News
Congratulations to the 2013 Lumies Award Nominees!
On June 7, 2013 the Tucson Pima Arts Council (TPAC) will host the annual Lumies Arts & Business Awards at El Casino Ballroom in Tucson. Now in its 12th year, the Lumies celebrate the many individuals and organizations that grow, shape and support arts and culture in Tucson and Pima County. (more…)
Save the Date: FY14 Grant Review Panels
Annually, the Arts Commission convenes volunteer panelists from across the state to review applications to grants for organizations and schools. Review panels for Festival Grants, Arts Learning Grants, Community Investment Grants and Honoring Our Servicemembers Grants are all open public meetings held at the Arizona State University Mercado, on the downtown Phoenix campus.
Chaired by our agency’s Governor-appointed Commissioners, panels are made up of artists, arts professionals, educators, community members and others actively involved in the arts, nonprofit and service sectors. Panelists are selected for their diverse range of expertise, and serve by reviewing applications, making support recommendations and advising the Arts Commission on grantmaking policies.
The review panel meetings are a prime opportunity for applicants and those interested in submitting an application in the future to observe the panel proceedings and learn more about the qualities of successful, competitive grant applications. Applicants who are able to attend are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity, to gather valuable insights regarding their application, and to get an insider’s look at the review process.
All panel meetings listed in the schedule below will be held at the Arizona State University Mercado, at 502 East Monroe Street, Building C, Phoenix, AZ 85004. See the Arts Commission’s calendar for the most up-to-date information regarding panel dates and times.
Questions about the panel meetings? Call Kristen Pierce, Organizational Services Coordinator, at 602-771-6517.
Interested in serving as a volunteer panelist for the next review of grant applications? Visit Volunteer and Panelist Opportunities on our website.
Grants to Organizations and Schools, Fiscal Year 2014 (July 1, 2013 – June 30, 2014)
Review Panel ScheduleWednesday, May 15, 2013; 9:30am to 4:30pm
Community Investment Grants I
Festival Grants AThursday, May 16, 2013; 9:30am to 4:30pm
Community Investment Grants IITuesday, May 21, 2012, 2013; 9:30am to 4:30pm
Festival Grants B & Honoring Our ServicemembersTuesday, May 21, 2012, 2013; 12:30pm to 5:00pm
Community Investment Grants VIWednesday, May 22, 2013, 2011; 9:30am to 4:30pm
Arts Learning Grants
Community Investment Grants VThursday, May 23, 2013; 9:30am to 4:30pm
Community Investment Grants III
Community Investment Grants IV
10 NEA Art Works Grants Received in Arizona
This week, the National Endowment for the Arts announced its second round of Art Works grants for fiscal year 2013. Ten grants were made to Arizona arts and culture organizations, totalling $320,000 in grant funds. For a complete list of Arizona grantees, project descriptions and award amounts, see the posted list, below.
From the National Endowment for the Arts press release:
These grants support exemplary projects in thirteen artistic disciplines and fields: arts education, dance, design, folk and traditional arts, literature, local arts agencies, media arts, museums, music, opera, presenting, theater and musical theater, and visual arts. (more…)
Theatre Communications Group and Blue Star Families Announce Blue Star Theatres Program
Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and Blue Star Families have announced that 85 theatres in 33 states have joined the Blue Star Theatres program. In Arizona, Childsplay is currently the only participating theatre.
The Blue Star Theatres program connects a variety of theatre offerings to military personnel and their families across the United States, building on the work already occurring at many theatres nationwide, including: playwriting classes to empower creative expression for veterans; community discussions on plays whose themes resonate with military families; free or discounted ticket programs; and, job postings and casting notices on military bases. TCG and Blue Star Families connect theatres with local bases and military families, and develop and disseminate best-practices for engaging with deployed personnel, veterans and service families. For more information about Blue Star Theatres, visit: http://www.tcg.org/advocacy/bluestar/map.cfm?st=AZ#map.
Interested in becoming a Blue Star Theatre? Learn how, here.
Arts Commission Offering On-Demand Workshop Series
In addition to providing critical grant funding to catalyze the work of artists, arts and culture organizations, and schools across the state, the Arts Commission delivers programs and services that serve the arts and culture industry in a multitude of ways.
Soon, these programs and services will become even more accessible.
Beginning in June, 2013, the Arts Commission will make available a series of on-demand workshops, addressing practical topics such as sound business practices for individual artists, maximizing the impact of cultural tourism, skills-building for teaching artists and classroom teachers, effective grantwriting practices for artists and organizations, event planning and more.
Upon request, staff members of the Arts Commission will come to a community or an organization with the desired workshop topic. Arizona artists, arts educators, representatives from arts and culture organizations, elected officials and others can serve as sponsors of the free workshops. Workshop sponsors play the lead in organizing the event, and must supply the workshop location, publicity, and a guarantee of at least 10-15 workshop participants.
In service to the arts and culture sector of Arizona, the Arts Commission aims to deliver critical and timely resources to all of its constituents. If a workshop or resource not listed is desired, please contact the Arts Commission with the request.
Click here to see the list of available workshops.
The State of the Arts: Ben Cameron on Why Arts and Culture Matter for Communities
The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust recently completed its first residency with its inaugural Thought Leader in Residence, Ben Cameron, Program Director for the Arts at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Cameron is often called upon to speak about the arts; his TED talk from 2010, “The True Power of the Performing Arts” has enjoyed over 250,000 views.
See Cameron’s take on the state of the arts in the U.S., in this dynamic, enthusiastic and passionate talk (posted below) about the future of art making and arts support in our nation. Cameron’s talk begins at about 28 minutes, and is preceded by a panel comprised of Matt Lehrman, Prinicpal at Audience Avenue and former Executive Director of Showup.com, Tim Sprague, urban developer in Phoenix, and Greg Esser, Director of the Desert Initiative for Arizona State University.
For more about the Virginia G. Piper Thought Leader in Residence, and to see coverage of Ben Cameron’s visit to Arizona, click here.
The Role of Arts and Culture in a Healthy Urban Environment, March 13, 2013
Phoenix Center for the Arts
The Role of Arts and Culture & Culture – Panel Discussion from Piper Trust on Vimeo.
Ear Candy Charity Expanding Instrument Match Service to Entire State of Arizona
Do you have a gently used musical instrument hidden behind a pile of boxes in your closet or garage?
Is your school in need of instruments to be used in music classrooms?
Ear Candy, a nonprofit organization serving the state of Arizona and “dedicated to providing youth access to music education,” created a system to match lonely instruments with eager music students.
Ear Candy’s online instrument drive program is a web based platform that gives old instruments new life by connecting music teachers and their students with the millions of perfectly good instruments collecting dust around the country.
Here’s how it works (according to Ear Candy):
Connecting Music Teachers & the Community
- Music teachers post an instrument request along with pictures and a description of their program’s need.
- Instrument donors browse requests and pledge instruments to help music programs in schools.
Shipping & Repair
- If a pledged instrument is ready to play, it can be dropped off OR shipped directly to the school.
- If an instrument requires repair, it can be dropped off OR shipped to a repair facility.
- Financial donors from the community help to cover repair and shipping costs to get that instrument to the school music program.
Delivery
- Instruments are picked up from the repair facility by the teacher or dropped off directly to the school program.
- Old instruments receive new life. Kids get access to music education.
Want to get involved? Request an instrument or donate an instrument at the Ear Candy website.
2013 PAVE Biennial Symposium to Focus on Creative Placemaking: April 12 and 13
The PAVE Program in Arts Entrepreneurship at the Arizona State University School of Theatre and Film is preparing to host the Third Symposium on Entrepreneurship and the Arts, on April 12 and 13 on the ASU Tempe campus. This year’s program, Entrepreneurship, the Arts and Creative Placemaking, will bring entrepreneurs from across the country to share ideas and experiences on how art ventures can create strong and vibrant communities.
This year’s symposium is being presented in collaboration with the ASU Art Museum Desert One Initiative and the Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation.
Nationally renowned advocate of creative placemaking, Ann Markusen, will deliver the keynote address. In addition to Markusen’s address, highlights of the schedule include Arizona’s own Roberto Bedoya who will welcome participants, networking opportunities, and Springboard for the Arts Executive Director Laura Zabel who will lead a creative placemaking workshop. See the full schedule, below. (more…)
