NEWSLETTER FOR JULY
​ Soon to be on our YouTube Channel
Dear Friends of the Arts,

We are excited about the new art offerings we have for you this month. Sadly, we cannot yet welcome you to theatrical or musical performances, or celebratory art openings inside the gallery, but we have been working overtime to bring you virtual content. Instead of once a month concerts, we are recording mini-Songwriters Showcases, and posting them on our YouTube channel every
Thursday. In addition, we have created a series of eight videos “Celebrating Art in Our Lives” that will feature many of the arts at the Center, and will post every few days during July, including clips from the radio shows, interviews with artists, a virtual artists studio tour, and more. Scroll down to see the full schedule.

July is our annual Membership Appeal month. This week we will be contacting you, hoping that you will be a member! We have so much to look forward to, and, when we get on the other side of all this, the Arts will be even more important in helping us make sense of our world.  Showcasing art in a pandemic has enormous challenges, and the Galena Center for the Arts is meeting them with creative energy and community involvement. We need your help and support to keep the Arts alive in Galena and the Tri-State area.
We miss you,

Carole
Become a Member
Did you know you can become a member online?
Click   HERE   for information about our membership program.
Please Donate
Please help us to advance our mission to
elevate and celebrate regional arts and artists.
To donate online click on This Link , or send your check to:
The Galena Center for the Arts, 219 Summit Street, Galena, IL 61036.
Our galleries will reopen when it’s safe
for our patrons, artists, and staff.
Black Lives Matter

And not only lives, but quality of life matters. No one should have to live in fear. No one should have to be afraid to go bird-watching, or take a jog, or take a walk, or go into any place of business.

People of color need to have equal opportunities in all ways for themselves, for their families and their communities. The recent events in our country have been heartbreaking. We don’t have the answers, but we are committed to the messages of justice and compassion, and ways to eliminate instances of inequality and injustice. Our goal is to listen, to learn more, and to determine what we can do to help to dismantle the systemic injustice that has been a part of America for far too long.

Black Lives Matter.
Trees…Branching Out
A Virtual Exhibit
With the galleries closed the last few months, we’ve been innovative in creating a virtual exhibit. The next themed show on our list was to be about trees, and many artists had expressed interest. Who doesn’t have a favorite tree? The call went out, and artists responded. This catalog will show, once again, the amazing talent and diversity of our regional artists.

A special presentation for this exhibit is a meditation of trees by Robert Rivoire, accompanied by classical music and the powerful narration of local actor, Ron Jenkins, reading an essay entitled “Trees” from a book,  Wandering Notes and Sketches  by Herman Hesse, translated by James Wright.

Click on the image to view the exhibit

Most of the pieces of artwork are for sale, so please let us know if you are interested, and we’ll get back to you with the details. Write to Patricia at  GalleryManager@GalenaCenterfortheArts.com

And, check our FaceBook page for the leaves intended for an installation in the gallery. They will be added every couple days in July.
Celebrating Art in Our Lives
Videos will be released on YouTube every few days. We had fun putting it together and hope you like it!

Here’s the schedule:
  • July 9 -- Welcome to the Regional Artists Gallery! 

  • July 14 -- Spotlight on Songwriters Showcase

  • July 16 -- “​Trees…Branching Out” Virtual Art Exhibit 

  • July 21 -- Radio WGCA, On the Air! 
  • July 23 -- Classical Musicians, What Makes Them Tick?

  • July 28 -- Broad Ideas!

  • July 30 -- Artist Studio Tours 

  • Aug 4 -- Inside a Table Reading
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
 
We are grateful to the Chicago Community Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council Agency (through the CARES Act), and the Illinois Humanities (also through the CARES Act) for awarding us emergency relief grants to help us thorough this difficult time.

We also greatly appreciate the help from Zeke Winders of The First Community Bank of Galena in helping us to secure a U.S. Small Business Association Paycheck Protection Program loan, and to the many individuals who have generously reached out with donations to keep us going. It makes a world of difference! Thank you!
Thank you, Barbara!
We are thrilled to be the recipients of the donation of this beautiful Conover grand piano, from Barbara Alexander. This gift will open up many new possibilities, particularly for our Sunday Salon classical music performances.
Songwriters Showcase
While it's not safe to welcome you into the Center’s performance space for a Songwriters Showcase, we will still be bringing you music by posting a new virtual Songwriters Showcase on YouTube every Thursday until we can get back to regular live performances.

We’ll let you know whose performance we are posting each week on our Facebook page. So far, you can see:
  • Lenny Wayne
  • L A Suess
  • Robyn and Ted
  • Andrew Houy
Check it out!
Karen Wilson’s “Pumpkin”
Highlighted by
Royal School of Needlework
Our Center’s Office Manager’s canvas shaded needlepoint “Pumpkin” was one of the images featured on the United Kingdom's Royal School of Needlework’s Facebook site in May during National Vegetarian Week 2020. Karen has an RSN Diploma in Technical Hand Embroidery and completed this course project in 2019. Congratulations on this honor, Karen!
What to do in isolation?
Take a class, of course!
Carole has just graduated from the Grant Writing Boot Camp offered by the Nonprofit Leadership Lab. This six week intensive class dug deeply into grant writing techniques, and while it doesn’t promise that we will get more grants, it certainly takes some of the mystery out of grant writing. Keep your fingers crossed for us, as we apply for other grants! 
ARRT Wins
“Best of the River 2020”
Award
Congratulations to All River Road Talent’s Scenic Art Loop on their recognition as the number one Art Tour in River Travel Magazine’s Best of the River 2020 awards. We celebrate your dedication to putting local art and artisans in front of the World.
Studio Space Available
We now have one studio immediately available to rent for $100 a month. A dedicated space may be just the thing you need to get back to your creative expression. Join a group of like-minded studio artists, be inspired by the regional artists who display work in our galleries, and display your art on the adjacent wall in the Artists Circle. 

Please call    779-214-0261    or    email Patricia ,    our Gallery Manager,
   for a tour and information about renting studio space.
THANK YOU!
  • Barbara Alexander
  • Susan Barg
  • Pearl Breitbach
  • Paul Chase
  • Gail Chauvenelle
  • Marcus de Jesus
  • Jay Dickerson
  • Larissa Distler
  • Cathie Elsbree
  • Barbara and Glyn Evans
  • Megan Gloss
  • Kara Gordon
  • Scott Guthrie
  • Barbara Heitzman
  • Andrew Houy
  • Patricia Lehnhardt
  • Carol Mantey
  • Medicinal Purposes
  • Midwest Medical Center
  • Will Meuller
  • Courtney Moser
  • Emily Painter
  • David Resnick
  • Mark Rockwell
  • L.A. Suess
  • Cindy Tegtmeyer
  • Irene Thraen-Borowski
  • Dennis Waltman
  • Connie Warnsing
  • Lenny Wayne
  • Judith Wehrle
  • Robyn and Ted Williams
  • John Woodin
WISH LIST
  • Membership renewals from all our current members
  • New memberships from those who have yet to join us
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Support us with AmazonSmile Foundation Donations
We invite you to show your support for the Center when shopping on Amazon. We are now established as a charitable organization for contributions via the AmazonSmile Foundation. The Foundation will donate 0.5% of eligible purchases to us whenever you designate the Center as the charitable organization of your choice.

Here’s how to support the Center:

  1. Visit smile.amazon.com (you need to follow this step each time you designate donations).
  2. Log in with your regular Amazon account information.
  3. Select “Galena Center For The Arts Inc” as your charitable organization choice.
  4. Begin shopping.

Thank you for your support! We truly appreciate your thinking of us when shopping with Amazon!
Become a Member
Did you know you can become a member online?
Click  HERE  for information about our membership program.
Please Donate
Please help us to advance our mission to
elevate and celebrate regional arts and artists.
To donate online click on This Link , or send your check to:
The Galena Center for the Arts, 219 Summit Street, Galena, IL 61036.
Please forward our newsletter to your friends and relatives. They can click below to receive their own monthly update. Thanks for sharing our news with others!
This program is supported in part by an award from The Chicago Community Foundation, from the Arts Work Fund – Arts for Illinois Emergency Relief Fund housed at The Chicago Community Trust.
This program is partially supported by a grant
from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
This program is funded in part by
the Illinois Humanities.
This project is supported in part
by an award from
the National Endowment for the Arts.
This program has been made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor.
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Thanks so much for your support of the Galena Center for the Arts!
 
Newsletter produced by Dennis Waltman
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