Arts & Leisure
Maine Arts Commission coming to York on Nov. 8
By Rose Safran
YORK - Calling all artists, art teachers, art buffs, arts administrators, community culture nuts: "One of our goals at the Maine Arts Commission is to help find ways to make the arts both accessible and enjoyable for everyone. ...We'll explain what it means for an organization to be fully accessible and how easy it can be to comply with state and federal standards." - Maine Arts Commission 2006.Here's a great learning opportunity! In conjunction with a state-wide series of open houses, The Maine Arts Commission is coming to York on Wednesday, Nov. 8. In the York Public Library, from 1 to 5:15 p.m., a series of free workshops will be held during which members of this state commission will be on hand to discuss various arts-related topics, to answer questions and further improve knowledge about the business of bringing art to the community.
Additionally, members of other arts organizations will participate, including The Center for Maine Contemporary Art, New England Foundation for the Arts, Maine Alliance for Arts Education and the Maine Writer's and Publishers Alliance.
The planned workshops will encompass a variety of topics including grant development, marketing tools and information, public relations, making art accessible to the community, learning through the arts, applying for and receiving commissions and how contemporary artists might best connect with and compete in today's tricky art world. Yes, it's a lot - and renders remote yesterday's "starving artist" working solo, living in a vacuum, his message hidden from public view.
The workshops will be thematically arranged. For example, there will be one discussing public art - that is, art visible to the whole community, enhancing public spaces. Approximately $300,000 is reported available for this purpose to artists through the Maine Arts Commission's percent for art program. Artists must apply for the funds and one workshop will concentrate on how to go about the process.
Additionally, also in the funding department, will be a workshop advising concerning the procedures to follow in researching the grants domain, including handling the sometimes cumbersome application process. Tips will be included such as specific "do's" and "don't's" in filling out the forms.
Press relations, too, and the important business of marketing art will be the subject of another workshop. This writer (who receives an incredible amount of literature both on-line and through snail mail as well as telephone requests) feels that artists who are seriously in the business of art as well as gallery owners representing artists might benefit from tips in this department - especially concerning which medium to use when.
Significantly, there will be discussion of "brand" image - that is, the benefits of creating a distinguishing characteristic linked to an artist and or gallery, even to an educational or public arts institution. Concrete professional development guidance is promised through a workshop detailing basic promotional tools specifically geared to the technological age.
Current arts programs and changes occurring in Maine will be included in another session; covered in this respect will be both traditional and non-traditional. Especially designed for art teachers and educators in general is a workshop about how the "state's current arts in education programs work including professional development opportunities for both teachers and artists, and ideas on curriculum development and arts assessment to help schools meet the State of Maine Learning Results." Regional, state and national affiliations will be discussed.
Another workshop is designed to educate artists, arts organizations, and cultural-related businesses about the agency's free online marketing services and other e-tools. Provided will be detailed information on the Maine Arts Commission's new services, technology resources and guidelines for digital media. At the present time, the Nov. 8 open house at the library is the only southern Maine destination for this program. Other municipalities where the program is being presented are Rockport, Bethel, Rangeley, Machias, Orono, Lewiston, Fort Kent, Millinocket and Skowhegan. For further information and more in-depth detail, consult The Maine Arts Commission's website at www.mainearts.com.
