 
So much to report, so little space! NCArts is involved in several projects, initiatives and successes I'd like to share with you.
First, NCArts is pleased to announce the establishment of an office in the Grass Valley Visitors Center, at 128 East Main Street, beginning on Tuesday, July 8. We're excited to be sharing space with the Greater Grass Valley Chamber of Commerce, and look forward to many beneficial collaborations. Most of all, we're happy to open a downtown office that will allow greater face-to-face contact with our members. Our initial office hours will be from 11-3 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and we hope to increase those hours soon. Feel free to drop in and say, "Hi!"
As part of our new office location, we have a new exhibit opportunity to offer our members. Check out the article below on our Gallery Program for visual artists!
Also in July and August, we'll be focusing on outreach to our membership. We want to hear your suggestions, keep our memberships current, and be sure everyone is aware that beginning in September, only members will be listed in our website directories, have live links from the NCArts website to theirs, and have their events featured on the website and newsletter. Anyone can (and should) still use the calendar service, but these extra services will only be available to members.
Finally, we also want to be sure everyone is aware of several recent important policy/funding successes at the state and local levels - involving the California Arts Council, the Nevada County Office of Education, and Nevada First Friday Art Walks. Please read more about these successes in the accompanying articles. NCArts worked on behalf of each of these successful efforts, resulting in thousands of new dollars being invested in the arts here in Nevada County. (To date in 2014, we have generated over $48,000 in "outside money" going to local arts; in the past two years, including local and non-local funding, we have invested over $100,000 in service to the arts in Nevada County.) We hope to have your support to continue this important work. With individual memberships starting at only $35/year (less than 10¢ a day), you can see how that money is leveraged many times over. Your membership in NCArts is a great way to be "Part of the Arts."
Appreciatively,
Brian Buckley
Executive DirectorNevada County Arts |
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The Sierra Storytelling Festival
July 18 - 20, 2014
Set among the towering pines and sloping lawns of the North Columbia Schoolhouse, the Sierra Storytelling Festival is now in its 29th year - a much-loved annual tradition for both locals and visitors from across the country - and the storyteller line-up for this year is better than ever.
"Our festival is known as the 'Queen of Storytelling Festivals' for good reason," says Jeff Adams, Executive Director of the North Columbia Schoolhouse Cultural Center. "It was founded by a local storyteller, but attracts people from all over California and the country, because of the beauty of our setting and the nationally-renowned storytellers who we invite. This year's line-up is stellar."
Much celebrated and multiple award-winner Bill Harley will be gracing the stage and leading a storytelling workshop (that will sell out quickly!). Also on the program is Bay Area native and world-traveller, Joel ben Izzy; the transcendent Abenaki Indian storyteller Joe Bruchac; classic wit Millbre Burch; the delightful and captivating Muriel Johnson; the National Storytelling Network's Emerging Artist Kirk Waller and the riveting teller of Appalachian and Texas tales, Elizabeth Ellis.
"You'll hear timeless stories that are the narratives of our lives... others that relate our histories and traditions... and still more that voice our reasons for living and our hopes and dreams," says Adams, "It's a very special event - a Nevada County gem - and an opportunity to slow down, turn off the phone and soak in the power and simplicity of well-told stories by world-class tellers."
Tickets and information at www.sierrastorytellingfestival.org
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"Spring Tangle at Hirschman's Pond" by Linda Galusha
Focus on a Member: Linda Galusha For Linda Galusha, Grass Valley had always been one of those beautiful places that touches the mind with wonder of what it might be like to live there as one visits or passes through on the way to somewhere else. This past September, she followed her wonder and moved to Grass Valley - and now falls in love regularly with the place and the people.
After she arrived, she quickly began participating in the local art scene. She entered ASiF's annual Small Works Show and The Wild and Scenic Film Festival Art Exhibit and was accepted to both. She had the good fortune of placing 2nd in the WSFF Art Exhibit's 2-D category. Her paintings have since been displayed at the Lucchesi Tasting Room and The Holbrooke Hotel (both in Grass Valley), and Kitkitdizzie in Nevada City. She will be having a show at Szabo Wine Tasting Room in Nevada City beginning in September. This show will feature current and newer works which are referenced from the local landscapes.
She also has an interesting and broad array of decorative art at an 'off-beat' and fun, upcycled furniture store in Chicago Park called Elegant Salvage. These pieces are generally works on unconventional surfaces like really old boards, corrugated and rusted metal, metal and wooden screens, etc..
Linda has been in business as a custom artist since 1998 and has painted many murals, both commercial and residential; exterior and interior. Her business includes fine art, custom murals, illustrations, portraits, and actualizing personal concepts offered by clients. Most of her business has been generated from word of mouth or from some one having seen a completed work.
Her website features her fine art works and she also has a Facebook page for her fine art, GalushaArtStudio, which features an on-going offering of commissioned/custom works from her business of the past 15 years as well as work in progress. She also has a Facebook page for her decorative art, Elegant Salvage. Linda currently lives and works in a small loft space in Grass Valley. You can contact her by email or at 530.757.6882
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NCArts Gallery for Members NCArts is proud to announce a great new opportunity for local artists to exhibit their work and generate a local following. As part of the new office space for NCArts in the Grass Valley Visitors Center, NCArts is in charge of a 'mini-gallery" with approximately 30 linear feet of wall space and a corresponding amount of floor space.
For a small fee ($60/month), artists will be able to exhibit their work in the gallery for two months. During that time, NCArts will host a reception (with food and beverages) at the gallery space. NCArts will also profile the exhibit in a newsletter article and on the website. Artists will keep all proceeds from the sale of their work - NCArts will take no commission. Artists interested in exhibiting their work at the gallery through this program should submit their applications via the NCArts website Call to Artist portal. There is a non-refundable $30 application fee, though this charge will be credited to the cost of the program for any accepted artist. Once the application is submitted with the fee and uploaded work samples, the application will be active for two years, and NCArts may contact the artist to schedule an exhibition at any time during that period. Generally, artists will be contacted between two and six months in advance in order to schedule an exhibition. The first exhibition will begin in September 2014. Look for the Call to Artists requesting applications in an eblast later in July. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us by emailing info@nevadacountyarts.org.
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SYRCL Wild & Scenic Film Festival Poster Contest
Want your artwork to be used as the graphic for the 2015 Wild & Scenic Film Festival? SYRCL is seeking an artist to design original artwork to be used on all collateral material for the festival, including, but not limited to: promotional and commemorative posters, program, postcards, flyers, coasters, merchandise, website etc.
The artist's work that is selected will be provided a $500 cash prize and two festival passes valued at $250 for a prize package totaling $750. In addition, winning artwork and honorable mentions will be prominently displayed at the Festival available for sale (SYRCL retains 25% of sale price).
Submissions should tie into this year's theme is: "A Wild Life."
For inspiration, you can see past year's graphics in the form of promotional posters here. SYRCL encourages submissions that feature the beautiful natural world, adventure in that world, and activism involved in protecting it in the context of the year's theme.
All mediums of work will be considered. The most wide-spread way the artwork will be used is as an 11"w x 17"h promotional poster. Artwork must work with that aspect ratio.
You can download complete entry guidelines here.
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The CSSSA Art Scholars are, left to right, Callum McKean, Emma Lauterbach, Donovan Farwell, Jentry Huntington and Patrick Shannon.
Five Nevada Union Students Named as CSSSA Art Scholars
The California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA), the CSSSA Foundation, and Nevada County Arts are pleased to announce the CSSSA California Arts Scholars for the 2014 summer session. Representing Nevada County are: Donovan Farwell (Theater); Jentry Huntington (Dance); Emma Lauterbach (Theater); Callum McKean (Creative Writing); and Patrick Shannon (Theater). Drawn from a pool of over 1600 applicants, the approximately 500 high school age students selected are considered to be some of the most outstanding students in the arts from all over the State of California. Students hail from all 58 California counties, and have demonstrated outstanding artistic excellence in one of the seven CSSSA disciplines: Animation, Creative Writing, Film, Dance, Music, Theatre or the Visual Arts. The 2014 Session of the California State Summer School for the Arts will be held July 12-August 8, 2014.
The Awards Event for the Nevada County participants was held on July 1 at the Powell House in Nevada City. Each of the five CSSSA Art Scholars received a commemorative medal and annual memberships in both NCArts and The Center for the Arts. Brian Buckley, Executive Director of NCArts said "As a retired educator, it's gratifying to see these talented young artists accepted into this potentially life-changing program. These students should take a bow for their achievement - as should their parents and teachers, for contributing to their success."
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DANK Inaugural Local artists announce a new collaborative effort highlighting the contemporary art scene in Nevada County. Featuring 2-D and sculpture by some of the best local talent and moving into a highly visible, temporary space, The DANK Inaugural begins a new chapter in the thriving Nevada County art scene. Participating artists include Celine Adrianne Negrete, Roseanne Burke, Sheila Cameron, Kathy Frey, Cynthia Levesque, Dylan Sherwood McConnell, Moira McLaughlin, Joe Meade, Nancy Nelson and Reinette Senum. The opening and closing artists' receptions take place during two of Nevada City's First Friday Art Walks on July 11th and August 1st.. The DANK Inaugural is essentially a pop-up art happening in an otherwise unoccupied space at 300 Spring Street in Nevada City. Additional gallery hours will be posted on the group's Facebook page, where there is also information about the artists and their work in progress. "Water" is the theme of both The DANK Inaugural show as well as the July 11, Art Walk. "We are exploring what works and using available resources to make things happen locally. Occupying an empty space and filling it with art for Art Walk just makes sense and it has been exciting to watch this come together," says participating artist Sheila Cameron. "DANK was inspired by the many successful business and farm co-ops in the area. It seemed appropriate that fellow artists and friends experiment with a cooperative model in order to similarly thrive. Like all art movements we are operating on several levels and ever evolving," says artist Moira McLaughlin. DANK was founded in Nevada City, California on August 20, 2013 as an off-shoot of Nevada County Yarn Bombers, a group that oversaw three successful public art installations and sought to go beyond fiber arts. The group is interested in collaboration, the rural ideal, contemporary social issues, and a post-Great Recession, anti-urban aesthetic grounded in the legacy of California's Gold Rush. |
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NCArt Awarded $7500 for First Friday Art Walks
NCArts, in partnership with Peggy Wright and Cynthia Levesque, submitted a successful grant ($7,500) in support of the Nevada City First Friday Art Walks. The CAC sponsored grant program, "Creating Places of Vitality," funds proposals of up to $10,000 to utilize the arts for economic and community development in rural areas. The funds will help with programming, publicity, and infrastructure for the event. NCArts Executive Director Brian Buckley said, "I'm really pleased that this grant was funded. Peggy Wright did a great job authoring most of the application, and Cynthia Levesque has put in countless hours to get this program up and running, so it is very deserved. These funds will help pay for artists, promotional materials, and some of the 'behind the scenes work' that is so important to making a successful event. We helped support the First Friday Art Walks last year, and I'm happy we were able to contribute on a larger scale this year."
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This year local artists will open their studios for two weekends in July - July 11-13 and July 18-20. ARTour is a chance to get a "behind the scenes" look at how art is created.From watercolors, pastels, oils and acrylics, glass art and woodworking, to custom jewelry, photography, printmaking, ceramics and mixed media, there's something for everyone. A complete list of participating artists is here.
Studios range from intimate painting alcoves to production woodworking shops and art glass studios filled with kilns, to museum-style galleries. Free printed Tour Guides will be available at many local art galleries and retailers throughout the region, and at North Tahoe Arts in Tahoe City. For more information, visit www.northtahoearts.com
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NCArts Facilitates
Funding for the Arts
This past February and May, NCArts staff and board members were pleased to visit Sacramento to testify in support of increased funding for the California Arts Council. These efforts, and those of many, many more arts supporters, were successful as Governor Brown recently signed a budget that increased state general fund support for the CAC from $1M to $6M. The total budget for CAC will now be $10M as opposed to the $5M budget it has had each year for the past decade. We still have a long way to go to restore CAC funding to the $31M budget it had in 2000, but this is a great start!
NCArts is also celebrating the recent inclusion of $25,000 in the County Superintendent of Schools Budget for the services of an Arts Education Coordinator. In February of this year, NCArts hosted a community forum on arts education, and from that event, an Arts Education Leadership Committee was formed, which included several district superintendents, County Superintendent Holly Hermansen, the executive directors of Music In the Mountains and The Center for the Arts, several artists, educators, and NCArts representatives. This committee was instrumental in raising awareness about the need for more support, communication, and coordination for arts education.
County Superintendent Hermansen and the Nevada County School Board understood both the value of the arts and the major funding shortfalls that have occurred in recent years, and decided to make this a priority for some of the new education funds that have been allocated from the state. As a result, the County Office of Education and NCArts will have an ongoing collaboration to bolster the quality and quantity of arts education opportunities for students in Nevada County.
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