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Revamped Directory Gives Instant Access to Iowa Artists
A new on-line service created by the Iowa Arts Council makes it easy to find and hire Iowa artists.
The Iowa Artist Directory, available at www.iowaartscouncil.org, gives educators, performing arts presenters, festivals, colleges, galleries, schools, communities, private individuals, and civic and business organizations greater access to Iowa artists in all genres and disciplines for performances, workshops, demonstrations and more.
“We have created an interactive, searchable system for people and organizations searching on-line to hire an Iowa artist,” IAC Administrator Mary Sundet Jones said. “Users can search by artistic discipline, by publication or by key word in a format that is easy to navigate and provides accurate and quick results. It’s much simpler and less time-consuming to find the right artist for the right job. It’s also a great tool for artists to market themselves and their work.”
The new, interactive directory allows users to search four databases – the Directory of Iowa Artists and Performing Groups, the Teaching Artists Roster, the Performing Artists Roster, and the Folk and Traditional Artists Roster – from one web page at http://roster.iowaartscouncil.org/.
The Directory of Iowa Artists and Performing Groups is simply a listing of Iowa artists. No screening process is required for artists to be included. Artists interested in being listed in the directory must submit a registration form and pay a $15 listing fee.
Artists found on the three rosters have gone through a formal jurying process including application, review and approval by IAC according to relative criteria.
Artists on the Teaching Artists Roster are excellent artists and instructors. Certain IAC grant programs require applicants to work with artists listed in this roster.
The Performing Artists Roster is a resource for sponsors and venues looking for high quality performers. Solo performers and performing groups featured here are of high artistic quality and are experienced touring performers.
The Folk and Traditional Artists Roster features Iowa folk and traditional artists and performing groups. IAC has reviewed these artists based on their excellence and how their ethnic, occupational, regional or religious traditional skills and knowledge reflect their community’s aesthetics and heritage. Most traditional arts have endured through several generations. Skills and traditions are typically learned informally and passed from one generation to the next by observation and imitation rather than through academic or formal means.
Artists wanting to be included in the IAD should visit www.iowaartscouncil.gov or contact Sarah Ekstrand at sarah.ekstrand@iowa.gov.
IAC worked with the Center for Arts Management and Technology, a nonprofit
organization associated with Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA,
to develop the Iowa Artists Directory.
