North Dakota Council on the Arts

JUNE 2009



Welcome to e-Prairie Arts! This electronic newsletter supplements our printed newsletter, Prairie Arts, which is published 3 times per year. e-Prairie Arts will be distributed during the months of February, March, April, June, July, August, October, November and December. If you know of anyone else who would like to receive e-Prairie Arts, please e-mail comserv@nd.gov. Or if you wish to unsubscribe, send an e-mail to comserv@nd.gov as well.



STATEWIDE NEWS



NDCA Announces Job Preservation Grant Program
The National Endowment for the Arts announced $19.8 million in one-time grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) to state arts agencies and regional arts organizations to support the arts sector of the economy. NDCA will receive $290,000 that it will re-grant through a Job Preservation grant program to North Dakota nonprofit arts organizations with significant art programs. Funds in this grant program will help to preserve jobs in the nonprofit arts sector in North Dakota that are threatened by declines in philanthropic and other support during the current economic downturn. The grant period runs July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010. The grant deadline is June 20, 2009. Additional grant guidelines and information, and a link to the online grant application are available via this link.

NDCA Announces New Technology Grant Program
The North Dakota Council on the Arts (NDCA) announces a new Technology Grants program for FY 2010. This grant program will be used to assist organizations in updating and creating technological improvements. Grants of up to $600 may be requested for web development, equipment purchase, and new software. You must be a current non-profit arts organization registered with the ND Secretary of State in order to qualify for funding. Guidelines are now available via this link, for review. Funds are available on a first come, first served basis beginning July 1, 2009. Limited funds are available for this fiscal year.

2009 Summer Teachers' Institute People, Places and Pre-History
The 2009 Summer Teachers’ Institute takes place on June 16-17, 2009, in beautiful, historic Medora, North Dakota. Participants will learn about the people, places and prehistory of North Dakota through site visits to a historical dig site, the Chateau de Mores, and Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Presenters will include paleontologists, botanists, geologists, forest service and park service professionals, artists, and historic site interpreters. The summer institute will be offered for one continuing education credit. For institute details and registration information, contact Dr. Marilyn Snyder, Curator of Education, State Historical Society of North Dakota at (701) 328-2792. The North Dakota Teacher Coalition is a group of partners committed to bringing culture and history resources to the K-12 classroom. The primary goal of the Coalition is to provide professional development opportunities that enable educators to expand their content knowledge and provide resources for curriculum planning and development. The Coalition partners gather and coordinate activities and curriculum resources that provide enriched educational experiences for K12 teachers and students across North Dakota. The collection that evolves consists of quality, up-to-date resources and materials based on historical and cultural aspects of North Dakota. Implementation of this project consists of face-to-face and online professional development opportunities for teachers across the state and development of a growing Resource Collection. Significant partners in this project are those organizations and agencies that can provide valuable cultural and historical data and current information strategic to planning and maintaining this collection: EduTech; North Dakota Forest Service; North Dakota Council on the Arts; Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site; State Historical Society of North Dakota; and the North Dakota Geographic Alliance.

State Historical Society, Sargent County Historical Society To Host Collections Care Workshop
A collections care workshop, entitled “Ideal vs. Real,” will be held at the Sargent County Museum in Forman, North Dakota, Wednesday, June 10 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The workshop is free of charge and open to the first 25 registrants. Participants must pre-register for this workshop by Monday, June 8. There are limited scholarship funds, available to North Dakota museums, for travel reimbursement, but applications must be made prior to the workshop date. Lunch will be provided courtesy of the Sargent County Historical Society. The workshop will be presented by Jenny Yearous, curator of collections management with the State Historical Society of North Dakota. Yearous is responsible for managing the daily care of the state’s artifact collection. She has 15 years of experience working with textiles and other artifact collections. Yearous always strives to find the most cost-effective method and logical approach to taking care of collections. For more information and/or to register for this workshop call SHSND Expansion and New Initiatives Coordinator Claudia Berg at (701) 328-2666 or email cberg@nd.gov.

June 2009 Art and Cultural Events Throughout North Dakota
The following information lists some of the many entertaining events you can take part in! Bismarck: Jun 13 - Area fiber artists will come together to do some public knitting at the Former Governors’ Mansion State Historic Site, and Jun 20 - 3RD Annual MidSummer Celebration of Light, Sleepy Hollow Arts Park 7:30-dark; Center: Jun 12-13 - Village Gallery's 31st Annual Art Show and Craft Fair; Hazen: Music in the Parks events; Mandan: Jun 6-Aug 20 - The Musicians Association of Bismarck-Mandan’s 2009 Summer Band Shell Concerts; Ellendale: Jun 7-14 - "Railroad Week" and Jun 20-21 - "If These Walls Could Talk" historic pageant on the "100 Years of Memories"; Fargo: Jun 11-12 - "Plains Inside Out: Minneapolis Art on Wheels, and Jun 23 - NDSU Bison Arts presents Alf Clausen; Moorhead: Jun 8-Jul 27 - The Minnesota State University Moorhead Summer Cinema Series, Jun 24-25 - Trollwood Performing Arts School’s 2009 summer performances of HONK!, and Jun 26-28 - 32nd Annual Scandinavian Hjemkomst Festival at the Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center; Aneta: Jun 20 - New Norwegian Book, Musical Kick Off at Annual Aneta Turkey Barbeque; Grand Forks: North Dakota Museum of Art Concerts in the Garden Series; Devils Lake: 2009 Chautauqua Season; Pekin: Jun 24-28 - Nelson County Arts Council’s Pekin Days Art Show; Minot: Minot Area Council of the Arts’ Arts in the Parks 2009, and much more! For more information on these events and additional events, and exhibits, visit: www.culturepulse.org; or www.nd.gov/arts/calendar/calendar.html.

Assistance Available to Craft Artists Affected by Flooding
Artists, arts organizations and businesses in the regions of North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota threatened by flooding, and art organizations in these states with at least a statewide scope are encouraged to read this. Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF), hopes you and your loved ones are able to avoid loss from the flooding and wish those who have suffered loss a quick recovery. CERF would like to make sure that any professional craft artist who may have been seriously affected by the flooding is aware of the disaster relief assistance available from CERF. If, as a craft artist, you have suffered loss, please contact them when able. If, as an arts organization representative, you know of craft artists in the areas hardest hit by the flooding, or plan to correspond with your artist constituents in the near future, please pass this information on. If there are organizations that directly work with artists in your community that you think we should know about, please send us their contact information. CERF’s programs include: Grants up to $1,500; Loans up to $8,000; Booth fee waivers at craft shows; Discounts on materials and equipment from suppliers and manufacturers; Assistance with business development through referrals to consultants and other low or no-cost resources; Disaster forums to facilitate craft community disaster preparedness and recovery. For eligibility requirements and more detailed information, visit http://craftemergency.org/programs/relief, or contact CERF at: Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF), PO Box 838, Montpelier, VT 05601; ph: (802) 229-2306; fx: (802) 223-6484; email: les@craftemergency.org; www.craftemergency.org.



NATIONAL NEWS



President Obama Nominates Rocco Landesman to Lead the NEA
Rocco Landesman, the colorful theatrical producer and race-track aficionado who brought hits like “Big River,” “Angels in America” and “The Producers” to Broadway, has been nominated as the next chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, the White House said. The White House’s official statement on his nomination noted that Landesman’s career “has been a hybrid of commercial, philanthropic, and purely artistic engagements.” The article is available via this link.

President Obama’s Budget Calls for $6 Million Increase for the NEA
President Barack Obama released the first budget of his administration on Thursday, May 14, 2009, revealing details of his FY 2010 spending plans. Cultural funding saw some increases from FY 2009 levels, including a proposed $6 million increase for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The boost would bring the NEA’s total appropriation to $161 million, up from the recently passed $155 million in the FY 2009 Omnibus Budget Resolution. Other cultural institutions such as the Institute for Museum and Library Services maintained relatively the same funding from FY 2009. But for the first time in eight years, the president’s budget includes $38 million in appropriations for the Arts in Education programs at the U.S. Department of Education. This stands in sharp contrast to the previous administration’s policy of not marking funds for these critical arts education programs in professional and model development that later had to be added in by congressional action.
~ Americans for the Arts May 2009 Monthly Wire

Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth
The National Endowment for the Arts is committed to providing leadership in arts education by inspiring all young Americans through rich arts experiences. A high quality education in the arts opens a critical gateway to a lifetime of appreciation and engagement. For two reasons, learning in the arts is an indispensable part of American education: 1) children celebrate and participate in their cultural inheritance, and 2) academic and social maturity follow directly from arts education experiences. The “Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth” category offers funding for projects that help children and youth acquire knowledge and understanding of and skills in the arts. Projects must provide participatory learning and engage students with skilled artists, teachers, and excellent art. Funded projects apply national or state arts education standards. Application deadline is June 11, 2009. For additional information, and to apply, visit: www.arts.endow.gov/grants/apply/GAP10/LITA.html.



EVENT AND EXHIBIT CALENDAR, ARTS OPPORTUNITIES



2009-2010 Cultural Exchange Fund (CEF) Program Announcement
The Cultural Exchange Fund (CEF) is a travel subsidy program supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to assist U.S. based presenters in building partnerships and collaborations with international touring artists, companies and their collaborators and in seeing the work of artists from around the world in its cultural context. The Association of Performing Arts Presenters (Arts Presenters) recognizes that promoting global cultural exchange is essential for audience and community engagement in the performing arts and provides an opportunity for presenting professionals to expand and deepen their knowledge of artists, traditions and cultures from around the world. Arts Presenters will award travel subsidies to individual presenters, non-profit presenting organizations and to groups of presenters traveling to see the work of artists, companies and/or to develop and advance projects with international artists and their collaborators. All applicants must be active members of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters. Please visit www.artspresenters.org for more information on how to apply for the grant. You may also contact Alison McNeil, toll free at 1-888.820.ARTS or amcneil@artspresenters.org should you have any questions related to the program.

Small Works Exhibit and Auction
June 16 - July 23, 2009; Annual Summer BBQ and Auction: July 23, 2009, 5:30-7:30pm. Deadline for entries: June 13, 2009. No entry fees! No limit on number of entries for members! Non members up to three entries! Enclose a $25 annual artist membership fee, and you may enter an unlimited number of entries! Eligibility: The Taube Museum of Art Small Works Exhibit & Auction is open to artists 18 years or older. Artists may submit works in any medium. Artwork must be original, created within the last two years. Guidelines: Two- dimensional works maximum size 80 square inches including frame. Sculptural works may not exceed 8” x 8” x 8” including base if a base is included. Each framed entry must be ready to hang with wire hangers or saw tooth hangers. All work must be available for purchase. Not For Sale work will not be accepted. Acceptable Media: collage, computer techniques, drawings, fiber art, glass works, jewelry, metal, mixed media, paintings, pastels, photography, pottery, prints, sculptures, wood. Additional information about the Small Works Exhibit and Auction is available via this link. Last year the show sold almost 70% of all entries! For more info, call 701-838-4445; or visit www.taubemuseum.org

Abbey Prairie Arts Council’s Pastel Painting Workshop
July 17-19, 2009, The Assumption Abbey, 418 3rd Ave West, Richardton, ND. Pastel Painting Workshop Artist and Instructor ~ Sheila Rieman (Minimum 10 Students). Sheila is an award winning pastel artist and an experienced instructor. The Richardton Assumption Abbey has a wonderfully relaxing and enjoyable atmosphere for creating art. Workshop participants will work in a large room with artists’ north lighting and a full panoramic view of rolling prairie hills. Students will dine with the monks and take accommodations in former college dorms. Registration Fee: $200.00 Reserves your spot. (Does not include lodging and meals). Cut-off date for workshop Registration is by June 30, 2009. If the class does not fill by this date, your payment will be refunded. Lodging costs at the Abbey are: Single $20.00 per night. Double $15.00 per person per night (must be two people per room to get this rate) Meal costs for entire workshop: $60.00. For more information, please contact Beverly L. Haas at 701-290-3275; or Brother Llewellyn Kouba at 701-974-3315. A registration form and schedule is available via this link.

Dare to Step Outside the Box
Are you sick and tired of working hard as an artist and still feeling invisible? Are all of your exhibitions predictable? Do you play it safe, follow protocol, and then wonder why you haven't garnered the attention you deserve? Do you secretly fantasize about stepping out of your comfort zone, perhaps even doing something a bit outrageous and controversial? The article is available via this link.
~ By Renee Phillips, The Artrepreneur Coach, Art Calendar

Check out the upcoming Events and Exhibits listed on NDCA's regional calendars, and for more information, visit North Dakota's Statewide Arts Calendar at www.culturepulse.org. If you have events, exhibits or artist opportunities that you would like included on the NDCA web site, please email them to comserv@nd.gov.

Check out the current Arts Opportunities available on the NDCA web site!



DID YOU KNOW ...



Businesses Are Still Donating to the Arts
Times are tough for business and the arts alike, so why are some businesses standing by their commitment to funding the arts? It’s not an easy choice, but these executives believe the arts are a good investment and a key in promoting a region as a good place to live and do business. To read the entire article, visit: www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1894971,00.html.



OTHER RESOURCES



Nonprofits Organizations - Learn How to Save $$$ on Your Technology Needs!
TechSoup Stock is the technology product philanthropy service just for nonprofits. Launched by TechSoup Global in January 2002 (as DiscounTech), this service is a unique collaboration with corporate and nonprofit technology providers. Thanks to their partners' generous product donations and discounts, TechSoup Stock is able to facilitate and distribute multiple product philanthropy programs in a centralized, Web-based platform. They work to foster social change in two ways: by helping nonprofits to save money for mission-critical work when acquiring technology and by helping nonprofits use this technology even more effectively. To learn more, visit http://www.techsoup.org/stock/aboutus.asp.

Applying for 501(c) Status Without a Lawyer
The IRS has created a new website (http://www.stayexempt.org/) that enables new organizations to apply for 501(c) status without using a lawyer. This site is helpful and easy to follow.

Art Calendar
Art Calendar is the industry’s foremost business magazine for visual artists. Founded in 1986, Art Calendar acts as a beacon to guide artists on their journey toward making a living with their art. Written by knowledgeable industry pros and successful working artists, Art Calendar offers practical business advice on subjects such as art marketing, art law, portfolio development, exhibition presentation, communication skills and sales techniques, as well as advanced technical applications of photography, computer and Web tools. It also offers the most extensive and recent listings of Calls to Artists, including galleries reviewing portfolios, juried competitions, grants, fellowships, festivals, publishing opportunities and residencies. Best described as “The Artist’s Guide to Making It,” Art Calendar is the only subscription-driven, business-oriented magazine published specifically for visual artists. Art Calendar enables professional artists to make a living doing what they love. Offering innovative ideas, along with all of the necessary tools to sell their work and further their careers, Art Calendar has established itself as the ultimate resource for visual artists. http://www.artcalendar.com/; http://www.artscuttlebutt.com/; http://www.craftercircle.com/.

Sell Your Arts/Crafts Online at PrairieWorksMall.com
Prairie Works is organized to empower rural and isolated North Dakota artists and artisans to market their crafts and gain access to professional networks. Its purpose is to promote access to, and development of, arts in rural and tribal communities in North Dakota. Prairie Works is an organization founded to continue the art and craft heritage of rural ND artists by providing a source to market and sell their creative products. Prairie Works is providing the On-Line Gallery, a web site to sell art and craft work that ND artists, crafters and art entrepreneurs have created. The arts/crafts of Prairie Works will consist of quality, originality, creativity, and use of appropriate techniques. All work must be handmade by the ND artisan. For more information; to become a member; and/or to sell your arts/crafts online, please visit http://www.prairieworksmall.com/.

Online Arts Job Resource
Americans for the Arts have created an online arts job resource for employers and employees to come together. This new resource can be accessed by visiting http://jobbank.artsusa.org/search.cfm.

Prairie Independent
Introducing the "Prairie Independent" Bismarck-Mandan's newest community newspaper of people, places and events. The "Prairie Independent" is available at over 130 locations including community coffee shops, restaurants, waiting rooms, bars, entertainment centers, convenience stores, churches and at the Prairie Independent office. The "Prairie Independent" is a Free publication, if you are interested in advertising availability or offering the "Prairie Independent" to your customers, please contact Don Morrison at don@ndpeople.org, or 527-0060.

Self Employment in the Arts (SEA)
The focus of SEA is on the business of art. SEA was created with the idea that more artists will succeed if they have business skills, knowledge, resources, and contacts. Through artist-led conferences, a website full of resources and articles, and educational tools like the award winning Entrepreneurial Artist DVD; SEA helps artists turn their passions into a living. SEA is for college students, serious high school students, artists, and educators. Their mission is to provide educational resources to help aspiring artists gain the entrepreneurial knowledge and skills needed to establish and maintain a career as an independent artist. more on SEA...

"Tools for Results" Tool-Kit - a Resource for Non-profit Arts and Cultural Organizations
The Texas Commission on the Arts "Tools for Results" Tool-kit was developed as a resource for non-profit arts and cultural organizations in Texas and beyond. The Tool-kit is a collaborative project made possible with the help of many organizations that generously agreed to share their resources. The Tool-kit covers six topic areas: Fundraising & Development, Programs & Exhibitions, Cultural Tourism, Marketing, Advocacy, and Nonprofit Basics. Each section covers the basics, relevant concepts, best practices, things to consider, ideas for implementing change, common mistakes, ways to get started, do’s and don’ts, and how-to’s on a variety of topics. The “tools” are the sample forms, letters, documents, checklists, templates, and other resources. The intention is for nonprofits to take these “tools” and adapt them for their own purposes.

United States Artists (USA)
USA is a new organization dedicated to the support of America's finest living artists. Artists now have a home where they may find significant private funding to ignite the creativity that makes this country great. USA was launched in September 2005 with $20 million in seed funding provided by a coalition of leading foundations—Ford, Rockefeller, Prudential, and Rasmuson—in an act of unprecedented private investment in individual artists and the creative potential of America. Their initial investment enables them to pilot the USA Fellows program, awarding unrestricted $50,000 grants to fifty artists each year beginning in 2006. USA's long-term vision is to create an organization dedicated to the unlimited promise of our finest artists. Their horizon line is not three, five, or 25 years, but rather 100 years and beyond. Building on their base of private funding, their aspiration is to be permanently endowed. more on United States Artists…

Artists' Health Insurance Resource Center
The Artists’ Health Insurance Resource Center (AHIRC) database was created in 1998 by The Actors’ Fund of America, with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, as a health insurance resource for artists and people in the entertainment industry. Since then, with support from The Commonwealth Fund, it has expanded to include resources for the self-employed, low-income workers, the under-insured, the uninsured who require medical care and many other groups. For more information visit: http://www.ahirc.org/; for a direct link to North Dakota resources, visit: www.ahirc.org/state_indx.cfm?st=ND.

Online Legal Primers on the Arts
A new web site, http://www.thelawportal.info/, offers legal primers for artists and arts organizations, covering topics that range from the traditional and familiar (such as copyright) to the new and sometimes obscure (two-way broadband network access), and from the personal (how to find healthy materials) to the professional (how to develop contracts) to the political (free speech).

Online Classifieds Opportunities & Services for Artists
The New York Foundation for the Arts' Online Classifieds Opportunities & Services for Artists, is a free national online sources for artist opportunities and services. These include calls for entry, services such as photography of art work and accounting, space for rent, and many others. New listings are posted daily (designated with an orange "new" icon for one week) and remain on the site until they expire. Organizations posting listings are solely responsible for the content of those listings.

Additional Web Sites
The following Web sites have resources that may be of service to educators, individual artists, and arts organizations including funding and other opportunities, publications, arts events, etc:

National Endowment for the Arts
Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network
National Assembly of State Arts Agencies
Arts Midwest
Arts Education Partnership





The North Dakota Council on the Arts is the state agency responsible for the support and development of the arts throughout North Dakota, and is funded by the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.















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