Transfigured Time Giveaway

Congratulations to our contest winner Tricia Hughes! Tricia won 2 tickets to the Westobou Event: Transfigured Time on Thursday September 29^th at Sacred Heart Cultural Center.

Click here to get more information the Westobou Festival! http://www.westoboufestival.com

2011 ARTSCAPE Camp: A brief synopsis

ARTSCAPE Camp is a proactive approach to helping these children meet challenges in their daily lives.  During these camps, three weeks in Augusta and one week in Thomson, the children had the opportunity to discover the world of drama, dance, music and visual art.  This was a unique opportunity for them and, in fact, may be their only opportunity to experience the arts on a large scale.  Of the 37 elementary schools in Richmond County, only 5 have a visual art teacher on staff, and music classes are only provided 30 minutes per week.  Private lessons in dance, drama, music, and visual art are not economically feasible for these families, so ARTSCAPE serves as the sole means for tapping into their creativity. The Greater Augusta Arts Council is dedicated to making a difference in these children’s lives.  By protecting and working with a group of 698 for several weeks during the summer, the impact was apparent.  The children were often asked to try new things and they responded admirably to the challenges presented to them. 

This year we are holding ARTSCAPE camps at five different Boys and Girls Clubs Locations: Jamestown, Dogwood Terrace, Hagler, WT Johnson, and Thomson. The theme of this year’s ARTSCAPE camp is “The Antics of Art.”

The Antics of Art is a one week program consisting of roughly 5 contact hours in each of the artistic disciplines of Drama, Dance, Music, and Visual Art. This year's theme exposes children of all ages to some of the diverse elements of Asian art including Japanese scroll art or Kakemono, Lantern and Screen Art, Asian Lion and Dragon dances, an introduction to asian scales using the recorder to reproduce the sounds of the Ocarina and Shakuhachi traditional flutes. Asian drumming patterns and rhythms, and Asian theatrical traditions including, Chinese Shadow Plays, Kabuki, Noh Theatre, and the Chinese comedic form of Xiangsheng.

Each week the children will participate in an overview of the subject areas followed by preparation for a final performance incorporating aspects of the Asian traditions.

The performance will include a performance circle defined by parents, family, and community supporters. One section of the circle will be open to provide an entrance and exit for the children. The performance will begin with an introduction by one or several students. The introduction provides the audience with an overview of the performance and guidance for their own participation.

Students will enter the circle and present their work or collaboration in turns. Once all of the small group and individual displays and performances are complete, the entire camp will participate in a Dragon/Lion dance finale.

We are very excited about ARTSCAPE camp this year and are very thankful to the our 2011 instructors: 

Gary Dennis- Lead Instructor & Drama

Karen Gordon – Music

Alexis Beard – Dance

Kathy Jowers – Visual Art

Camp Counselors:

Jamie Nicole Lowe

Amber Jowers

Michael Ryan

If you would like more information on 2011 ARTSCAPE camp please call the local Boys and Girls Club of your choice. 

Until Next Time,

2011 Arts Recognition Awards

We are now accepting nominations for the 2011 Arts Recognition Awards! This program was established to recognize outstanding artistic talent and exceptional initiative and/or leadership in contributing to the advancement of the arts in the CSRA!

We accept nominations for the following categories:

1.      Individual Artist – This award recognizes exemplary artistic achievement in any discipline by a living Augusta Area Visual/Performing/Creative artist who has dedicated him/herself to the excellence, growth, support, and availability of the arts in the Augusta Area.

Past Winners have included: 2010 Ed Turner, 2009 Brian Rust, 2008 Edward Rice, 2007 Kathy Girdler Engler, 2006 Peter Powlus

2.      Sponsor/Corporate – A business/individual honored in this category will in addition to providing financial support for the arts, have encouraged employees to participate in community arts activities, developed significant art collections, enhanced the arts in the community or established programs in the arts.

Past winners of this award have included: 2010 Wierhouse 2009 SRP Federal Credit Union 2008 Earth Fare, 2007 Beasley Broadcasting Group, 2006 Jim Hudson Lexus

3.      Volunteer- Recognition will be given to a volunteer who, for example, was influential in developing new programs resulting in extraordinary changes in the arts in a community, had an unusual influence on growth or development of an arts organization, activity, or program, was responsible for a notable “first” in t he arts, or has been the motivating spirit behind a community arts project.

Past winners of this award have included: 2010 Rich Borgatti, 2009 Angela Hillesland, 2008 Gary and Paige Tom, 2007 Morris Museum Docents, 2006 John Lovin

4.      Media (Individual/Corporate)- The media award will be granted to a newspaper, television, radio station, magazine, or individual that has demonstrated support for the community arts activities, provided outstanding coverage for an arts event, contributed features or special spotlighting the arts, or  encouraged personnel to participate in the arts.

Past winners have included: 2010 WFXG-TV Fox 54, 2009 Austin Rhodes, 2008 Perry Broadcasting, 2007 Columbia County News Times, 2005 John Mann

5.      Arts Professional -  This award is designed to recognize those who have made contributions to the arts in the CSRA has professionals, but not as professional artists, Nominees could come from organizations, education, etc.

Past winners of this award have included: 2010 James Nord, 2009 Audrey Crosby, 2008 Krys Bailey, Doug Joiner, and Richard Justice, 2007 Molly McDowell, 2006 Steve Walpert

If you are interested in nominating any deserving individual please click here http://bit.ly/iaWYEt .

You can also see the complete list of past winners by clicking here http://bit.ly/gGNeNA

Nominations are due by MAY 9^TH and winners will be chosen by a panel of arts and business leaders. The awards will be presented by the Greater Augusta Arts Council at our Annual Awards Party and General Membership Meeting on June 9^th 2011 at Sacred Heart Cultural Center (more details to follow). The award winners will also be featured in the Fall Issue of the Augusta Magazine!

I hope you will consider nominating a deserving individual!

Until Next Time,

Pub Crawl Updates!

On March 5^, 2011 the Greater Augusta Arts Council will be benefitting from a pub crawl sponsored by New Belgium Brewing Company. Fifteen downtown bars and restaurants will participate in the “Fat Saturday Pub Crawl.”

Participants can register for the pub crawl March 5^, 2011 starting at 3pm on 10^th Street.  The pub crawl costs six dollars. Individuals must be at least 21 years old to participate, but are not required to drink. The first 500 people to register will be given a free Fat Saturday t-shirt.

 Each participant will be given a Fat Saturday passport. Participants will visit each stop and receive a stamp once they fill the passport with stamps they can turn in the passport to win various prizes. The Pub Crawl will begin at 7pm and passports must be turned in before midnight.

For more information visit the Fat Saturday Facebook page http://bit.ly/g3vPSd or contact the Grace Inman at the Greater Augusta Arts Council by email at grace@augustaarts.com or by phone at (706) 826-4702 ext 2.

Participating Locations:

Firehouse – 1102 – Metro – Soul Bar – The Loft – Playground- Stillwater- Joe’s Underground – Sky City – Place on Broad- The Soy Noodle House – Pizza Joint – Wheelz Pub – Casablanca – Mellow Mushroom

FAT SATURDAY!

I am pretty excited about the next few months and today I am going to write about a new fundraiser for the Greater Augusta Arts Council brought to you by New Belgium Brewing Company!

When: Saturday March 5^th 2011

Where: Downtown Augusta (on Broad Street)

What: “Fat Saturday” a Mardi Gras themed Pub Crawl

Registration starts on Saturday March 5^th at 3pm on 10^th Street. Be sure to get there early so you can qualify for a free Fat Saturday T-Shirt. The cost of the pub crawl is $6 and all proceeds will go directly to us! When you register you will receive a “Pub Crawl Passport” which you can get stamped at each of the participating bars. Once you have visited all the bars and received all of your stamps you drop the passport in a registration box (located in all participating bars) and will qualify for tons of fun prizes!

We are still working on getting a list of all the participating bars and restaurants and once we get the final list I will post it here. You can also "Like" us on facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/FatSaturday I think this is going to be a really fun event and I hope you can all come out to support us!



Until Next Time,

About ArtScape Camp!

During the summer we coordinate ArtScape Camp at the Boys and Girls Club. I have already started preparing for the 2011 program and I thought I would take this opportunity to discuss the camp!

ARTSCAPE Camp is a summer camp providing arts education and hands-on arts activities for the children of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Augusta. The Greater Augusta Arts Council, in partnership with Boys & Girls Club of Augusta Inc., seeks to enhance the lives of families historically underserved by using art as a means of self-expression and as a tool in helping children meet the challenges in their daily lives.

Richmond County School System serves over 38,000 students. ARTSCAPE Camp brings the arts to all segments of the population, with special effort focused on reaching underserved audiences. This program, now in its 16th year, provides arts activities to the children of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Augusta, exposing kids to music, dance, drama, reading and visual art in a fun, hands-on learning environment.

ARTSCAPE camp serves “at-risk” youth in the Central Savannah River Area with programs at four Boys & Girls Club locations in Augusta (Richmond County) and one Boys & Girls Club location in Thomson (McDuffie County). Any child enrolled in the summer programs at these four Boys and Girls Clubs can be a part of the ARTSCAPE Program. All facilities are located in low –income areas and are accessible to all children through scholarships and tuition assistance programs.

In 2010, the theme of ArtScape Camp was “Once Upon A Time in the Arts.” Each Boys and Girls Club location received a week of instruction in: dance, drama, visual art, and music. In 2011 the theme will be, “Antics of Art” and we will once again be spending a week at each Boys and Girls Club location.
I hope this blog entry will leave you with a better understanding of one of our outreach programs! Feel free to comment with any questions you have about the program! I am going to leave you with a comment from Gary Dennis about last year’s camp.

"This program is important because it introduces our children to the benefits of artistic pursuit and promotes positive interaction between inspired adults and eager children. This program is also important because it provides another opportunity to keep our professional artists working, improving, and sharing their crafts. In the end, that benefits our entire community. It lifts all of us up a little."
– Gary Dennis, lead instructor for ARTSCAPE camp in 2010

Until Next Time,

Grace Bowles Inman

Write a Review!

We are currently working on our 2011 GreatNonprofits campaign. Last year we succeeded in getting 25 positive reviews and this year we are seeking additional reviews. We would like to get at least 10 more before the month is up.

If you love our work then tell the world! You have an exciting opportunity to help the Greater Augusta Arts Council, Inc. make even more of a difference in our community.

GreatNonprofits - a site like Amazon Book Reviews or TripAdvisor - is a website where people can share their stories about nonprofits that have touched their lives. Won't you help us raise visibility and support for our work by posting a review of your experience with us? All reviews will be visible to potential donors and volunteers. It's easy and only takes 3 minutes! Go to:

http://greatnonprofits.org/organizations/reviews/greater-augusta-arts-council-inc 

With your help, we can gain greater visibility in the community. We appreciate your ongoing support!

Until Next Time,