For Immediate Release: July 28, 2008
Contact: Jeff Morgan
Public Relations
515.281.3858
Jeff.Morgan@iowa.gov
IAC adds nine Iowa artists, organizations to teaching, performing rosters
(DES MOINES, Iowa)—The Iowa Arts Council announced today it has added nine artists and organizations to its teaching and performing artist rosters.
“This is a great step for these artists because not only does it make them eligible to work in projects funded by several of our grants, but it also is an acknowledgement of excellence that they can use to promote themselves,” IAC Administrator Mary Sundet Jones said. “It’s a juried process, and they have to demonstrate a level of excellence in order to be approved for these rosters. We encourage artists to use the roster as a tool to market themselves to schools and communities.”
Artists added to IAC’s Teaching and Performing Artist Rosters:
Carey Bostian, Iowa City
Carey Bostian is an independent string musician who identifies himself as a teacher. He performs on the cello as a solo performer, chamber musician and orchestral musician. He also conducts students, amateurs and professionals in varied settings. Major independent projects include contracting and conducting a professional orchestra (Sinfonia Nolte) for the Englert/Nolte production of the Nutcracker in Iowa City, and producing two children’s concerts with the Englert Theatre as part of the Iowa City Arts Festival this summer.
Charles Ahovossi, Omaha
Charles Ahovossi is a professional dancer, drummer, performer choreographer, stage costume designer and tailor from Benin, West Africa. He is the founder and artistic director of African Cultural Connection, a non-profit organization based in Omaha, Nebraska. He believes that cultural competency is essential for all people and his activities reinforce a value system of unity, responsibility, purpose and creativity.
Willow River Arts Theatre, Spirit Lake
Willow River Arts Theatre, operated by Marta Berhard and Chad Branham, seeks to show people how to do art. They do it all, from choreographing dances to designing sets. “We demystify the world of fine art,” Berhard said. “We set the bar high and grow people’s self-esteem by challenging them to try something in a new way.” The theatre offers interactive performances and hands-on workshops.
Artists added to the Teaching Artist Roster include:
Gateway Dance Theatre, Des Moines
Penny Furgerson grew up in India and has always had dance at the center of her life. She and her late husband co-founded Gateway Dance Theatre in 1972. The theatre’s goal is to provide quality urban arts programs. Inspired by the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Gateway Dance Theatre itself is a self-described neoclassic dance company.
Hank Hall, Spirit Lake
Hank Hall is a full-time craft and visual artist in downtown Spirit Lake. He has renovated an historic woodworking shop into an art studio and gallery where he teaches clay, painting and drawing classes. Hall shaped his skills during two summers of training with Marguerite Wildenhain in Guerneville, CA, a Bauhaus-trained master potter considered to be one of the 10 most significant clay artists of the 20th Century.
Artists added to the Performing Artist Roster include:
Old Creamery Theatre, Amana
Old Creamery Theatre specializes in giving young audiences a life-long appreciation of the performing arts. The Old Creamery has sent a team of professional actors out to visit schools all over the state for 37 years. The theatre continues to provide educational and entertaining theatre to underserved children of Iowa.
Celebrating Iowa Singers and Jazz Band, Decorah
Celebrating Iowa Singers and Jazz Band is a non-profit youth musical theatre group created in the midst of the farm crisis of the 1980s to celebrate the talent, potential, energy and spirit of the people of Iowa. It offers opportunities for talented Iowa high school students to perform in an educational service-oriented setting, quality entertainment to Iowans at local fairs and festivals, and an outreach program to serve Iowans who are unable to join celebrations at nursing homes, care centers, youth detention centers and special needs camps.
Nick Rieser, Des Moines
Nick Rieser is a keyboard musician, improvisational and soloist, who believes that music is the universal language. Rieser prefers jazz and draws from popular and new age styles. He currently performs as a soloist and as a member of the Stanley Paul Orchestra, and is affiliated with the Des Moines Community Jazz Center Big Band. He is a lifelong student and a piano teacher as well.
Frank Strong, Des Moines
Frank Strong is a folk-inspired blues musician from Des Moines. He plays harmonica with either a guitar or mandolin and sings, projecting a lively, spirited presentation. Strong also performs regularly at coffeehouses and special events.
More information is available at www.iowaartscouncil.org
or by contacting Sarah Ekstrand at Sarah.Ekstrand@iowa.gov or 515-281-4657.###
The Iowa Arts Council is a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and works to enrich the quality of life for Iowans through support of the arts. Funding for the Iowa Arts Council and its programs is provided by the state of Iowa and the National Endowment for the Arts.