras Mo Moses
Youth Rights Media

C.Newton Schenck III Award for lifetime achievement in and contribution to the Arts:

Roslyn Milstein Meyer and Jerome Meyer

For more information or to purchase tickets for the Arts Awards Luncheon, please call (203) 772-2788.

GALLERY 195

2006-10-18T16:31:00.001-04:00

Oi Fortin

Gallery 195 is located at the New Alliance Bank, 4th floor and currently features an exhibit called Random Intention. Included are works by Oi Fortin and Liz Pagano. Through January 5. An artist's reception will take place November 9 from 5 to 7 pm.

HASKINS LABORATORIES GALLERY

2006-10-18T16:20:00.000-04:00

Structure: Works by Members of Arts and Literaruture Laboratory will take place at Haskins Laboratories Gallery, Haskins Laboratories, 300 George Street, 9th floor, through January 12, with an artists' reception on thursday, November 2, from 5 to 7 pm. Gallery hours: Wednesday- Friday, 10 to 4.

Mixed media works by Melanie Carr, Howard el-Yasin, Laurie Grace, Lee LaForte, Lisie Orjuela, Liz Pagano, Sharon Steuer, David Raylor, Richard Taylor, Colleen Tully, Jennifer van Elswyk and Linda Zucker.

SMALL SPACE GALLERY

2006-10-11T11:06:00.000-04:00

Artwork by Phil Foxx

Seniority Rule features works by area older americans. Feature artist include Ruth Blum, Phil Foxx, Jo Garguilo, Mary Grant, Brenda Harvey, Mary Lou Horan, Lee LaForte and Mary Lee Neale.

Small Space Gallery is located at 70 Audubon Street, 2nd floor. Gallery hours: Mondays through Fridays, 9 am - 5 pm.

Arts Council Announces New Executive Director

2006-10-05T15:57:00.000-04:00

Dick Grossi, Board Member and Chair of the Search Committee for the Arts Council of Greater New Haven, today announced the appointment of Cynthia Clair as Executive Director.

“The Arts Council is delighted to welcome Cynthia as the new Executive Director,” said Grossi. “After an extensive nationwide search, she clearly displayed the passion and leadership our organization needs. Her accomplished track record and unique vision assures an exciting future for the Arts Council and the community.”

“The Arts Council has a wonderful tradition of strong leadership,” said Arts Council Board President Pat Sweet, “and we look forward to carrying on that tradition with Cynthia as the new Executive Director. She brings incredible experience and presence, having previously served as the executive director of two major arts service organizations and most recently as executive director of the Silvermine Guild Arts Center. Not only is she an experienced and widely respected leader in the arts community, but she also served in the Peace Corps in West Africa in the early ‘90’s, adding unique perspective to her background. We are thrilled to welcome Cynthia to the organization and we look forward to all that she will bring to our vibrant arts community.”

Clair brings extensive experience as an arts administrator, programmer, educator and presenter to her new role at the Arts Council. For the past nine years, Clair has served as Executive Director of Silvermine Guild Arts Center in New Canaan, a nationally recognized organization. Prior to joining Silvermine, Clair served as executive director at the Huntington Arts Council in New York, executive director of the Michigan Alliance for Arts Education in Grand Rapids, program director for the Arts Council of Greater Grand Rapids, and teacher at the Arts Alternative School in Rockford, Illinois.

Cynthia Clair will assume her duties on November 1, 2006.

The Arts Council is a regional non-profit membership arts organization dedicated to enhancing, developing and promoting opportunities for artists, arts organizations and audiences throughout Connecticut and the Greater New Haven region.

DIGITAL IMAGES: WHERE TO BEGIN

2006-10-05T15:44:00.000-04:00

The Arts Council of Greater New Haven presents “Digital Images: Where to Begin” at the Media Arts Lab at ACES Educational Center for the Arts, 55 Audubon Street, New Haven. The workshop takes place on Tuesday, October 3, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. It will also be held the following afternoon, from noon to 2 pm, at the Women and Family Life Center, 96 Fair Street in Guilford. Cost is $10 for Arts Council and Shoreline Arts Alliance members and organizations, $20 for non-members. Advance registration is required by Monday, October 2. Enrollment is limited.

In this workshop, Cynthia Beth Rubin will teach participants how to prepare digital images for email, web portfolios, PowerPoint and Keynote presentations. A limited number of computers will be provided, but participants are also encouraged to bring laptops of their own.

Cynthia Beth Rubin, an established digital artist, has been combining computers and the fine arts since the early 1980s. Her work is featured in several recent books, including Art of the Digital Age, by Bruce Wands, Painting the Digital River, by James Faure Walker, The Computer in the Visual Arts, by Anne Morgan Spalter, and the Painter Wow! by Cher Threinen-Pendarvis. Her digital prints, animated imagery, and interactive installations are exhibited internationally, including at the Jewish Museum in Prague, the Novosibirsk State Art Museum in Siberia, the State Museum of Fine arts in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, the DeLeon White Gallery in Toronto, the Colville Place Gallery in London, and Ventrabren Art Contemporain, in Ventraben, France. The recipient of the first Connecticut Commission on the Arts grant in New Media, Rubin is a native of Rochester, NY and holds degrees from Antioch College (BA) and the Maryland Institute, College of Art (MFA). She teaches courses at the University of Massachusetts and at the Rhode Island School of Design.

The Arts Resource Center is a technical assistance program for artists, arts organizations, arts administrators and Arts Council members. The Center offers a variety of services, including free access to computers and scanners, a resource library, an annual series of subsidized workshops and discussions, and one-on-one technical assistance with the Arts Council program staff. ARC is generously supported by grants to the Arts Council from The Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism and the NewAlliance Foundation.

To register for this workshop, please contact Kara Arsenault at karsenault.ac@cshore.com or (203) 772-2788.

Upcoming Digital Workshops:

All workshops will be held at ACES Educational Center for the Arts, 55 Audubon Street, New Haven, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.

October 24—The Power of PowerPoint
Learn how to make promotional slide shows and presentations.

November 14—Podcast your Images and Thoughts
Showcase your art with cutting-edge technology.

December 12—The Wonders of Websites
Start and run a website to promote your work.

Artists Next Door: a new column

2006-08-29T12:10:00.000-04:00

The Arts Council of Greater New Haven is pleased to announce the start of a new monthly column, Artists Next Door, premiering this month in ARTS! Each issue, the column will profile a regional artist, selected from a variety of artistic disciplines. This special initiative is made possible with support from Citizens Bank, an Arts Council Corporate Senior Partner.

The idea for the monthly profile column stemmed from the success of the award winning book " Artists Next Door." Edited by Cheever Tyler, the book celebrates the multitude of talented artists in New Haven- and through this new column, the Arts Council and Citizens Bank hope to further showcase the richness and diversity of the regional arts community.

The Arts Council welcomes suggestions of artists from any discipline, to be considered for a monthly profile. To submit a name for consideration, pleasebriefly describe the artist and his oher work and explain why the individual should be celebrated in ARTS! All submissions can be sent to Karsenault.ac@cshore.com.

Revealed/Concealed: Contemporary Mask Makers

2006-08-29T11:48:00.000-04:00

An exhibit showcasing a variety of masks that reflect contemporary culture and values while paying tribute to tradition. Participating artists include: Bianca kaye Anderson, Suzanne Benton, Brad conant, Bob Gregson, Enoc Lion LaViera, Pedro J. LaViera, and Pacer.

The picture above is of Enoc Laviera next to one of his masks. Enoc is also featured in the september issue of the ARTS! publication.

This exhibit will take place at 70 Audubon street, 2nd floor from september 15 to October 31.

Arts Council bids farewell to Betty Monz

2006-08-29T10:06:00.000-04:00

Elizabeth Monz stepped down as the executive director of the Arts Council of Greater New Haven at the end of July. In an effort to both spend more time with family and to persue additional professional interests, Monz will begin work as a major gift officer for Choate Rosemary Hall effective September 7, 2006. Development and marketing director Barbara Feldman, who will not be a candidate for the position, will serve as acting director until the search committee fills the position in the fall.

" It has been such a pleasure to lead this organization for the past four years," Monz said. " I am honored to have had the support, input and most importantly the friendship of our staff, the dedicated board and members of this wonderful arts community."

Betty Monz joined the Arts Council of Greater New Haven in the fall of 2000 as the head of the Regional Cultural Plan. In this position, she led New haven's revitalization through the arts and incorporated the goals of the Regional Cultural Plan into the Arts Council's strategy. In September of 2002, Monz replaced current Alderwomen Frances T. "Bitsie" Clark as the Arts Council's executive director.

" The Arts Council is extremely grateful to Betty Monz for her years of dedicated leadership," said Arts Council Board President Pat Sweet. " During her tenure, Betty has applied extraodinary vision and talent to this organization and has truly embodied the Arts Council mission fo expanding the arts and enriching the region.

"We are extremely fortunate to have had two amazing executive directors, and we look forward to finding the next person to carry on the tradition."

Photo credit : Harold Shapiro

A New Song For New Haven

2006-08-14T12:15:00.000-04:00

On July 27th, Leadership Greater New Haven, Image New Haven Team and Market New Haven launched "New Day In New Haven", original song and video at Firehouse 12. The project was created by eight recent graduates of the Leadership Center, a program of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce. The mission is to celebrate the spirit and energy of the city as well as the culture, arts and the history New Haven has to offer. The Image New Haven Team consists of Todd Nicotra of Olympia Properties, Stephanie Barnes of Youth at Work, Jose Monteiro of the Arts Council, Sherese Ward of Bank of America, Roye Anastasio-Bourke of Casey Family Services, Carol Bajoros of the Regional Water Authority, and Bernadette Hollodak of the Yale New Haven Hospital. For more information on the Leadership program please visit http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2006/06/post_231.php. You can view the video and hear the New Day In New Haven song at www.infonewhaven.com/newday.

ARTISTS' HOUSING SYMPOSIUM: The Arts Council Needs YOUR Help!

2006-08-02T11:57:00.000-04:00

On March 5, 2007, the Arts Council will be holding a symposium on affordable artists' housing in the Greater New Haven Region. We will be inviting a dynamic variety of speakers from both the art and real estate development industries. Our hope is that both area artists and local developers will attend and engage in constructive dialogue to begin tackling this important issue.

In anticipation of the symposium, we're trying to gather as much information as possible about the current housing status and needs of area artists. We have compiled an online survey and ask that all area artists (visual, performing, and multimedia) give us five to seven minutes of your time to tell us a bit about where you live and work, how you pay for the spaces, and what amenities you'd like them to have.

You can access the survey by visiting http://www.artscouncilgnh.org/survey

Your answers will be of great use to us as we go about planning the event and making progress in developing new affordable spaces. If you have any questions or would like more information, feel free to contact us at (203) 772-2788.

JULY ARTSPOT! AT THE NEW HAVEN FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY A HIT

2006-07-19T14:03:00.000-04:00

On Thursday, July 13, more than one hundred New Haven professionals and arts supporters joined the Arts Council of Greater New Haven for ArtSpot!,our monthly happy hour "with an arts twist." Graciously hosted by the New Haven Free Public Library, our patrons enjoyed an abundance of food from such New Haven eateries as Claire's Corner Copia, Royal Palace, The Playwright, Cafe George by Paula, TK's, and Hot Tomato's. Music was provided by New Haven artist and deejay Dooley-O who spun a great set all night long. We hope you'll join the fun next month on Thursday, August 24th at Edgerton Park for a special evening with the Elm Shakespeare Company and their production of "Robin Hood."

ARTS COUNCIL WELCOMES YALE PRESIDENTIAL FELLOW AND SMITH INTERN

2006-06-20T15:22:00.000-04:00

The Arts Council is excited to welcome its latest Presidential Public Service Fellow from Yale University, Scott Chaloff. Scott, a rising Yale junior, will be working at the Arts Council through August as an intern. A History and Theater Studies double major, Scott is greatly excited to work with the New Haven arts community. He is holding summer self-marketing drop-in hours for local artists whose marketing materials need some refurbishing on Tuesdays and Fridays. Call the Arts Council at (203)772-2788 to schedule an appointment.

Also joining the Arts Council staff part-time this summer is Elizabeth Wallach, a rising junior at Smith College. Liz is an Architecture and Art History major and is looking forward to being a part of the New Haven arts scene. A native of Madison, Connecticut, she'll be heading out to Scotland for all of the 2006-2007 school year.

LEGAL MATTERS

2006-06-19T16:23:00.000-04:00

On June 14th, the Arts Council was happy to host another in our series of Artists Resource Center workshops, this one focused on Legal Affairs. Attorneys Joan Channick (just recently named managing director of the Long Wharf Theater in New Haven) and Marguerite Laurent led a large crowd in an informative discussion about the legal issues of which all artists ought to be aware. The workshop provided an excellent opportunity for members of the New Haven arts community to hear from and interact with two widely-respected industry professionals.

JUNE ARTSPOT! AT THE PEABODY A BIG SUCCESS!

2006-06-19T16:10:00.000-04:00

June's ArtSpot was located at the Peabody Museum of Natural History on June 8th. Under the mammoth dinosaur skeletons, young professionals and artists gathered to eat, drink and explore the wonders of Machu Picchu! Food was provided by Anna's, Sidebar, Funki Munki, Brian Averna Catering, and Nica's. Music came courtesy of Brass, a Yale student band. More than a hundred people enjoyed our night at the museum; we hope to see you next month at the New Haven Free Public Library on July 13!

Photos by Judy Sirota Rosenthal

"UNCOMMON SPACE" AT HASKINS LABORATORIES GALLERY

2006-06-19T16:06:00.000-04:00

Be sure to check out our latest exhibition at the Haskins Laboratories Gallery, Uncommon Space: Eight Photographers. Curated by Matthew Garrett, the show features Connecticut artists including Penny Cook, Rod Cook, Terry Dagradi, Derek Dudek, Bob Gianotti, David Gillich Jr., Tia Martinson and Kyle Moran. The shows only runs through June 30th, so make sure you make your way over to the gallery on the ninth floor of the building at 300 George Street. The gallery is open Wednesday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The photo to the left is Kyle Moran's "Batting Cages."

CUBICLES FOR ART: "L"

2006-06-19T15:55:00.000-04:00

The Arts Council is particularly excited to announce the next featured artist in our "Cubicles for Art" program. From June 10th through July 21st, Cubicles for Art will showcase the work of "L." A victim of crime, L tells her remarkable story of survival in a series of expressive, abstract paintings. The works, filled with strong colors and thick brushstrokes, are sure to resonate with and perhaps inspire all viewers.

The exhibit, L's first public showcase, takes place at the Arts Council's 70 Audubon Street offices and Rumberos on 216 State Street. An artist's reception for "Survival" will be held at Rumberos on Wednesday, June 28th, from 5 to 8 p.m. L will speak at 6 p.m.

NEW EXHIBIT AT GALLERY 195

2006-06-19T15:52:00.000-04:00

Be sure to head over to the Arts Council's Gallery 195 to catch our latest exhibition. Featuring paintings by Amanda Durant and photographs by Harold Shapiro, the show is a welcome addition to the city's summer visual arts offerings. Gallery 195 is on the fourth floor of the NewAlliance Bank and is maintained by the Arts Council of Greater New Haven. To the right is "Underpass 2" by Amanda Durant.

POSTCARD INTERNATIONAL

2006-06-19T15:41:00.000-04:00

Submissions for the Small Space Gallery's latest exhibition "Postcard International" lived up to the show's title, coming from five continents. In addition to showcasing a number of Connecticut-based artists, the exhibit features the work of amateur and professional artists from across the U.S. and countries such as France, Brazil, India and Australia. The exhibit will be displayed through July 21st. Curated by professional artist and Arts Council director of artistic services and programs Debbie Hesse, the exhibit can be viewed Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Small Space Gallery on the second floor of 70 Audubon Street, New Haven.