Art in the News - 2013
Read the latest arts news
Alabama Blues Project recently held their 7th Annual Evening of Arts and Blues on November 15, 2013. This annual fundraiser features live music by their own Alabama Blues Project Advanced Band, food, and a silent auction that includes paintings, prints, photography, jewelry, pottery and luxury gift baskets - just in time for the upcoming holiday season.
For the third time since Anchorage Museum opened in 1968, the cultural institution is changing leadership. Julie Decker comes from a small art gallery to the largest cultural institution in the state, with a budget over 10 million - but she grew up with the arts and has an advanced degree and a long history of art administration work. Beyond that, Anchorage Museum personally means a lot to her.
After a public meeting in Los Angeles, California on November 22, more than than $1.5 million will be invested in programs and initiatives supporting arts education, at-risk youth, and community transformation through the arts in Sacramento, California. The California Arts Council voted in support of five new programs and initiatives to be funded by one-time support from the California State Assembly.
From September 2013 to February 2014, you can see 51 different pieces of art in different mediums including sculpture, photography, prints, multi-media, and many more – all done by 41 different faculty members from 10 different institutions across the state of South Dakota. These works of art are part of the South Dakota University and College Art Faculty Exhibition.
Since spring 2006, The National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation have been partnering with U.S. state arts agencies to support Poetry Out Loud, “a contest that encourages the nation's youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation.” Participating students recite a poem of their choice, using materials that schools receive by partnering with their state arts agency.
With a goal to continue expanding the art-buying community in Grand Forks, the North Dakota Museum of Art held its 15th annual Autumn Art Auction on November 8, 2013. The pieces ranged from Armando Ramos’ clay sculpture of a neon red dog, to Helen Otterson’s small ceramic sculpture of a cactus, to Vivienne Morgan’s large-scale digital print of a nurse stump.
Young artists are finding a new place to call home in Jackson, Mississippi - a small town eager for big fish. Sandwiched between the music havens of New Orleans and Memphis, Jackson hasn't historically attracted a ton of young grads and budding artists, but in the last few years young people have been moving and returning to Fondren. This post industrial neighborhood a few blocks away from Midtown is a cheerful, gentrified part of Jackson that has welcomed artsy types for 15 years.
As independent artists, it's always difficult to find enough funding to keep your work going. For Lisa Blayton, the generous grant she got from the South Carolina Arts Commission and the John and Susan Bennett Memorial Arts Fund was about more than the dollars.
“What was really important was that someone thought my art was special enough to support it,” she said.
In honor of Veterans Day on Monday, November 11, Americans for the Arts CEO and President Bob Lynch and Ret. Brigadier General Nolen Bivens, U.S. Army co-authored an article to the Huffington Post about the unique challenges our military members face today and how the arts are helping them heal.
The Boston mayoral race between state Rep. Martin Walsh and Boston City Councilor John Conolly may show the two candidate’s differences, but there is certainly one common theme shining through—art and culture as the centerpiece for both campaigns. As the first open mayoral race in 20 years, there seems to be more room for different ideas and influence from Boston’s cultural communities.
