Since mid-January, the staff has been working with a statewide team of editors to update policies and procedures for the Arts in Education, Individual Artist Awards, Presenting and Touring, and Public Art programs. The explorations, dialogue, and recommendations throughout the revision process have demonstrated a thoughtful and expansive approach as MSAC aligns its work with
the values of equity, diversity, inclusion, and access.
... all guided by what we have learned through our current strategic planning process.
A consistent request from constituents across the state is for MSAC to elevate its role, beyond grant making, to assist arts organizations in the engagement of and impact on their geographic areas of service while guiding independent artists toward sustainable careers. Watch this space as the recommended policy changes become action items. The staff and Council members are grateful for this guidance and we are excited by the new direction!
Ken Skrzesz, Executive Director, Maryland State Arts Council
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The MSAC Online Resource Bulletin, maintained by Maryland Art Place, includes regional, national, and international exhibition opportunities, grants, fellowships, residencies, and information on available studio spaces in the area. The Resource Bulletin is updated on a weekly basis and maintains hundreds of listings of arts opportunities, organized by subject and deadline date. Check out the
MSAC Resource Bulletin
today! To post your call for entry,
email Caitlin, the Registry Coordinator, at
caitlin@mdartplace.org
.
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Please consider inviting MSAC Staff and Board Members to any public event that may include donor recognition as part of the programming. Public acknowledgement of MSAC funding, particularly when a staff, board member, or local legislator is present, allows arts audiences to understand the connection between the vote they cast for local officials, the local official’s support of MSAC funding, and how that funding returns to the communities of arts-connected constituents. Please send all invitations to
okeena.stephenson@maryland.gov.
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“THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM” PREMIERES IN DELMARVA ON MARCH 9 DURING THE OCEAN CITY FILM FESTIVAL WITH LOCAL CONNECTIONS
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A highlight of the 3rd Annual Ocean City Film Festival is the Delmarva premiere of The Biggest Little Farm, a feature documentary directed and produced by two former locals — John Chester and Erica Cramer Messer. The film will screen on March 9, 2019 at 2 pm in a special showing at the Ocean City Performing Arts Center with the filmmakers in attendance.
Tickets to the premiere are part of the One-Day Saturday Film Pass, $20, or the 3-Day All- Access Pass, $79. These passes include access to many other films showing at the Film Festival, and are available
here.
Photograph of John Chester and Gwendolyn Lehman
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THE BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART PRESENTS MONSTERS & MYTHS: SURREALISM AND WAR IN THE 1930S AND 1940S
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The Baltimore Museum of Art
(BMA) presents the first major exhibition to examine how 20th-century European and American Surrealist artists used monsters and mythic figures to depict their experiences of war, violence, and exile. Monsters & Myths: Surrealism and War in the 1930s and 1940s includes 90 works by Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, André Masson, Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko, Dorothea Tanning, and others who responded to the rise of Hitler and the spread of Fascism by creating some of the most compelling images of the Surrealist movement. On view in Baltimore from February 24–May 26, 2019, this
ticketed exhibition
is co-organized by the BMA and the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.
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The National Endowment for the Arts is supporting the next generation of American songwriters. For the second year and in collaboration with the American Theatre Wing, the Arts Endowment is calling for applications from high school students to the agency’s
Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge.
This national program is for students with a passion for writing songs that could be part of a musical theater production and the wide range of musical styles represented in contemporary musical theater including hip-hop, rock, R&B, country, jazz, and more.
Application is simple and can be
completed online
with a deadline of April 30, 2019 at midnight ET. Follow the conversation on Twitter at #IWriteMusicals.
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THE 14TH ANNUAL MARYLAND POETRY OUT LOUD STATE FINALS
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The 14th annual Maryland Poetry Out Loud State Finals will be held in the Joseph and Rebecca Meyerhoff Auditorium at the Baltimore Museum of Art on Saturday, March 2, 2019 at 1 pm. Join us for this inspiring event hosted by WYPR's
Aaron Henkin
of “The Signal.” Nine regional winners will compete for the title of Maryland State Poetry Out Loud Champion, a prize of $1,200, and an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, DC for the Nationals on April 28 - May 1, 2019 at the Lisner Auditorium.
Maryland’s competition is open to high school students grades 9-12 in both public and private schools across the state. Teachers interested in registering their school should contact MSAC Program Director Chris Stewart:
christine.stewart1@maryland.gov
. Information on the Maryland program may be found
here
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THE NATIONAL ARTS ACTION SUMMIT
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The
National Arts Action Summit
is a multi-day event bringing together arts advocates from across the country. Attendees will learn the latest research and legislative arts priorities from the experts in a full-day training on Monday, March 4. That evening, the incomparable Rita Moreno will deliver Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts & Public Policy at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and will inspire and motivate advocates. The following day, March 5, is Arts Advocacy Day when advocates take their passion, knowledge, and stories to Capitol Hill for meetings with their congressional leaders. Will you be there to defend the arts?
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Artist Highlight: Lu Zhang
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Lu Zhang
was born in Chongqing, China in 1983. In 2004, she received her BFA in painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. In 2013, she received her MFA in painting from the Frank Mohr Institute in the Netherlands. Zhang has exhibited in the US and abroad including shows at C. Grimaldis Gallery in Baltimore, Randall Scott Gallery in Washington DC, and The Center for Art and Culture in France. Her work has been reviewed in ARTnews, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun and featured in New American Paintings Magazine. In 2010, Zhang received a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council for works on paper. In 2011, Zhang was awarded The Trawick Prize Young Artist Award and The Hanze University Scholarship.
Featured Artwork: A Superb and Very Rare Yang Cai Reticulated Double-Walled Vase
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Creativity Grant:
We are currently accepting applications for the FY19 Creativity Grant Program. To confirm eligibility and for more information, please visit our
website
.
Questions? Contact your discipline's
Program Director
or Dana Parsons at
dana.parsons@maryland.gov
FY19 Public Art Project Grant:
4/29/19:
County Arts Councils and designated Arts & Entertainment Districts in Maryland are eligible to apply. Grants of up to $5,000 (requiring a 1:1 match) are available for permanent or temporary works by a Maryland artist. Guidelines are available
here
.
Questions? Contact Public Art Program Director, Liesel Fenner at
liesel.fenner@maryland.org
.
A&E District Technical Assistance Grant Applications:
Rolling Deadline - Technical Assistance grants are available to designated Arts & Entertainment Districts for marketing, strategic planning, professional development and other projects. More information and guidelines available
here
.
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