Artists' Pipeline #46 - March 03, 2005

Paul Dorrell, author of a guidebook for artists, Living the Artist's Life, will be giving a talk with Q&A on Thursday, March 3 at 7:30 at the Edina Barnes & Noble, 3225 W. 69th. Now in its second printing, the candid and unorthodox work speaks directly to struggling artists. It has been endorsed by several magazines, accomplished artists such as Ken Ferguson and Ralph White, the Penn Academy of Fine Art, California State, etc. A gallery owner and novelist known for his hard-won success and his compassion toward artists, Dorrell is passionate, inspiring, human and enjoys answering artists' questions, especially those who feel disenfranchised by the art world. His stop in Minneapolis is one of 60 on a tour that will end at the Art Students League of New York and at Rhode Island School of Design. For more information: 952-920-0633 or Living The Artist's Life: A Guide to Growing, Persevering, and Succeeding in the Art World - by Paul Dorrell (www.livingtheartistslife.com). The paperback is $16.95; the hardbound edition is $23.95.

The Ritz Theater Foundation has reached 76 percent of its $2 million campaign goal to renovate the Ritz Theater in Northeast Minneapolis. A recent grant of $339,500 from the Housing and Urban Development’s Economic Development Initiative Program brought the total amount of money raised to $1,513,884. The theatre renovation is expected to begin early this spring, with a Grand Opening planned this autumn.

Congressman Martin Sabo, whose request for federal funds to support the Ritz Theater Foundation was approved by Congress and signed by President Bush, said, "A re-energized Ritz Theater is a catalyst for the surrounding revitalization effort and benefits our area's cultural life." The FY05 Omnibus Appropriations Package included $60.8 million for Minnesota projects. Other Ritz Theater contributions have come from the Target, Carolyn, General Mills, James R. Thorpe, Markbrook and McKnight Foundations.

In the heart of the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District, the neighborhood landmark holds historical significance and will create a performing arts venue for Ballet of the Dolls, a company with a longstanding history of creating a “sense of place” wherever it goes. For more information: 612-623-7660 or Ritz Theater Foundation (www.RitzTheaterFoundation.org).

The weekly radio program "Disabled and Proud, (it's NOT an oxymoron)" offers insights into, ideas about and discussions of disability culture. It is broadcast on Tuesday nights from 7:00 to 7:30 on KFAI 90.3 fm Minneapolis and 106.7 fm Saint Paul. Or on the web, go to KFAI Fresh Air Radio (www.kfai.org), click on the archive link, and then on Disabled and Proud. The archives are one week back. You must have a Real Audio Player downloaded to your computer.

Upcoming shows include:
Tuesday, March 15 -- Your local show on what you want to know and announcements of things happening in your community, including Audio Described performances and films. Tuesday, March 29 – Artist of the month is pianist and accordionist Alec Sweazy, Minnetonka.

To express suggestions for future shows or receive e-mail updates of upcoming programs, email sam@winternet.com, call 612-341-3144 extension 817, or write KFAI, 1808 Riverside Avenue S., Disabled and Proud Box 116, Minneapolis MN 55454.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Leadership established the Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) conference in 1999 to address the growing interests and need for information on accessibility. For the first time, LEAD will move from Washington, DC, to Phoenix, Arizona at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts and Mesa Arts Center September 29 through October 1, 2005.

Accessibility has become a top priority for theaters, museums and other arts organizations that have dedicated themselves to making the arts accessible to all. Mollie Lakin-Hayes, assistant director and accessibility coordinator for the Arizona Commission on the Arts, testifies, "I can learn more in three days about accessibility for older people and people with disabilities than I can all the rest of the year.".

Betty Siegel, manager of accessibility at The Kennedy Center, says, "Arizona's cultural arts community has come together to provide a unique and unprecedented local collaboration with national impact for creating arts access. The … staff of theatres, museums and arts organizations in the western region… have the potential to demonstrate for the rest of the country how to expand the inclusion of people who are older and people with disabilities in the arts.".

Past conferences have included seminars on building the business case for disability marketing, a common sense approach to legal requirements for access, and applying universal design as well as new technologies in cultural environments. This year's conference will encompass as wide a range of information and entertainment.

For more information: Eileen Bagnall at ARTability, 602-757-8118 or 520-631-6253.

The State Rehabilitation Council is looking for new representatives with backgrounds in business, industry, labor and advocacy groups. Appointed by the Governor, the Council advises Vocational Rehabilitation on how its programs help individuals with disabilities seek and maintain employment. Members include businesspeople, community service agencies, advocates, former recipients of VR services, other state departments, and people with disabilities. It meets 10 times each year, typically on the fourth Wednesday of the month. A minimum of one meeting per year is held in Greater Minnesota. If you are interested, call Gail at 651-296-5629.

Jane Gerus

Saint Paul artist Jane Gerus is featured in the winter issue of Kaleidoscope. Three of her paintings are pictured in the national biannual publication available from United Disability Services, 701 S. Main Street, Akron, OH 44311-1019.

Students in grades 6-12 are invited to submit one-act plays for the 21st annual VSA arts Playwright Discovery Award competition. Winning scripts examining how disability affects our lives will be produced at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Winning students will receive a scholarship and a trip to Washington, D.C. to view their plays.

In addition to the student award for playwriting, VSA arts recognizes teachers who creatively bring disability awareness to their classrooms through the art of playwriting. According to Grace Warren, an English teacher at Palm Beach County Schools in Florida and winner of the 2003 VSA arts Playwright Discovery Teacher Award, "By writing one-act plays … students become the creators of their own education and learn the value that diversity brings to our lives."

Suzan Zeder, a playwright and co-author of The Space of Creation: The Creative Process of Playwriting, added, "The VSA arts Playwright Discovery Award program encourages students to stay in someone else's shoes for a while and learn to understand very different perceptional points of view. Students learn how to develop a story with real-time action, to conceptualize characters that will create an emotional bond with the audience, and how to create live theater."

"The arts are a key that can unlock the door to academic success, a career, and lifelong learning for many students, which is why VSA arts raises awareness of the importance of the arts and arts in education for people with disabilities," said Soula Antoniou, president of VSA arts. "The Playwright Discovery Award serves as a catalyst for creating greater diversity and disability awareness in the classroom."

Entries are due by April 15, 2005. All entrants will receive written notification by July 15, 2005. To obtain an entry form and guidelines, visit VSA arts (www.vsarts.org).

"Art is.." is a national Call for Art to raise awareness of the importance of the arts and arts in education for students of all abilities. Children are invited to explore these questions as they create their artwork: What does art mean to you? Why is it important? Where can you find art and where does it come from? What is art all about? For more information: go to Students in Grades K-12 (http://mn.vsarts.org/forms.html#form05) or contact Kristi Gaudette, Education Coordinator at VSA arts of Minnesota.

A national juried exhibit for promising young artists with disabilities (ages 16-25) has been launched for the fourth year by VSA arts & Volkswagen of America.

Fifteen awards include a $20,000 grand prize, $10,000 first award, $6,000 second award, and 12 $2,000 awards of excellence. There is no entry fee, postmark deadline is July 15, and all applicants will be notified by August 26. Finalists will be honored at an awards ceremony on Capitol Hill during late September, and their artwork will be displayed in a nationwide touring exhibit that debuts at the Smithsonian in October. To learn more about past awardees, visit: VSA arts - A national juried exhibit for young artists with disabilities, ages 16-25 (www.vsarts.org/prebuilt/showcase/gallery/exhibits/vw/2004/index.html).

This year's theme, "Shifting Gears," challenges artists to reflect on a pivotal moment or event in their life that led them to a greater understanding of themselves in relation to their art and/ or their disability. Artwork may illustrate actual aspects of the moment or event such as the environment, physical manifestations, or personal discoveries. Abstract work that relates to the artists feelings or emotions is also encouraged. Work might also reflect the artist's experience of living with a disability and its role in shaping or transforming their life.

Applicants should present evidence that will best exemplify the extent and quality of their accomplishment, development of original ideas in submitted work - imagination, competence, and skillful use of materials. Art must be original work completed in the last three years. Eligible media include: paintings and drawings (oil, watercolor, acrylic, pencil or charcoal), fine art prints (lithographs, etching, intaglio, or woodcuts), photography, computer generated prints and two-dimensional mixed media. Artwork should not exceed 60 inches in either direction. For additional information and to download an application, visit: VSA arts - Volkswagen of America, Inc. Call for Entries and Awards (www.vsarts.org/x267.xml).

Alternative formats of the application are available upon request. Direct inquiries to: VSA arts & Volkswagen of America, Inc., PO Box 33699, Washington, DC 20033-3699; 800-933-8721 x3877; Fax 202-737-0725; TTY 202-737-0645; Email: voa@vsarts.org.

Open Minds Quarterly, a psychosocial literary journal that publishes the poetry, fiction and first-person accounts of people living with a mental illness, has two opportunities coming up.

The Third Annual BrainStorm Poetry & Short Story Contest for mental health consumers offers a first prize of $250. Download the entry form at Northern Initiative Social Action (www.nisa.on.ca), follow the rules and send in your entries with fees and the form. The contest closes March 24 at noon.

The journal also seeks submissions for an upcoming Special Youth Issue dedicated to the perspectives of youth. If you're living with an illness such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or an eating disorder, and are between ages 14 and 21, consider sending your poems, fiction, and first-person accounts by April 1. The best writing will be published in the Fall 2005 issue. Guidelines are available at Northern Initiative Social Action (www.nisa.on.ca). Questions: contact the editor on the website Contact page or at 705-675-9193, ext. 8286.

Courage Cards and Gifts is seeking original art suitable for its 2005 Holiday Card Collection. Categories include Christmas Holiday Traditional, Winter City Scenes, Winter Landscape and Wildlife, World Peace, Whimsical Holiday, and Thanksgiving. All artists, especially artists with disabilities and children with disabilities, are invited to submit entries in the annual Courage Art Search until May 31. Selected artists will receive a licensing fee in addition to national exposure through the distribution of catalogs, promotional pieces, radio and print advertising. In addition, artists are featured on Courage Cards & Gifts (www.couragecards.org) and profiled on the back of every card. Artists retain ownership and copyright of their art but grant Courage Center the right to reproduce and distribute the art on their products for five years. For more information or to download guidelines, go to Courage Cards & Gifts (www.couragecards.org)

The Philadelphia Mural Arts Program (MAP) invites resumes and samples of work to be considered for a mural project sponsored by the Mayor's Commission on People with Disabilities (MCPD). The mural will be placed on a highly visible Philadelphia center city wall which visually depicts the theme "Independence Starts Here." Its purpose is to pay tribute to the contributions made by people with disabilities in society.

Interested artists must either have a disability and/or be willing to work with individuals and/or groups of people with mental and/or physical disabilities in executing the project. Accessibility is of major importance. The artist must creatively think of ways that people who are blind or have low vision can experience the mural. The stucco wall is approximately 10,000 sq. ft. The Mural Arts Program will provide artist assistants, materials, scaffolding and other technical support. Three finalists will be selected. Each will receive $200 to prepare final presentations. The artist selected for the project will receive $25,000 for all design, workshop, and labor costs.

Submissions are due by 5:00 on May 2, 2005. Finalists will be selected by June 15, meet with the committee on June 30, and make presentations on Sept. 7. Final selection will be made by Sept. 30. A project plan will be submitted by December, the mural will be designed with input from community meetings through May, the mural will be painted by Sept. 30, 2006 and dedicated during Disabilities Awareness Month in October 2006.

Submit a resume, 10-15 slides of work (5 of which must be large scale murals), and a letter of interest describing ideas about working with different audiences and communities. Label slides with your last name, an arrow to indicate top, date, title of each piece, and numbered 1-10. Include a slide list corresponding to the numbered slides, with dimensions and media. Do not submit original work or bulky binders or portfolios. Questions: Cathy Harris or 215-685-0755. Mail to City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, Attn: Cathy Harris, Mayor's Office on People with Disabilities Project, 1729 Mt. Vernon Street, Philadelphia, PA 19130.

The Helen Keller Foundation for Research and Education seeks poetry and prose (under 3,000 words) for a 2005 anthology honoring Helen Keller. For this collection of memoirs, your submission should explain how you or someone close to you overcame a physical, mental, or emotional impairment or other adversity. Cash prizes are $2,000, $1000 and $500.

Manuscripts must be previously unpublished, and include three photocopies. Cover sheet should include title of memoir, name, address, telephone number, and email address. Title only should appear on each page of manuscript. Manuscripts will not be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Anyone related to the Helen Keller Foundation or its staff is ineligible. For more information: Helen Keller Foundation (www.helenkellerfoundation.org). Guidelines: dscharpe@towson.edu.

Send manuscript with three photocopies by June 1 to The Helen Keller Foundation, c/o Diane Scharper, English Department, Towson University, Towson, Maryland 21252.

The Rehabilitation Institute of Kansas City is accepting entries for Arts on the Hill, III – an exhibit on September 23-24, 2005, featuring art created by persons with disabilities. Held in the heart of Kansas City’s art district, Arts on the Hill showcases, promotes and sells art by artists with spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, neurological disorders and other conditions.

Artists with physical and mental disabilities are eligible to enter. Only original work created after the onset of the disability is eligible for submission. All forms of art may be entered for consideration and all must be for sale. Each artist may submit a total of 5 works. A jury panel from the Kansas City art community will select the artists who will be invited to exhibit. Art must remain on display until the exhibit is closed. Works must not exceed maximum UPS shipping size of 130 inches (measuring the length around all four sides plus one additional long side). The Rehabilitation Institute reserves the right to reproduce the accepted work for publicity, documentation and promotion purposes. "Best of Show" in the professional and amateur categories will receive a $500 cash award.

Entry Deadline is May 2, 2005. All entrants will be notified by mail no later than June 15, 2005. For complete entry info, contact VSA arts of Minnesota or Dana Chatlin at 816-751-7815 or Dana Chatlin or mail to Arts on the Hill, The Rehabilitation Institute of Kansas City, 3011 Baltimore, Kansas City, MO 64108.

Artists with disabilities have an opportunity to be a VSA arts of Minnesota Ambassador -- to do short presentations, performances and hands-on arts activities with students with and without disabilities. The goals of the Ambassador Project are to:

• Showcase how people with disabilities participate at professional and other levels in the arts;
• Increase awareness of the importance of and the need for inclusion of people with disabilities in the arts;
• Share information regarding disability culture, and arts & disability;
• Talk about the doings of VSA arts at state, national and international levels.

To learn more about the Ambassador Project, please attend an informative meeting from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, March 12 at the Hennepin Center for the Arts, 502 Hennepin Avenue, # 502, Minneapolis. Preregistration required. If you have questions or would like to preregister, contact Kristi Gaudette, Education Coordinator, 612-332-3888 or Kristi Gaudette.

Springboard for the Arts has announced the following workshops, meetings and grant deadlines. For more information, to get mailings, or to register, call 651-292-4381, go to Springboard for the Arts (www.springboardforthearts.org), or write to 308 Prince Street, #270, Saint Paul, MN 55101-1437.

March workshops:
March 3: Legal Live!
6:30 - 8:30 PM, on-line at Minnesota Artists (www.mnartists.org).
March 5: How to Work with Your Professional Photographer.
10 AM - noon, Fire Station 21, 643 Ohio Street, Saint Paul.
March 11 & 12: Studio Practices Workshop Series for Artists in Wisconsin.
Platteville, WI; registration information: Wisconsin Arts Board (www.arts.state.wi.us).
March 22: Effecting Positive Discipline in the Classroom.
6:30 - 8:30 PM, Springboard's Offices.
March 30: Professional Practices Workshop Series for Musicians: Careers in Music.
6:30 - 8:30 PM, McNally Smith College of Music (formerly Music Tech College), 19 E. Exchange Street, Saint Paul.

Hauser Dance will hold its Spring Open House on Saturday, March 26 from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at 1940 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis. Free classes will be offered. For more information: 612-871-9077 or e-mail nhdc@tcinternet.net.

Outsiders and Others will hold its Second Anniversary Show March 3 to April 10, with an opening reception on Thursday, March 3, 3-6 pm (or until it's over) at Cafe Barbette, Lake & Irving in Minneapolis. Happy hour & free appetizers! The show, at 1010 Park Avenue South, features many of the gallery's most popular artists from last year: Frank Erickson, Jeffrey Evenmo, Mavis Farr, Michael Jaecks, Koffi Mbairamdji, Sindibad O'Dell, Ben Olson, Danny Peet, Keegan Wenkman, Joanne Wolf, and Venus. For more information: 612-338-3435 or Outsiders and Others (www.outsidersandothers.org).

A traveling exhibit, Finding North Dakota: 250 Years of Mapping, is on display through March 31 at the Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center, 202 First Ave. N., Moorhead. This exhibit looks at how explorers and map makers have visualized the place North Dakotans now call home. Twenty-seven maps from the collections of the State Historical Society of North Dakota are highlighted: from 18th-century maps of "America" to modern aerial and topographic maps. For more information: contact Dean Sather at 218-299-5511 ext. 226.

"Linda Schwarz: Lost Language-Forgotten Knowledge" exhibit opens March 4 German artist Linda Schwarz visits the Minneapolis College of Art & Design (MCAD) for an exhibition of her recent printmaking work. Schwarz draws inspiration from texts such as headlines ripped from The New York Times, poetry of e.e. cummings, old manuscripts, and lost language. In so doing, Schwarz examines the concepts of reproduction and deterioration, and the ways in which these play upon both form and memory. This exhibition will feature several of her recent print series created at Wildwood Press in Saint Louis and Highpoint Center for Printmaking in Minneapolis. The MCAD Gallery, 2501 Stevens Avenue, will host an opening reception on Friday, March 4 at 6 p.m. and a gallery talk on Saturday, March 5 at 2 p.m. The exhibition runs through March 27. For more information: Minneapolis College of Art & Design (www.mcad.edu).

Ulrike Heydenreich, a visiting artist from Boblingen, Germany at the Minneapolis College of Art & Design, has an exhibition entitled "Preparatory Objects" at Thomas Barry Fine Arts. The show features "panorama drawing devices" which allow the artist to sketch circular drawings of a 360-degree horizon line. She constructed many of the devices during her stay at MCAD.

Works by Heydenreich and Melanie Pankau will be exhibited through April 2 at Thomas Barry Fine Arts, 110 N. Fifth Street in Minneapolis. Upcoming exhibits include Clarence Morgan, 4/9 - 5/14, and Constance Lowe, 5/21 - 6/25. For more information: 612-338-3656 or Thomas Barry Fine Arts (www.thomasbarry.com).

More than 50 artists, including Ann Krocak of Prior Lake, will display their works at Art Fete, a two-week event from March 5 to 19 at the Burnsville Center shopping mall, located on County Road 42. Sponsored by the Burnsville Area Society for the Arts, it includes an opening reception on Friday, March 4 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.

What do you get when you mix 43 adults with special needs, 6 high school students, 2 energetic directors, dozens of volunteers and fabulous music? An original musical called "The Perfect Show," sponsored by Adaptive Recreation and Learning Exchange about dreams coming true in unexpected ways. The show is written and directed by Janet Beard Clarke, with music by Emily Kroeck and Leslie Fideler, the same staff that produced "Totally Talents and Tunes" in 2002 which won state and national awards for excellence and was featured on a television documentary. Two performances will be given on Saturday, March 12 at 3:00 & 7:00 p.m. at Richfield High School Auditorium, 7001 Harriet Ave. S. Both will be ASL-interpreted by Jamie Schmidt. Tickets are $5 at the door or in advance at the Richfield Community Center or Edina City Hall. For more information: 952-681-9361 or Susie Miller, 952-826-0433, or Nancy Holgers, 952-681-6107.

Work of Art is an exhibit of gallery owners' works that will run through March 19 at Rogue Buddha Gallery, 357 13th Ave. NE, Minneapolis. It features Aldo Moroni, California Building Gallery; Yuri Arajs, Outsiders & Others; Kellie Rae Theiss, Kellie Rae Theiss Red House Gallery; Howard Christopherson, Icebox Gallery; Suzy Greenberg, Soo Visual Arts Center; Alejandro Trujillo, Artrujillo Gallery; Nicholas Harper, Rogue Buddha Gallery. open Wed.-Thurs. 12-4, Fri.-Sat. 3-8. For more information: 612-339-1094, 612-331-3889 or Rogue Buddha Gallery (www.roguebuddha.com).

A Minnetonka "starving artist" could really use an art space to create her next mixed media projects. Currently no money for rent, but perhaps barter or other arrangements if you have a space to offer or to share. Able to work afternoons, evenings or whenever it's available. For more information: VSA arts of Minnesota, 612-332-3888 or Jon Skaalen.

The National Center on Accessibility at Indiana University has an immediate opening for an Accessibility Specialist to assist in meeting its nationally focused agenda in the areas of technical assistance, education, and research while promoting the inclusion of people with disabilities in parks, recreation and tourism. With primary responsibility for providing technical assistance to NCA customers on topics ranging from general accessibility requirements and specific issues related to recreation, the Accessibility Specialist also serves as a trainer for NCA educational programs and provides assistance to ongoing research projects.

Requirements: minimum of Bachelor's degree in an area associated with parks and recreation (Master's degree preferred); experience and knowledge of accessibility laws, standards, programs and practices of inclusion of people with disabilities in parks and recreation. Salary $30,000 depending on experience, plus excellent Indiana University benefit package.

Applications will be accepted until position is filled. Send cover letter and resume to: Indiana University, Human Resources, Reference Position # 00004187, 400 E. 7th Street, #165, Bloomington, IN 47405. For more information: National Center on Accessibility (www.ncaonline.org).

VocalEssence in Minneapolis seeks a Director of Education and Community Partnerships to create, design, implement and evaluate education and community partnership programs for students, teachers, families and the general public. For more information about the full-time, exempt position or about VocalEssence (formerly Plymouth Music Series) and its Education Program, visit VocalEssence (www.vocalessence.org).

Send resume and cover letter to: Mary Ann Pulk, Managing Director, VocalEssence, 1900 Nicollet Ave; Minneapolis 55403; Fax 612-547-1484; or Email: cdavies@vocalessence.org or jcranney@vocalessence.org.