| | ORGANIZATIONS' NEWSLETTER News and Opportunities for the Cultural Nonprofits and Creative Businesses of Fairfield County, CT
July 7, 2017 |
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| | The Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County is a nonprofit service organization that supports its members through unified marketing, capacity building, professional development, and advocacy services. This newsletter is sent to all who request it - but we ask that, if you are not a member, you explore membership benefits and consider joining this community of more than 550 individuals and organizations. Sign up here |
| | | | FUNDING SUMMIT VIDEOS AVAILABLE |
| Videos of both panels of the “funding summit” held June 13 by the Cultural Alliance are now available. See Funding Panel #1: Funding Types with panelists: Joseph Pucci (individual philanthropist), Holly Hotchner (Hotchner Consulting), Tony Hwang (CT State Senator), Stuart Katz (Cohen & Wolf), moderated by John Cusano. |
| | Funding Panel #2: Geographic Types with Bonnie Koba (CT Office of the Arts), Helen Higgins (CT Humanities), Juanita James (Fairfield County's Community Foundation) and Rina Bakalar (Town of Trumbull), moderated by Kathy Maher. |
| | ECONOMIC IMPACT PANEL SCHEDULED FOR JULY 25 |
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| | PILOT ARTISTS TALK VIDEO NOW AVAILABLEIn our pilot Artists Talk event at the last Progressive Gallery Tour series at Elisa Contemporary Art, in Fairfield, photographer Allyson Monson (at left) spoke about her discovery of bokeh as a technique that took her forward into experiments with movement and camera manipulation but also back to her design background, where texture, movement, light and color all play into one. See Allyson’s website here. See video here (+ transcript).
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| | ARTISTS TALK SERIES LAUNCHES AT WESTPORT ARTS CENTERThe Cultural Alliance announces its new ARTISTS TALK series of video-recorded 5-minute talks (+5-minute answers to questions) by artist members in select group and juried shows. The videos will create an archive of member artists' talks on our YouTube channel (and new website) – an asset for our artists and a showcase for the richness of the visual arts in the County. We are honored and delighted to launch this new series with the Westport Art Center's SELECTS 2017 juried exhibition. Sign Up Now to attend this important and fun launch Friday July 28, 6:30pm-8:00pm. Featured artists include Eric Chiang and other Fairfield County artists in the show to be announced. SELECTS 2017 curators, Charlotte Strick, Art Editor of The Paris Review literary magazine and Claire Williams Martinez, former Chapter President of AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Design) Chicago, will also be present and will give a video-recorded talk, to be included in our companion series, CURATORS TALK! |
| | | WELCOME THERESA Welcome to Theresa Kotulsky, a new face at the Cultural Alliance. Theresa will be processing memberships, tracking late-payments and ensuring that our books are in order A whiz with numbers, Theresa has a degree in Interior Design - an interest she’s pursuing in a variety of ways.
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MARK TWAIN LIBRARY
Library Director: Beth Dominianni
The Mark Twain Library, Redding, was founded in 1908 by Samuel Clemens – Mark Twain himself – one of Redding’s most celebrated residents. In 1906, on the recommendation of his live-in biographer, Albert Bigelow Paine, Clemens bought a 248-acre hilltop overlooking the Saugatuck River in Redding, and arranged to have an Italianate mansion, Stormfield, built there. He moved to Redding in June 1908, and lived there until his death in April 1910. Within five months, he joined with his neighbors to form the Mark Twain Library Association. Clemens enjoyed raising money for the Library, but it was only a day or two before his death that he wrote the generous check permitting the construction of the first library building. The nearby house and property given to his daughter Jean were sold after her tragic death (on Christmas Eve 1909 from a seizure). The $6000 proceeds from this sale was directed to the erection of the Jean L. Clemens Memorial Building, which opened in late 1910 and served the Redding community well for almost 60 years. In 1972, the library quadrupled in size with the construction of a circular addition, and, after the completion of a significant renovation project in 2000, the library has been able to offer updated technological resources in a newly-configured and expanded building. Some 200 of the 3000 books Clemens donated to start the library are still in its collection and many of Twain's donated books can be explored online thanks to the New York Times. The Mark Twain Library Association is funded in part by a grant from the town of Redding, and in part by contributions received from individuals and others. Read more about the Mark Twain Library's history here. See its website, Facebook page and Twitter feed. |
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TROUPERS LIGHT OPERA
Founder: Fred Scharmer President: Frank Sisson
Troupers Light Opera, now based in Norwalk, has been presenting high quality musical theater in the fall and spring in Fairfield County for 73 years. Performing with full sets, costumes and 23 piece orchestra, the company was founded by Fred Scharmer, a soldier who, when he had returned from World War II, told his wife, Ida, that he wanted to experience a different type of drama than he had known on the battlefield. Ida had been playing and singing Gilbert and Sullivan with the Darien Guild of The Seven Arts, and before the war they had both performed with the Little Theater of Noroton. They agreed to found a new group with Ida finding the women and Fred, the men, and in 1946 Troupers Light Opera began performing in homes throughout Darien. By 1950 Troupers had become so popular that they recruited members of the Norwalk Symphony for the orchestra and began building sets for the performances. Today, Troupers is a large enterprise, encompassing an orchestra nearing 40 and more than 50 performers and backstage personnel. Talented performers from throughout the tri-state area audition, and Troupers welcomes new members each year. See Troupers website, Facebook page and Twitter feed. |
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| | ❖ See a List by Town of all Organization and Creative Business Members: here❖ See a List by Town of Artist Members: here
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| | | | ROUND-UP OF MEMBERS' NEWS |
| | Ballet Etudes Company proudly announces its brand new website. Go to https://www.balletetudescompany.com. The Studio Ballet School is the official school of Ballet Etudes, on the Norwalk/Westport line at 509 Westport Avenue. Founded in 1988, the company will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2018. Commemorating the year will include two full-scale productions and other exciting events to include alumni, faculty and guest artists. The history of the company will be honored throughout the year.
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| | | Connecticut Audubon has announced that Patrick Comins, one of the most highly-respected conservationists in the state, has been named as the organization's new executive director. He will begin his new position on July 17, replacing Nelson North, who is retiring after 10 years as director of Fairfield operations and executive director. Rick Boucher took over from Nelson North as director of Fairfield operations earlier this year. |
| | Greater Bridgeport Youth Orchestras (GBYO) is excited to announce a new commissioned work to be written by its own Emmy award winning composer Dr. Rex Cadwallader and internationally acclaimed spoken word artist Jeffrey Baykal-Rollins, and to be performed in March 2018. The large, symphonic work, based on the concept of citizenship, Citizen was inspired by President Obama’s comment that when he left office, he would “be a citizen.” Mr. Rollins has been researching Ancient Greek texts about the formation of the first democratic societies and Dr. Cadwallader has begun the music writing process. You can hear a performance of Citizen by GBYO's Principal Orchestra on March 4, 2018. Above, Dr. Cadwallader.
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| | New Paradigm Theatre appeared on CT Style (channel 8) last week to talk about creating "young leaders through the arts" with two of their young performers who will appear in NPT's Peter Pan production this summer at FTC. That production (and the discussion on Channel 8) also promoted KEYS as they are NPT's premiere non profit partner this year, benefiting from the production and its PR. Appearing at right are Ajubola Tajudeen (last year's "Oliver" and also a student of KEYS and NPT), Jaden Bonfietti (this year's "Peter Pan") and Artistic Director Kristin Huffman.
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| | Westport Arts Center’s Connections education outreach program tried something new this year: an intensive 10-day program for 50 tenth-grade students at Bridgeport’s Bridge Academy concluded with a gallery show at 305 Knowlton. Usually the program ends with a museum visit, but the gallery show gave students a purpose for their hard work and, according to Bridge Academy teacher Jill Imse, enabled students to find their artistic voice. Jahmane was artist-in-residence and said the gallery show was a great culmination for the class to see their work displayed, especially just blocks from their school. See CT Post story here. In picture: from left to right: Westport Arts Center Director of Education Lillie Fortino; Bridge Academy student Gio Alvarez; artist Jahmane; and Bridge Academy art and film teacher Jill Imse at 305 Knowlton (click for larger image).
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| | | ARTS WORKPLACE INITIATIVE |
| The Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA) recently launched its Arts Workplace Initiative, a paid ($15/hour) 10-week internship program giving college students and emerging arts professionals an opportunity to gain hands-on and engaging work experience with creative organizations throughout the state.
The Initiative was designed to provide opportunities for applicants from diverse and traditionally under-represented backgrounds to gain professional experience in the arts. COA selected 10 individuals specializing in the areas of arts administration, curating, media arts, performing arts, visual arts, arts education, and literary arts and matched them with a Connecticut organization aligned with their professional goals. Interns were selected based on their alignment with COA's READI framework, financial need and commitment to the program. Selected organizations were granted $3,750 per intern to be used to cover the intern’s wages. All internships will take place from June 5th through August 11th.
“COA is committed to creating a level playing field for constituents to access the resources needed to improve diversity and inclusion in the arts professions," said Kristina Newman-Scott, Director of Culture for the State of Connecticut. "Interns will be placed in museums, arts organizations, and performing arts centers throughout the state, and will work alongside seasoned arts professionals, gaining hands-on experience in their chosen specialty. Investing in young artist professionals in the State of Connecticut is extremely imperative to the future of Arts in our State and helps to support our Thriving Economy. We are proud of this initiative and to be able to have a hand in cultivating young talent through professional development programs such as this.”
AWI interns have been placed with two Fairfield County organizations:
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| | Maritza Quintuna - Bridgeport
Maritza is a a sophomore at Housatonic Community College in the Graphic Design Program and has been placed at City Lights Gallery. Maritza was born in Bronx, NY in 1995. She is an Ecuadorian artist. Most of her life she lived in Ecuador, and in 2011, she came back to the United States. She is currently at HCC in the Graphic Design Program. As an artist, she gets inspired by nature - not just its concept but its movement. She wants to demonstrate different ways about the abstract illusion of organic lines as a representation of nature in body paint, photography, portrait, landscape and abstract paintings. As a person, her drive is her family; even though they are miles apart, she will never forget where she came from. |
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Hunter Mitchell-Adams - Stratford
Hunter is a senior at Trinity College in Hartford, and has been placed with Neighborhood Studios in Bridgeport. Hunter's major is Urban Studies, concentrating in Sustainable Urban Development and Environmental Policy, while pursuing a Studio Arts minor. Coming from a single-mother household in Stratford, he and his twin sister were taught that kindness and empathy were of the utmost importance. As an accomplished swimmer and record holder, he has been competitively swimming for over ten years. Also, he holds the title of President of Trinity College's Food Recovery Program and Creative Editor of Trinity College's The Beacon magazine. Hunter also studied in China in the summer of 2016 and in Barcelona in the fall of 2016.
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| | ARTS & ECONOMIC PROSPERITY STUDY NATIONAL AND FAIRFIELD COUNTY RESULTS
Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 (AEP5) is the fifth (and most comprehensive) study organized by Americans for the Arts of the nonprofit arts and culture industry's impact on the economy. It documents the economic contributions of the arts in 341 diverse communities in all states, ranging in population from 1,500 to 4 million, including 113 cities, 115 counties, 81 multicity/county regions, 20 statewide study areas, and 12 cultural districts. Project economists from the Georgia Institute of Technology customized an input-output analysis model for each community to provide specific and localized data on four measures of economic impact: full-time equivalent jobs, household income, and local and state government revenue. These localized models allow for the uniqueness of each local economy to be reflected in the findings. This study puts to rest a misconception that communities support arts and culture at the expense of local economic development. In fact, communities are investing in an industry that supports jobs, generates government revenue, and is the cornerstone of tourism. Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 shows conclusively that, locally as well as nationally, the arts mean business. Nationally, the nonprofit arts and culture industry generated $166.3 billion of economic activity during 2015—$63.8 billion in spending by arts and cultural organizations and an additional $102.5 billion in event-related expenditures by their audiences. This activity supported 4.6 million jobs and generated $27.5 billion in revenue to local, state, and federal governments (a yield well beyond their collective $5 billion in arts allocations). In Fairfield County, the nonprofit arts and culture industry generated $235.2 million of economic activity during 2015—$148.6 million in spending by arts and cultural organizations and an additional $86.6 million in event-related expenditures by their audiences. This activity supported 6,789 jobs and generated $20.6 million in revenue to local and state governments. The Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County (in partnership with the Cultural Alliance of Western Connecticut) was one of the 250 partners that made this study possible. 72 of the 311 eligible nonprofit arts and cultural organizations participated in this study—an overall participation rate of 23.2 percent. For further details, go to: americansforthearts.org/economicimpact of the National Study(download reports; see a video); for the Fairfield County study, click here. Also, Sign Up Here for our Tues. July 25 Panel Discussion on the economic impact of arts and culture on Fairfield County and Connecticut by Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff and municipal Economic Development Officers Mark Barnhart, Rina Bakalar, and others to be announced. |
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| | NEW RESOURCES SUMMARIZE IMLS SUPPORT FOR MUSEUMS & LIBRARIES IN EACH STATE
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has released reports with detailed views of IMLS funding for the past six years for every state in the nation (including DC). This is the first time IMLS has compiled information across its museum and library programs by state in this manner. The documents will serve as a one-stop information source with data that are publicly available but are currently distributed across multiple datasets or databases. The Connecticut report can be downloaded here. IMLS is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 35,000 museums. In the six years FY 2011-2016, IMLS (including matching non-Federal grants) funding has amounted to $30,126,699 through 165 projects and grants to CT. The Library Grants to States Program, awarded $2.03 million in FY14 to the State Library and leveraged some $4.37 million in support from the state for library services. In FY14 & 15, 53% of CT’s projects focused on improving patrons’ lifelong learning, and 27% aimed to improve patrons’ information access. About half (51%) of these projects were administered at public libraries, with just under half (48%) administered by the Connecticut SLAA. More than $5.7 million was awarded through 61 grants to libraries and museums in CT in FY 2011-2016, including two National Medals for Museum and Library Service. Of 28 competitive awards in the state, Fairfield County received 5 (Beardsley Zoo, Fairfield Museum and History Center, Housatonic Community College Foundation, Stepping Stones Museum and Westport Library). Of 24 Museum Assessment Program grants awarded FY2011-2016, Fairfield County received 6 (Fairfield University Art Museum, Housatonic Museum of Art, Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum, The Barnum Museum, Trumbull Historical Society, and Wilton Historical Society. For further details click here.
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NEW HAVEN CHORALE BUSINESS OPERATIONS MANAGER
The New Haven Chorale seeks a Business Operations Manager responsible for managing the day to day operations of the Chorale. Responsibilities include daily financial matters, communications, database management, recording special meeting minutes, and support for all operations. Must have well-developed interpersonal skills and a working knowledge of basic accounting. Proficiency in Microsoft Office - Word, Excel and Access - required. Knowledge of Quick Books preferred. Must have flexible schedule to accommodate Chorale rehearsal, performance and event schedule. Anticipated time commitment average 12 hours per week, but varies considerably depending on concerts and other events. Please send cover letter and resume to: Executive Director, New Haven Chorale, PO Box 1897, New Haven, CT. |
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ARTSPACE NEW HAVEN PRODUCER CITYWIDE OPEN STUDIOS
New Haven Symphony Orchestra seeks a Development Coordinator, responsible for administrative support of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra’s comprehensive year-round fundraising program. The Coordinator reports to the Development Director, assisting in fundraising campaigns, networking activities, and general administrative duties. Additionally, the Development Coordinator may be responsible for assisting the CEO with specific projects and helping with the Box Office. The successful candidate must possess a professional attitude, excellent time management skills, and an efficient, resourceful work ethic. Desired personal characteristics and general attributes include: organized, detail-oriented, collaborative, and positive. Familiarity with Raiser’s Edge software is desirable. Full details available here.
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| | | | | | | | | | | The Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County is a 501(c)(3) organization. We are very grateful for the support of our individual and organization members, our individual donors and the following organizations. |
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