Connecting with the Arts – December 2020

Written by McKenna Kennedy on . Posted in General.

Welcome back to the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County’s monthly blog series, “Connecting with the Arts”,  where we are featuring news and updates happening with art organizations in Anne Arundel County. Tune in the last Friday of each month to connect and learn more about the art organizations that are making an impact in our community.

2020 came with a lot of unexpected challenges but despite these uncertainties, the arts community was here for us to provide comfort and connection in a time when these felt harder to hold on to. So as we look forward to a New Year filled with hope and healing, we can be certain the arts will continue to be here for us with innovative and creative programs. In this month’s blog post, we reflect on this past year and mark our calendars for new programs in this upcoming year.

We start off the blog with an opportunity to own a piece of art history from Future History Now’s 2020 mural collection. Annapolis Symphony Orchestra looks back on their virtual music programs that reached audiences not only locally, but around the world. The Banneker-Douglass Museum is celebrating the seven principles of Kwanzaa through musical performances, games, crafts, and more! If you are looking to start something new, Encore Creativity for Older Adults virtual choral program is now open for registration. Londontowne Symphony Orchestra is back with their first concert live streaming in January! And let’s end the winter by grabbing a blanket and warming-up in the comfort of your own home with the enlightening Winter Lecture Series hosted by the Annapolis Maritime Museum & Park (AMM).

Connect and learn more about these organizations by clicking their logos below. We hope you enjoy!

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Own a piece of art history from Future History Now’s 2020 Mural Collection!
With your help, Future History Now was able to produce four monumental, community-based public art projects in 2020, despite very trying circumstances, engaging youth in underserved communities, and gaining global recognition for our community along the way.  We are proud to have been highlighted this year in Google’s “Year in Search – 2020” film, a New York Times documentary, a Bruce Springsteen music video, and Time Magazine.

We are truly grateful to our staff, volunteers, donors, and supporters for helping us continue our mission of empowering youth through the positive forces of art. Please consider supporting FHN’s first-ever poster fundraiser to help us continue our mission in 2021. Choose one, two, or all three posters available for the complete FHN 2020 Mural Collection.  Visit our website for details.

Without your support, our program would not exist.

website – www.FutureHistoryNow.org
Instagram – @futurehistorynow.art
Facebook – Future History Now
Twitter – @FHN_art

Annapolis Symphony Orchestra looks back on 2020
As the curtain lowers on 2020, we look back on a year in which every arts organization scrambled to find creative alternatives to survive. The Annapolis Symphony Orchestra began planning for virtual performances in March. By the beginning of our season, we launched Symphony+, a new streaming platform, and offered an All-Access Household Pass subscription plan. The first two performances exceeded our wildest dreams. When pandemic restrictions tightened in November, leading to the cancellation of our Holiday Concert, we offered “Holiday Harmony: 12 Musical Days of ASO,” a free daily mini-performance from solo artists and small groups, to keep our audience engaged in this difficult time.

Music is healing and needed now more than ever. In looking ahead to 2021, we will continue to make use of our Symphony+ streaming platform to reach audiences locally and around the world. If there is a silver lining to any of this, it has opened our eyes to the reality of a global audience. We have had people from all over the world watching the ASO. We look forward to the day when we can perform in front of an in-person audience, but until the pandemic abates we are thankful to have a quality virtual option. We thank you for your support and invite you to learn more about Symphony+ at SymphonyPlus.org

Banneker-Douglass Museum’s Annual Kwanzaa Celebration 2020
Banneker-Douglass Museum is celebrating the seven principles of Kwanzaa through musical performances, games, crafts, and more! The program for BDM’s recent virtual Kwanzaa Celebration included: a special percussive musical performance; Zawadi (gift making) session; a Kwanzaa feast cooking tutorial; a discussion on the importance of community and intergenerational engagement; a virtual lighting ceremony; and a “Buy Black” marketplace. You can view the entire Kwanzaa Celebration on YouTube or at bdmuseum.maryland.gov

Click here for a full media advisory.

 

Encore Creativity for Older Adults Offers Virtual Choral Program
Amid the pandemic, the nonprofit Encore Creativity for Older Adults, based in Maryland, offers a “reinvented” virtual choral program, Encore University. The program offers singing and a large selection of classes in voice technique, music theory, and music history, for adults 55+.  A current singer describes it as similar to a college course.

Encore University’s on-line Spring 2021 Semester will begin on Monday, January 25th and run through Thursday, May 13th.  The program will offer an exciting and engaging curriculum of educational classes and rehearsal sessions, as well as new offerings that include “Yoga for Singers”, “The History of Black Classical Composers” and “Rhythm Happy Hour.”  The weekly chorale sessions will rehearse an exciting repertoire including, “There is Sweet Music” by Lightfoot, “Over the Rainbow” arranged by Audrey Snyder, “Pure Imagination” from the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, “Caged Bird,” based on a Maya Angelou text, and more. ROCKS singers will have a blast rehearsing “Turn Turn Turn,” “River Deep, Mountain High,” “More Than a Feeling,” “Dedicated to the One I Love,” “Good Lovin’,” and “Listen to the Music.” Sentimental Journey Singers, a chorus designed for those with early Alzheimer’s or other memory impairment, will delight the singers and their care partners, singing “It Had to Be You,” “High Hopes,” “Mambo Italiano,” and “What a Wonderful World.”

In addition to the return of many of Encore’s esteemed conductors and instructors from the summer and fall semesters, Encore is thrilled to welcome three new faculty members:  California composer and yoga instructor Jenni Brandon, conductor and music educator Nevilla Ottley and percussionist Tom Teasley.

The Spring Semester will culminate in a VIRTUAL CHOIR CONCERT on Thursday, May 13th!

Registration is open now! 

Encore University—Winter/Spring Program Overview Classes Begin: Monday, January 25, 2021 Classes End: Thursday, May 13, 2021
All Live Classes Online on Zoom; Video versions made available weekly
Tuition: $215 per person through Dec 29; $235 after Dec 29
Registration Deadline: Friday, Jan. 15, 2021
Register at Encore’s Web Site: Encorecreativity.org or call 301-261-5747

The Spring course catalog can be viewed by clicking here.

On-line registration for the Spring 2021 Semester is open, click here.

 

The Londontowne Symphony Orchestra is back!
We will have our first concert on Friday, January 22, at 7:30 pm. It is still too early for a live audience, so we will be streaming the concert live over Facebook and YouTube from the Riva Trace Baptist Church in Davidsonville. Login instructions will be made available when they have been determined.

The concert will begin with Dvořák’s Piano Quintet No. 2 in A major with William Bloomquist, piano, Paul Bagley, violin, Kristin Bakkegard, violin, Dorothy Couper, viola, and Diana Curtis, cello. With no intermission, the concert will conclude with Tchaikovsky’s Serenade in C major for String Orchestra under the direction of Anna Binneweg, the Music Director/Conductor of the LSO.

 

Warm-up this winter in the comfort of your own home with the enlightening Winter Lecture Series hosted by the Annapolis Maritime Museum & Park (AMM) beginning Thursday, January 7, 2021. The popular educational and informative series of eight wintertime talks provides rich and stimulating topics from an esteemed group of scholars, photographers, and historians. Lecture topics represent a diverse and relevant range of topics, from the traditional wooden shipbuilding and battles on the Chesapeake Bay to spotlights on waterfowl, oyster ecosystems, and fisheries.

Lectures will be held virtually Thursday evenings at 7 p.m., January 7th through February 25th, 2021. Admission is $10 per lecture and FREE for First Mate-level AMM members and above. Join at the $100 level, and admission to all eight lectures is free, along with many other perks of membership.

Lectures will take place virtually on amaritime.org. Pre-registration will be required.

The 2021 Winter Lecture Series is presented by Bay View Homecare, Homestead Gardens, and Cadia Healthcare of Annapolis.
Complete Schedule:

January 7 | 7 p.m. The Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse: A Chesapeake Bay Icon at Annapolis
Presenter: David Gendell | Author, Sailor, and Co-founder of SpinSheet and PropTalk Magazines
January 14 | 7 p.m. Chesapeake Bay Waterfowl: Exploring and Solving Mysteries
Presenter: Dr. Matthew C. Perry | Scientist Emeritus, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
January 21 | 7 p.m. Traditional Wooden Shipbuilding on the Chesapeake Bay & the Maryland Dove
Presenter: Pete Lesher | Chief Curator at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
January 28 | 7 p.m. Oysters and Ecosystems: How the Eastern Oyster Shapes the Chesapeake Bay
Presenter: Jesse Iliff | Riverkeeper of South, West, and Rhode Rivers
February 4 | 7 p.m. The Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary: The Ghost Fleet and Beyond
Presenter: Dr. Susan Langley | Maryland State Underwater Archaeologist
February 11 | 7 p.m. The Battle of the Chesapeake, 1781: Military Decider for the American Revolution
Presenter: Dr. Bill Cogar | Executive Director of Historic Naval Ships Association (HNSA), Author
February 18 | 7 p.m. Racing on the World Stage: The 2021 America’s Cup and Olympic Sailing
Presenter: Gary Jobson | World-renowned Sailor, Author, Columnist, and Commentator
February 25 | 7 p.m. Changing Fisheries of the Chesapeake Bay: Radical Changes in Recent Years
Presenter: Lenny Rudow | Angler in Chief at Rudow’s FishTalk Magazine, Author, and Editor

For presenter biographies and topic details, please visit amaritime.org.

 

 

77 Local Independent Artists Receive GAP Grants to Offset Pandemic Losses

Written by McKenna Kennedy on . Posted in COVID-19, General, Past Grant Awards.

77 Local Independent Artists Receive GAP Grants to Offset Pandemic Losses

Anne Arundel County’s independent artists have been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Venue closures, cancellations, and public health restrictions have limited performance opportunities, and thus the ability of dancers, musicians, vocalists, and other performing artists to make a living. Creative artists especially felt the impacts in November-December, when they would normally have generated a large percentage of their annual income at holiday markets, that were instead shuttered due to COVID.

The Arts Council of Anne Arundel County has been able to provide immediate assistance in the form of GAP Independent Artist grants to help offset these losses. Made possible through the CARES Act funding from County Executive Steuart Pittman, these grants were awarded to 77 local artists. These talented and hard-working individuals represent the breadth of artistic vocations that comprise our local arts community and include painters, sculptors, photographers, dancers, singers, musicians, arts instructors, songwriters, cartoonists, artisans, and even a comedian.

For the individual artist, this funding has truly made a difference. Comacell Brown, better known as Cell Spitfire, is a multi-talented artist, painter, graphic designer, and entrepreneur.  He offers a wide range of graphic design services including creative logos, marketing brochures, business cards, banners, stationery items as well as custom painted artwork and apparel.  For him, the grant “will help in multiple ways, from bulking up on supplies to getting my work printed out for my Maryland Hall exhibition. I’ve also been able to make up for past due internet bills, which is important because I do most of my business online. The rest will be put toward t-shirts and supplies. I’m grateful for this money, which is the first grant I’ve ever received. It will help me start the next year off with the materials I need to keep my business going.”

Dancer Jemma Lehner of Edgewater lost performance, choreography, and teaching opportunities due to COVID. She told us, “This grant allowed me to cover lost wages and continue creating and dancing! Thank you so much to the Arts Council and Anne Arundel County for making these funds accessible to artists – it was a game changer for me. I will be using the funds to cover my rent and meals for the next 2 months. This past year has been extremely difficult on dancers, the place that we usually go to for healing (the studio) is now the cause of our problems. It is nice to know we have our Arts Council and County supporting us!”

 

 

Click here for information regarding the Anne Arundel County GAP Grant for Arts Organizations

 

 

*Featured Photos Above Courtesy of  (L) Artist Cell Spitfire (Comacell Brown) and (R) Dancer Jemma Lehner 

54 Anne Arundel County Arts Organizations Receive GAP Grants

Written by McKenna Kennedy on . Posted in COVID-19, General, Past Grant Awards.

54 Anne Arundel County Arts Organizations Receive GAP Grants

This month, the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County has had the honor and privilege of helping to spread holiday cheer in the form of GAP grants to our local arts community. Made possible by County Executive Steuart Pittman through the CARES Act, these awards were given to 54 creative and performing arts nonprofits and businesses from all over Anne Arundel County, to help offset losses due to COVID-19 related closures, cancellations, and restrictions. The funding came at a critical time, enabling organizations to remain open, pay staff and overhead costs, and access the resources they need to comply with public health guidelines for programming.

These grants also provide organizational leaders with a bit of breathing room, allowing them to focus on what is really important. Chesapeake Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO) Executive Director Dane Krich told us, “When I received the email with regard to the GAP grant we were awarded, I felt so honored. We believe now more than ever that music education isn’t a luxury – it’s a necessity. With today’s students and all the challenges facing them due to the pandemic, we feel it is of the utmost importance to provide our youth with the outlet of learning music. I speak on behalf of the CYSO when I say from the bottom of my heart, thank you!

 

Click here for information regarding the Anne Arundel County GAP Grant for Independent Aritsts 

 

 

*Featured Photo Above Courtesy of Chesapeake Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO) – Students during their JamKazam rehearsal

Connecting with the Arts – November 2020

Written by McKenna Kennedy on . Posted in General.

Welcome back to the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County’s monthly blog series, “Connecting with the Arts”,  where we are featuring news and updates happening with art organizations in Anne Arundel County. Tune in the last Friday of each month to connect and learn more about the art organizations that are making an impact in our community.

The holidays may be looking a bit different this year, but we can still find ways to stay connected. In this month’s blog post there is a lot to look forward to and celebrate!

First, you won’t want to miss The AngelWing Project’s Virtual Poetry Showcase featuring talented young voices streaming this December. We then learn about a large-scale Stormwater Management Project that is underway at Annapolis Maritime Museum & Park (AMM) that will not only be an asset to the AMM’s Education Center, but also the entire community. Annapolis Shakespeare Company is opening their doors again this winter with two-holiday productions with the options to view both live or virtual. Maryland Federation of Art (MFA) has a fun new mystery art event coming up called In the Box – just in time for the gift-giving season! You will want to mark your calendars for The Arundel Vocal Arts Society (AVAS) virtual annual Christmas Concert that will be full of holiday songs and other festive thoughts and inspirations. Creating Communities tells us about the success of their annual Thanksgiving Jam at Eastport United Methodist and invites us to celebrate the creative work of their students at Susan Campbell Park/City Dock Annapolis. You can also celebrate the holidays with the Ballet Theatre of Maryland as they continue the holiday tradition with their performance of The Nutcracker. ’Tis the Season to Shine at the Hammond-Harwood House at they inspire us with festive holiday decorations and have us looking forward to the New Year with their annual Twelfth Night Concert!

Connect and learn more about these organizations by clicking their logos below. We hope you enjoy!

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Don’t Miss The AngelWing Project’s Virtual Poetry Showcase!
Featuring talented young voices who have written about current events and the world they would like to see in the future.  They are poets, rappers, writers, singers, and more. Our Future. Our Voices. is the title of this powerful showcase.

This very special event will stream on December 18th and 19th, 2020 at 7:00 on our Social Media platforms.

Tune in and hear what they have to say.  You don’t want to miss these powerful voices with lots of wonderful surprises.  Stay tuned for further details.

In partnership with,
Chesapeake Arts Center
Generation Write Now
Funded in part by The Arts Council of Anne Arundel County

A large-scale Stormwater Management Project is underway at the Annapolis Maritime Museum & Park’s (AMM) 12-acre Park Campus, located at 7300 Edgewood Road, Annapolis, also known as the Ellen O. Moyer Nature Park. The Park Campus’ main entrance and plaza area have been vulnerable to stormwater runoff and nuisance flooding for decades. The shoreline along the cove has struggled to maintain vegetation and has visible signs of erosion due to high tides and storm surges. To combat these persistent degradations to the landscape, the AMM along with the Chesapeake and Coastal Services division at the Department of Natural Resources developed a conceptual design to restore the low-lying lawn area by redirecting the water to create a natural wetland system.

Work for this project commenced at the Park Campus in mid-October and is projected to be completed by early December. The project consists of a variety of stormwater management techniques, such as a stormwater conveyance system, and utilizes natural materials like sand, cobble, and sandstone to treat stormwater before it flows into Back Creek. “To put it simply, the goal of this project is to slow it down, spread it out, soak it in,” said Alice Estrada, President, and CEO of the AMM. Additionally, this restoration project will not only be an asset to the AMM’s Education Center, serving 12,000 students annually but also the entire community by providing an ecological exhibit that will be seen by thousands of visitors each year. These improvements to the Park Campus will increase public access to the Chesapeake Bay, improve water quality, creating an ideal location for fishing and crabbing. This project will also serve as a demonstration of proactive management strategies to combat the effects of climate change and coastal flooding.

While the Park Campus’ main entrance and plaza are under construction, the walking trails will remain open to the public. The full press release can be found here.

Annapolis Shakespeare is opening their doors again this winter starting with their holiday rep. With both live and virtual viewing options!

A Christmas Carol November 27th – December 27th
Charles Dickens’ original story was created to inspire a spirit of charity toward those less fortunate. Our Helen Hayes Award – recommended original production of this classic holiday story has become an ASC annual holiday tradition, delighting patrons of all ages.

 


Holiday Swing! December 11th – December 26th
This brand-new festive production features singing and dancing to celebrate the holidays with your family and friends. Enjoy some of your favorite holiday music featuring the Unified Jazz Ensemble.

To order tickets visit our website at www.annapolisshakespeare.org/index.html or call our box office at 410-415-3513

 

MFA has a fun new mystery art event coming up called In the Box.
Art enthusiasts can purchase a box which contains a random piece of art from an MFA Member and will be shipped directly to them by December 15th, just in time for the gift-giving season! Boxes can also be purchased as gifts for other art lovers. There’s a lot of different styles and artists involved – so you never know what you might get in the box! More info can be found here.

While socially distanced events like In the Box are fun, we are also very happy to still be open and showcasing art and artists to the community in person, like in our upcoming exhibition Small Wonders, where the only requirement was the work had to be under eleven inches on all sides. The exhibition will be on display in person at Circle Gallery (18 State Circle, Annapolis MD) and online at our website mdfedart.com December 3rd-27th.

 

Mark Your Calendars!
The Arundel Vocal Arts Society (AVAS) is planning a virtual annual Christmas Concert –

“Winter Holidays in/on the Cloud”
Sunday, December 20, 2020 at 4 p.m.

JoAnn Kulesza, Director and AVAS members will be performing and leading Holiday songs and providing other festive thoughts and inspirations at this virtual event.  Program details are still in the planning stages, so please refer to our website and social media pages (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – @avaschorus) to get the latest updates.

Please consider giving to AVAS via Facebook during “Giving Tuesday” on December 1st.  Just hit the Donate button on our Facebook page.

 

On Wednesday, November 18, Creating Communities hosted its annual Thanksgiving Jam at Eastport United Methodist, serving over 150 families and senior citizens from low-income households a full Thanksgiving dinner. In ordinary times, the event would have been held indoors with Creating Communities volunteers working hard to serve a hot dinner with family arts activities. However, due to COVID-19, the event was held outdoors for the first time in ten years as a drive-through, contactless distribution with all volunteers wearing masks, using sanitizer, and safe social-distancing. In addition to the traditional Thanksgiving fixings eggs and bread were donated by Pasadena-based nonprofit the Caring Cupboard and bags of fresh produce and beans by Julie St. Marie Catering. In addition, the Eastport Civic Association provided additional funding for food and supplies.  Creating Communities is a small arts nonprofit serving hundreds of youth and families per year with afterschool arts programs in schools and community centers. During COVID-19, Creating Communities has shifted to food and supplies distribution as well as running outdoor arts programs at Eastport United Methodist Church and the Chesapeake Children’s Museum with Centro de Ayuda.

Creating Communities is the 2020 Innovation Award recipient from the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County and is grateful to the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County for its incredible support for arts programming to help close the creativity and achievement gap in students in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County.

Please join Creating Communities at Susan Campbell Park/City Dock Annapolis with our program partner Centro de Ayuda on Saturday December 5, 2:30pm-4:00pm to celebrate the creative work of our students. The event will follow all COVID-19 regulations and protocols.

 

 

 

Celebrate the holidays with Ballet Theatre of Maryland!

This December, the holiday tradition The Nutcracker returns as a one-act show featuring all your favorite characters.  Performance dates are Saturday, December 12th at 2pm and 6:30pm, Sunday, December 13th at 2pm, Saturday, December 19th at 2pm and 6:30pm, and Sunday, December 20th at 2pm. Performance venue and ticket information coming soon! Make sure to follow Ballet Theatre of Maryland on Instagram and Facebook for updates. Visit our website at www.balletmaryland.org

 

 

’Tis the Season to Shine!
To carry on an Annapolis tradition, local garden clubs will decorate Hammond-Harwood House for the holiday season. This year’s holiday displays will be inspired by flowers that bloom around the world in winter; due to the pandemic, the museum is closed to the public but the decorated rooms will be featured online at www.hammondharwoodhouse.org.

Fresh, festive holiday centerpieces will be available for sale online. Crafted from boxwood and other seasonal greens from the Hammond-Harwood House garden, the decorated centerpieces can be picked up on-site between Dec. 9 and Dec. 11. For orders and more information click here.

The New Year will kick off with the Elan Ensemble featured at the annual Hammond-Harwood House Twelfth Night Concert. The concert will premiere virtually on January 2 –visit the website www.hammond-harwoodhouse.org for tickets.

A Special 2020 Giving Season

Written by McKenna Kennedy on . Posted in General.

The Arts Council of Anne Arundel County’s Arts Angels Scholarships has only been possible due to this amazingly generous community. Your support means so much to us, especially during these challenging times. During our annual Gala, the Arts Council holds a paddle raise to help fund these scholarships. Due to the pandemic, our annual Gala was canceled, which impacted our ability to give out these scholarships. From now until Dec 31st we have a new goal to fund the Arts Angels Scholarships, it will take $10,000. We need your help to get there.

How can you get involved? 

Where will the money raised go? It will go to helping us award Arts Angels Scholarships, which was established to open doors for children, youth, and teens, who have the passion, but not the means, to develop their artistic talent. Many local students who are eligible for these scholarships will be applying directly through one of the Arts Council’s forty Grantee Organizations, which will administer these programs internally. Scholarships will be offered in visual art, drama, music, dance and filmmaking at locations throughout Anne Arundel County.

Every $250 raised ensures that a student in Anne Arundel County has access to art programming. Facebook is contributing up to $7 million in total matching to donations made through Facebook on Dec 1st and charges no fees on donations made on Facebook’s platform, so all of the money raised will go towards our goal.

Thank you for your support!
Arts Council of Anne Arundel County

DONATE AND SHARE HERE!

Connecting with the Arts – October 2020

Written by McKenna Kennedy on . Posted in General.

Welcome back to the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County’s monthly blog series, “Connecting with the Arts”,  where we are featuring news and updates happening with art organizations in Anne Arundel County. Tune in the last Friday of each month to connect and learn more about the art organizations that are making an impact in our community.

As we make our way further into the Fall season (and this pandemic), we continue to learn how resilient the arts sector is as they keep up with bringing innovative programming to the community during these difficult times.

In this month’s post, we start by celebrating the variety of art that can be found in local area cemeteries with Anne Arundel Genealogical Society. We then leap into Ballet Theatre of Maryland’s new Season of Hope that is sure to fill you with hope and gratitude for the future. Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary takes us on a learning adventure along the Patuxent River! Celebrate Halloween safely this year by joining the Hammond-Harwood House for Pumpkins on the Avenue. Show some love for Historic London Town and Gardens by browsing their online auction where you can find all sorts of unique and special items to bring home. Lastly, let’s congratulate Creating Communities for being this year’s inaugural recipient of the Innovation Award from the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County!

Connect and learn more about these organizations by clicking their logos below. We hope you enjoy!

*****

Anne Arundel Genealogical Society Cemetery Art

This year the Anne Arundel Genealogical Society received a grant through the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County and the Trader Foundation for Maryland Burial Sites to create a booklet and weblink celebrating the variety of art that can be found in local area cemeteries. The genealogical society has collected comprehensive records and inscriptions for its 500+ burial sites and shares its information with the those researching their family history and with the county’s Cultural Resources Division to help assure the protection of these sites.

This free booklet is available at various sites throughout the county including the Kuethe Historical and Genealogical Library in Glen Burnie, St. Anne’s in Annapolis, and the county’s Cultural Resources Division office and will be available at various events throughout the county. A weblink featuring the booklet is also available HERE.

 

 

Photo: Nick Eckert

Ballet Theatre of Maryland is excited to announce our 2020-2021 Season of Hope.

We have named our 42nd season The Season of Hope as we are filled with hope and gratitude when we envision our triumphant return to the stage following this global pandemic. We are also excited and hopeful for the future of dance in our community under the leadership of newly appointed Artistic Director, Nicole Kelsch!

Our season will open with a bite when BTM performs Founding Artistic Director Edward Stewart’s “Dracula” in October. November brings former Artistic Director, Dianna Cuatto’s “An American Southwest Carmen”, which is sure to spice up the stage! BTM’s holiday gift to audiences, the beloved and revered classic, “The Nutcracker” will make its appearance in December.

In February, BTM dives under the sea and into audiences’ hearts when Cuatto’s highly admired “The Little Mermaid” splashes onto the stage. In April, to close our brilliant Season of Hope, we will showcase BTM’s versatility in both existing and newly commissioned classical and contemporary works! We look forward to presenting dance to our patrons whether in person or virtually. For more information on performances and tickets, please visit www.balletmaryland.org or call 410-224-5644.

 

Sharing Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary’s Cultural History through Kayaking

In 2019, The Friends of Jug Bay, a non-profit organization that supports the Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, received a mini grant from the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County to initiate an educational Sanctuary’s kayak archaeological guided program.

The Jug Bay area within the Patuxent River possesses rich archaeological resources and colonial and Native American history that goes back more than 10,000 years. By offering kayak guided programs the Sanctuary is able to share in a fun way all of this knowledge with the public, while also highlighting the importance for their preservation. There is so much history and evidence to be seen at Jug Bay that the Sanctuary could be considered as an “Open-Air Outdoor Native American History Museum” where participants can experience cultural history first hand! As we continue to offer this kind of programming we invite anyone interested in learning about the cultural history of Jug Bay, and how it connects with the natural environment, to come to Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary and join us for a kayaking archaeological learning adventure along the Patuxent River!

 

Pumpkins on the Avenue
Fun for Families and Kids of All Ages!
Hammond-Harwood House cannot host the traditional Pumpkin Walk this year. Instead, celebrate Halloween by bringing a decorated pumpkin and adding it to the Pumpkin Patch on the front lawn between 12 p.m to 4 p.m on Friday, October 30 2020.

Pick up a pre-packed goodie bag, enjoy a scavenger hunt in the front lawn, take photos and post on social media. Watch storyteller Andrea Lovett for a frighteningly tame story and a few belly laughs in the online video telling of the Ghost With The One black eye by visiting hammondharwoodhouse.org/event/pumpkins-on-the-avenue/ or the Hammond-Harwood House social media. Award Winning Storyteller, Andrea Lovett is both a storyteller and teaching artist. You can find her at Young Audiences of Massachusetts, HERE.

All will be masked and socially distanced. No crowds or games.
Donations are appreciated. Donate here

 

Show Some Love for London Town! 

The Love for London Town online auction benefits Historic London Town and Gardens. It will run from Saturday, November 7 at 8am through Friday, November 13 at 10pm. Proceeds will support caring and sharing the history and horticulture at Historic London Town and Gardens. Some highlighted offerings include a private Colonial Cocktails workshop with executive director Rod Cofield, a handcrafted cabinet emblazoned with London Town’s mermaid logo, special “Marshy Point” azaleas, and much more. Learn more and register to bid HERE.

 

Creating Communities 2020 Innovation Award 

Creating Communities is excited to announce that our small but mighty arts organization is the inaugural recipient of the Innovation Award from the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County. We are grateful for their incredible support and wisdom through the years as well as to the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County for their commitment to and investment in the arts in our community.

For thirteen years, Creating Communities has pushed the envelope on developing innovative arts programs in schools, community centers, partnering nonprofits and neighborhoods ensuring access to the creative experience for children and adults. Throughout COVID-19, we have delivered for our community over and over again, adding valuable programs where there were none. Over the summer we offered a 100% scholarship arts program via Zoom and we are currently hosting arts and photography programs at Centro de Ayuda and Eastport Methodist Church, all outdoors and with COVID protocols, for 50 students as well as a Community Learning Institute.

We are so excited for this valuable recognition for our amazing mentors, board, donors, and partners. Creating Communities will continue to activate the lean, agile and responsive model we have so carefully cultivated through the years and who knows what we will accomplish next! www.amashowcase.com

FY2021 COVID Relief Grants for the Arts Program (GAP)

Written by McKenna Kennedy on . Posted in COVID-19, General. Leave a Comment

Anne Arundel County Partners with Arts Council to Provide $1 million for Artists and Arts Organizations

Annapolis, Md (October 22, 2020) Today, County Executive Steuart Pittman and Arts Council Executive Director April Nyman jointly announced a new grant program to provide $1 million of federal CARES Act funding to support the county arts community. The arts are an important economic driver within Anne Arundel County, and because artists are not categorized as essential employees, individual artists and organizations that employ artists have been severely affected by the COVID pandemic.

“Art reminds us who we are and what matters most, and in trying times like these we need what our artists produce,” said County Executive Pittman. “Too many of our artists have lost income during this pandemic that allows them to continue their work. These grants will help local artists survive the pandemic economy.”

The funds come from the county’s allotment of the federal CARES Act and will aid in the support and stabilization of the arts community. All funding will be administered by the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County.

“I am grateful to County Executive Pittman for recognizing the overwhelming need in the arts community to provide economic relief to individuals that have no other sources,” said April Nyman, executive director of the Arts Council.

Grants will be broken down in two categories: Independent Artists, and Arts Nonprofits or Businesses that solely employ artists or performers. The fund will provide $250,000 in funding for individual artists and $750,000 for businesses and nonprofits to support losses due to COVID. All applicants must be a resident of Anne Arundel County. Grant guidelines and application materials will be available on the Arts Council website at acaac.org after October 26, 2020. For information regarding the grant, email [email protected].

Click below to review grant guidelines:

Arts Organization Application Guidelines
Independent Artist Application Guidelines

Click below to review grant scoring rubrics:

GAP Arts Organization Scoring Rubric
GAP Independent Artist Scoring Rubric

Applications are CLOSED! 

GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency!

Written by McKenna Kennedy on . Posted in General.

Great news! The Arts Council of Anne Arundel County (ACAAC) has earned the Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar, the world’s largest source of nonprofit information. By sharing metrics related to our programming, we’re helping donors to make data-informed decisions to assess the work we do.

We tell the story of how we support the arts community of Anne Arundel through the number of dollars we provide and the number of funding opportunities we offer to local arts organizations, artists, schools, and community groups. We encourage the groups we support to take advantage of GuideStar Platinum to share key metrics with the community and highlight the great work they do. Updating is free.

To learn more about GuideStar and its impact reporting Seals of Transparency, click here. To learn more about GuideStar, click here.

Virtual Art Reception “Empowering Women”

Written by McKenna Kennedy on . Posted in General. Leave a Comment

Please join What’s Up? Media and the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County for our 11th and very first virtual Art Reception, featuring an artist’s interpretation of “Empowering Women.” This exhibit honors the Centennial of Women gaining the right to vote.

Please vote for your favorite artist and runner up, voting is now available and will end October 23rd. The winners will be announced on Friday October 23rd at 3:00 p.m.

VOTING CLOSED! Congratulations to Mattie Fenton who came in first place with her artwork “Female Duality” and Alisa Hoodikoff who came in second place with her artwork “Reflections”. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE WINNERS ARTWORK!

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS AND THEIR WORK:

Carolyn Councell – “Mother’s Legacy”, “Fiesta”, “Men Only”, “Danse de le Printemps”

Mattie Fenton – “Female Duality – Nurse Practitioner/New Mother During Covid-19”

Jeanne Fryer – “Elaine”

Kay Fuller – “Someone to Water Over Me”, “The Matriarch”, “The Entertainer”

Monica Hawse – “On The Cusp”

Alisa Hoodikoff – “Vogue Life”, “Flourish”, “Reflections”

Lucretia Krick – “Empowered Women”

Kimmary MacLean – “Self”, “Faces of Me”, “Peace”

Lora Moran-Collins – “Heartbreak #2”, “Heartbreak #1”, “Hands Tied”, “She’s Always With Me”, “Heartbreak #3”

Angie O’Neal – “The Road Less Traveled”, “Love”, “Little Girl Trip to the Gallery”, “Juneteenth”

Betty Pethel – “Girls Having Tea”, “Triptych 1 Rejoicing”, “Triptych 2 Remembering”, “Triptych 3 My Time”, “Chloe”, “Together”

   

Arts in Education Grants FY2021

Written by McKenna Kennedy on . Posted in General.

The Arts in Education Program invites accredited public and private schools in Anne Arundel County to apply for no more than two (2) grants per school (i.e. one of each grant or 2 residency grants or 2 auditorium grants) per fiscal year. These grants are used to fund either in-person or virtual artistically driven educational programs. Funding for performances is limited to artists in the ACAAC Arts in Education Directory or those listed on the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC), Young Audience of Maryland or Artivate teaching artist registry. All applications will be reviewed by the ACAAC Arts in Education Committee and funding for as many programs as possible will be approved based upon our annual program budget.

It is the responsibility of the applicant to book the artists and secure any additional funding needed. All applications must be completed in full, along with the required proposal from the artist or the artist’s representative to be considered. ACAAC grants received through the Arts in Education Program should be acknowledged in the school’s newsletter, crediting the ACAAC, the MSAC, City of Annapolis, and Anne Arundel County.

For FY2021 applicants only:
In recognition of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on schools and the arts, schools will be asked within the application to explain how their grant activities will comply with current public health guidelines. We encourage applicants to develop creative proposals for projects that can be delivered safely, whether virtually or utilizing social distancing measures.

UPDATE ARTS IN EDUCATION FY2021 GRANT APPLICATIONS (October 29, 2020):

The Arts in Education Auditorium and Residency grant deadline has been EXTENDED until November 9, 2020 at 5 PM. *Please note: the application deadline being extended has shifted notification and payment dates (check the guidelines below for updated dates).

CLICK HERE TO REVIEW GUIDELINES AND APPLY!

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