ArtsErie News

ERIE, PA — ArtsErie and the Pa. Council on the Arts are proud to present the 2011 Regional “Poetry Out Loud” competition on February 19, 2011. This year’s competition will be held from 11 AM-1 PM at the Vukovich Center for Communication Arts at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa. Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program, created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, which encourages the study of poetry by offering educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition to high schools across the country.

This year’s participants include Megan Kibler from Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy, Katelyn Baker from Western Pennsylvania Christian Orators, and Jillian Johannes from Mercyhurst Prep. Each contestant will be responsible for memorizing three poems chosen from the Poetry Out Loud anthology and reciting these poems before the judging panel. Each judge will score the contestant based on certain criteria such as level of difficulty, posture and presence, pronunciation, and evidence of understanding. After each round, their score will be tabulated and at the conclusion of the last round, their final scores will be announced, determining the regional champion. The winner of this year’s competition will go on to compete at the State Finals at the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg, Pa.

This year’s panel of judges includes Conneaut Valley High School English teacher Donna Baker, ArtsErie Poetry Out Loud coordinator Lora Zill, coordinator of The Creating Landscapes Educational Programs for Children, Teens, and Young Adults, Jan Hyatt, and Associate Director of Public and Professional Writing at the University of Pittsburgh, Pam O’ Brien. ArtsErie is also proud to welcome Pennsylvania Senator Mary Jo White as a judge to this year’s panel. Senator White has served the 21st Senatorial District since 1996.

The 2010-11 academic year mark’s ArtsErie’s sixth year as regional host for area high schools. Eligible schools allowed to participate as part of ArtsErie’s region include Erie, Crawford, Warren, Mercer, Lawrence, Venango, Forest, McKean, Potter, Elk, and Cameron.

To receive information about participating in next year’s competition, contact Holly Nowak, ArtsErie’s Arts in Education Director, at (814) 452-3427. Additional information about Poetry Out Loud is available online at www.poetryoutloud.org.

2010 ArtsErie Arts Appreciation Award honorees announced;
public reception slated for Tuesday, Nov. 9

ERIE, PA — ArtsErie will celebrate a major milestone, its 50th birthday, at its annual Fall for the Arts event. “We liked the idea of celebrating a birthday and have planned our Fall for the Arts to be a big birthday party,” stated Charlotte Mashyna, ArtsErie executive director.

The event will be held on Tuesday, November 9, 2010 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at the Hemingway Room at the Ambassador Center (7794 Peach Street, Erie). Doors will open at 5:15 p.m. with the presentations beginning at 5:30 p.m. ArtsErie will share highlights from its 50 years of service to Erie County throughout the evening.

Also at the event, ArtsErie will honor individuals and groups for their contributions to the arts community with Arts Appreciation Awards. Honorees for 2010 include the Corry Community Foundation, which will receive the Leadership in the Arts Award; Union City Area School District, which will receive the Imagine Award; and Andrew Kauffman, who will receive the Applause Award for the Arts and Drafts Festival. According to Mashyna, the nominations for the awards came from a variety of community sources. “We’re excited to be able to honor the work that is being done out in the county this year,” Mashyna noted.

In addition to the awards, ArtsErie will thank its ArtsErie United Fund contributors and recognize ArtsErie Grantees. The birthday party will immediately follow the presentations.

Major sponsors for Fall for the Arts are Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield and Erie Insurance. Additional sponsors include BNY/Mellon, Samuel P. Black & Associates and the Knox Law Firm.

For more information or to inquire about remaining tickets, priced at $10 each, please contact ArtsErie at 814-452-3427 or info@ArtsErie.org.


About ArtsErie
ArtsErie strives to nurture the arts and enrich the lives of the people of northwestern Pennsylvania through leadership, financial support, education and advocacy. Additional information about ArtsErie is available online at www.ArtsErie.org.

Erie, Pa.—Congresswoman Dahlkemper (PA-3) today announced Arts Erie has been awarded $1,122,733 in federal funding for their new project, Art in Action, to strengthen arts experiences in local elementary schools. The funds will support Art in Action for four years, serving about 900 local students annually by incorporating the arts into their classroom curricula. The program will also create local teaching opportunities for artists and educators.

“Incorporating the arts into the classroom helps keep students engaged in learning, can improve their performance in school and cultivates a lifelong appreciation for the arts. ArtsErie is providing a wonderful service to our local students, encouraging their creativity and enhancing their experience in the classroom. The Art in Action program will also create local jobs for Erie’s art and education community. I applaud ArtsErie for their work in developing this exceptional new program,” said Rep. Dahlkemper.

The funding was awarded through the Department of Education’s Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination grant program (AEMDD). Of 200 applicants from throughout the United States for the AEMDD grant program, only 33 were chosen to receive funds, including ArtsErie.

ArtsErie will partner with Union City Elementary School, Second District Elementary School in Meadville, Cambridge Springs Elementary School, and Edinboro University of Pennsylvania for Art in Action over the next four years. Resident artists will be assigned to up to forty-eight classrooms of students in grades PK-6 each year. For nine weeks, these artists will infuse arts-based instruction into the classroom to improve student achievement and engagement.

“ArtsErie is thrilled that the Department of Education has recognized the value of the work we’ve been doing for many years. I’m excited to be able to bring this wonderful opportunity to these students and to witness the positive changes that will surely take place because of Art in Action,” said M. Holly Nowak, Project Director for Art in Action and Program Manager of Arts in Education for ArtsErie.

In addition to the advantages for the students, more than 60 elementary school teachers will benefit from ongoing training and professional development to help enhance their teaching skills through the arts, including an opportunity for a three-credit graduate course at Edinboro University. Art in Action will undergo an ongoing evaluation process to measure the program’s effectiveness for the students. The evaluation results will be made available to the education community to share the successes and lessons of the program with other schools.

ArtsErie’s Art in Action project is also creating jobs and business opportunities in the area. In addition to the resident artists in the classroom, art specialists will help facilitate teacher training and retired teachers will observe classrooms as part of the program evaluation, which is being managed by KeyStone Research Corporation in Erie.

The AEMDD grant program stipulates projects must serve at least one elementary or middle school in which 35 percent or more of the children enrolled are from low-income families. One hundred percent of the total costs of the program or project will be financed with federal money.

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ERIE, PA — Each year ArtsErie salutes individuals and groups for their contributions to the arts community by presenting them with ArtsErie Arts Appreciation Awards. Nominations are now being accepted for the 2010 ArtsErie Arts Appreciation Awards.

 

Individuals and organizations are urged to use the nominating form on the ArtsErie Web site at http://artserie.org/events/arts_awards.htm to submit nominations by the end of the day on Thursday, August 5, 2010 to honor achievements in any of the three categories.

 

• The Leadership in Arts Award recognizes a business, government, or foundation that (1) has exhibited long term art support, or (2) whose work has had a significant impact on the region’s arts/cultural landscape, or (3) has demonstrated a successful collaboration between an arts organization and business.

 

• The Applause Award recognizes a dedicated individual(s) or group whose outstanding volunteerism and contributions, either currently or in the past, have supported ArtsErie or the arts in our community.

 

• The Imagine Award recognizes an educator, instructor, or individual whose efforts have made an outstanding contribution to the enhancement of arts education by consistently inspiring and encouraging arts excellence in their students or an education affiliate (PTA, Board of Ed., Performing Arts/Music School) or other organization that has demonstrated outstanding efforts to evoke interest and understanding in the arts both having worked over time to implement excellence in and for arts education.

 

In 2009, ArtsErie saluted Citadel Broadcasting (Leadership Award); Inner-City Neighborhood Art House (Imagine Award); and Barbara Hauck (Applause Award). A complete list of past Arts Appreciation Award recipients is available at www.ArtsErie.org.

 

Awards will be presented on November 9, 2010 at ArtsErie’s 50^th Anniversary celebration.

 

About ArtsErie

ArtsErie strives to nurture the arts and enrich the lives of the people of northwestern Pennsylvania through leadership, financial support, education and advocacy. Additional information about ArtsErie is available online at www.ArtsErie.org.

 

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ArtsErie to host free workshops in Erie, Crawford, Warren counties to assist prospective applicants

ERIE, PA — ArtsErie announces that applications are now available for the 2010-11 Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA) Project Stream grants. The PPA program provides opportunities for arts organizations, individual artists and community-based groups to apply for up to $3,000 in funding to support performances, exhibitions and other arts projects that are presented to the public and take place between September 1, 2010 and August 31, 2011. ArtsErie supports the program in Crawford, Erie and Warren counties.

ArtsErie will conduct free workshops to provide more information on the program, and to guide prospective applicants through the application process.

ArtsErie PPA Grant Workshop Schedule:

• Meadville: Thursday, May 20 @ 6:00 p.m.
Meadville Council on the Arts
Meadville Market House, 910 Market Street, Meadville

• Warren: Monday, May 24 @ 5:30 p.m.
Warren Main Street Office 310 Second Avenue, Warren

• Titusville: Tuesday, May 25 @ 4:00 p.m.
Titusville Town Square, 4th Floor Conference Room (take elevator)
110 West Spring Street, Titusville

• Erie: Thursday, May 27 @ 5:30 p.m.
Episcopal Cathedral of St. Paul, 134 W. 7th Street, Erie

Please contact Char Mashyna at char@artserie.org or by phone at (814) 452-3427 to register for one of the workshops.

PPA Project Stream guidelines and grant applications are available in advance at www.ArtsErie.org, at the ArtsErie office at 3 East 4th Street in Downtown Erie or accessed directly online at pca.eGrant.org. Applications are due postmarked, or submitted electronically through the eGrant system, on or before Fri., June 18, 2010 at 4 p.m.

The PPA program is a partnership initiative between local arts organizations and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA), a state agency. State government funding for the arts comes through an annual appropriation by the Pennsylvania General Assembly and from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. ArtsErie administers the PPA program in Northwestern Pennsylvania. Additional information about ArtsErie is available online at www.ArtsErie.org.

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Community invited to meet Pa. Council on the Arts Executive Director Philip Horn

 

 

 

ERIE, PA — ArtsErie will host a reception on Wednesday, May 19 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Cummings Gallery at Mercyhurst College with Philip Horn, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA). ArtsErie invited Horn to travel to northwestern Pa. to meet PCA partners in Ridgway and Erie.  

 

The reception will provide an opportunity for Horn and the PCA to become better acquainted with the organizations and projects that the PCA funds in this region. Additionally, attendees will be able to learn more about the status of state funding for the arts and reinforce the value of funding community arts planning.

 

Northwestern Pennsylvania is one of the top recipients of funding by the PCA.

 

Call ArtsErie at 452-3427 for more information or to confirm attendance. Additional information about ArtsErie is available online at www.ArtsErie.org and about the PCA at www.pacouncilonthearts.org.

 

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November 25, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ArtsErie awards grants topping $425,000

Funding distributed to artists and arts organizations throughout Erie County

ERIE, PA — ArtsErie recently awarded $437,248 in funding to area artists and arts organizations. This funding is provided through ArtsErie Program Support and Project Grants, which are made possible through the Erie Arts Endowment and the ArtsErie United Fund, as well as Program and Project Stream Grants from the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts, known as PPA Grants. PPA Grants are made possible through the PA Council on the Arts (PCA), a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

Additional funding opportunities are made possible through the Clarence E. Beyers Music Performance Fund and the Virginia Vieser Arts Education Fund. Both funds are part of the Erie Arts Endowment.

Grant distributions were also made to various sub-funds of the Erie Arts Endowment.

“ArtsErie is pleased to be able to provide support to our member organizations each year, but especially during these challenging economic times,” said Charlotte P. Mashyna, ArtsErie executive director.

Each year ArtsErie distributes thousands of dollars in grants to artists and member organizations throughout the region. Awardees are selected through a competitive process for each grant cycle.

Funding for the 2009-10 fiscal year was distributed as follows:

A.)   Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA) Program Stream Grants
The PPA Program Stream is a funding opportunity of the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA), a regionalized funding program of the PCA. The Program Stream offers ongoing support to arts organizations and arts programs with an established history of PCA support. It is administered in Erie, Crawford and Warren Counties by ArtsErie.

The 2009-10 PPA Program Stream grantees are: Academy Theatre Foundation; Allegheny College Art Galleries; Artists Incorporated; Bruce Gallery of Art at Edinboro University; Corry Arts Council Auxiliary, Inc.; Edinboro University Chamber Players; Edinboro Highland Games of Edinboro University; Erie Chamber Orchestra at Gannon University; Erie Dance Conservatory Company; Erie Dance Consortium; Erie Opera Theatre; Erie Summer Festival of the Arts; JazzErie; Meadville Council on the Arts; Music at Noon at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College; North East Arts Council; Photomedia Center; Stairways Behavioral Health; Titusville Council on the Arts; United Community Independence Program's French Creek Community Theater; Warren Civic Orchestra, Inc.; Warren Concert Association; Warren County Summer Music School; and Warren Players.

B.)   Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA) Project Stream Grants
The PPA Project Stream provides grants to eligible organizations or individuals to conduct arts projects, such as performances or exhibitions, which are presented to the public and take place in a specific time period. This program is also administered in Erie, Crawford and Warren Counties by ArtsErie.
 
The 2009-10 PPA Project Stream grantees are: Allegheny Regional Theatre Experience; CAFE (Culture, Arts, Festivals, Events of Erie); Community Music School of Edinboro University; Conneaut Valley Economic & Industrial Development Authority; Downtown Edinboro Art & Music Festival; Edinboro University Chamber Players; Edinboro University Visiting Artist Program; Erie Arts Opportunity; Erie County American Red Cross; Erie Homes for Children and Adults; Gannon University; Goodell Gardens & Homestead; International Institute of Erie; J. Lynne Myers; Jude Shingle; Lake Erie Ballet; Lawrence Park Township; Regional Arts Council of Warren County; Riverside Chamber Players; Russian Orthodox Church of the Nativity; SoMar Dance Works; Western PASSHE Low Brass Consortium; Young Artists Debut Orchestra; and Young People's Chorus of Erie.

C.)   ArtsErie Program Support Grants
ArtsErie Program Support Grants provide funding to support larger arts organizations whose programming has a significant impact on the Erie community. ArtsErie program grants are funded by the ArtsErie United Fund and the Unrestricted/McCain Fund of the Erie Arts Endowment.

The 2009-10 ArtsErie Program Support grantees are: Erie Art Museum; Erie Philharmonic; Erie Playhouse; and the expERIEnce Children’s Museum.

D.)   ArtsErie Project Grants
ArtsErie Project Grants provide funding for art performances, projects and exhibits in any artistic discipline in Erie County. ArtsErie project grants are funded by the ArtsErie United Fund and the Unrestricted/McCain Fund of the Erie Arts Endowment.

The 2009-10 ArtsErie Project grantees are: Bayfront NATO, Inc./Martin Luther King Center; Bruce Gallery at Edinboro University; CAFE (Culture, Arts, Festivals, Events of Erie); Dafmark Dance Theater; Downtown Edinboro Art & Music Festival; Edinboro Highland Games & Scottish Festival; Edinboro University Visiting Artist Program; Emerson-Gridley CHAMPS Program; Erie Chamber Orchestra; Erie County Historical Society; Erie Dance Conservatory Company, Inc.; Erie Dance Consortium; Erie Homes for Children and Adults; Erie Opera Theatre; Gannon University; Inner-City Neighborhood Art House; Lake Erie Fanfare, Inc.; Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center at Mercyhurst College; Penn State Erie, The Behrend College; Photomedia Center; St. Boniface Church Players; and Union City Area School District Foundation.

E.)   Clarence E. Beyers Music Performance Grants
Clarence E. Beyers Music Performance Fund provides funding opportunities for projects involving music performance. Clarence E. Beyers Music Performance grants are part of the Erie Arts Endowment.

The 2009-10 Clarence E. Beyers Music Performance grantees are: Dafmark Dance Theater; Erie Art Museum; Erie Chamber Orchestra; Erie Civic Music Association; Erie Junior Philharmonic; Erie Opera Theatre; Erie Philharmonic; Erie Summer Festival of the Arts; Inner-City Neighborhood Art House; JazzErie; Lake Erie Ballet; Luther Memorial Concert Series; Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center at Mercyhurst College; Young Artists Debut Orchestra; and the Young People's Chorus of Erie.

F.)   Virginia Vieser Arts Education Grants
Virginia Vieser Arts Education Fund provides funding opportunities for arts education programs without regard to artistic discipline. Arts education projects may be in any setting that exposes students of all ages to any of the visual or performing arts. New initiatives are encouraged. Virginia Vieser Arts Education grants are part of the Erie Arts Endowment.

The 2009-10 Virginia Vieser Arts Education grantees are: Erie Art Museum; Erie Playhouse; and Greater Erie Youth Symphony Orchestra.

G.)   Erie Arts Endowment Sub-Fund Grant Distribution
Several sub-funds also received grant distributions. They are: ArtsErie; Discovery Square; Erie Art Museum; Erie Art Museum — Public Art; Erie Philharmonic; Erie Playhouse; expERIEnce Children's Museum; Lake Erie Ballet; and McBrier Family Fund.

About ArtsErie

ArtsErie strives to nurture the arts and enrich the lives of the people of northwestern Pennsylvania through leadership, financial support, education and advocacy. Additional information about ArtsErie is available online at www.ArtsErie.org.

About Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts

Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA) is a partnership between local organizations and the PCA. Now operating in all 67 counties in Pennsylvania, PPA re-grants funds to support a wide variety of local and community arts activities. Since its creation in 1996, PPA has demonstrated enormous success in achieving the PCA's mission and goals. Additional information about Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts is available online at www.pacouncilonthearts.org.

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ArtsErie to Host Annual Fall for the Arts Celebration

2009 ArtsErie Arts Appreciation Award honorees announced; public reception slated for Tuesday, Oct. 20

ERIE, PA — Each year ArtsErie honors individuals and groups for their contributions to the arts community with ArtsErie Arts Appreciation Awards. The awards are presented each October, National Arts and Humanities Month, at ArtsErie’s Fall for the Arts event. ArtsErie will host the 2009 Fall for the Arts celebration on Tuesday, Oct. 20 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at the Yehl Ballroom in Gannon University's Waldron Campus Center (124 West 7th St., Erie).

At the event, ArtsErie will present three Arts Appreciation Awards. Citadel Broadcasting will receive the Leadership Award. Inner-City Neighborhood Art House will receive the Imagine Award. Barbara Hauck will receive the Applause Award. In addition, ArtsErie will thank its ArtsErie United Fund Contributors and announce ArtsErie Grantees.

Doors will open at 5:15 p.m.; the awards presentation will begin at 5:30 p.m. The presentation will feature performances by local musicians and a poetry reading by Berwyn Moore, an associate professor of English at Gannon University who is Erie County's first poet laureate. A reception will immediately follow.

Fall for the Arts is sponsored in part by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. This year’s awards, created by local mosaic and glass artist Ed Grout, were sponsored by Bank of New York Mellon.

For more information or to inquire about remaining tickets, priced at $10 each, please contact ArtsErie at 814-452-3427 or info@ArtsErie.org.

About the ArtsErie Arts Appreciation Awards

Nominations for the ArtsErie Arts Appreciation Awards are accepted from members of the community and voted upon by the ArtsErie Board of Directors. The award categories are as follows:

The Leadership in Arts Award recognizes a business, government, or foundation that (1) has exhibited long term art support, or (2) whose work has had a significant impact on the region’s arts/cultural landscape, or (3) has demonstrated a successful collaboration between an arts organization and business.

The Applause Award recognizes a dedicated individual(s) or group whose outstanding volunteerism and contributions, either currently or in the past, have supported ArtsErie or the arts in our community. (The Applause Award now incorporates the Art Service Award given out in previous years.)

The Imagine Award recognizes an educator, instructor or individual whose efforts have made an outstanding contribution to the enhancement of arts education by consistently inspiring and encouraging arts excellence in their students or an education affiliate (PTA, Board of Ed., Performing Arts/Music School) or other organization that has demonstrated outstanding efforts to evoke interest and understanding in the arts both having worked over time to implement excellence in and for arts education.

About ArtsErie

ArtsErie strives to nurture the arts and enrich the lives of the people of northwestern Pennsylvania through leadership, financial support, education and advocacy. Additional information about ArtsErie is available online at www.ArtsErie.org.

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