Arts Wire CURRENT is a project of the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) -- http://www.nyfa.org
Arts Wire CURRENT features news updates on social, economic,
philosophical, and political issues affecting the arts and culture. Your
contributions are invited.
Contact Judy Malloy, editor.
To encourage the exchange of arts information and perspectives, Arts Wire CURRENT contents are not copyrighted unless specifically stated. We ask that you cite Arts Wire CURRENT as well as Arts Wire's url (http://www.artswire.org) when reprinting material. In addition, Arts Wire is very interested in documenting the use of material from Arts Wire CURRENT in other newsletters, publications and on online networks. Please send a copy to: Judy Malloy.
Ivey asked for support of the President's requested funding level of $105.219 million for the Arts Endowment, which represents a small increase of approximately $450,000 over the final, post-rescission FY01 appropriation.
According to the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, (NASAA) the subcommittee members welcomed Ivey and complimented him on doing a "good job". New Chairman Joe Skeen (R-NM) noted that the focus of the subcommittee's attention would be on the management of the funds which the NEA receives to support arts programs, and not on "the political issues," which he said have now been put behind them.
Ferris asked for the Administration request of an appropriation totaling $120.504 million for NEH for FY02. (a small increase of .2 million over the FY01 amount) The committee showed strong bipartisan support of our work, he reported in the NEH OUTLOOK, adding that he believes the 2002 budget process is off to a good start.
"I want to pause for a moment to call your attention to the agency's thirty-five years of service to the American people," Ferris told the Committee. "We recently published REDISCOVERING AMERICA: THIRTY-FIVE YEARS OF THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES which highlights the many NEH-supported books, museum exhibitions, seminars for teachers, and documentary films that have provided our nation's citizens with significant new opportunities to deepen their understanding of the humanities. I would like to give this copy to the committee and ask that it be inserted in the hearing record."
He described NEH programs such as the agency's creation of ten regional humanities centers to explore America's distinctive regional cultures and the agency's new online encyclopedia initiative which will make the history and culture of every state, territory, and the District of Columbia available on the Internet.
"In closing, he said: "I would like to quote from Stephen Ambrose's introduction to our Rediscovering America: 'For myself, I can't imagine living in America without NEH. The proper study of mankind is man. The National Endowment for the Humanities makes that study possible.'"
NEA Chair Bill Ivey thanked the members of the subcommittee for their role in the FY01 budget increase of $7 million -- the agency's first budget increase in nine years.
Reviewing the history of government arts support, he pointed out that 30 years ago the non-commercial arts world was very small and did not, for instance, encompass the thriving regional, community symphony orchestras and regional theaters which it does today.
"Three decades ago, the Endowment appeared upon the arts stage playing a small, but crucial role. Today, that role has even greater cultural implications," Ivey observed, and he detailed the increased importance of NEA seed money in enabling fledgling arts organizations to leverage other private and public donations. For example, Federal dollars seeded the National Dance Project, which together with other public and private sponsors, help dance companies tour shows to hundreds of small and medium size towns.
"Our vision for the arts in America has expanded, too," Ivey said. "We envision a nation in which every child in every school is taught music, painting, sculpture, dance and theater. We envision a nation in which every American -- from the smallest towns to the most remote rural areas, to the innermost communities of our largest cities -- has access to a broad, diverse array of cultural opportunities. We envision a nation that so values its cultural heritage that it invests in efforts to rescue endangered film archives, restore public monuments and statues, and refurbish historic homes."
Centrally, he emphasized the importance of the new Challenge America project in supporting arts education; in increasing access to the arts for all Americans; in preserving our living cultural heritage; in providing services to young people; and in strengthening cultural partnerships.
From apprenticeships administered by state arts agencies, which the NEA initiated to protect and preserve folk and traditional arts, to the new Resources for Change program, which supports the use of technology both in arts organizations and in the creative process itself, NEA grants continue to be a critical part of the overall nonprofit funding matrix, Ivey told the subcommittee.
Importance of Arts Education Affirmed
In response to committee interest in arts education, both chairmen affirmed the importance of arts education in their programs.
NEA Chairman Ivey pointed to studies, including the groundbreaking GE Fund/MacArthur Foundation report CHAMPIONS OF CHANGE, which have compellingly demonstrated the impact of the arts on the way children learn. This research evidence is being borne out in several of the Arts Endowment's pilot programs, he told the committee.
"Mr. Chairman, arts education is one of the agency's highest priorities," Ivey emphasized. "In fiscal 2001, through its grants to arts organizations and state partnerships, we will spend $8 million directly on arts education initiatives. In addition, the agency is allocating $2 million in Challenge America: Creative Links funding for arts enrichment of young people. Finally, through our grants to orchestras, theaters, dance companies and other arts organizations, at least $5 million is spent on grants that benefit and enrich the lives of America's children and youth through the arts."
The NEH FY02 budget statement for the appropriations process solidly underscores the agency's role in strengthening teaching and learning in the humanities in the nation's schools and colleges. Additionally, the NEH has been in the forefront of efforts to promote the use of digital technology in humanities education, public programming, preservation, and research. For example, the NEH web portal, EDSITEment, is providing teachers, students, and parents with access to over one hundred comprehensive Internet-based humanities resources.
"Our Schools for the New Millennium programs are integrating new electronic humanities materials into the classrooms," Ferris told the subcommittee. "As Chairman Skeen knows, one of the grants we made through this program was to the Pueblo of Laguna Middle School in Laguna, New Mexico. This grant supports the study of Laguna culture, language, and history, as well as comparative world mythology."
"...the client base of the NEA has expanded significantly and our current resources are spread thin" -- Bill Ivey, NEA
Ivey also pointed out that as the Arts Endowment has continued to accelerate its efforts, the expectation and need for funding is increasingly difficult to fulfill.
Despite the increase in funds provided for Challenge America, only 21 percent of funding requests were met in 2000, down from 44 percent in 1997. In December 2000, the agency issued Challenge America guidelines and application materials, and since then, more than 500 applications have been received for the first of two rounds of grant funding.
"To help mitigate this problem of supply and demand, beginning last year, the Endowment took the unprecedented step of placing advisory language in its Grants to Organizations guidelines urging 'all applicants to consider the level of recent awards and to request a reasonable grant amount,'" Ivey noted in his statement, adding that guideline language also tells applicants that in the past few years, well over half of the agency's grants have been for amounts less than $25,000.
"Mr. Chairman, while we remain grateful for the support expressed in this year's budget request, the client base of the NEA has expanded significantly and our current resources are spread thin," Ivey's statement emphasized.
"We are stretching every penny you give us to the limit," NEH Chair Ferris told the subcommittee, according to the WASHINGTON POST.
Both agencies presented strong cases for the value of federal funding in leveraging private support.
"The Endowment also has had a remarkable track record in leveraging private support for the humanities across the country," Ferris stated in the NEH budget request. "The agency directly encourages private giving to the humanities through its authority to match donations with federal funds. Indeed, since NEH's inception, more than $1.28 billion has been generated by our Challenge Grant program, which requires $3 or $4 in gifts for every NEH dollar awarded to a humanities institution. Another $360 million has been raised in one-to-one matches for specific humanities projects supported by our other grant programs."
Ivey remarked that occasionally, some have suggested that the NEA's appropriations should be replaced by funds raised from the private sector. "However,' he said, "I strongly believe in maintaining a federal commitment in the arts. Only the federal government can provide the kind of leadership that enables private industry to support projects that protect our cultural heritage and make that heritage accessible to the American public. Songs of the Century [a joint NEA/Recording Industry of America Arts Education initiative] is a model public-private partnership that would not have come to fruition without the NEA."
According to NASAA, the committee was receptive to the NEA and NEH presentations but did not promise additional support.
"I suppose we should be pleased the president has requested level funding. But I want you up to the $150 million level," the Post quotes Rep. Norman Dicks, (D-Wash.) the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee, as saying.
Sources/resources:
"Statement of Bill Ivey, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, Before the Subcommittee on Interior, U.S. House of Representatives, April 4, 2001" NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS WEBSITE -- http://www.arts.gov/endownews/news01/Testimony4-4.html
NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES WEBSITE -- http://www.neh.gov
THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF STATE ARTS AGENCIES, (NASAA) -- http://www.nasaa-arts.org
Jacqueline Trescott
"New Focus on Arts Endowments"
THE WASHINGTON POST --
http:-
//www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41001-2001Apr4.html
April 5, 2001
"President's Budget Blueprint Proposes Flat Funding for NEA"
Arts Wire CURRENT
http://www.artswire.org/current/2001/cur030601.html
March 6, 2001
In 1999, the City withheld funding from the Brooklyn Museum of Art (BMA) after Mayor Giuliani vehemently objected to a mixed media Madonna by black artist Chris Ofili which was included in the exhibition SENSATIONS. However, a U.S. District court ordered the City to restore all funding withheld -- noting that The museum "has established irreparable harm and a likelihood of success on its First Amendment claim."
This February, in reaction to YO MAMA'S LAST SUPPER, a photograph by Renee Cox in the exhibition COMMITTED TO THE IMAGE: CONTEMPORARY BLACK PHOTOGRAPHERS at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Giuliani declared that he would appoint a commission to set "decency standards" to keep such work out of art institutions which receive public money.
"The Mayor's argument that taxpayer money should not support 'offensive art' rests on a belief that, by funding art museums, the City converts the artists and curators into government spokespersons who can be told what artistic expression they may and may not convey," interim Executive Director of the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) Donna Lieberman pointed out in response. "But, this conception fails to recognize that there are a variety of publicly-funded institutions that are specifically devoted to discourse and expression where it is well recognized that the ideas conveyed within those institutions are not those of the government, even if a state or municipality pays the bills."
Public universities are a classic example of such institutions and libraries and art museums are similar, in this respect, she explained.
"Even acting as an advisory group, the committee could potentially have a chilling effect on the arts in New York City," emphasized a group of organizations including the National Coalition Against Censorship; the New York Foundation for the Arts; the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression; PEN American Center; the National Association of Artists Organizations; the College Art Association; and Theatre Communications Group.
"A museum might have to look at new work through Giuliani eyes and weigh its chances in court before making a decision," the coalition wrote in a joint statement which is available on the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) website. "City funding is awarded to practically all arts institutions in New York."
"The relative homogeneity of the mayor's hand-picked cultural affairs advisory commission raises questions about how far he is willing to go to gather viewpoints that may differ from his own." - Joint Statement of Free Expression and Arts Organizations Opposing Mayor Giuliani's "Decency" Subcommittee
The City Charter provides that the Mayor may appoint 15 to 21 Commission members to serve without compensation for three year terms. The Charter authorizes the Commission to formulate and recommend goals with regard to cultural affairs and policy, foster coordination among government agencies and cultural institutions, as well as perform such other related functions and duties which may be deemed appropriate by the Mayor.
The Mayor states that "The dispute with regard to recent exhibits at the Brooklyn Museum is not about whether someone has a Constitutional right to defame or attack religion, ethnicity, or race. People have a right to do that in America, whether we like it or not. The question is whether taxpayers should be required to subsidize artistic expression that undermines or assaults their deeply held personal and religious beliefs."
The Mayor's appointments to the Commission, which is comprised of artists, arts supporters, and business, civic and community leaders, are:
The Commission also includes as ex officio members a Deputy Mayor, the Commissioner of Cultural Affairs and the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation. Giuliani announced that Daniel S. Connolly, Special Counsel at the New York City Law Department, will serve as Executive Director of the Commission.
According to THE NEW YORK TIMES, Raoul L. Felder was the mayor's own divorce lawyer. The Times also reports that the three artists on the committee are Constance Del Vecchio Maltese, an illustrator and portrait painter who is married to State Senator Serphin R. Maltese, chairman of the Queens County Republican Committee and a founder of the state Conservative Party; Diana Kan, a Chinese-American painter; and John Howard Sanden, a painter who specializes in portraits of chief executives of major companies. Former Village Voice publisher, Bartle Bull is also a writer. Artist Peter Max apparently declined the Mayor's invitation to serve on his panel.
"The relative homogeneity of the Mayor's hand-picked cultural affairs advisory commission raises questions about how far he is willing to go to gather viewpoints that may differ from his own. But no committee can ever fully represent the rich diversity of opinions, ideas, and beliefs that exist in this city and in contemporary art and one that came close would never be able to agree on a universal set of standards," the coalition of Free Expression and Arts Organizations which oppose the committee states.
"His proposal, with his follow-up appointments, are "simply 'indecent,'" observed New York City artist and independent Producer, Dara Birnbaum.
"Given that funding is a powerful factor in determining who gets to speak and who doesn't, refusing funding to a particular type of expression based on its 'offensive' content is censorship," the Coalition emphasizes. "The choice is not between art that is inoffensive and art that is controversial, but between freedom and government control."
"...The wild wonderful sometimes scary parade that is this city's true heart" -- Mark Russell, P.S. 122
New York-based interdisciplinary artist Coco Fusco -- who, with Brian Wallis, is currently curating an exhibition on racial taxonomy in American photography which will open at the International Center for Photography in NYC in 2002 -- expressed concern that if arts institutions receiving public funds have to undergo more self censorship, "it will eventually mean that most contemporary art practice will have to take place underground, outside those institutions, or in other countries."
Fusco is optimistic that art will continue to thrive despite the intimidating climate which the Mayor's commission has created. She hopes that not only will most people will think Giuliani is going overboard but also that art making will continue, as it always has, "to thrive in the underground and on the margins."
Zach Feuer, one of the founders of the LFL Gallery in the Chelsea neighborhood of NYC, is also optimistic. I'm sure the Commission will be ignored, he told Arts Wire. "Giuliani will be out of office soon, and the panel will hopefully just fade away."
But, if the Mayor has his way, art exhibited in museums could be boring to both audiences and arts administrators "who will have to deal with an endless stream of visual muzak," Coco Fusco cautioned.
"The mood in the city is one of waiting until this curmudgeon is out of office and we can try to get the real New York back again," commented Mark Russell, Executive Director of Performance Space 122. "Something that does not look like a mall, that values a diversity of views, that celebrates the wild wonderful sometimes scary parade that is this city's true heart."
In the next three months, P.S. 122 is hosting performances by John Fleck and Karen Finley as well as John Kelly and a hip hop theatre festival.
"It's time to stop using artists and the arts as political pawns in the larger games of personal ambition and posturing, demagoguery, and victimization - with total disregard for the basic principles of the constitution." - Ted Berger, NYFA
On April 5, representatives of free speech and arts organizations, artists, lawyers and civic leaders -- including Peter Vallone, New York City Council Speaker; Adolph Green, lyricist; artists Chuck Close, Renee Cox, and Hans Haacke; Ted Berger, Director, New York Foundation for the Arts; Ann Pasternak, Director, Creative Time; Alisa Solomon, Executive Director, Center for Gay & Lesbian Studies at CUNY; and Ron Feldman, President, Ron Feldman Fine Arts Inc. -- spoke at a press conference to announce their opposition to Mayor Giuliani's decency committee and their plans to monitor its activities. The conference was moderated by NYCLU interim Executive Director Donna Lieberman.
"The NYCLU opposes the 'decency panel'. We will insist that it conduct its affairs in public and will monitor it very closely. The NYCLU calls upon the art community to organize in opposition," said Lieberman.
Ted Berger, Executive Director of the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) emphasized that "The implied threat to take money away from any institution based on decency standards is a threat not only to museums or to the entire arts community; it weakens the foundation of the basic freedoms and separation of powers that are fundamental to a civil society and every citizen's basic rights."
In 1996, NYFA gave an artists fellowship to Renee Cox, the photographer to whose work the Mayor objected in February.
"I'm proud to say Renee Cox was one of our Fellowship recipients in photography. So it is in the context of this fact that I'm here today in solidarity with my colleagues, standing for the fundamental rights -- not just of artists and the cultural community -- but for each and all citizens," Berger said. "It's time to stop using artists and the arts as political pawns in the larger games of personal ambition and posturing, demagoguery, and victimization -- with total disregard for the basic principles of the Constitution."
NYCLU Legal Director Arthur Eisenberg noted that "The Mayor's defense that the Commission is merely advisory is similarly unpersuasive. If the Commission's recommendations are simply precatory, the Commission represents an utter waste of time. On the other hand, if the Commission recommends and the Mayor withholds funds on the basis of the views expressed in particular artistic presentations, such action would violate clearly established the First Amendment doctrine."
The NYCLU is calling upon the arts community to develop a set of principles of artistic and curatorial freedom modeled after the principles developed by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) in response to efforts to curtail artistic expression at academic institutions. The NYCLU urges that these academic freedom principles -- designed, in part, to protect academic judgments about what art to display from the control of funding authorities -- be applied to current situations which threaten freedom of expression in the arts.
"The Mayor's proposed 'decency panel' reflects a basic misunderstanding of the nature and purpose of government funding for art institutions; a disregard for the virtues of diversity and pluralism in connection with expression, in general, and artistic expression, in particular; and a fundamental misreading of Supreme Court case law respecting the First Amendment prohibition against viewpoint-based restrictions by government," said Donna Lieberman.
For recommended actions, contact Svetlana Mintcheva, NCAC Arts
Advocacy Coordinator at Email:
svetlana@ncac.org
tel 212-807-6222 x 23
Sources/resources:
"Mayor Giuliani Announces Appointments to Cultural Affairs
Advisory Commission"
NEW YORK CITY MAYOR'S OFFICE WEB SITE --
http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/om/html/2001a/pr105-01.html
Mayor Rudy Giuliani
"The Rights and Responsibilities of Public-Funded Cultural
Institutions"
http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/om/html/2001a/weekly/wkly0409.html
NATIONAL COALITION AGAINST CENSORSHIP (NCAC) -- http://www.ncac.org
"Free Speech Advocates Announce Opposition to Mayor Giuliani's
Censorship Committee"
NYCLU WEB SITE --
http://www.nyclu.org
Elisabeth Bumiller
"Giuliani Names His Panel to Monitor Art at Museums"
THE NEW YORK TIMES --
http://www.nytimes.com
April 4, 2001
"Giuliani Calls Renee Cox Photo 'Disgusting','Anti-Catholic';
Announces Plans for a NYC 'Decency' Commission"
Arts Wire CURRENT --
http://www.artswire.org/current/2001/cur022001.html
February 20, 2001
Arts Wire CURRENT Coverage of the 1999 Giuliani v BMA conflict is indexed under "Freedom of Expression" in the 1999 YEAR IN REVIEW issue, available on the index page at http://www.artswire.org/current/archive2.html
COCO FUSCO --
http://www.artswire.org/cocofusco/intro.html
Fusco's new book THE BODIES THAT WERE NOT OURS WRITINGS ON THE
SITUATION OF POSTCOLONIAL CULTURE, will be published by
Routledge/inIVA later this year.
LFL GALLERY --
http://www.lflgallery.com
The gallery, which features conceptually based work by emerging
and mid career artists, is currently showing Jocelyn Lee'htm"
TARGET="_top">
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/28635.htm
April 16, 2001
The work, currently on view in the exhibition CYBER ARTE: WHERE TRADITION MEETS TECHNOLOGY, is described in an article on the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) website in this way:
"While familiar Guadalupe imagery is present-the rays of light, the cloak, the roses, the crescent moon, the angel-the virgin herself is represented by a photograph of a friend of the artist, hands on her hips and head raised, her robe open and revealing rose-laden undergarments. The angel below is represented by a topless woman, arms outstretched and butterfly wings extending from her shoulders and breasts."
The SANTA FE NEW MEXICAN reports that a group of parishioners from our Lady of Guadalupe Church and other Roman Catholic parishes in Santa Fe and Albuquerque formally protested the decision to include the piece in the exhibition. The group is demanding that the photograph be removed and that Folk Art museum Director Joyce Ice and Museum of New Mexico Director Tom Wilson resign. The group is also asking for a public apology.
"I have not done anything wrong in my portrayal of 'Our Lady' and as a Latina/Chicana, raised in Los Angeles born in Mexico and baptized Catholic, I have a right to relate to her in my own way," Alma Lopez writes on MAKING FACE, MAKING SOUL... A CHICANA FEMINIST HOMEPAGE. "After all, doesn't she belong to everyone? Isn't everyone's relationship with their creator/god/virgen, a personal relationship?"
So far, according to NCAC, museum officials have said they have no intention of pulling the Our Lady from the exhibition.
"For those that are opposed to the painting, I respect their views on it. They don't have to go see it, NCAC quotes Governor Gary Johnson as saying. "For those that are standing up and vociferously voicing their opinion that ... this is free speech, (that's) their right also. If you take it down, then where do you draw the line on the next piece of art?"
The exhibition Cyber Arte: Where Tradition Meets Technology features computer-inspired work by contemporary Hispana/Chicana/Latina artists, who combine elements traditionally defined as "folk" with current computer technology to "create a new aesthetic". It is at the Museum of International Folk Art through October 28 and also includes work by Elena Baca, Marion Martinez, and Teresa Archuleta Sagel.
Sources/resources:
NATIONAL COALITION AGAINST CENSORSHIP (NCAC) -- http://www.ncac.org
MAKING FACE, MAKING SOUL... CHICANA FEMINIST HOMEPAGE --
http://www.chicanas.com
The site includes a photograph of Our Lady, documentation of the
case, and recommended actions
Anne Constable
"Catholics protest Our Lady's depiction"
SANTA FE NEW MEXICAN --
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?brd=2144
March 24, 2001
From an Open House at Art/Dance Academy, Oceanside, CA; to New York's Mohawk Valley, where Watson Williams Magnet School will host UTICA'S LONGEST TAP LINE for the fifth year in a row, and students from Watson Williams will also be featured in the Leatherstocking Ballet's production of CINDERELLA; to Wheeling, West Virginia where Oglebay Institute will offer free standard classes; NATIONAL DANCE WEEK (NDW) is celebrated in 42 states this year from April 20-29, 2001.
The event builds new audiences for dance -- introducing communities across the nation to dance in its myriad forms, while at the same time promoting the work of companies, dancers, and choreographers.
The week kicks off at 12 noon on April 20 in the gardens of San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts -- with a public parade featuring hundreds of Bay Area dancers and musicians, along with giant puppets and stilt walkers. Under the theme of Xtreme Dance, San Francisco will celebrate NDW with more than 300 planned performances by over 125 dance companies, including San Francisco Ballet; Joe Goode Performance Group; Alonzo King's Lines Ballet; and Liss Fain Dance.
Concurrently at Yerba Buena Center, ODC/San Francisco celebrates its 30th anniversary season, DANCING DOWNTOWN 2001, with five world premieres by ODC's choreographers and six repertory favorites. Season music includes Mozart; Mark O'Connor/Yo-Yo Ma/Edgar Meyer; Zap Mama; legendary blues artist Dr. John; Duke Ellington; Philip Glass; and live performances by the Cypress String Quartet playing a new work by composer Jay Cloidt.
This year Open Dance Studios are central to the 10-day celebration in Northern California. Using the visual arts "Open Studios" model, participating Dance Studios throughout the Bay Area will encourage visitors to observe and take dance classes -- including ballet, modern, jazz, hip-hop, swing, folklorico, bellydance, yoga, pilates, butoh, flamenco and more.
In Pennsylvania, National Dance Week begins in Harrisburg with a kickline at the Capitol, master classes at the Harrisburg Hilton, and performances at Strawberry Square. In York, PA, students of Greater York Center for Dance Education will perform at the Jewish Community Center on April 29 at 6 PM in a DESERT DANCE THEATRE where guests will receive desert and a show for $12.
In Dearborn, Michigan on Saturday, April 28, Dearborn Dance Festival begins with dance workshops for all levels. Professional dance/choreographer/instructors from Michigan include Juliana Pirpinelli, Troy Greenfield, Alison Roller and Diane Mancinelli. In the afternoon, a performance will showcase the dancers participating in the workshop. Colleges with dance programs, and Dance Companies have been invited to perform. Sponsored by Sickle's Dance Company, the Festival also includes a display area where dance studios will offer information on their programs. The event is supported by the City of Detroit Cultural Affairs Department; Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs; and Edsel Ford High School.
In Northeastern Colorado, the Denver metro/Boulder school will simultaneously perform YOU CAN DANCE, a dance routine which is part of NDW Regional Director Gwen Bowen's project to incorporate NDW into academic lesson plans. Bowen is also collaborating with Colorado-based composer, Michael Stanwood who is composing a work for the Colorado NDW 2001 campaign and events.
Her project is a part of the NDW Academic Project which encourages teachers of any and all academic subjects to incorporate dance and projects for National Dance Week within their syllabi. The Academic Project aspires both to enrich the curriculum and to raise student and public awareness about dance as an art form.
Sample class-room tested lesson plans -- in which subjects as diverse as mathematics, grammar, science, or literature utilize differing aspects of Dance -- are available. They are adaptable to any grade level and are open to refinement by individual instructors.
This year, the National Dance Week campaign also includes a Mentoring Program which enables aspirants to careers in the dance arts and associated fields to network with working professionals. "Whether the interest is that of a professional dancer or dance therapist, dance journalist or costumer, there are working professionals who are willing to provide guidance, advice and counseling to those who would like to either investigate the field or enter it," says the program, which works to establish mentoring connections for applying mentees in all aspects of dance -- including Dancer; Choreographer; Producer; Director; Educator; Agent; Sound Technician; Trainer; Recreation Director; Dance Photographer; Dance Historian; Lighting Technician; and Stage Design.
On April 29, Dance Week will conclude in Northern California with the annual PLANETARY DANCE led by octogenarian choreographer Anna Halprin and her Planetary Dance Community. Performed on six continents simultaneously and open free to one and all, the dance begins at 11 AM at Santos Meadows on Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County.
"The importance of National Dance Week to both dancers and nondancers alike is to raise the awareness of dance and the arts and their great value to our society, Lori Garling, NDW Pennsylvania State Manager told Arts Wire. "The arts can truly take you away from everyday troubles -- to a place of peace, inspiration and great reward! This is a joy that should be shared with everyone. Certainly those who already love dance will be enthused about dance, but we also want to reach those who haven't yet found the excitement that we who are celebrating feel!"
Sources/resources:
The NATIONAL DANCE WEEK WEBSITE -- http://www.nationaldanceweek.org -- features a calendar of NDW events across the country and contact information for each event Information about the NDW ACADEMIC AND MENTORING PROJECTS are available from NDW Executive Director, Patricia Goulding, at PGould1724@aol.com
DANCE MAGAZINE features coverage of NDW on its website at
http://www.dancemagazine.com/
The Current issue also includes "Dancing with Dollars in the
Millennium", a supplement by John Munger, director of research and
information for Dance/USA, which evaluates how dance fared in the 1990's
VOICE OF THE DANCE -- http://www.voiceofdance.com -- features coverage of the Bay Area celebration at http://www.voiceofdance.com/ndw
YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR THE ARTS -- http://www.yerbabuenaarts.org/
AMERICAN DANCE FESTIVAL 2001 SEASON: LANDMARKS & LANDSCAPERS
LANDMARKS & LANDSCAPERS, the second of The American Dance Festival's (ADF) two-year celebration in honor of modern dance's ground-breaking choreographers will feature 11 newly commissioned works, including Meredith Monk's THE HOUSE, a collaboration with sculptor/installation artist Ann Hamilton and a new work by Jamaican born Garth Fagan, Tony award-winning choreographer of Broadway's THE LION KING.
At the heart of the festival, the Six Week School (June 7-July 20) enrolls approximately 350 full-time students age 16 and up from around the world who have sufficient dance training and maturity. With ADF Dean Donna Faye Burchfield, Dean Emeritus Martha Myers, 48 faculty and more than 65 classes per day, the school offers a comprehensive program of courses in all forms of dance technique, as well as classes in composition, repertory and body therapy. In addition, master classes, special activities, and performances by major dance companies provide opportunities for students to expand their experiences.
In its 68th season, the ADF will host 68 performances by John Jasperse Company; Pilobolus Dance Theatre; Ron Brown/EVIDENCE; Merce Cunningham Dance Company; Paul Taylor Dance Company; and many others; as well as a Tribute to Pearl Lang. Events include:
June 14-16, 8 PM
RENNIE HARRIS PUREMOVEMENT
Page Auditorium
"Rennie Harris "...bridges the usually disparate worlds of street and
theater, self-empowerment and artistic inspiration. He's an exceptional
artist." -- The San Diego Union Tribune
ROME & JEWELS, Harris' hip-hop opera fuses the tragic love of
Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet with the aesthetic of contemporary hip-hop
dance, music, the voice of the DJ and the spoken word of the
MC/rapper.
Presented with support from The Herald Sun.
July 1-3, 8 PM
Reynolds Industries Theater
SHEN WEI DANCE ARTS
Shen Wei will return to the ADF stage with NEAR THE TERRACE plus a world
premiere commissioned by the ADF with support from the Doris Duke Awards
for New Work and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
July 10-11, 8 PM
EMERGING GENERATION
Reynolds Industries Theater
"On the edge of modern dance, three up and coming dance companies will
explode onto the ADF stage in a shared performance." The program will
include ADF-commissioned world premieres by ChameckiLerner and Mark
Jarecke Dance as well as Pam Tanowitz's Open 24 Hours Dance Company.
The Emerging Generation Project is supported by The Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation.
Under the auspices of the International Choreographers Commissioning Program, Sabine Dahrendorf of Spain; Tatiana Baganova of Russia; and Sukarji Sriman of Indonesia (with support from the Asian Cultural Council) will be in residence during the Festival to create and three new works.
Other events include:
The ADF was established in 1934 in Bennington, VT with Martha Graham, Hanya Holm, Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman as founding artists led by Martha Hill. Currently under the direction of Charles and Stephanie Reinhart, The ADF, the site of more than 500 premieres, continues to play a vital role in nurturing young talent. For more information, visit http://www.americandancefestival.org
Reflecting new initiatives, documenting the groundbreaking of its past and future theater at 219 West 19th Street in New York City, DANCE THEATER WORKSHOP's (DTW) website -- http://www.dtw.org/ -- details DTW programs, such as the Artist Services Program, which currently provides administrative, promotional, and technical support services to over 850 independent artists and companies.
The site highlights new programs -- including OUTER/SPACE, a program to subsidize artist rehearsal space in the outer boroughs; THE MEKONG RIVER PROJECT, an International exchange; and DTW DIGITAL, which will function as an interface between DTW's upgraded technology, Resource Center and the global community.
The website also features a streaming media walkthrough of the new facility.
In 1995 -- in order to safeguard its ability to continue to operate as a support system for artists despite the changing funding climate and escalating occupancy costs -- DTW purchased the building it had occupied for 25 years. In December 2000, DTW moved out in preparation for the demolition and rebuilding of the 27,000 square foot facility it will reoccupy for an inaugural season in 2002. DTW offices are temporarily housed on 220 West 19th Street, overlooking the site.
During the transition, DTW's website documents architect Edgar Rawlings' design for the transformation of its building into a multifaceted performing arts facility which will include a 200-seat black-box theater; two large dance studios providing space for artists' creative development, rehearsals, residencies and classes; greater public space, including enlarged lobby, box office, retail and cafe areas; and a comprehensive service area and additional office space to unite DTW's production and programming staff. An Artist Resource and Media Center, planned as an integral part of DTW Digital, will serve dance and performance artists locally, nationally and internationally as a community gathering space with production and service components.
"The transparency of the architecture makes DTW and its artists visible and accessible citizens to the surrounding neighborhood," says DTW Executive Director and Producer, David R. White. "Architect, Ed Rawlings' design virtually guarantees traffic throughout the building that will make artists feel quite simply, right at home. Intimacy is no longer necessarily synonymous with small; in DTW terms, it will continue to be interpreted as a matter of community."
Projected to open at about the same time as the new facility, DTW Digital will enable artistic planning with and among independent artists through research networks, information exchange, video streaming and video conferencing. It will facilitate cooperation and collaboration between artists in different locales -- including the dissemination of detailed visual rehearsal and performance material, both live and recorded. Closing the circle, digital video documentation from both studios and stage will be accessible to professional artist communities, to educational and library institutions, and to the public.
While Dance Theater Workshop's facility is being rebuilt, it continues to operate most of its programs and services. Upcoming is a two-day retreat on June 2nd and 3rd 2001, in conjunction with The Dancers Forum, at the Tisch School of the Arts. This year the retreat will add presenters to the mix in an effort to foster a positive and honest discourse between dancers, choreographers, and presenters regarding the current climate in the dance community. DTW Around Town also continues to co-present artists in myriad locations in New York City.
Visit the site -- http://www.dtw.org/ -- to find out more!
Deadline: June 1, 15, 2001 - THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION's Recovering and Reinventing Cultures Through Museums Program supports projects that enable museums to develop and present exhibitions of non-Western and American minority cultures. Applications from art museums and other cultural institutions such as tribal museums, libraries, historical societies, and community cultural centers are encouraged. (Deadlines: March 1, 2001 for exhibitions taking place after March 1, 2002; June 1, 2001 for exhibitions taking place after June 1, 2002; and September 1, 2001 for exhibitions taking place after September 1, 2002.) The Rockefeller Foundation's Partnerships Affirming Community Transformation (PACT) program provides support for community cultural development projects-projects undertaken by artists and other cultural professionals in collaboration with community members to express identity, concerns, and aspirations through the arts and media. Grant amounts will range from $10,000 to $50,000 per project per year, depending on scope and need. (Deadline: June 15, 2001.) For complete guidelines and program-specific information, contact: Rockefeller Foundation, 420 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10018; or visit http://www.rockfound.org
Deadline: June 15, 2001 - LOWER EAST SIDE PRINTSHOP KEYHOLDER PROGRAM offers 24-hour access to professional printmaking facilities and storage space, 50% discount on Printshop classes, and exhibition opportunities for emerging artists. Selected artists pay a subsidized fee of $70/month. Minimum residency is six months. 50% scholarships are available for artists of color. Applicants must have working knowledge of the printmaking techniques they wish to explore. For information, contact: Lower East Side Printshop, 59-61 East 4th Street, 6th Fl, New York, NY 10003; phone 212-673-5390; fax 212-979-6493; email info@printshop.org or visit http://www.printshop.org
Deadline: June 22, 2001 - THE JOHN F. KENNEDY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS offers internships designed to provide meaningful learning experiences for people interested in careers in performing arts management and/or arts education. Upper-level undergraduate students, graduate students, and students who have graduated, but have not been out of school for more than two years, are eligible to apply. Internship assignments are full-time. Interns receive financial assistance each month to help defray housing and transportation expenses. Interns may work in the Center's departments of Administration, Institutional Relations, Development, Education, and the National Symphony Orchestra. For information, contact: Amanda L. Perry, Internship Program Coordinator, Education Department, The Kennedy Center, Washington D.C. 20566; phone 202-416-8821; email alperry@kennedy-center.org or visit http://www.kennedy-center.org
NEH ANNOUNCES $30.9 MILLION IN NEW GRANTS
WASHINGTON, DC -- last week The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announced the awarding of 302 grants nationwide totaling $30.9 million. The grants are in all four of NEH's program areas: Preservation and Access; Research; Education; and Public Programs.
"NEH grants foster study of American civilization and of the world's many cultural traditions," said NEH Chairman William R. Ferris. "NEH-funded projects have a powerful cultural impact by helping to discover, preserve and tell the many stories that comprise the human experience."
Programs, number of projects, and dollar amounts this round are:
Among many others, NORTHEAST DOCUMENT CONSERVATION CENTER (Andover, MA) received $160,000 for the National Education Program on Digitization and Microfilming, including two SCHOOL FOR SCANNING conferences and four workshops entitled TO FILM OR TO SCAN, offered around the country for staff in libraries, archives, and historical organizations. 92ND STREET YM-YWHA (New York City, NY) received $100,000 (Additional one-to-one match amount $30,000) for processing and creating Internet access to the YM/YWHA's archival records, including institutional records and audio and videotapes of musical and literary events from 1874 to the present. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES received $140,000 (additional one-to-one match amount $110,000) for creation and administration of a two-year graduate program in film archive studies.
Among many others, the NATIONAL HUMANITIES CENTER (Research Triangle Park, NC) received $255,000 (additional one-to-one match amount $300,000) for 21 fellowships in the humanities over a period of three years. SCHOMBURG CENTER FOR RESEARCH ON BLACK CULTURE (New York City, NY) received (one-to-one match) $147,500 for seven year-long fellowships over a period of three years. KATIE N. JOHNSON, Oxford, Miami University (OH) received a summer research stipend of $4,500 for work on "The First Amendment and American Literature".
Among many others, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY received $145,000 for a collaborative project to strengthen the curriculum at Tempe's Mcclintock High School through a comparative study of history and culture, using local resources on Native American and Hispanic cultures. LOS ANGELES EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIP received $80,000 (additional one-to-one match amount $25,000) for a collaborative project to integrate digitized images of art objects from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's collection into the teaching of social studies, literature, and art at L.A.'s Cleveland High School.
Among many others, THE NEW YORK FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS received $29,971 for THE AMERICAN CRISIS OF 1776 (Project Director: David Smith) for planning for the first hour of a four-hour documentary television series on the American Revolution from the perspectives of ordinary people and their debates about freedom, equality, and independence. CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY (Norfolk, MA) received $30,000 for planning for a documentary film series on the themes of love, grief, fear, joy, and courage in lyric poetry. (Project Director: David Grubin)
Note that although Arts Wire Current choose examples of funded projects in the field of contemporary culture or projects integrating contemporary media, a majority of the funded projects were in other areas. A complete list of the grants awarded by state can be downloaded as a PDF file at http://www.neh.gov/pdf/other/March2001grants.pdf
NEH grants are awarded on a competitive basis. Throughout the year, humanities experts outside of the Endowment assess all applications and judge the quality and significance of each proposed project. For application details, visit the NEH website at http://www.neh.gov
CHALLENGE AMERICA FAST TRACK GRANTS FOSTER ARTS DEVELOPMENT, INTEGRATE THE ARTS INTO THE COMMUNITY LIFE; Next Deadline: May 1, 2001
Developing the arts and integrating them more fully into the life of communities nationwide is at the heart of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Challenge America initiative. In the upcoming round, the Arts Endowment will award approximately 400 grants of $5,000 or $10,000 in rural or underserved areas to address the priority areas of Positive Alternatives for Youth: Creative Links as well as Community Arts Development: ArtsREACH. All grants must be matched 1-to-1. A simplified application and expedited application review have been designed to make resources more accessible to a wide range of organizations. Organizations will be notified whether they are receiving a grant approximately four months after they apply; projects may start shortly thereafter. Eligible organizations may apply for existing or new projects that address one of the two priority areas that are listed below:
POSITIVE ALTERNATIVES FOR YOUTH: CREATIVE LINKS - to support partnerships between arts organizations and community groups for artists' residencies that provide positive alternatives for youth.
Projects generally should concentrate on youth participants in grades 6 through 12. Funded projects will include artists' residencies during non-school hours in locations such as arts organizations, community centers, schools, low-income public housing, tribal communities, or juvenile facilities; artist-led programs that provide facilities, project materials, equipment, and guidance during non-school hours; job training for youth in conjunction with artists' participation; and artist-teacher collaborations that support residencies for artists in schools during school hours.
COMMUNITY ARTS DEVELOPMENT: ArtsREACH - to support partnerships between arts organizations and community groups that highlight the potential of the arts to address key community concerns.
Projects are limited to: community arts development activities that use the arts as a focus for the development of cultural tourism or cultural districts; efforts to make a community more livable by addressing civic design issues, such as the preliminary planning for the design of buildings or public spaces, or the design for restoration of historic structures; the development of community cultural plans; and the use of new technology to promote and market the arts to a wide audience.
Every application must be submitted on behalf of a partnership. While the Endowment encourages partnerships that involve arts and non-arts sectors, partnerships that involve arts organizations working only with other arts organizations also are eligible.
The next deadline is May 1, 2001. (receipt, not postmark) For complete guidelines, visit http://www.arts.gov/guide/Challenge/ChallengeIndex.html
ARTS INTERNATIONAL/ARTS PRESENTERS EXPLORATIONS FUND
The Explorations Fund is a partnership between the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) and Arts International to further global cultural exchange and to enrich the understanding of the diversity of performing arts offerings worldwide.
The new program provides travel support to individual presenters responsible for programming at not-for-profit presenting organizations; not-for-profit managers; and managers with a not-for-profit affiliation. Designed to promote the global exchange of arts and culture, foster collaborations and facilitate the presentation of performing artists and work from abroad, The Explorations Fund reimburses up to $2,000 to cover the cost of international airfare for travel to festivals and international performances. In some cases, presenters may also apply for up to $500 to attend festivals within the United States that present international work.
The first deadline to apply for travel assistance is May 15. (for travel between June and September 2001) For a comprehensive listing of festivals and events around the world, visit Arts International's web site -- http://www.artsinternational.org For more information, visit the APAP WEB SITE at http://www.artspresenters.org
Details about these and other opportunities are available on Arts Wire's Web Site at http://www.artswire.org/current/calls.html To submit "calls" for either artists or organizations, send email to artswire@artswire.org
film and video artists - work produced in, or about, New York City, NEW YORK NOW 2002 CONTEMPORARY FILM & VIDEO AT THE MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
Deadline: April 30, 2001, Indian-American theatre scripts, The Indo-American Arts Council and The Lark Theatre Company, INDIAN-AMERICAN THEATRE FESTIVAL, NYC
Deadline: May 14, 2001, articles that address the discourse of sickness and its moral, mental, physical and cultural manifestations, M/C - A JOURNAL OF MEDIA AND CULTURE
Deadline: May 15, 2001 (new deadline), artists working on web-based projects, JAVAMUSEUM FORUM FOR INTERNET TECHNOLOGIES IN CONTEMPORARY ART
Deadline: May 18, 2001, video/new media - BAVC members working on non-commercial programs in post-production phase, BAVC ARTIST EQUIPMENT ACCESS AWARDS 2001
Deadline: May 24, 2001, public art - interior artwork, New Mexico Arts and Santa Fe Community College (SFCC) for SFCC INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY CENTER ON THE SFCC CAMPUS Deadline: for event on June 9, 2001, art, photography, music, poetry about sea/beach, ART EVENT IN LONG BEACH, CA
Details about these and other jobs are available on Arts Wire's Web Site at http://www.artswire.org/current/jobs.html To submit jobs to ARTS WIRE CURRENT JOBS, send email to joblist@artswire.org
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, (Katonah, NY)
VISITING FACULTY, Dramaturgy and Dramatic Literature, The Theatre School, DePaul University, (Chicago, IL)
VISITING ASST. PROFESSOR, Communication Design, University at Buffalo/SUNY, (Buffalo, NY)
ASSOCIATE CHAIR, Parsons School of Design, (New York City, NY)
GALLERY DIRECTOR, Donald Young Gallery, (Chicago, IL)
PROGRAM DIRECTOR, The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, (Santa Fe, NM)
COMMUNITY ARTS PROJECTS SPECIALIST, The Philadelphia Folklore Project, (Philadelphia, PA)
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF PERFORMING ARTS, Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, (Utica, NY)
FINANCE OFFICER, SPONSORSHIP, The New York Foundation for the Arts, (New York City, NY)
CORPORATE, FOUNDATION AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS OFFICER, The Institute of Contemporary Art, (Boston, MA)
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR ADMINISTRATION; HEAD COUNSELOR; COUNSELOR, New York State Summer School of the Arts, (residence at various locations)
GRANTS OFFICER, The Museum of Contemporary Art, (LA, CA)
MANAGER, ARTS TIX, (San Diego, CA)
BOX OFFICE/AUDIENCE SERVICES ASSOCIATE, Boston Lyric Opera, (Boston, MA)
SENIOR PROGRAM OFFICER, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT, Westchester Arts Council, (White Plains, NY)
PROGRAM DIRECTOR; OFFICE/MEMBERSHIP MANAGER, American Friends of the British Museum, (New York City, NY)
DIRECTOR OF SALES; DIRECTOR OF FINANCE; GUI/USABILITY; SOFTWARE PROGRAMMER; SOFTWARE TECHNICAL LEAD, Production Designer LLC, (New York City, NY)
OUTREACH MANAGER, BCAT/BrooklynCommunity Access Television, (Brooklyn, NY)
DIRECTOR OF PROGRAM FUNDING, The Jewish Museum, (New York City, NY)
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS, The Center for Arts Education, (New York City, NY)
MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER, The National Council for the Traditional Arts, (Silver Spring, MD)
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS, American Repertory Ballet, (New Brunswick, NJ)
MARKETING/PUBLIC RELATIONS COORDINATOR, American Recorder Society,(Littleton CO)
ONLINE MARKETING ASSOCIATE, (new music production company), (New York City, NY)
GRANT WRITER/FUNDRAISER for the ARTS, WHITE BOX, (Nework City, NY)
BOARD SECRETARY, The Museum of Contemporary Art,(LA, CA)
OFFICE MANAGER, (relisted with changed address) Charles Cosler Theater Design, (New York City, NY)
BUSINESS MANAGER/OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR, Parnassus Productions,(New York City, NY)
ARTISTIC PROGRAM REPRESENTATIVE, Music Management Firm, (New York City)
A growing list of links to job resources for artists and arts administrators is available on Arts Wire's Web Site at http://www.artswire.org/current/jobres.html
Last month The Center for Arts and Culture released a report, AMERICA'S CULTURAL CAPITAL, which calls upon the President and the Congress to create new focal points for cultural policies within the Federal government.
The report recommends that: The President establish a mechanism to advise and coordinate cultural affairs in the Executive Office of the President; The Department of State establish an Under Secretary for Cultural Affairs; Congress develop more comprehensive and integrated approaches to policies affecting cultural affairs; and Congress and the President create a National Forum on Creativity and Cultural Heritage.
All four recommendations are geared toward bringing together the fragmented approach to cultural policies at the federal level, the
"At present some 200 programs in at least 30 federal agencies deal with cultural matters, and 29 different committees in Congress have jurisdiction over aspects of the nation's cultural life," The center states. "In the international arena, the United States has no appropriate representative or designee for discussions on cultural affairs.
Copies of the report may be obtained through the Center's website at http://www.culturalpolicy.org
An Excite search engine for Arts Wire CURRENT is located at http://www.artswire.org/current/AT-Currentquery.html The engine allows anyone interested in arts news to find information in the Current archives as far back as 1995.
To subscribe to Arts Wire's Current, send an email message to majordomo@artswire.org In the message body, type "subscribe current". (The Subject: line of your message will be ignored, and can be left blank.) To be removed from this list, send an email message to majordomo@artswire.org In the message body, type "unsubscribe current".
Major support provided by the Masters of Arts Management Program of Carnegie Mellon University.
Arts Wire® is a service mark of the New York Foundation for the Arts. Individual membership of the New York Foundation for the Arts.
Map | News | ArtQuarry | SpiderSchool | Workshops | Support NYFA| Contact Us |