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In this issue - April 2024
- $15,000 Public Art Forward grant cycle reopens for sculpture projects.
- Traffic cabinet art? That's a wrap. Proposals due April 12.
- Advancing the Arts program awards $11,700 in grants.
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Be inspired by a $5,000 Momentum Maker gift from James McHone Jewelry during ACV's Great Community Give POWER HOUR April 17, 1 to 2 pm.
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Generosity Counts
All year long, your generosity helps Arts Council of the Valley (ACV) cultivate the arts, create experiences, and connect communities. And all year long, we appreciate the ways you step forward to help ACV provide access to affordable - and meaningful - arts experiences for everyone in the Harrisonburg-Rockingham area.
For those who haven't had an opportunity to show support this year, we encourage you to do so during the Great Community Give, Wednesday, April 17, 6 am to 8 pm. Thanks to the hard work of The Community Foundation and generosity (there's that word again!) of sponsors, your donations on April 17 can be leveraged to create even more arts opportunities.
Contributions - large and small - add up to strengthen the ACV programs you've come to rely on: Advancing the Arts Grants, Court Square Theater, First Fridays of the Valley, Public Art Initiatives, and Smith House Galleries.
If you can spare a few minutes and a few (or more) dollars between 1 and 2 pm on the 17th, please make your gift during the Matinee Power Hour to boost ACV's chances of winning prize money for most dollars raised during that 60 minutes. And, if you're out and about on April 17, please stop by Smith House Galleries to say hello, take in two photography exhibitions, and pump a little poetry into your day!
With gratitude,
Jenny Burden Executive Director
PS - If you'll be tied up on the 17th, or just want to get a head start, please consider making an early Great Community Give online donation. Early gifts count toward ACV's fundraising total; they do not impact Power Hour prizes.
We can also accept checks during the Early Giving phase! Please make your check payable to Arts Council of the Valley (designate Great Community Give in the memo line), and deliver to: 311 South Main Street, Harrisonburg, VA 22801. Thank you!
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PUBLIC ART FORWARD GRANT CYCLE REOPENS | |
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The Public Art Forward grant cycle has been reopened to receive proposals for a new work of sculpture to be installed within the City of Harrisonburg’s Arts & Cultural District. Applications are due by 5 pm June 2, 2024, with the selected project to be completed by January 31, 2025.
The grant, which provides up to $15,000, is privately funded by the Forward family. An updated timeline, guidelines, and application materials are available here. To help answer artists’ questions, an online Public Art Forward grant information session is scheduled Wednesday, April 24 at 4 pm. Click here to register.
ACV is also asking downtown Harrisonburg property owners to indicate their possible interest in adding an outdoor work of sculpture by emailing acvofficecoordinator@gmail.com or calling 540.801.8779.
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POETRY, PHOTOGRAPHY AT SMITH HOUSE GALLERIES | |
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Smith House Galleries hosts two photography exhibitions and works by area poets during April. Meet photographers Trotter Hardy and Saul Harris, along with members of the First Monday Poets group during an Apr 5 opening reception from 5 to 7 pm. Held in conjunction with First Fridays of the Valley, the reception is sponsored by Kristen and Michael Drueen. Also available online the two exhibitions run through Apr 26. Visit Monday-Friday, 11 am to 4 pm and Second Saturday (Apr 13, 10 am-2 pm).
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AMBLE INTO APRIL @ FIRST FRIDAYS OF THE VALLEY | |
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That extra hour of daylight at the end of the day sure comes in handy when First Fridays of the Valley rolls around. Visit arts events at 23 locations April 5 (most are open 5-7 pm). This online map and downloadable events listing can help you chart your arts amble.
Thanks to Kathy Moran Wealth Group, 2024 First Fridays of the Valley Exclusive Sponsor!
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Visit these First Fridays locations this month! | |
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Aristocat Cafe
Arts Incarnate
ArtWorks Gallery
Asbury United Methodist Church
Capitol Waffle Shop
Court Square Theater
Draime Fine Art Studio
Duke Hall Gallery of Fine Art
Explore More Discovery Museum
Firefly Emporium
Frame Factory & Gallery
Friendly City Clay & Art Center
Friendly City Food Co-op
Furious Flower Broadside Gallery
Gaines Group Architects at the Depot
Gift & Thrift
The Golden Pony
Green Hummingbird
Harrisonburg Baptist Church
Harrisonburg City Hall
Hess Financial
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Horizon Gifts
Hotel Madison & Shenandoah Valley Conference Center
Look West Gallery @ The Mark-It
Mashita
OASIS Fine Art and Craft
Ott Street Eats
Pale Fire Brewing Company
Parentheses Books
Park Gables Gallery at VMRC
The Perch Workspace
Rebecca's Well (Bridgewater)
Rootstock Wine Bar and Provisions
Sage Bird Ciderworks
Saint Stephen's United Church of Christ
Smith House Galleries
Stoney Run Artisans and Highland Designs (McGaheysville)
Ten Thousand Villages
Virginia Quilt Museum
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8 ADVANCING THE ARTS GRANTS AWARDED | |
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Eight Harrisonburg-Rockingham area arts projects will receive a total of $11,700 in Advancing the Arts Spring 2024 grant cycle funding.
Arts for Education grants were awarded to: Susan Elliott, OASIS Fine Art & Craft, for Life Is a Tapestry; Trace Feng, MIMA Music, for Band Together Skyline Middle School; Harriet Flynn, Harrisonburg Parks & Recreation, for Art in the Park; and Megan Kaspar for Harrisonburg Songtuary.
Creative Inspiration recipients are: David Brennan for Concordia: Service Animals, Disability, and Generative Permeable Boundaries; Jess Daddio for Portrait of a Wildflower; Aili Huber, Silk Moth Stage, for The Grown-Up; and Holly Hanks Wanta, Harrisonburg Dance Cooperative, for Spring Dance Performance 2024.
The fall grant cycle will open in early July, with applications due by 5 pm Oct 11, 2024. Check out the timeline and details here.
Photo: MIMA Music received one of four Spring 2024 Arts for Education grants.
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ARTS ON SCREEN MAKES A GOOD IMPRESSION | |
DAY OF THE ARTS COMING MAY 4! | |
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Save the date - Saturday, May 4 - and be prepared to enjoy a day chock full of arts experiences at Court Square Theater and Smith House Galleries. From performances on stage to artist talks, panel discussions, a Marketplace Gallery exhibition, and a chalk artist in the Asbury United Methodist Church parking area, Day of the Arts will offer lots to choose from. And, it's all free, thanks to support, in part, from The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, Earlynn J. Miller Fund for the Arts. Check out the schedule here!
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MOMENTUM MAKER GIFT LAUNCHES 4/17 POWER HOUR
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Jump on the bandwagon April 17 during the Great Community Give. James McHone Jewelry offers a $5,000 Momentum Maker gift to get ACV's 1-2 pm Power Hour off to a compelling start. Your donation between 1 and 2 pm April 17 will help boost ACV's chance of winning prize money for the most Matinee Power Hour dollars raised. | | | |
CALLS FOR VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTISTS | |
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Auditions for If There’s a Rock and Roll Heaven 2024 Revival are scheduled April 8-9 (7-9 pm) at Court Square Theater, with performances June 6-16. Written and directed by Jay Zehr, the play is open to actors with all levels of experience. No prepared material is necessary. Learn more.
Arts Council of the Valley is accepting original artist submissions for a Traffic Cabinet Art Wrap Project, in collaboration with Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance and the City of Harrisonburg. Deadline is 5 pm April 12, 2024. Each selected artist will receive an award of $400. See details here.
Streetlight Magazine announces its Third Annual Art Search Contest, with entries due by May 27, 2024. Artists may submit up to four works: drawings, paintings, sculpture, photography. Prizes, entry fee and application details are available at streetlightmag.com.
Smith House Galleries, operated by Arts Council of the Valley, is accepting proposals through 11:59 pm May 15, 2024 for the 2025 exhibition season. Guidelines, application form, and a galleries floorplan are available at valleyarts.org/submissions.
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Nominations are open through 6 pm April 26 for the 2024 Circle of Excellence in the Arts Award recognizing a visual or performing artist, arts administrator, or arts educator whose creative accomplishments in the arts have improved the cultural vitality of the Shenandoah Valley. The award is co-sponsored by the Forbes Center for the Performing Arts, Arts Council of the Valley, and the College of Visual and Performing Arts at JMU.
Meander into marvelous musicals this month at Montevideo Middle School (The Little Mermaid, JR - April 5–7) and Elkton Middle School (Annie, JR - April 12–14).
Seniors from Harrisonburg High School Fine Arts Academy, along with community volunteers, are hosting a free festival for K-12 students Saturday, Apr 6 from 10 am to 4 pm at Lucy F. Simms Continuing Education Center (620 Simms Ave, Harrisonburg). Part of a senior capstone project, the event features a variety of workshops related to drama, movement, music, creative writing, and the visual arts. Questions? Contact J.R. Snow at jsnow@harrisonburg.k12.va.us.
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THE ARTS BUILD EMPATHY AND UNDERSTANDING | |
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Commissioned by Americans for the Arts, The Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6) study provides an in-depth exploration of the economic and social impact of the arts in communities across the US.
Among the top takeaways:
- 72% of Americans believe “The arts provide shared experiences with people of different races, ethnicities, ages, beliefs, and identities (gender, political, national origin)"
- 73% agree that the arts “help me understand other cultures better.”
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2024 GOLD SPONSORS
GreeneHurlocker, PLC
Harrisonburg Dermatology
LD&B Insurance and Financial Services
Sunnyside Retirement Community
Click here to learn how you can become
an Arts Council of the Valley 2024 Cultivating the Arts Sponsor!
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