10/11 Arts Ed Fundraiser: MI Youth Arts in Motion 5k

The inaugural Michigan Youth Arts in Motion 5k will take place October 11, 2009 in Royal Oak

Family-friendly and suitable for both runners and walkers, the event will raise money for Michigan Youth Arts, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization promoting arts education for every student in Michigan schools. More than just a race, the event will be a celebration of the arts – featuring live performances, on-site installations, and more!

Three ways for you to get involved:

1. REGISTER
The chip-timed 5k run is just $30 through September 27, $35 thereafter. The self-timed 5k run or walk is only $25 through September 27, $30 thereafter. There's a kid's fun mile event, too! We welcome participants in costumes or as part of a team. Register at michiganyoutharts.org/5k.

2. VOLUNTEER
Race-day volunteers will staff the water station, serve as course marshals, help with registration and check-in, and much more. Anyone high school age or older is welcome. This is a great chance for groups or individuals to perform a service to the community! Download volunteer guidelines here: http://www.michiganyoutharts.org/pdf/5kvolunteers.pdf

3. DO ART
Artists of all ages are invited to submit proposals to perform or install art at the event! We are especially looking for groups to perform along the route and in the park, visual and interactive art in the park, and creative awards to give to participants. Download guidelines at: http://www.michiganyoutharts.org/pdf/artistguidelines.pdf

RUN FOR THE ARTS!

About Michigan Youth Arts:
Michigan Youth Arts is a statewide arts education association that serves as a collaborative of
other organizations across disciplines including: instrumental music, vocal music, creative writing, visual arts, film/video, dance, and theatre. Michigan Youth Arts advocates for quality arts education as a core subject throughout Michigan schools. Learn more at: http://michiganyoutharts.org/

Mon 9/14: Escanaba ArtServe/MDM Event

The UPPER PENINSULA ARTS & CULTURAL COMMUNITY has a unique opportunity on 9/14/09 to make its voice heard regarding the many critical issues affecting Michigan’s future.

ArtServe Michigan and Michigan’s Defining Moment have partnered to capture the voice of the Upper Peninsula Arts & Cultural Community and make sure it is heard by our future elected leaders in Lansing. Please join us for a presentation from ArtServe Michigan before the MDM Community Conversation.

WHO ASKED YOU?

That's the problem. Too often, our policymakers in Lansing are not asking Michigan citizens what they feel about critical issues like diversifying Michigan's economy, education and clear taxing and spending priorities. Not anymore. The Center for Michigan is asking you to HAVE YOUR SAY and influence the course of Michigan's future.

Next year is a watershed election. In the midst of a declining economy, all of the state’s top posts including the governor, 30 of the 38 state senators and more than 70 percent of the Michigan House of Representatives will be replaced because of term limits. 2010 is “Michigan’s Defining Moment.” With the massive turnover, it is imperative that you make your vision for Michigan clear to current Lansing decision makers and upcoming candidates.

Michigan’s Defining Moment is a 3-year statewide, non-partisan effort by the Center for Michigan to get people talking about Michigan's challenges and opportunities, and develop a common ground agenda to help guide the decisions of state and local leaders. MDM community conversations are an innovative public participation approach that is truly solutions-oriented. Help create public policy that percolates from the grassroots up, not from Lansing down. Over 6,000 Michigan citizens have weighed in so far. HAVE YOUR SAY on what can be done to ensure a brighter future for Michigan.

Monday, September 14

TIME: 1:00pm –4:00pm

LOCATION: William Bonifas Arts Center - 700 1st Avenue South, Escanaba

RSVP: Simon Perazza - Simon@artservemichigan.org or 517.980.1839

MI Senate Rejects Gov's EO and Passes SB 503-527

ARTSERVE MICHIGAN: Senate Rejects Gov's EO and Passes SB 503-527

Yesterday the Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee passed a package of bills that will keep the components of the Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL) together within the Department of State.

Moments ago, with a vote of 21 ayes, 14 nays and 2 excused, the Senate both rejected the Governor's Executive Order to close HAL and passed its own plan to close HAL but keep the components together within the Department of State.

This was the first hurdle in what will be a long journey if we are to see this package signed into law. The bills will now go before a committee in the House of Representatives before heading to the full House for a vote. There is certainly a sense of urgency in the matter as the House has until September 11th to join the Senate in rejecting the Governor's Executive Order, yet the House does not meet until September 2nd.

Thank you to the hundreds who quickly sent an email to your Senator regarding this issue. It is only through your continued support that Michigan's arts and cultural sector will have a chance at getting these bills passed.

STAY TUNED

As soon as ArtServe learns which committee the bills will be sent to, we will ask you to send a similar pre-drafted email to members of the committee asking for a hearing to be held as well as for their support.

Please know that these are only the first steps in a long journey for this package of bills if it is to be signed into law. ArtServe needs your help to continue to impress upon our elected leaders the importance of keeping the components of HAL together under one roof and ensuring that arts & culture in Michigan has an advocate that will stand up and fight for our issues.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments,

Mike Latvis
Director of Public Policy
ArtServe Michigan
mike@artservemichigan.org
248-379-5897

APPS DUE 8/31: Kresge Fdn $200k for Arts & Community Grants in Detroit

Kresge Foundation to Provide $200,000 for Arts and Community Grants in Detroit

(Detroit,Michigan 7/30/09) The Kresge Foundation of Troy, Michigan, is piloting a new community arts and engagement project in Detroit, Baltimore, Maryland, and St. Louis, Missouri, that encourages residents to use art and culture as a tool to address issues in their communities. The Detroit program is titled Kresge Community Arts. The foundation is investing $200,000 over two years in each city. Grants will range from $2,500 to $10,000.

The project is designed to test Kresge’s belief that grassroots arts and cultural projects can be an effective tool to unite communities, address pressing social issues, and uplift spirits in difficult times. Individuals and groups are encouraged to apply, including local artists and historians, neighborhood and homeowner associations, youth with parental consent, service agencies, municipal governments, community development corporations, and arts and cultural organizations, among others. “We believe a thriving arts and cultural community inspires new thinking, spurs innovation and accelerates the creative vitality of a city or region,” said Rip Rapson, president of the Kresge Foundation. “We hope these grants encourage civic dialogue and provide creative outlets to feed the human spirit.”

Kresge Community Arts is intended to support the creative ideas that percolate from within the selected communities. The hope is that projects will engage underserved and new audiences as well as children, teens and families; promote cross-cultural understanding; increase exposure to art and culture; and provide experiences in non-traditional spaces such as low-income housing developments, juvenile detention centers, battered women’s shelters and after-school program centers.

“There are many talented artists and artistic activities in Detroit that are not always well-funded or widely recognized,” says pilot-program administrator Susan D. Wood. “At the same time, we have numerous social-service entities and community-based groups in Detroit that are working hard to restore distressed neighborhoods and to provide services to families and children. We hope this pilot program will encourage partnerships across these sectors and result in the creation of community-based works of art that inspire residents and revitalize neighborhoods.”

Pilot cities were selected based on a criterion that included median household income and the readiness of existing local partners to help launch the project. Twelve of the nation’s most distressed cities were considered for participation. In metropolitan Detroit, only residents and/or organizations living or located in the cities of Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park are eligible to apply.

Applicants in the three pilot cities – Detroit, Baltimore and St. Louis – may request two-year grants for planning and implementation. Projects do not have to be new, but existing projects will not receive priority funding. Complete information on Kresge Community Arts, the grant process, and applications can be found at www.kresge.org. The submission deadline for the Detroit area is August 31. Grantees will be announced in October 2009 with funding beginning thereafter.

Kresge Foundation – The Kresge Foundation is a $2.8 billion private, national foundation that supports communities by building the capacity of nonprofit organizations in six fields: health, the environment, arts and culture, education, human services and community development. In partnership with grantees, Kresge seeks to influence the quality of life for future generations by creating access and opportunity in underserved communities, improving the health of low-income people, supporting artistic expression, assisting in the revitalization of Detroit, and advancing methods for dealing with global climate change. In 2008, the foundation approved 342 grants totaling $181 million.”

FOR MORE DETAILS AND INFORMATION ON THIS OPPORTUNITY CLICK HERE

Midwest art museum reshapes its role in the community - Flint Institute of Arts

"The Flint Institute of Arts (FIA) cut its teeth on hard times, opening as a community art school in 1928, a year before the start of the Great Depression. To raise money for its first acquisition as a museum, staff hung a small box next to a borrowed painting, and students and visitors were encouraged to donate towards it purchase...

...The FIA also continues to put a great deal of thought into the exhibits they host -- with the express purpose of appealing to ever wider audiences who will add energy and excitement to the institution. Its recent exhibit “Comics, Heroes, and American Visual Culture,” sponsored by the National Endowment of the Arts and the Mott Foundation, generated a surprising amount of visitor traffic. A companion exhibit, “Beyond the Frame: African-American Comic Book Artists,” was organized by the FIA in collaboration with John Jennings, a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and comic book industry artist Robert Stull.

“It’s a genius idea,” said Matt Osmon, a local high school art teacher and frequent gallery visitor who applauds FIA’s willingness to experiment with “crazy, young stuff.”

TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE

Detroit Police Station to be Community Arts Center

"Detroit's defunct Third Precinct police station could be converted into a community arts center for Mexicantown under a plan approved this morning by Detroit's Brownfield Redevelopment Authority.

Creative Arts Center LLC, an arm of the non-profit Southwest Housing Solutions social service agency, hopes to acquire the empty precinct station from the city for the $1.98 million project. The brownfield authority approved a Michigan Business Tax credit worth $195,000 today to help move the project along.

The City Council would have to approve the plan, and the city would have to agree to sell the building. If completed, the station would provide classrooms, studio spaces, and performance venues. Children, senior citizens, and others in the neighborhood would interact there with artists and performers."

TO READ THE DETROIT FREE PRESS ARTICLE CLICK HERE

AUDITIONS 8/20 & 8/21: Michigan Dance Project

"We're searching for NEW talent to join Michigan Dance Project!

Dancers ages 17 + are encouraged to audition. Must have solid technique and adaptable style. Rehearsals are every Friday night, and two Saturdays a month. The season is Sept - June. Performances are paid (as much as our budget allows...) and company members receive weekly class for free. Lots of other perks and fun opportunities! We also are looking for a few more apprentices (ages 15+).

If you're looking to enter the professional dance scene in Michigan, this is your chance!"

AUDITIONS:
Thursday Aug. 20 & Friday Aug. 21
(only necessary to attend one date)
5:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Location:
Michelle's Academy of Dance
101 Appian Way, Suite 104
Brighton, MI 48116

"No cost to audition. Please arrive a bit early to fill out audition forms. Resume/headshot appreciated, but not required. Ballet, jazz & contemporary will be included in audition.

Feel free to send me a message with any questions! And please, pass on this info to any exceptional dancers who might be interested!!"

Kathy King
Artistic Director
Michigan Dance Project
email: michigandanceproject@yahoo.com
website: http://www.michigandanceproject.org