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Photo courtesy of http://www.leg.wa.gov/CapitolPhotoGallery
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Welcome to the 2013 Legislature
From the Executive Director
This past year we revised our mission statement to claim our role as "a catalyst for the arts." Our new mission statement gives me some fresh new perspectives as I anticipate the 2013 Legislature and the leadership of a new governor.
We will be working hard in the coming months to secure ArtsWA funding for the next two years. We want to make sure elected officials understand the impact of the arts in communities throughout the state, and how a relatively small public investment benefits individuals, organizations and communities.
State funding enables us to expand arts participation, strengthen arts education, leverage other funds, develop leadership, care for the State Art Collection and generate creative sector jobs. Our investments in research are building understanding of the arts. We're partnering with community foundations to convene arts leaders, with educators to improve arts learning, and with cultural organizations to provide training and coordinate service delivery. Our grant dollars incentivize broader outreach and responsible program management by arts organizations throughout the state.
In numerous conversations in recent weeks, it has been terrific to learn more about how the arts have made a difference in the lives of our legislators and other elected officials. In the months ahead we will be continuing to build those relationships and explore opportunities to serve as a catalyst for the arts.
Thanks for your efforts - and keep in touch.
Kris Tucker
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Show your love of the arts: Participate in Arts & Heritage Day
- Don't miss Arts & Heritage Day, at the Capitol Feb. 6
- Network with other culture lovers: Attend the upcoming Art of Heritage Conference Feb. 4-5
- Start your Wednesdays with the Heritage Caucus
Don't miss Arts & Heritage Day, Feb. 6
Every year, in February, Washingtonians celebrate our arts and culture through Arts & Heritage Day. Coordinated by the Washington State Arts Alliance in partnership with the Washington State Museum Association, the day focuses on the gathering of arts advocates, in Olympia. Participants come from communities throughout the state to schedule time to talk with legislators about the value of the arts in the day to day lives of their constituents.
Arts & Heritage Day discussions in past years included such topics as increasing the number of days that non-profit facilities can be rented to for-profit organizations, extending lodging taxes for the arts and culture, and including the arts as a core subject in state education reform.
This year, Arts & Heritage Day will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 6. If you would like to participate, contact Mark Gerth at the Washington State Arts Alliance.
Network with other culture lovers: Attend the upcoming Art of Heritage Conference, Feb. 4-5
Conferences are a great way to network and get in-depth information about topics you love. This year, we're partnering with the Washington State Historical Society. Washington State Arts Alliance and Washington State Museum Association to host "The Art of Heritage," a two-day conference in Olympia geared toward anyone who is involved with arts or heritage organizations.
The workshops on Monday, February 4, will take place at the State Capital Museum, in Olympia. Topics include:
- Collections Care, with staff from the Washington State Historical Society
- Effective Grant Writing, with representatives from Building for the Arts, Humanities Washington and Heritage Capital Project Funds
The conference will take place on Tuesday, February 5, at the Red Lion Hotel, in Olympia. Concurrent session topics include:
- Learn how to work effectively with elected officials.
- Get a primer on implementing social media.
- Receive an update on the lodging tax law.
- Find out about initiatives to build new audiences for arts and heritage.
- See how other arts and heritage groups have used state grants.
- Get some tips on non-profit board development.
- Enjoy a special session on "Museums, Arts and Historic Sites Synergy."
Carol Kammen, Cornell University Senior Lecturer and columnist for American Association for Local and State History, is the keynote speaker.
Register for the events by January 30. Contact Shanna Stevenson, at the Washington State Historical Society, for more information.
Washington State Heritage Caucus begins Jan. 16
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Organized in 1990, the Heritage Caucus convenes a bipartisan group of state legislators and other elected officials; staff from state heritage, arts, and cultural agencies and nonprofit organizations; and citizens interested in supporting Washington's cultural heritage and the arts.
The Caucus meets regularly while the Washington State Legislature is in session to discuss heritage, arts, and other cultural and recreational issues. Sen. Jim Honeyford (R), 15th District, and Rep. Kevin Van De Wege (D), 24th District, serve as co-chairs. Mark Vessey, of the Washington State Historical Society, and Cathy Cochrane, of the Washington State Arts Commission, staff the Caucus.
The agenda typically includes a review of pending legislation followed by one or two brief presentations by Caucus participants.
The first Heritage Caucus for the 2013 Legislative Session takes place Jan. 16, at 7 a.m., in the Cherberg Building, Room A/B.
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White Bluffs Elementary School, in Richland, take in Paradise by Garth Edwards, 2009, aluminum sculpture cutouts.
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Arts in Education grant applications coming soon!
Planning to strengthen the arts in your local schools with an Arts in Education grant from ArtsWA? The time is almost here to apply. Guidelines and application materials for our Arts in Education FY14 grant programs will be available at the end of January. The applications will be due in March. Both the First Step and the Community Consortium grants support partnerships between schools, arts organizations and other community partners who collaborate to improve and expand arts education in K-12 public schools. We encourage applications from partnerships in all regions of our state. For more information, visit our website, or contact Lisa Jaret, Arts in Education Program Manager. As soon as the application materials are available, we'll post links on our Facebook and Twitter (@ArtsWA) pages, so don't forget to follow us.
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Education leaders offered opportunity to learn about arts-integrated instruction ArtsEd Washington and the Association of Washington School Principals will host Arts and the Common Core, a half-day peer forum, on Friday, March 1, at the Tacoma Art Museum. The forum, which takes place from 9 a.m. to noon, is designed for school principals and school district leaders. Activities will focus on best practices for ensuring quality school arts instruction with integrated arts lessons aligned to Common Core State Standards. Topics include: - Examining recent research about exceptional teaching and quality arts education.
- Enhancing knowledge of arts lesson alignment with Common Core math concepts.
- Discussing how the new evaluation frameworks relate to arts teaching using a new measurement tool from Arts Impact to identify excellent arts-integrated teaching.
Registration is required. For more information visit the ArtsEd Washington website.
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 | | Kaleidoscape in 12-Part Harmony (detail), Roger Nachman, 2012. Kiln-formed glass. Image courtesy the artist. |
Kaleidoscape enlivens school, engages students
Lakeridge Middle School (Sumner School District) recently underwent a major renovation and, as a result, had the opportunity to commission public art for the school. The local Art Selection Committee hoped for an artwork that would enliven the commons area and engage the students. After reviewing nearly 100 portfolios, the committee, composed of school and district staff, a community artist, and three students, selected Seattle artist Roger Nachman. The committee recommended the artwork's site to Nachman, provided feedback to his designs, and approved his final proposal. The result is Kaleidoscape in 12-part Harmony, a portion of which is pictured above.
Kaleidoscape is conceived as a cascading flow of color, gesture, and jazz. Installed in August, it fills the commons of Lakeridge with movement and color. Nachman created this multi-panel glass artwork utilizing a complex combination of colors and opacity, and incorporated several punches of dichroic glass to animate the artwork under varying light conditions.
Kaleidoscape joins 4,500 other artworks that comprise the State Art Collection. Sited throughout the state, the collection contains a variety of media and a diversity of contemporary artistic production from many of Washington State's notable artists, as well as from other artists nationwide. Our Art in Public Places program facilitates the acquisition, placement, and stewardship of the artwork.
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Did you miss the Art and Social Change conference?
You can read a summary online and participate in an ongoing dialogue at
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