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November 2007 |
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In This
Issue Big Yellow
School Bus Grant Funds Depleted Important
Information for December Mini Grant Applicants IAC Forges into
’08 with New Strategic Plan S.O.S.!
(Small Operating Support) for Arts, Culture, History Nilakanta
Brings Ancient Dance Form to Midwest IAC
Announces Major Grant Recipients Holiday Gifts
at Buyiowaart.com IAC’s Public
Art Survey Results Are In Harjo’s
Poetry Inspires Iowa Artist CROSSROADS Entertainment Conference Dec. 5 Hollywood/Iowa
Filmmakers Recruit Iowa Cast for “Duck Farm Number 13” IAC
Calendar
Links In-Box of Artist Opportunities Contact Us 600 E. Locust (515) 242-6194 Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 8
a.m.-4:30 p.m. Newsletter Editor: |
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I often hear constituents say they are reluctant to contact elected officials because they are not sure how to approach them or how to express themselves to legislators. Believe me, I understand. When first assigned legislative liaison responsibility, I was reluctant to approach legislators thinking – why would they be interested in talking to me? I soon learned, however, that legislators are just like you and me. They are not super-human. They do not walk on water. |
They are just like our neighbors. In fact, they are our neighbors! They want to hear about the issues that concern us. They want to know their work has an impact on us and our community.
My job as legislative liaison for the Department of
Cultural Affairs is to answer questions about cultural activities in the
state and to encourage support for specific program areas in the Department.
I do my best to promote support for history, the arts, and cultural
activities in
The best message about the value of support for our work comes from you. You know the importance of your work because you see it everyday. You see it in the eyes of youngsters as they experience your museum and art gallery exhibitions. You know the importance of preserving research materials because it allows you to discover your own history. You hear it from senior citizens as they admire the return of a historic building to its former glory. You hear it from local government officials when sales taxes and property taxes increase because tourists visit your museum, spend time in your community, eat in your local restaurants and sleep in your local motels.
These are messages important to your legislators. Visit
with them at home in your local community. Send them a letter or email
thanking them for support of cultural programming and cultural activities.
Express your concern that
I encourage you to have a conversation with your neighbor legislator. Talk about why you work with your local historical society or your local arts organization. Talk about your passion and the real accomplishments you see. Talk about the challenges you face.
That’s advocacy!
The Department of Cultural Affairs’ new Small Operating Support grants will help small and mid-size arts, history, and cultural organizations to do such things as:
· Pay personnel salaries;
· Purchase equipment that will improve efficiency of the organization;
· Hire a consultant;
· Purchase technology/software;
· General marketing, promotional expenses; and
· Cover expenses for other things like rent, utilities, phones or Web site maintenance expenses, etc.
SOS grants are specifically for nonprofit arts, history, and cultural organizations with annual budgets below $150,000. Applicants may request up to 5% of their annual budget, or a maximum of $5,000. Funds must be used between January 1 and June 30, 2008. Applications for this first round of SOS grant applications must be received at the Department of Cultural Affairs by 4:30 pm, Friday, November 30; this is NOT a postmark deadline. For more information and application, visit the DCA Web site or contact Dawn.Oropeza@iowa.gov.
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At the age of six, Haema Nilakanta of Bharatanatyam is an ancient dance form that evolved
over 3000 years ago in the temples of |
involves coordinated, rhythmic movements of the feet, knees, torso, arms, and hands to create intricate patterns; nritya, the more expressive aspect, uses the eyes, head, and face to convey emotions and ideas; natya invokes dramatic expression to interpret poetry set to music.
Typically, Bharatanatyam instruction begins at an early age and can last for years. This apprenticeship stage culminates in an arangetram, a three-hour public performance that showcases a complete repertoire of skills and represents the transition from student to performer.
Haema’s recently completed arangetram involved years of intensive dedication and practice. The process of learning and becoming proficient at this complex tradition is a major commitment for a student as well as for family members. Ethnic and community identity are encouraged and sustained through immersion in this ancient art.
Besides her involvement with Bharatanatyam, Haema
has danced with the Gateway Dance Theatre of Des Moines since she was
13. She has studied flute since fourth grade. Haema is now a
student at
The application deadline for the Department of Cultural Affairs’ Iowa Community Cultural Grants is 4:30 pm, Friday, February 1, 2008.
The ICCG program encourages strong cultural growth and
development throughout the state and provides matching grants to support
projects that provide jobs for Iowans while also enhancing
Visit the Department of Cultural Affairs’ Web site for application procedures and more information. Please note: this website will be updated by mid-November, so please make sure to use the new forms!
The Iowa Arts Council awarded 16 major arts and organizational grants totaling $105,000 to individuals and organizations serving Iowans across the state.
IAC received 66 Major Grant applications requesting $526,198 this fall to fund projects developed by individual artists, arts organizations, schools and other community groups working to bring excellence in the arts to all Iowans. The program emphasizes artistic excellence, service to Iowans, and solid project planning and implementation. Applicants may request up to $10,000 but no more than 50 percent of the project’s total expenses.
This was the second and final round of Major Grants awarded during fiscal year 2008.
Watch for the listing of major grant awards at www.iowaartscouncil.org.
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52 days, 10 hours, 14 minutes…but who’s counting? Don’t stress out about the shopping days left this holiday season, because your gift solutions are only a two-second click away. Visit www.buyiowaart.com to find
something for the art lover in your family. More than 60 Avoid the crowds and browse our selection from the comfort of your own home or even from your desk at work (we won’t tell if you won’t). Buyiowaart.com has gifts in all shapes and sizes, and in all price ranges and shipping is easy. Remember Buyiowaart.com this holiday season…for all your gift needs. |
Do you publish a newsletter of your own? Encourage people on your mailing list to subscribe to Iowa Arts News, so they can receive the same Iowa Arts Council news and updates that you rely on! Distributed monthly via e-mail, Iowa Arts News comes directly to your customers’ and audience members’ inboxes. It’s easy to subscribe. Simply ask them to send an e-mail to join-IowaArtsNews@lists.ia.gov and they’ll receive a confirmation that their email address has been added to our list.
Also, be sure to send us information about your own local projects or programs for a possible feature story. Contact Sarah.Oltrogge@iowa.gov by the 15th of each month to be considered for inclusion.
During September, the Iowa
Arts Council surveyed
Who participated
in the survey?
· 29 artists participated in the survey. 70% are male; 30% female. 83% are 36-65 years of age, 13% are 66 years or older.
· Approximately two thirds of the artists have been practicing for at least 30 years.
· 63% consider their primary discipline to be sculpture, 46% painting.
The survey
found:
· That 75% of the artists said more than 80% of the work they produce is studio work.
· The primary reasons an artist will respond to a “call for artists” for a public art project are the size of the project budget 80%) and the type of public art sought (71%). 84% of the artists prepare and submit their own applications for a public art project.
· Half of the artists said they have a Web site that includes both their studio work and public art. 79% are not members of any professional association that relates to their work as a public artist.
· Within the past three years, 68% have not attended a conference or workshop that relates to their work as a public artist. Half the respondents said their first or second choice for professional development was a ½ to 1 day public art workshop or a 2-3 day public art conference.
· Half of the responding artists are represented in the IAC’s Artist Directory. 40-50% do not subscribe to the Iowa Arts or the IAC Public Art Artists Listerv (opportunities in the field of public art). Most have not applied for an IAC artist grant or public art grant within the past three years.
· 58% of the artists feel they are knowledgeable or very knowledgeable in preparing “Requests for Qualifications” for public art projects and their abilities to communicate with sponsors, stakeholders and the public about their work and public art.
· 18 artists have completed a total of 160 public art projects over the past ten years. 16 artists have created 129 new public art, 10 artists have had 31 existing works purchased. 67 projects were with governmental entities, 31 with business, 13 with nonprofit organizations, 43 with individuals, and 6 others.
Suggestions identified
by artists as “extremely important” for the Iowa Arts Council to act on in
the next 3-5 years:
FUNDING
· Increase the Art in State Buildings “Percent for art” allocation from the current 1/2% to 1%. Include private construction and new development.
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Work towards increased legislative spending on
the arts. Until the State of
EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY
· A public artist educational program needs to be developed to nurture future artists. More information on the business of Public Art for emerging artists.
·
Advocacy for
· Advertising to the public that Art=Economic Development.
COMMUNICATION AND RESOURCES
· Continue and expand the information flow about public art projects available to Iowa Artists. Improve methods of disseminating public art opportunities to ensure every interested artist hears about every available opportunity to compete for public art projects.
· Eligibility requirements to be in IAC public art artist resources should be less restrictive.
ADMINISTRATION AND PROCESS
·
The process of selecting artists for public
art projects should be as transparent as possible. All artists applying
should be considered, and subsequently informed. Hold in-person committee
interviews with finalists versus telephone interviews. Change the selection
committee makeup frequently to ensure more
·
Centralize the administration of Art in
· Involve artists as early as possible in a project. The “Art-in-Transit” program of the Iowa Department of Transportation is a great example of the integration of an artist within a multi-disciplinary design team approach.
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Poet Joy Harjo is a Native Am Her work is featured in the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts & Poetry Foundation. Here is a sample of her work entitled Eagle Poem: |
To pray you open your whole
self
To sky, to earth, to sun, to
moon
To one whole voice that is
you.
And know there is more
That you can’t see, can’t
hear;
Can’t know except in moments
Steadily growing, and in
languages
That aren’t always sound but
other
Circles of motion.
Like eagle that Sunday morning
Over
In wind, swept our hearts clean
With sacred wings.
We see you, see ourselves and
know
That we must take the utmost
care
And kindness in all things.
Breathe in, knowing we are
made of
All this, and breathe, knowing
We are truly blessed because
we
Were born, and die soon within
a
True circle of motion,
Like eagle rounding out the
morning
Inside us.
We pray that it will be done
In beauty.
In beauty.
Sam Pritchard is listed on the Iowa Teaching
Artists Roster with a concentration in literature. He has a B.A.
in English/Russian and an M.A. in English and currently resides in
A note on Joy Harjo’s “Eagle Poem” and learning how to pray:
Influences are funny: like saying Wallace Stevens taught me how to look at a blackbird; or Joy Harjo taught me how to pray.
Years ago, I found a signed copy of Joy Harjo’s In Mad Love and War in a bookstore in
Nov. 2-3: Dawn
Martinez Oropeza to
Nov. 6-7:
Riki Saltzman to
Nov. 7: Dawn
Martinez Oropeza to
Nov. 10-11: Riki Saltzman to Amana Colonies for Arts Guild community supper and consultations with constituents
Nov. 13: Dawn
Martinez Oropeza to City to speak to
Nov. 17: Dawn
Martinez Oropeza to
Nov. 19-20: Bruce
Williams, Dawn Martinez Oropeza, and Cyndi Pederson to
Nov. 30: Mary
Sundet Jones, Cyndi Pederson, and possible other staff to
Professionals in art, music, theatre, film, food and
beverage service industry, tourism and media from all across the upper
Midwest are invited to the CROSSROADS Entertainment Conference Wednesday,
December 5 in
Seminars will include the Des Moines Music Coalition’s
“Self-Promotion 101,” and “From 48-hour Film to The Final Season” presented
by the Iowa Film Office and Iowa Motion Picture Association. Also, see
The Iowa Arts Council is helping to sponsor this free
event which will be held at People’s Court, 216 Court Avenue, downtown
Lights. Camera.
The story is a wry comic tale of romantic surprise that
takes place in an ice cream stand. The movie’s
Both Smith and Trimpe wanted to bring small-town
From 30-year veterans to first-timers, the production includes these local actors:
·
Michael Cornelison,
·
James Serpento,
·
Stewart Butler,
·
Brendan Dunphy,
·
Julie Mickelson,
·
Ryan Gourley,
· Gabrielle McNally, Luana
·
Reese Ravner,
· David Oddy, Adel
·
Rachel Salowitz,
·
Clint Curtis,
· Annie Li, Johnston
Registration is now open for National Arts Advocacy Day March 31-April 1 in Washington, D.C. Participants will undergo arts advocacy training; attend a Congressional arts breakfast on Capitol Hill and meet with their members of Congress.
Arts Advocacy Day is sponsored by Am