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Poet Tadeusz Dąbrowski Gives Reading at UMass Amherst

From the University of Massachusetts – Amherst: To mark the beginning of Polish Culture Month, Polish poet Tadeusz Dąbrowski is presenting a bilingual reading at the University of Massachusetts Amherst on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m. in 301 Herter Hall. The reading is being hosted by the Amesbury Professorship in Polish Language, Literature and Culture at UMass Amherst.

Born in 1979, Dąbrowski has been called “an inheritor of the great metaphysical tradition in [Polish] poetry” and “an essential factor in the picture of contemporary [Polish] verse.” Critics have described his poetry, which has been published in numerous Polish and foreign journals, as “restlessly inventive, sharp-witted, and intent on raising mischief” and as “full of love, swagger, and linguistic excitement.”

Dąbrowski is the author of seven volumes of poetry, including the bilingual collection “Black Square,” with translations by Antonia Lloyd-Jones, published in 2011 by Zephyr Press in Boston.

The event is free and open to the public. Free parking is available in campus lots and at metered spaces after 5 p.m.

[AMAZONPRODUCTS asin=”0981552161″]

Art, Current Events, Events, , , , , ,

News and Opportunities from the New York State Alliance for Arts Education

Public Review of the Draft High School Core Arts Standards

Please join the public review of drafts of the High School national core arts standards for Dance, Media Arts, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts beginning September 30 and ending October 21, 2013. Draft high school music standards for secondary ensembles will be included in the September 30th release; standards for additional music course sequences (guitar/keyboard and composition/theory) will be released later. Watch for details and information on their wikispace or Facebook page.

October 1 Deadline: Art Education Grants

The National Art Education Foundation (NAEF) annually invites applications for the Ruth Halvorsen Professional Development Grants, Mary McMullan Grants, NAEF Research Grants, SHIP Grants, and Teacher Incentive Grants. Grants range from $500 to $10,000 depending on the grant category. The Foundation was established as an independent, sister organization to the National Art Education Association (NAEA) to provide support for a variety of art education programs. Foundation grants are made only to NAEA members, including student and retired members, state/province associations, and recognized affiliates. Full info can be found here.

October 11 Deadline: NYSCA’s Musical Instrument Revolving Loan Fund

The loan program is competitive and allows access to eligible non-profit symphonies, ensembles and music organizations to apply for a low interest loan to support the purchase of musical instruments and certain equipment related to presentation and teaching of music. The purpose of the funds is “to stimulate the professional growth of musicians and symphony orchestras which provide a vital educational and cultural service to the citizens of the state. To review the MIRLF guidelines and application visit the dedicated web page.

November 1 Deadline: Award to School Board Providing “Outstanding Support”

Online nominations are now being accepted for the Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network and National School Boards Association Award (KCAAEN and NSBA Award). This award recognizes a local school board for outstanding support of the arts in education. The winning board receives a plaque presented at the NSBA Annual Conference, along with a cash award of $10,000 to use for their arts education programs. Full details and nomination materials can be found online.

November 14 Deadline: Grants for Dutchess, Orange & Ulster Counties

Projects can be in any artistic discipline and may include (but are not limited to) workshops, exhibitions/studio tours, performances, community music festivals, multi-discipline collaborations and public programming whose central focus is the arts. The maximum funding request for an organization is $5,000. Arts Education Grants support residencies by artists and/or cultural organizations in a public school, and focus on sequential, skill-based knowledge. These awards are administered by the Dutchess County Arts Council. Please see their website for the complete 2014 application, guidelines and list of informational seminars.

December 15 Deadline: Inspirational Teacher Award Nominations

The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is seeking nominations for the 2014 Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Awards, a series of annual grants that recognize inspiring teachers in the United States.The awards were created in honor of American composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who frequently attributes his success to the teachers in his life. The awards are presented each year on Sondheim’s birthday, March 22, to a handful of teachers, kindergarten through college, who are nominated via the Kennedy Center Web site.

Opportunities for Professionals

CRAVE Creators Conclave & Festival weekend, September 20-21, 2013, Syracuse, NY

Join artists in all disciplines, arts administrators, educators and students, presenters, curators, economic development stakeholders and the public for this statewide gathering. CRAVE is a unique creative gathering to inspire, explore and reward new ideas for audience engagement and empowerment. Sample Syracuse’s Connective Corridor cultural district, learn from national leaders, share best practices from your community, and see global artists like DJ Spooky. For more info and to register, please click here.

NYSTEA Educators Conference, October 4-6, 2013, Queens, NY

Register here for the annual NYSTEA Educators Conference “Making Connections: From School to School.” Enjoy 5 different workshops, welcome reception at the Roundabout Theatre Company with guest speaker writer/composter Joe DiPietro, awards luncheon, vendors and networking with like-minded professionals from across the state.

Municipal Art Society 2013 Summit, October 17-18, 2013, New York, NY

Taking Place at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the fourth annual MAS Summit for New York City will explore the themes of Innovation and Leadership. Participants will discuss the challenges that face New York, and topics will explore new and innovative ways to continue the city’s role as a global urban leader, while also covering issues of resilience and the city’s livability. Please see their website for more information.

National Guild’s annual Conference for Community Arts Education, October 30 – November 2, 2013, Chicago, IL

This gathering will bring together more than 500 arts education leaders from 350+ organizations nationwide. Join this dynamic learning community of staff, faculty, trustees, and teaching artists to forge the future of arts education in America. The conference will feature nationally renowned speakers and dozens of professional development and networking opportunities designed to help you increase participation and impact, raise more money, sustain and grow key programs, and advocate for equitable access to arts education. Register online.

National Artist Teacher Fellowship Program

The Center for Arts in Education invites arts teachers from public arts high schools to apply for funding for artistic development through its National Artist Teacher Fellowship Program (NATF). The NATF program provides grants of $5,500 to enable selected arts teachers from all disciplines to rejuvenate their own art-making. A complementary grant of $1,500 is awarded to each Fellow’s school to support post-fellowship activities in the classroom. Applications will be available online by September 27.

Opportunities for Students

October 2 Deadline: Student Entries for Rochester Student Showcase

The Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester announces the Student Showcase 2013 call for entries, an opportunity for its student members to submit their original work to a juried exhibition at The Gallery at the Arts & Cultural Council. Students from all visual art disciplines are encouraged to submit their work for consideration. Exhibition dates will be November 1–26. Use this on-line entry form.

October 18 Deadline: Young Arts Award

YoungArts provides emerging artists (ages 15-18 or grades 10-12) with life-changing experiences with renowned mentors, access to significant scholarships, national recognition, and other opportunities throughout their careers to help ensure that the nation’s most outstanding young artists are encouraged to pursue careers in the arts. Support is offered in ten artistic disciplines: cinematic arts, dance, design, jazz, music, photography, theater, visual arts, voice and writing. Students should apply here.

By applying to the YoungArts program, winners are eligible for:

  • Up to $10,000 monetary award (total awarded each year is over $500,000)
  • Exclusive eligibility for recognition as a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts
  • Master classes with world-renowned artists
  • Access to scholarships, career opportunities and professional contacts

Job Opportunities

Access the newest and freshest jobs available to professionals seeking employment through NYSAAE’s JOBlink.

Art, Perspective, ,

Mobility – White Cane or Marching Band

The Grand Central Art Center a unit of California State University Fullerton’s College of the Arts in Santa Ana is featuring a performance art piece “Mobility Device: Carmen Papalia,” a short documentary film by Mickey Fisher.

Artist Carmen Papalia started using a white cane when he began to lose his vision nearly ten years ago. For one day, through his performance piece titled Mobility Device, he replaced his cane with The Great Centurion Marching Band of Century High School, Santa Ana.

Art, Events, , , ,

California-Pacific Triennial

With the flow of ideas and images crisscrossing the Pacific Ocean becoming a crucial component of contemporary art on the West Coast, the 2013 California-Pacific Triennial at the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) now offers an international dialogue, highlighting artwork by 32 artists from 15 countries. The presentation includes three off-site exhibitions giving greater access to individuals interested in this international survey. The California-Pacific Triennial is being curated by Dan Cameron of OCMA.

On Thursday, June 27th, from 7-9pm the OCMA will hold the 2013 California-Pacific Triennial, Artists Panel at the Yost Theater, Santa Ana. The evening will provide an early glimpse of the Triennial with a panel discussion in Spanish, moderated by MoCA Curator Alma Ruiz featuring artists from Chile, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Colombia. Artists scheduled to participate include: Darío Escobar, Adriana Salazar, Adán Vallecillo, Sebastián Preece, Yoshua Okón, Hugo Crosthwaite.

On Sunday, June 30th, from 11am-5pm the OCMA will host the 2013 California-Pacific Triennial, Public Opening at the Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach.

The Gallery is closed Mondays and holidays. Hours are Tuesdays – Sundays 11.00 am – 4.00 pm. Extended hours: Friday & Saturday 11.00am – 7.00 pm. The first Saturday of the month galleries are open until 10.00 pm.

Grand Central Art Center programs are made possible with the generous support provided by: Metabolic Studio, the Efroymson Family Fund, the William Gillespie Foundation, the Fainbarg-Chase Families, an anonymous donor, The Yost Theatre, and Community Collaborative Partners.

Off-Site Exhibitions

Grand Central Art Center

The Grand Central Art Center (GCAC) a unit of Cal State University Fullerton’s College of the Arts in Santa Ana is hosting Colombian artist Adriana Salazar for a two-month studio residency, early May through June. During her residency, Salazar is reinterpreting a preexisting work for the California-Pacific Triennial, as well as developing a new site-specific sculptural installation for the main gallery at GCAC.

Coastline Art Gallery

Coastline Art Gallery in Newport Beach will present a three-person exhibition including Triennial artists Brice Bischoff and Dario Escobar, along with artist Stella Lai from June 30 – September 22. The exhibition includes a new floor-based sculptural work by Escobar that relates to the suspended mobile piece that he has created for OCMA. More details here.

The Guggenheim Gallery at Chapman University

York Chang’s and Mitchell Syrop’s two person exhibition at the Guggenheim Gallery at Chapman University presents the artists interest in the fabrication of supposed truths through the authority of text and context from June 30 – September 14. The pairing of their different methods of investigation, provides exciting, new constellations and timbres of their respective work, while showing the continuation of conceptual approaches in L.A.’s most recent art history.

Art, Events, , , , , ,

Friends Union String Band at the Shaker Heritage Site in Albany

Please consider joining the Friends Union String Band for an epic Music At The Meeting House Concert with some Shaker Wit and Wisdom at the Historic 1848 Shaker Meeting House, 25 Meeting House Road (next to Albany International Airport), Albany on Saturday, June 22nd, 7:30 P.M. The suggested donation is $15. Please call (518) 456-7890 for more information.

The Friends Union String Band features renowned Adirondack hammer dulcimer, 6 and 12 string guitar and vocalist, Rod Driscoll, along with Melbourne, Florida based master guitarist and bhodran player, Norma Rodham and fiddle master Steve Iachetta. Friends Union String Band will perform innovative and traditional dance music in a coffee-house setting at the Shaker first settlement special performance place.

The Shaker Heritage Society is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.

Art, Poland - Polish - Polonia,

Tribute to Ray Manzarek

Famed Rock Musician Passes
By Raymond Rolak

CHICAGO — Ray Manzarek, the famed keyboard artist for The Doors, passed after a long battle with bile duct cancer. He was 74 and under treatment at a clinic in Rosenheim, Germany. He was surrounded by family. He became part of Rock-and-Roll history with his jazz influenced electric organ renditions for the historic band. It is reported that The Doors sold over 100 million albums.

Born of Polish decent and attending Chicago St. Rita’s High School, his first real passion was basketball.

Manzarek was responsible for the left handed bass keyboard sound that became the unique signature of The Doors. He was in film school in 1965 at UCLA when along with Jim Morrison, they started their historic band. They enlisted drummer John Densmore and another friend, guitarist Robby Krieger. Because Manzarek did double duty with the keyboard they never had a bass guitar player. He also did some vocals on The Doors hit recordings.

Ray Manzarek, performing in 2002. Manzarek had reunited with The Doors' guitarist Robby Krieger more than 30 years after the band's lead singer, Jim Morrison, died.
Ray Manzarek, performing in 2002. Manzarek had reunited with The Doors’ guitarist Robby Krieger more than 30 years after the band’s lead singer, Jim Morrison, died.

In 1966, The Doors started to find their niche as the house band at the famed Los Angeles Sunset Strip nightclub, Whisky a Go-Go. The band developed what was described as a unique new L. A. sound and released “Break On Through (to the Other Side)” in early 1967. Then “Light My Fire” shot to No. 1 just two months later. Manzarek will always be known for the opening riff on “Light My Fire.”

His silky keyboards on “Riders On the Storm” are now considered iconic and classic rock. His art set the distinctive musical sound of the Doors apart from everyone else. This L.A. underground sound made The Doors both national and global rock stars.

Manzarek had said in a 2011 interview, “We had auditioned at a club in Los Angeles, and I saw the Fender Rhodes keyboard bass onstage, which belonged to another band. And I thought, ‘Eureka, that’s it. I’ll play that.’” “It worked out fine because it’s basically the way I play the keyboard anyway, with my left hand playing the bass line. And it kept The Doors as a four-side diamond, rather than an evil pentagram, he added.”

Manzarek married Dorothy Fujikawa in Los Angeles on December 21, 1967.

The band carried the baggage of controversy because of Morrison’s alcohol and drug use. Their 1976 performance on the Ed Sullivan Show was mired in giant television dispute because of a censored lyric.

After Morrison’s death in 1971, the band eventually broke up. Manzarek and Krieger had a contentious lawsuit with Densmore about licensing The Doors’ name for commercial purposes. Manzarek also became an author, writing “Light My Fire: My Life with the Doors” in 1998 and “The Poet In Exile” in 2002. He also became a successful producer especially with Punk Music in California.

In a Rolling Stones Magazine article in 1974, Manzarek said, “The Doors’ success was so quick it frightened me. The adulation we received was ridiculous. Nobody was saying much about the music – it was just mystique. The Doors became so mythical in such a short time. It was too much too soon.”

The Doors were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. Manzarek also reinvented himself playing jazz club dates and some Chicago style Blues. He last recorded in 2010, a blues album with slide guitarist Roy Rogers.

He was born Feb. 12, 1939 in Chicago and his real last name was Manczarek. He dropped the “c.” to simplify the spelling. He also had earned an Economics degree from DePaul University. In semi-retirement he had settled in Napa County. Manzarek is survived by his wife, Dorothy; a son, Pablo; three grandchildren and two brothers, Rick and James Manczarek.

Editor’s Note: Raymond Rolak was one of the producers for the recently released to DVD Hawaiian comedy, Get A Job.

Art, Christian Witness, Events, PNCC, ,

Encountering Christ in drama

From the Time Tribune: Dramas bring Easter to life

The apostle Peter sang his welcome to the audience in the darkened hall at the Rock Church Worship Center during dress rehearsals last week for the congregation’s annual Easter drama.

He was on a stage set with vine-covered walls, an open tomb and a wheel-shaped stone that foretold his story’s ending.

“The son of God has come and I’m a witness,” he sang.

In churches throughout the region, accounts of Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection have stepped out of Scripture onto stages in recent weeks as parishes dramatize the defining event of Christian history, turning audiences and actors into witnesses. The displays range from modest wooden tombs set up on church lawns to elaborate stage dramas with dozens of cast and crew members.

“We all need to be reminded that Jesus came and gave his life for us,” Rock Church pastor Bill Smalt said before calling his performers to their places. “We can read it in the Bible. But there’s something when you see it acted out that’s more powerful sometimes than just reading it.”

Performances of Christ’s suffering and resurrection originated in the Middle Ages, with Easter and Passion plays that grew out of the already dramatic elements of church-based worship.

The Rev. Gerald Gurka, a Roman Catholic priest in Larksville who has written more than 30 Passion plays or less elaborate living stations of the cross, said the medieval plays, like stained-glass windows, were used to share the Gospel with a public that could not read or write. The teaching tools were also beautiful and affecting.

The practice persists because it still works, he said. This year, a cast and crew of about 100 people put on his newest Passion play for a packed audience at St. John the Baptist Church.

“Every year, something wonderful happens,” he said. People return to church or patch over personal grievances. Once, an alcoholic father of children who were acting in the play checked himself into rehab after the performance was over.

“I don’t look for that to happen,” he said, “but I think it’s the way God’s message speaks to people through that art form.”

Other Christian holidays also lend themselves to dramatic recreation. Christmas pageants and living nativity scenes abound. But area pastors say that Easter dramas, and dramatic aspects of Easter religious rituals, emphasize the proper center of the faith and enliven the long period of reflection that precedes and follows the holiday.

The 90-day season of Lent and Easter “is the whole core and heart of the Christian faith,” said the Right. Rev. Bernard Nowicki, bishop of the Central Diocese of the Polish National Catholic Church and pastor of St. Stanislaus Cathedral. “Then the church spends the rest of the year discussing what all that means.”

Easter dramas, like the living stations of the cross performed at the cathedral during Lent, continue to be instructive for seekers, he said, and offer the parish youth a leadership role in worship. They are also vivid and emotionally moving.

“The action taking place – Christ falls once, twice, three times, quite a crash when the cross hits the floor – it makes it almost visceral.”

At Peace Lutheran Church, which is located on a busy stretch of Main Avenue, the congregation uses its high-profile space to reenact Jesus’ crucifixion on Good Friday.

Costumed parishioners walk with a Jesus character bearing his cross for several blocks then act out the crucifixion near the church steps.

“We want to use it as a witness for the rest of the world passing by,” the Rev. Kristian Bjornstad said.

At times, they have been ridiculed for it. People in passing cars shouted obscenities during past years’ performances.

“Sometimes when we read the text, we don’t get a clue what it was really like for Jesus to be mocked and made fun of,” he said, “until we’re reenacting it and they do it to us.”

However uncomfortable, the portrayal helps bring Christianity’s most important historical moment into the present, he said.

“To reenact that is to affirm its reality in our lives today.”

Art, Events, , , , , ,

New York Folklore Society presents The Art of Community Workshop

The New York Folklore Society, Building Cultural Bridges, The American Folklore Society, and New York State Council on the Arts presents the Art of Community Workshop: Building and Arts and Culture Support Network for Newcomer Artists in New York State workshop on Friday, May 17th from 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. at the Utica Public Library, one block east of the Ithaca Commons at 401 E. State/MLK Jr. Street, 303 Genesee Street, Utica, NY 13501. You are invited to attend this workshop that will explore merging the arts with social services to better serve these newcomer communities and to enliven our community at large.

Upstate New York has become home to an ever-expanding community of refugees and immigrants from all over the world. Layering upon an already rich infrastructure of arts organizations, there is a great potential for an increasingly varied cultural landscape. Yet many of the artists from these communities struggle to maintain their expressive and cultural heritage traditions in the face of overwhelming and immediate needs as they adapt to their new environment.

Anybody concerned with the well-being of immigrant/refugee communities is welcome to attend, including but not limited to: refugee or immigrant artists, staff from cultural and community-based organizations and local art organizations, educators, funders, folklorists, staff from shops and galleries that market immigrant/refugee arts, refugee and immigrant service providers, and library staff.

The day-long workshop will present both national and local models of successful arts and social service collaborations which serve the focus communities. Also, newcomer artists will perform, demonstrate and talk about the importance of maintaining their cultural traditions in their new homeland. Drawing on personal experience and ideas generated by the presentations, participants will work together to explore possibilities for collaboration and to establish a local network for resource sharing. Spaces will be made available for participants to share information about their art forms or programs through printed materials. Interpretation services will be available.

You can register online at the New York Folklore Society.

Art, Events, , , ,

Spend Mother’s Day with Pete and Peggy Seeger

See Pete and Peggy Seeger at the Eighth Step Coffeehouse, Proctors Theater, Schenectady on Mother’s Day, Sunday May 12th in a special event to benefit the New York Folklore Society.

The New York Folklore Society is offering a special opportunity to attend the Pete and Peggy Seeger Concert on Sunday May 12th at Proctors Theater with a block of tickets that includes a Pre-Concert Reception And Dinner in the Fenimore Gallery at Proctors. The reception will take place from 5 – 6 p.m.. The Concert begins at 7 p.m. Dining includes specialties from the Indo-African diaspora.

Tickets for the dinner are $35, the dinner and show is $70. Friend of the Folklore Society are $100 which includes dinner, show, and Society membership – a $15.00 savings. Tickets may be purchased on-line.

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