LitArtlantic: A Three-Day Arts Extravaganza, May 20-22

Over the past couple months I've talked a little about LitArtlantic. I've thrown the word around here and there, and maybe you wondered what it's all about. So just what is LitArtlantic? It's a three-day arts extravaganza AT The Writer's Center, and it's FREE (though a $5 donation is suggested per family per day of attendance). The festival kicks off on May 20 with The Writer's Center's own Story/Stereo event and ends Saturday, May 22 at 4:00 p.m. In between you'll find some seriously great stuff. Our co-sponsors (see list below) have been instrumental in bringing in great artists and perfomers for each session. Read on!

photo below: Margot MacDonald

Credit: Veronika Lukasova

The Writer’s Center and five leading local arts organizations are pleased to announce the creation of LitArtlantic, a multi-day, multi-discipline festival loosely organized around the four main “storytelling” arts: literature, songwriting, theatre, and film. Headliners include 9:30 Club founder Bill Warrell (featured this week in Washington Post Magazine), producer Askia Muhammad, documentary filmmakers David A. Taylor, Adele Schmidt, and José Zegarra Holder, and musicians/performers Christylez Bacon and Margot MacDonald. And many more.

(Note: During the next few weeks I'll highlight, here at First Person Plural, these and others who'll be part of LitArtlantic. We have a LitArtlantic Fan Page on Facebook, of course, which is just getting started. To get updates on the event or to just get involved in the talk, please click here and "like" it. And, as always, feel free to spread this around!)

Growing out of The Writer’s Center’s former “small press fair,” LitArtlantic now features—over three consecutive days—readings, concerts, workshops, panels, screenings, and performances, as well as The Hive @LitArtlantic, a resource fair attended by local and regional organizations whose work supports artists and the art of storytelling: small presses, record labels, funding organizations, and arts education organizations. Organizations already registered for The Hive include the Maryland State Arts Council, Furniture Press, Baltimore Review, and the National Writers’ Union. Organizations interested in participating in The Hive should contact Janel Carpenter at janel.carpenter@writer.org

Christylez Bacon. Credit: Veronika Lukasova
Please click here for the full slate of LitArtlantic Schedule of Events.

To learn more about selected artists at LitArtlantic, please click on the live links above.


Our partners for LitArtlantic (in alphabetical order): American Independent Writers, Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County, Docs in Progress, Round House Theatre, Songwriters' Association of Washington.

FREE Workshops Available Through Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County

Thanks to our friends at the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County, The Writer's Center is pleased to offer 2 FREE slots in two upcoming AHCMC workshops taking place at The Writer's Center: Business Entity Formation (April 8) and Negotiation Skills (April 29). They are part of the "Legal Issues for Creative Entrepreneurs" workshops. To register, please call us at 301.654.8664 and mention you saw this post (or saw it on our Facebook fan page). Learn more about the workshops right here.

Update: only one slot remains in each class. If you're interested, please call us or contact me directly at kyle.semmel@writer.org.

Give the Green Light to Arts & Humanities in Montgomery County

Today I'm posting a special announcement from our friends at the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County.

On March 15, Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett presented his recommended FY11 Operating Budget which included a 10% reduction in funding to AHCMC's budget for grants and administration. Given the state of the financial crisis and the many demands on the County's budget, we are encouraged by the Executive's recommended support and are grateful that the reduction was not more severe. As the County Council turns its attention to the budget, Council members need to hear from YOU!

Show your support and thank County Council for their past support, then ask them to Give the Green Light to the Arts and Humanities and approve the County Executive's 2011 appropriation.

Your Advocacy Toolkit is just a click away!

Download everything you need for the 2011 Arts & Humanities Advocacy Campaign to the Montgomery County Council!

Check out:

County Council contact information

Sample e-mails/letters and talking points

Advocacy Etiquette

Advocacy Potluck Supper information

Sample Tweets

Sample Facebook status updates

Easy-Sign Advocacy Postcard for your constituents

Advocacy button for your website



Click here for the Advocacy Toolkit

Show Your Support at the Advocacy Potluck with Montgomery County Council

When? Monday, April 5 at 6:00 PM before the Public Hearing at 7:00 PM (attendees should arrive by 5:45 PM to set up)

Where? 5th Floor Conference Room in the County Office Building, 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, MD 20850

What's Our Message? Thank you for all your past support and Give the Green Light to the Arts and Humanities by approving the County Executive's proposed FY11 appropriation.

Benefits of Attending? Talk one-on-one with individual Council members about the importance of the arts and humanities in our community. Volume speaks volumes to Council members! This is one time when being a face in a crowd is good. Council members pay attention to the volume of letters and emails they receive and the numbers they see at the Public Hearing. Help us make a strong statement by joining the Give the Green Light to the Arts and Humanities crowd this year at the Public Hearing.

Who Should Come? Every arts and humanities organization that receives a grant from AHCMC should send at least one Advocacy Ambassador to the Potluck . You are welcome to send as many people as you wish. Representatives can be Board members, staff members, patrons, volunteers and program participants. Please wear GREEN to show your support.

What to Bring? Bring a dish to share (for about 10 people) that is easy to serve and easy to eat standing-up. What you should bring depends on the first letter of your last name. Please follow this distribution so that there is enough food for all!

A-L Main Dishes

M-R Appetizers

S-Z Desserts

A Kosher food space will be available for those observing Passover.



Schedule:

5:45 PM - Arrive to set up your dish

6:00 PM to 7:00 PM - Meet, greet and eat with Council members

7:00 PM - Public Hearing, 3rd Floor Hearing Room, County Office Building, 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, MD 20850


Want to find your Councilmembers? Click here!
Questions? Email Suzan Jenkins: Suzan.Jenkins@creativemoco.com

Traffic Survey & Artist or Scholar Applications for AHCMC

Next year, as you may have heard, road construction in northern Virginia may affect commutes to The Writer's Center. We are looking into this issue in order to find viable solutions to potential commuting problems. Please take 3 minutes to fill out this brief four-question survey so that we can better serve you: Click Here to take survey


Are you an artist or scholar with experience presenting programs in the community?

Apply for AHCMC's Roster and get listed on creativemoco.com.

The Artists and Scholars Roster for Community Programs is a list of pre-screened, high-quality artists and scholars who are available to present programs and workshops in Montgomery County. The Roster is posted on AHCMC's website and is available for anyone who wants to book a community program.

The Roster is open to a wide range of artistic and scholarly disciplines including dance, music, history, writing, and visual arts. Click here to download a copy of the guidelines.

Applications are due Tuesday, September 29 by midnight through our online application system.


For more information please contact grantsinfo@creativemoco.com or 301.565.3805.
TEACHING ARTISTS ROSTER FOR ARTS INTEGRATION RESIDENCIES

Are you an artist with experience and training presenting arts programs in schools that are linked with the non-arts curriculum?

Apply for AHCMC's Teaching Artists Roster for Arts Integration Residencies and connect with Montgomery County school teachers.

The Arts and Humanities Council is pleased to announce the release of a new application for our Teaching Artists Roster for Arts Integration Residencies.

The Teaching Artists Roster is a list of pre-screened, highly qualified teaching artists available to Montgomery County schools interested in arts integration residencies, which are extended in-school arts programs that connect to non-arts subjects.

This is a new, streamlined application that allows teaching artists to demonstrate their skills and abilities -- and it's online. Click here to download a copy of the guidelines.

Applications are due Wednesday, October 7 by midnight through our online application system.

If you have any questions about the application or guidelines, please contact Jeffrey King, Arts Education Manager, at jeffrey.king@creativemoco.com or 301.565.3805.
APPLICATION WORKSHOPS

We're here to help!

These applications will be some of the first accepted through our new online system. We will be hosting three workshops to assist our constituents in completing these applications and using the new online system. You are welcome to apply for one or both Rosters.

Monday, September 14, 2009
Arts & Humanities Council Offices
801 Ellsworth Drive
Silver Spring, MD 20910
For directions click here and scroll down to Directions

All workshops will last approximately one hour

4 pm: Teaching Artist Roster Application Workshop

5 pm: Online Grant System Workshop
6 pm: Communtiy Artists and Scholars Roster Workshop

For questions or to reserve a space in one or more workshops, email grantsinfo@creativemoco.com or call 301-565-3805.