Inside
June 16, 2008
As the father of two school-aged children, June is known in our family as the end-of-the-year concert month. Both of my children are involved in their public school music programs and in the last few weeks I have attended the Garfield High School jazz band gala, "Farewell to Seniors" jazz band concert, and vocal jazz concert; the Washington Middle School Spring Concert; and the Seattle Youth Junior Symphony Spring Concert at Meany Hall. One of these concerts alone featured a concert band, marimba band, jazz band, flute ensemble, violin ensemble, choir and orchestra - and each displayed a level of musicianship that was simply stunning.
My children and their fellow student musicians are lucky to have attended public schools with high quality music programs and inspirational teachers. Music and arts education are essential components of a comprehensive education. In fact, the advocacy organization Children's Music Workshop has identified twelve specific benefits of music education. Who wouldn't want these benefits for their children? Despite many reports and case-studies that uphold the value of arts education, a Seattle Foundation Healthy Communities report from a couple of years ago found that "across the state, many K-12 schools offer less than an hour of instruction in music and other art forms" per week.
Fortunately three arts education updates crossed my desk this week that make me feel more optimistic about the community's efforts to validate arts as a fundamental part of all children's educations. I found these initiatives very encouraging.
Seattle Rotary launched a new initiative called "Music4Life," to expand music education for all children in Seattle Public Schools. The goal is to acquire 1,200 musical instruments to ensure that 50% of Seattle's 4th and 5th grade students can participate in instrumental music. At a Gala on Monday, June 9th, Music4Life raised almost $30,000 to that end.
In south King County, the Highline Schools Foundation for Excellence has a plan to support the Highline School District music programs by refurbishing and purchasing band instruments. Both of these initiatives recognize the fact that many children who would like to learn to play an instrument come from families without the resources to purchase instruments. Let's get instruments in the hands of every student who wants one.
The Seattle School District recently hired a K-12 music coach, the first district-wide music instructional leader in three decades. The Mayor's Office for Arts and Cultural Affairs has been very active in advocating to the School District to increase the presence of the arts in schools.
Over the last 4 years, 4Culture's main approach to arts education has been to focus on supporting school principals and their efforts to increase time spent on the arts by encouraging integration of arts throughout all areas of school curriculum. To this end, we've partnered with ArtsEd Washington to support the Principals' Arts Leadership Initiative. This amazing program helps principal-led elementary school teams create multi-year sequential plans for arts education. This week, participants of the program shared compelling stories about the positive impact this program has already made on their schools - everything from elevated reading scores to better attendance records.
Let's continue to invest in our children's creativity and imagination. Music, theatre, dance, visual arts. Every student deserves the opportunity to find the artist within.
Jim Kelly
Executive Director
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deadline August 18, 2008
Preservation Landmark Challenge Grants
Preservation 4Culture is pleased to announce the launch of our new Landmark Challenge Grants program, which expands support for owners of historic places in each and every jurisdiction of King County. For the first time, 4Culture funding is open to all properties officially designated as historic by city or county ordinance, and to properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places in places without a local preservation program. Previously, funding was limited to a relatively small pool of King County-designated landmarks.
Seattle alone has over 300 designated historic sites. While the City offers a number of valuable incentives for landmarking, there has never been one that provides direct support for repair, restoration, and rehabilitation. Stewards of designated properties in Bellevue, Burien, Duvall, Enumclaw, Federal Way, Renton, Seatac, Tukwila, and other cities will also now have access to "bricks and mortar" help in caring for their important heritage sites.
Landmark Challenge Grants of $10,000 or more are available to fund repairs, restoration, and rehabilitation of private and public structures, ships, cemeteries, public art, barns, and landscapes. The application deadline for the first round of Landmark Challenge Grants is August 18, 2008. Downloadable application materials are available on the Landmark Challenge Grants web page.
For more information on Landmark Challenge Grants, visit the Preservation 4Culture website.
image: © Panama Hotel, courtesy 4Culture
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www.4culture.org/arts
From artists aboard a see-sawing house to a documentary film about Chief Seattle's daughter, awards supporting 127 projects by individual artists and groups have been recommended for funding through 4Culture's 2008 Arts Projects program. Nearly $300,000 will fund projects by 75 individual artists, while nearly $200,000 will support 52 group projects. The awards respond to a significant increase in requests from individual artists, with 220 applications submitted, requesting over $1,150,000. A total of 98 applications for group projects requested more than $500,000. Funding for these programs and others come from the portion of King County's Lodging Tax revenue dedicated to culture. Annually, these funds support more than 250 arts and heritage organizations, projects and programs. A complete listing of the 2008 awards is available online.
image: © Tim Matsui - www.timmatsui.com
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deadline June 30, 2008
www.4culture.org/heritage
Applications for the Heritage Collections Care program are due June 30. The newest of 4Culture's funding programs, Heritage Collections Care provides financial support specifically for the care and maintenance of historic artifacts and archives. Funds for the program come in part from King County, legislated by Washington State House Bill 1386 designating $1 of county filing fees for historical preservation and programs. Eligible organizations include King County-based nonprofit historical organizations, such as museums, archives and public agencies that collect, preserve and hold in public trust historic artifacts, photographs, documents, ephemera, etc. The program will distribute up to $52,500 for projects including, but not limited to, collections cataloging and access projects; training for staff and volunteers; needs assessment surveys; collections management software; upgrades to security and storage conditions; and hiring of professional assistance for development of plans and policies. The guidelines and application are available online and
two in-house workshops will occur Tuesdays, June 17 and 24, 1 to 2pm. For further information or questions regarding the Heritage Collections Care program, contact Eric Taylor at 206.296.8688.
image: © Courtesy of Southwest Seattle Historical Society
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A big welcome to Sara Edwards, who has joined 4Culture as Communications Manager. Prior to joining 4Culture, Sara worked at Seattle's On the Boards, one of the leading centers for contemporary performance in the nation. In her role as Communications Director, she helped launch programs such as Blog the Boards (OtB's online audience reviews) and recently lead an organization-wide branding process. Currently, On the Boards is operating at 94% audience capacity and subscriptions have grown 77% in the last 5 years to the highest level in the organization's 30 year history. Sara enjoys being a part of the creative community of King County and performing with her band The French Project. She graduated with a theater degree from Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA. Sara replaces Lara Holman Garritano in the position, who left 4Culture in April for a move to Colorado.
image: © Sara Edwards, courtesy 4Culture
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application deadline June 23, 2008
13 Visionaries Open to artists and illustrators living in King County, Washington
Garage Tunnel Entry Artwork Open national call
www.4culture.org/publicart
4Culture is seeking two artists to create works for the newest King County office building in downtown Seattle: The Chinook Building. The Chinook already includes integrated works by California artist Anna Valentina Murch and Washington artist Glenn Rudolph, along with an extensive collection of portable works by artists from through the country. The Chinook Building was developed for King County by Wright Runstad & Company using a non-profit/private/public partnership model. As part of the opening of The Chinook, each of the King County Councilmembers and King County Executive Ron Sims nominated 13 citizens of King County that have made a significant mark on the history of this region. Each floor of the building is named after these outstanding individuals. To make visitors more aware of these remarkable citizens, 4Culture is commissioning artwork for each of the 13 floors that documents some aspect of their life and work. A site in the elevator lobby of each floor has been set aside as a location for the artwork. This competition is open to visual artists and illustrators living in King County. One artist will be selected to develop all 13 works, one for each floor. Directly across the street from The Chinook Building, a long pedestrian tunnel leads to a parking garage that serves the downtown King County municipal campus. The entry to the tunnel is a small glass enclosed structure on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Jefferson Street. A clerestory light well brings natural light into the tunnel at its mid-point. 4Culture is looking for an artist that can make the experience of traveling in the tunnel more enjoyable for the hundreds of pedestrians that use it each day. The complete call for artists is available online.
image: © Glenn Rudolph, Brewing Storm. Pacific Coast Trail (north wall detail), Chinook Building, 2008, sandblasted granite with white pigment, photo by YaM Brand
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application deadline July 14, 2008
www.4culture.org/publicart
4Culture and the King County Department of Transportation Bridge Division are seeking an artist as design team member on the South Park Bridge Replacement Project. This call is open to artists in the United States. The qualified applicant will have experience working in design team collaborations for large transportation infrastructure projects and/or specifically bridge projects, with additional experience working with Landmark structures. The selected artist will be asked to realize innovative solutions respectful of local historic context within a culturally and economically diverse community, and shall receive a Design Contract for $60,000. Upon proposal review and approval a $240,000 contract for Commissioned Artwork, plus applicable construction credits, will be awarded. The complete call for artists is available online.
image: © South Park Bridge; photo by Ned Ahrens, courtesy of King County
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reception July 3, 2008, 6 to 8pm
exhibit July 3 to August 1, 2008
www.4culture.org/publicart/gallery
Seattle artist Adam Satushek's large scale photographs arise from the artist wandering the landscape and discovering oddities. The found arrangement of houses and trees, two major elements of the modern domestic landscape, is isolated and preserved. Houses shelter us from the elements; they are vessels that enable us to live comfortably in the landscape and represent our occupation of the world. Trees live among us and exist in various forms and permutations: as thriving organisms, as raw materials, and in images. In these various forms, trees manifest nature in the landscape. Houses and trees intermingle across the landscape, and exemplify the knitting of humans with nature. As we look closer, these houses and trees become transitory, illusory, and ultimately, our ideas of them become disconnected from their functions.
image: © Adam Satushek, Pole, 2008, 80 x 35 inches, archival inkjet, detail
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Two artists, Cris Bruch and Claude Zervas, have been selected to create artworks for the Environmental Education & Community Center (EECC) at Brightwater. The Brightwater treatment system is a part of the large regional wastewater system designed to serve north King and south Snohomish Counties. King County is committed to making Brightwater a community amenity and to maximizing opportunities for educating the public about the function and importance of wastewater management. The EECC will be a LEED certified, multi-purpose facility for environmental education opportunities and community events. Some of the activities envisioned for the Center include: conferences, lab courses, workshops, weddings, banquets, local government events, outreach programs and tours. Bruch and Zervas' work is intended to reflect the stewardship and educational mission of the Center.
Cris Bruch, a versatile sculptor, will create downspout water features at both the north and south entrances of the facility. The works will highlight the relationship between natural and man-made structures that manage water. Both artworks will be constructed from standard copper plumbing fixtures, rely solely on roof shed water and make visible the availability of clean water and the systems that supply it. The second commission, awarded to Claude Zervas, is a light-media suspended sculpture for the Center's exhibition space. Suspended above teaching exhibits that focus on the protection of the environment and our natural resources, the artwork will utilize recycled materials and sustainable energy principles in its construction - all familiar territory for Zervas whose work often navigates the relationship between nature and culture.
image: © Environmental Education and Community Center illustration, courtesy of Mithun
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www.4culture.org/publicart
Installation has begun at Harborview Hospital on ambitious artwork commissioned and purchased with % for Art generated by the construction of the new Norm Maleng Building. The six-story building that spans 9th Avenue has afforded opportunities for integrated, installation and portable artworks.
Bridge, by Beliz Brother is a trio of sculptures: a monumental, titanium installation of layered panels covering the underside of the building over 9th Avenue; minimalist stainless steel poles that are reminiscent of a waterfall on the east side of the street and an installation of blue L.E.D lights wash the north façade of the building. The first phase of Gloria Bornstein's Walk to the Mountain, a pavement inlay of cast bronze and granite, oriented to Mount Rainier and inspired by natural forms, runs south from the corner of 9th and Alder toward the mountain. Six artists from the four-state region served by Harborview were invited to create lobby artworks for the building. Anne Appleby, Adrian Arleo, Scott Evans, Sara Mast, Akio Takamori and Donald Varnell will install artwork on floors four through nine. A national call for wall-mounted landscape works generated over a thousand applications. 54 works were purchased and will be installed for the scheduled occupancy in September.
image: © Eva Skold Westerlind, Wenatchee River #36, 2007, pigment print, 16" x21"
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application deadline September 15, 2008
www.sitespecificarts.org + www.aype.org
Guidelines and applications for 4Culture's 2009 SITE-SPECIFIC program are currently available online. While all proposals will be considered for funding, SITE-SPECIFIC and Arts 4Culture especially welcome projects that commemorate the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition Centennial. Through historical themes, events and locations artists may consider proposals that enliven or reinterpret King County history and/or the future of King County for the next 100 years.
SITE-SPECIFIC/2009 King County Performance Network will seek to connect local artists and arts organizations with heritage experts, organizations and local history. Join SITE-SPECIFIC in exploring our history, or help to create a vision for our future through theater, music and art installation in communities throughout King County. Learn more about the A-Y-P Exposition and SITE-SPECIFIC online.
image: © sitespecificarts.org
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deadline July 21, 2008
http://www.4culture.org/arts
The Arts Cultural Facilities Program seeks to enhance the cultural life of King County citizens by funding the purchase, design, construction and remodeling of arts and cultural facilities and the purchase of fixed assets to further the mission of arts organizations. The January cycle in 2008 supported 42 construction and equipment projects.
The second cycle of the year will accept proposals for Equipment projects, with a July 21 deadline.
The next application deadline for capital construction projects will be in January 2009.
image: © Arts 4Culture Cultural Facilities
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Outside
Two years ago over 100 local and national artists signed an "Open Letter to Public Arts Administrators." Our letter calls for Best Practices for Public Art to be nationally adopted so that we will all have greater opportunity to create our best work. During recent months, artists have been meeting in cities across the country preparing to present Best Practice Guidelines at the Public Art Network national conference.
Numerous Best Practice proposals resulted from these discussions. Our three most urgent recommendations are listed here.
Request For Qualifications v Requests For Proposals
We overwhelming agree that artist selection by RFQ & interview produces, by far, the best work.
- The artist is engaged and incorporated into the project sooner.
- The commissioning agency saves money otherwise lost in extended proposal processes.
- Artists have more time for proposal development including opportunity to research project specifics; meet project stakeholders; and engage the user community.
RFPs must be eliminated
- This process produces work that is rarely linked to project, community or site because the artist can only best-guess ideas from, at best, distant web research - real site conditions and opportunities are never really known;
- RFPs demean artists by requiring that we work and make our ideas available without compensation. This alone makes RFPs unacceptable;
- We ask that arts agencies quit this process and stop posting RFPs.
An RFP is only acceptable under limited circumstances that must include:
- An RFQ process has short-listed no more than three finalists;
- The artwork to be commissioned is a 'stand-alone' work, all site conditions are known, and these conditions are published in the Artist Call;
- Each finalist is paid a proposal fee of 5% of the Total Commission.
Contracts must be 'art and artist friendly' - meaning the contract must be about making art.
Artist contracting must assure that:
- Artist retains copyright;
- Artist is not required to sign a contract in order to be considered for a project;
- Artist and commissioning agency mutually indemnify one another;
- Scope of Work, Deliverables, Fee and Payment Schedule are clearly stated and agreed upon by both parties;
- Total commission price is realistic and does not exceed agency, community, or political expectations;
- Artist is respected as a small business and specific needs of small businesses are reflected in the contract.
Our primary Best Practices recommendation for selecting artists, contracting with artists, and framing an atmosphere to aid in creating our best work, is to begin in principles of courage.
RFPs are used to assure everyone of what we're going to get, i.e. "we choose this." This approach attempts to give surety that everything is known, that changes in a proposal cannot be incorporated, or that errors will not occur. This process is based in fear.
Reality is, that in the making of art, courage is the only root cause. In making art we are here to encourage exploration, we will make mistakes, and, in art, mistakes are welcomed interventions. We are not afraid.
Jack Mackie
image: © Jack Mackie's mug, courtesy Jack Mackie
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4Culture Public Art Calls List
subscribe - www.4culture.org/publicart
Public Art 4Culture compiles a list of current public art opportunities available through Public Art 4Culture and other agencies across the country. The Public Art Calls List provides brief project descriptions, deadlines, and how to receive more information about each opportunity -- bimonthly, free of charge.
Artist Trust
2008 Fellowship Program
application deadline June 20, 2008
www.artisttrust.org
In partnership with Washington State Arts Commission, Artist Trust awards $6,500 merit-based fellowship awards to artists throughout the state. Awards are made in 2-year cycles, based on discipline. The current application deadline is for Emerging Fields & Cross-Disciplinary, Performing, Visual and Traditional & Folk Arts Fellowships. Application and more information is available online.
KCTS
About Us
deadline June 30, 2008
www.kcts9.org
KCTS invites submissions from filmmakers for About Us, a showcase for local independent documentaries aired on KCTS-9. More information about the series and the submission process is available online.
UnConvention
My Yard Our Message
deadline June 30, 2008
www.myyardourmessage.com
The Walker Art Center is co-producing a project called My Yard Our Message as part of the UnConvention, a non-partisan collective of citizens who have come together to create a forum in which to promote the democratic and free exchange of ideas on important issues. Artists and designers are invited to submit yard signs to MyYardOurMessage.com around the theme of what it means to actively participate in a democracy.
Northwest Film Forum
2008 Local Sightings
deadline July 1, 2008
www.nwfilmforum.org
Northwest Film Forum invites entries for Local Sightings, a week-long festival of narrative, documentary and experimental film by Northwest artists, along with panel discussions, historic Northwest films and juried cash awards. Application and more information is available online. Submissions are also welcome for NWFF's Karaoke Challenge, with entries due by July 31.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Preservation and Access: Humanities Collections and Resources
deadline July 31, 2008
www.neh.gov/grants
Grants support projects that preserve and create intellectual access to such collections as books, journals, manuscript and archival materials, maps, still and moving images, sound recordings, art, and objects of material culture. Application and more information is available online.
Des Moines Library Sculpture Project
deadline August 1, 2008
www.kcls.org
The Des Moines Library Sculpture Project Committee, on behalf of the Friends of the Des Moines Library, invites proposals for a child-friendly, maritime-themed, outdoor metal sculpture to be placed near the entrance of the Library in Des Moines, Washington. This competition is open to all sculptors working in Washington State.
Kirkland Arts Center
Call for Curators
ongoing
www.kirklandartscenter.org
Kirkland Arts Center Gallery is currently accepting proposals from independent curators for its 2010 schedule. Curators will be considered for exhibitions with a 6-week duration. Proposals for exhibitions in all media are eligible. The gallery fosters local and emerging artists, encourages innovation and creativity, and provides opportunities for both new and established curators. More information is available online.
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Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra
Premiere Orchestra Conductor
deadline June 19, 2008
www.byso.org
Part-time. For a copy of the full job description, contact Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Henry Art Gallery
Lead Graphic Designer
deadline June 30, 2008
www.henryart.org
Full-time, salary $32-38,000, doe. See full job description online.
Seattle Arts and Lectures
Writers in the Schools
deadline July 18, 2008
www.lectures.org
Seattle Arts and Lectures' Writers in the Schools program (WITS) is looking for creative writers who are passionate about teaching the power and pleasure of writing to young people and who are excited to collaborate with public school teachers. Employment is part-time.
Seattle Opera
Public Relations Assistant
open until filled
www.seattleopera.org
Full-time, hourly salary doe. See full job description online.
Early Music Guild
Marketing and Development Coordinator
open until filled
www.earlymusicguild.org
Part-time, salary $30-35K. For a copy of the full job description, contact Executive Director Gus Denhard.
SecondStory Repertory Theatre
Marketing Director/Education Facilitator
open until filled
www.secondstoryrep.org
Part-time averaging 25-30 hours weekly, salary $12/hour. For a copy of the full job description, contact Second Story Repertory.
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Bellevue Arts Museum
Sculptural Crochet-a-thon
Saturday, June 21, 2008, from noon to 4pm
Bellevue Art Museum, 510 Bellevue Way NE
www.bellevuearts.org
Join artist Mandy Greer at an installment of her crochet-a-thons. Greer will provide brief instruction on the basic crochet technique using fabric, and then the work of participants will be incorporated into one of Greer's artworks. Register in advance, recommended for adults and children 7 years or older. $10/BAM members, $15/non-members. More information is available online.
Frye Art Museum
Geocaching and Art in the Public Realm (for youth 13 - 19 years of age)
Saturdays, June 21 through August 23, 2008, from 11am to 3pm
Frye Art Museum, 704 Terry Avenue
www.fryemuseum.org
Join teaching artist Susie J Lee in a summer youth art workshop that combines artist projects, global navigation through hand-held GPS devices and the mystery of a city-wide scavenger hunt. Participants will take weekly treks throughout the city, using GPS systems to locate artist-conceived projects, engage with art and artists and create works of art based on the experience that will be presented in a fall exhibition at the Frye. Free workshop. Register at www.fryemuseum.org
Seattle Architecture Foundation
Family Tour
Saturday, June 28, 2008, from 10am to noon
Starts at Rainier Square Atrium Conference Center, 1333 5th Avenue, Third Level
www.seattlearchitecture.org
A downtown hands-on/activity driven Seattle tour designed for family groups. Appropriate for families with children 5 years and older, register in advance. Tickets are $10/adults, $5/child. More information is available online.
Eastside Heritage Center
Fraser Cabin Heritage Days
Saturdays, June 21, July 19, August 16, 2008, from 11am to 3pm
Kelsey Creek Farm Park, 410 130th Avenue SE in Bellevue
www.eastsideheritagecenter.org
Fraser Cabin Heritage Days celebrates the life of 19th century settlers, with hands-on activities related to agriculture, dairy, household tasks and games.
City of SeaTac
Bayou Bug Tales
Tuesday, July 1, 2008, at 1pm
www.sococulture.org
As part of the Children's Theatre in the Park, the City of SeaTac presents a series of three performances by Last Leaf. Bayou Bug Tales is the first in the series, information about all three shows is available online.
Northwest Seaport
Chantey Sing
Friday, July 11, 2008, from 8pm to 10:30pm
by the Arthur Foss at the Historic Ships Wharf, Lake Union Park, 860 Terry Ave N
The 'call and response' form of these work songs of the sea makes them easy to learn and fun to sing. All ages welcome. Admission free, donations accepted. Refreshments & maritime CDs for sale. For more information, 206 447.9800 or seaport@oz.net
Camp ZinZanni
Juggling Camp for Children Ages 11 to 15
Monday through Saturday, July 21 - 26, 2008
dreams.zinzanni.org
Teatro ZinZanni's new educational program will teach the basics of Juggling and Character/Scene Development through hands-on instruction and workshops with Teatro ZinZanni cast members. Each session will culminate in a free revue-style performance for family and friends under Teatro ZinZanni's antique red velvet spiegeltent. Cost per camper is $350 per session. For enrollment information, please visit dreams.zinzanni.org/camp.htm.
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Queen Anne Historical Society Launches
Map of the (Oft) Pedestrian Stairways of Queen Anne
www.qahistory.org/stairs
Created by architect Thomas Horton, this new map features stairways located throughout Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood. Copies of the map are available through Queen Anne Historical Society.
Washington State Historical Society's Annual Awards Honor King County Historians
www.wshs.org
The Washington State Historical Society has announced its 2008 annual awards recognizing excellence in advancing the field of history in the state of Washington, and three King County historians are among the distinguished recipients. The Robert Gray Award for lifetime achievements was awarded to the late Walt Crowley (1947-2007). Densho's Tom Ikeda received the David Douglas Award, given to a person, group or organization for significant contributions to Washington state or local history. Bothell teacher Dori Wuepper was presented with the Governor's Award for Teaching History, recognizing an outstanding contribution by a teacher of Pacific Northwest history. More information about the awards program is available online.
American Association of Museums
Webinar: The New Tax Form 990
www.aam-us.org
A live webinar presented by the American Association of Museums will walk through the IRS' redesigned 990 tax form. The deadline for registration is July 8, and the webinar will be held July 9, from 2 to 3:30pm EST. Registration fee is $89/AAM members, $189/non-members.
Shared Office Space with Literary Organizations
Need one or two writers, or grant writers, or non-profit literary organizations to share office space with 2 Seattle-based literary organizations. Excellent University District location at 43rd and Roosevelt; light-filled space. $165/month and $165 deposit. A wonderful deal for right party. For more information, e-mail Phoebe Bosche or call 206 364.2045. Available now.
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top image: © Eva Skold Westerlind, Wenatchee River #36, 2007, pigment print, 16" x21"
