Thanks to a growing band of alumni volunteers and generous donors, the A.R.T. Alumni Association has flourished over the past year. I have the pleasure of recognizing all the incredible people that brought rewarding alumni activities and publications to life in the last few months.
 
This year, for the first time, the Alumni Lab offered Artist Grants of up to $1500 to six graduates and their collaborators to create their own work and present it to the public. Lab co-chairs Shawn Rene Graham '96 and Peter Richards '05 initiated this new program and raised the funds to make it happen. See below for more details on the Lab and the 2009 grant recipients.  We'd like to thank the generous donors who made this first round of Alumni Artist Grants possible: Carol and Harvey Berman, Beth Pollock, David and Carol Richards, Robert Brustein, Lincoln and Victoria Graham, and Michael Roitman.
 
Nurit Monacelli '00 launched the new Alumni Mentoring Program, which matches recent grads with experienced alumni of similar interests and backgrounds from cities across the country.
 
Marguerite Stimpson '01 organized an ambitious Alumni Survey on the subject of the Institute Showcase. The survey, which was presented to current Institute students and A.R.T. faculty, contained invaluable feedback on ways to get industry attention for and give a distinctive edge to the Institute Showcase. Together with Adam Kern'08, Marguerite also created the first edition of the "Showcase Bible" --a book for 2nd Year Institute students containing a production time-line for the Showcase and contact information for agents and managers.
 
We have several new and improved on-line networking tools to keep our graduates connected, working, and inspired. The Association Officers started the Alumni Facebook Group, and Sean Kelly '01 set up our LinkedIn Group. Our Yahoo! Alumni List-Serve is now in its eighth year with more postings every month.
 
For the past four years, Association Secretary Dan Domingues '03 has edited the Alumni News website, culling together the career and life-events of our graduates. Dan also initiated the Alumni Spotlight, which features detailed biographies of some of our most intriguing and adventurous alumni. Look for the 2009 Alumni News update in July.
 
We continued hosting our regular events this year. Association Vice President Tor Hillhouse '04 and Treasurer Alexandra Fulton '04 organized the Life After Showcase discussions and the Fall Gatherings in New York and L.A.
 
Mara Sidmore '06, Nick Newell '01, and I led the Transcript Committee, which worked with the Institute administration to create a new on-line system for ordering A.R.T. Institute transcripts.
 
And finally, Shawn Rene Graham '97 and I joined forces to establish our 501 (c) (3) status. Two years and countless government forms later, the Alumni Association is officially tax exempt!
 

Rebekah Maggor '03
President, A.R.T. Institute Alumni Association

 
None of these amazing programs  would be possible without our vast network of graduates. Your alumni dues and your enthusiastic support of this organization keep us going. We hope you will continue to support the Alumni Association by paying your tax-deductible 2009 dues. For only $30 a year, you can keep this amazing organization alive and growing. Dues-paying members will receive a copy of the 2009 Directory of Graduates-- an invaluable resource for all our alumni. (A special thanks to Mark Lynch '03 for designing the directory and to Grossman Marketing Group for printing it.)

  Pay your tax-deductible 2009 Alumni Dues now!

For Friends of the Alumni Association, we hope you will consider making a tax-deductible donation. Particularly in these tough economic times, the alumni artists need your help more than ever.