#ImpactArtsCon15 Speaker Spotlight: Lansie Sylvia

In the race to break the internet and trend on Twitter, how do you keep your organization’s message on mission?

Lansie Sylvia of Here’s My Chance will explore social content trends like infographics, hashtag memes, and explainer videos, drawing on real-world examples like #GivingTuesday and the Ice Bucket Challenge that illustrate how great content can be successfully deployed to increase donor engagement.

Lansie Sylvia is a tornado of curls, sparkles, and great ideas. As Director of Engagement forHere’s My Chance, she leads the agency’s external communication strategy, works with clients on communication projects, and builds new community partnerships. She was recently named Project Director for “Next Stop: Democracy!” – a Knight Cities Challenge project using public art and creative wayfinding to increase civic engagement in Philadelphia, PA. Lansie’s areas of expertise include nonprofit communication, storytelling, fund development, and millennial engagement strategy. Since 2010, she has held director-level positions in a variety of Philadelphia-based organizations, most recently at the EHL Consulting Group and the Philadelphia Film Society.

Come meet Lansie and our panel of expert speakers at this year’s Impact Arts & Culture Conference. Registration and session descriptions at www.impactartsconference.org

2014 was my toughest year. But It was also the best year.

Like most of us, this last day of 2014 has me reflecting on the year that has past.  It was, personally, the hardest year I can remember. But the pain and loss I felt this year was only part of the story. I also was lucky to be part of some amazing projects and experiences in the York community thanks to the Cultural Alliance, and had the honor to work with colleagues and friends who brought arts and culture to life in 2014. Here's a look back at the year gone by, and a look ahead to what the next year brings.

Valley of Light

"Valley of Light" by Linda Sommer

On February 26th of 2014, my father passed away. Two months later, my mother joined him. It was hard to feel anything but sorrow last winter.  I relied heavily on two things to get me through; my family, and my work. In the midst of my grief, I spotted this painting by Linda Sommer at the York Art Association, and it seemed to embody my feelings churning and swirling inside me. But the best part was the valley of light at the top; a light waiting at the end of the tunnel. And that, I realized is what art does for all of us. It was a great beacon to me during those months, and still is.

Making Change

 

In the Spring of 2014, the Cultural Alliance headed up a committee of dedicated community partners and volunteers that brought CHANGE to York. The Litter Letter Project brought together people of all walks of life who wanted to help address the littering issues in York through art in the form of six-foot tall typographic letters, filled with trash collected in litter drives throughout York County. I got to meet and work with so many people who love our community, and wanted to use their hands to literally make change happen. And thanks to them, CHANGE is still going strong, slated for an installation on the York College Campus throughout Spring of 2015.

Meeting My Heroes

In 2014, I had the honor of meeting two people who were influential in both the art world and in my life. Ben Folds, an amazing musician and arts advocate, and Jeff Koons, a York County native and the most highly collected (and highly controversial) living artist. It was awe-inspiring (and a little nerve wracking) to share the same physical space as both of these men. Though they are very different individuals who took different paths, they have one thing in common; they both spoke of the influence that teachers had on their life. Each of them said without teachers who tapped into their potential, they would not be where they are today. And it made me realize that the real heroes are the people bringing arts and culture to the lives of our kids, day in and day out.

What Comes Next?

So what happens now? What's 2015 got in store? I'm not sure. But I can tell you that we're ready. The Cultural Alliance has set a goal of $1 Million for our annual campaign, so we can bring even more arts & culture to life in our community. And we know we can't do it without you. So thank you for an amazing and memorable 2014, and for being with us as we start 2015. Happy New Year! 

Life Lessons From Jeff Koons

Artist Jeff Koons, center, surrounded by Cultural Alliance of York County Board Directors and Staff

On September 23, 2014, members of the Cultural Alliance of York County Board of Directors & staff got a most rare gift - we were able to look at the work of Jeff Koons with the artist himself as our lens. We trekked to the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City for a personally-guided tour of "Jeff Koons: A Retrospective" - the most comprehensive exhibition ever devoted to the artist's groundbreaking and iconic work. Comprising almost 150 objects from 1978 to the present, I expected to learn a lot about some of the most important, influential, and controversial works of art of our era. What I didn't expect was how much I would learn about Jeff, his memories of growing up in York, and how the lessons he learned at the different stages of his life influenced his art.

Life Lesson #1: There Is Art Inside Us All 

"Inflatables," Jeff Koons

Jeff spoke a lot about his York County roots in this part of the retrospective, which featured his inflatables and his ready-made works-some of his first creations when he arrived in New York City. "My father, Henry Koons, had a furniture and interior design showroom at 216 East Market Street. And in that store, I learned that the art was not in the object, but in the display of it.  A lamp is a lamp, but the art of it is in the way you view it. The Mona Lisa isn't art, your reaction to it is the art. The art is inside you. The object is a transponder, but your reaction to it is the transcendence."

Life Lesson #2: We Have To Accept Ourselves 

"Made In Heaven Billboard," Jeff Koons

Jeff was candid with our group, and let us know that the "Made In Heaven" series was one of the hardest of his bodies of work to discuss with audiences. It documented a time in his life when he was falling in love with his ex-wife, Italian actress Cicciolina, and when he received some of his harshest criticism. "It's hard for me to show these images to you, but at the same time this work is all about acceptance. Acceptance of your body, of yourself, of ourselves as organisms, our perfections and imperfections."

Life Lesson #3: Show What You Feel 

"Balloon Dog (Yellow)", Jeff Koons

"The Celebration Series was done at a very difficult time in my life," Jeff told us as we entered the area holding this collection. "My ex-wife had taken my son Ludwig to Rome, and I wasn't able to communicate with him. I wanted to show him how much I was thinking about him."  You could feel the joy in "Play-Doh" and "Boy with Pony," and the love he worked to convey when words weren't available to him.

Life Lesson #4: Remember Your Roots 

"Gazing Ball (Mailbox)", Jeff Koons

The Gazing Ball series is at the entrance, but is the last body of work that Jeff created. "Being from York County, The Gazing Ball series really represents my childhood, and my background. I'm sure you've all seen gazing balls in the yards of your neighbors. They're really an act of generosity; they allow us to see ourselves and our surroundings in them. It's about reflection."

The Jeff Koons Retrospective will be on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York until October 19th. Afterwards, the exhibition travels to Paris and Spain, where hundreds of thousands of people will be able to view his work and marvel, as we did, at what he has accomplished. And, I'm sure they'll all learn more than they bargained for.

What I Brought Back: 

Americans For The Arts 2014 Annual Convention

Rock God & All Around Nice Guy Ben Folds posing with Kelley

On June 11th, in the midst of a planning frenzy for the Impact Arts Conference on June 27th and other events coming fast and furious that same week, Cultural Alliance President Mary Anne Winkelman and I left York for the sunny, music-soaked streets of Nashville, TN to attend the Americans for the Arts 2014 Annual Convention (AFTACON14). Thanks to the scholarship I received from AFTA, we were both able to go. Though on the plane ride out, while I was feverishly updating to-do lists and writing scripts, I thought to myself; "What was I thinking? I don't have time for this! I have our conference in two weeks! I have a board retreat coming up! What about the Litter Letter Project?" If it hadn't been for the scholarship and having to go to honor that agreement, I would have backed out. And our events would have been the worse for it.

Not only did I gain professional knowledge and inspiration, but AFTACON14 gave me so many ideas to help our Impact Arts Conference and other events better serve the needs of our community. Below are three takeaways I received at AFTACON14 that I brought home to York & immediately put into practice at our events:

Takeaway One: People working in the arts need & feed off of time spent with others doing exactly what they're doing. 

Learning so much from my counterparts across the country

I didn't realize how extremely important it was to meet and talk with other people from outside my town/region who are working day in and day out, like me, on making their communities better through the arts. And not just my fellow colleagues at United Arts Funds such as Louisville, KY, Cincinnati, OH, and Chattanooga, TN, but those doing projects and programs on a scope I cannot even begin to imagine, such as Graham Beal, Director, President & CEO, Detroit Institute of Arts; and Tamara Mozahuani Alvarado, Executive Director, School of Arts and Culture at Mexican Heritage Plaza. Just having a chance to hear their struggles and successes put so much of what we are doing here in York into perspective. And you realize that there's a support network of professionals all over the country that champion what you do & want to hear what's next in your community. 

After AFTACON14, making sure our attendees at the Impact Conference would be able to network with one another and feed off of each other's experience in the sessions was made a priority. And we encouraged attendance by creatives outside of our region's borders and brought in speakers from across state lines to help broaden the view of what's happening in the arts past our own community.

Takeaway Two: Thinking creatively & creative thinking are two different things. 

I think creatively. My mind works a little differently, so my thought processes follow a less beaten path on occasion. But I made the mistake of thinking I was using creative thinking, which I discovered at AFTACON14 is not the same thing. Creative thinking is a way of looking at problems or situations from a fresh perspective that suggests unorthodox solutions (which may look unsettling at first). Creative thinking can be stimulated both by an unstructured process such as brainstorming, and by a structured process such as lateral thinking.

When Tamara Mozahuani Alvarado, Executive Director of the School of Arts and Culture at Mexican Heritage Plaza told me to draw planets in my notebook during her "Leading From The Edge of Your Authority" session, I really didn't get it.  "It's not a to-do list!" she commanded. "You make too many to-do lists!" and she was right about that. "This is your worlds. Organize them like planets, in order of importance. Then you'll have an image of the important places to you, and where you need to visit in order to keep in touch with them."  I now have a list of ten circles, rotating around one another. At the center is my family, then the Cultural Alliance, and then my other commitments such as my York College teaching and volunteer work. My solar system, right in front of me. It really helps re-organize my perspective on what's important, and what I have time for. All of the planning I was feverishly worrying over for our Cultural Alliance events got much more manageable once put in that perspective. I can do this; I've got planets.

My Planets

In "Planning & Facilitating Community Meetings" with Kirstin Weigmann of Forecast Public Art, there were big white easel pads and doodling. I'm not a doodler. It's not in my wheel house. But I realized that the more I was encouraged to write down whatever words and ideas popped into my head, the more the ideas and thoughts on our topics flowed. My table mates and I fed off one another, and at the end we had some really thought-provoking answers among our drawings of curly cues and seagulls (I did the seagull!) We implemented this method of capturing feedback at our Board to Boards retreat with our eight partner organizations the very next week.

Takeaway Three: Hearing thank-you from someone you admire can take you from burnt-out to brand-new.

When we attended the lunch-time Keynote of AFTACON14; "The Power of Art To Transform People;" I hadn't looked closely at my program to know who was scheduled to speak. That is, until I looked up from my plate and saw the back of Ben Folds' head at the next table.  

My heart made a sound I can only describe as "Sqeeeee!" BEN FOLDS. HERE. Amazing musician, a huge advocate for the arts, and a personal hero. I was so excited; was he scheduled to perform? But little did I know that his musical performance would be the icing on the cake.

Robert Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts, introduced Ben Folds, who came up to talk to us about what the arts mean to him. "Up until 5th grade, I was a pain in the ass.  I didn't get good grades, and I didn't get along with the other kids.  I didn't have a lot of confidence. And as soon as I started playing music, I can see what I learned from that, and how it got me where I was.  It was on the backs of so many people.  And if it wasn't for what you do, and for the people that did that before you, I wouldn't be here."

That one sentence was so galvanizing.  Could it be possible that there was someone, out there, that someday might find what I did valuable? Could I be responsible for helping to move the next Ben Folds forward? It was enough to make me feel a renewed belief in my work, and that was worth all the time away from the office to be in Nashville. (That, and getting my picture with Ben Folds. SQUEEEE!)

When we returned to York, I knew that I wanted to give the attendees at our Impact Arts & Culture Conference the same experience. We were fortunate to have Patrick Dahlheimer, bassist of the multi-platinum rock band LIVE and native Yorker attend to welcome everyone. He spoke of the influence that his middle-school music teacher, Mr. Carn, had on him, and how that interaction opened his eyes to the world of music. Then, he put a challenge to our attendees. "One person dared me to dream. My question for you today is 'who are you going to dare to dream?'"

As one attendee put it; "That challenge was just what I needed. It re-ignited my light." It was the perfect way to begin the day, and set the tone for the rest of the conference.

Thank you to the Americans For The Arts Scholarship Committee that provided me the means to attend AFTACON14. Without that time spent with my peers absorbing new ideas in new ways, our community events and conference the following week would not have been as effective.  

Can't wait to meet up with all my new friends in Chicago for AFTACON15 and bring back even more to York!

Impact Arts Conference Speaker Spotlight

Impact Arts & Culture Conference Speaker Spotlight:

Jason Konopinski, JMK Media

We are thrilled to feature a wonderful array of expert presenters at the Impact Arts & Culture Conference on June 27, 2014 at York College of Pennsylvania, a one-day regional conference providing professional development and networking opportunities to creatives, designers, and those in the arts & culture sector. Today, we spotlight Jason Konopinski, a local talent with global credentials, who will be the moderator of our "Crowdfunding and Crowdsourcing Solutions" Panel.

Jason is a digital marketing and communications professional with over ten years experience working with data, web analytics, and marketing automation products. Over the course of his career, he has worked with boutique PR, marketing, and advertising agencies to develop strategy, create cross-platform and cross-medium content, and help clients tell better stories about themselves and their products.

Crowdfunding is the aggregation of small amounts of capital from a large group of people, usually via the Internet, in order to fund a business, project or organization. Crowdsourcing is the completion of a task by a large group of individuals, usually previously unknown to you and typically through the internet. Jason will share his expertise on crowdfunding and crowdsourcing, and lead a panel discussion with organizations and individuals from our region that have launched successful campaigns. 

Meet Jason and join in our "Crowdsourcing and Crowdfunding" panel discussion by registering for the Impact Arts and Culture Conference. To learn more about our scheduled speakers, sessions, and ways to save, please visit ImpactArtsConference.org

Impact Arts & Culture Conference Speaker Spotlight:

Takenya LaViscount, National Endowment for the Arts

We are thrilled to feature a wonderful array of expert presenters at the Impact Arts & Culture Conference on June 27, 2014 at York College of Pennsylvania, a one-day regional conference providing professional development and networking opportunities to creatives, designers, and those in the arts & culture sector. Today, we spotlight Takenya LaViscount from the National Endowment for the Arts, a member of our "Meet The Funders" panel.

Takenya LaViscount manages the Challenge America Fast Track (CAFT) grant program for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). CAFT is one of the few national funding sources that enable eligible entities, particularly those organizations that are small or mid-sized, to extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations—those demographics whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability. In 2013, CAFT awarded 150 grants totaling $1.5 million dollars.

Meet Takenya and our other funders at the "Meet The Funders" panel discussion by registering for the Impact Arts and Culture Conference. To learn more about our scheduled speakers, sessions, and ways to save, please visit ImpactArtsConference.org

"Valley of Light" By Linda Sommer

What Art Does

Today is the 27th annual National Arts Advocacy Day, the only national event that brings together a broad cross section of America's cultural and civic organizations. These arts advocates represent a united effort to tell Capitol Hill how important the arts are to our communities, how much arts education means to our children, and how the arts improve our daily lives. It inspired me to share a recent story of how the arts impacted me.

I lost my father three weeks ago, and even though I was back to work, I was having trouble seeing people. At meetings and on phone calls, everyone wanted to tell me how sorry they were, and though it was comforting, it was also very painful.  Anyone who has dealt with a death knows that each person that remembers it to you cauterizes the wound; it’s part of the healing, but it really hurts.

I was avoiding just such an exchange; people gathering for a meeting at the York Art Association and all of them wanting to give their consolations and; buying some time,  I was slowly ambling through the gallery pretending to be engrossed in the show when something happened. A painting by an artist named Linda Sommer reached out from its place on the gallery wall among many others, wrapped its hands around my heart, and squeezed. Tears welled in my eyes as I stood transfixed in front of it; watching the dark brown and gray paint turn to cream and ivory at the top of the canvas. It was like watching my father’s spirit rise up from the darkness into the light.  The piece was titled; “Valley of Light” and I had to have it. I purchased the work, and walked into the meeting feeling buoyed by the condolences rather than burdened; it comforted me in a way that nothing before or since has been able to do.

When the arts have this power to grab us, to hold our hearts and squeeze them in a way that is very personal and profound, why do we feel that we have to justify its existence with other reasons? Why must every arts organization feel compelled to hold up the economic impact of the arts in their community as a reason for their importance? Why must we talk about the arts in the education of children and youth development as to why the arts matter?

I don’t disagree that these are very critical roles for the arts. As this article in the Wall Street Journal points out, arts and culture ARE a strong driver of economic impact; the arts contributed $504 billion to U.S. economic output in 2011, or 3.2% of gross domestic product. And yes, the arts are an integral part of education; a 2012 report from the National Endowment for the Arts, entitled “The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth,” concluded that students “who have arts-rich experiences in school do better across-the-board academically, and they also become more active and engaged citizens, voting, volunteering, and generally participating at higher rates than their peers.”   These are important reasons to support the arts, and we should talk about them.

But none of that mattered when my heart was hurting and I was missing my dad. I didn’t care what the arts do for our economy or for education; I just wanted something to make me feel better. The painting I found by Linda Sommer did that for me. And that’s why I bought it.  I wasn’t trying to better the economy, I didn’t plan to use it as a teaching experience; I just felt I needed it to begin healing. That is what art does; it heals, it helps, it raises deep feelings that are hard to describe and completely personal, and we should celebrate it for that as much if not more so than for its economic and educational benefits.

Do you have a story to share about when an arts experience reached out to your heart and moved you? Then make sure to tell members of Congress by sharing your story of what art does for you on our Facebook page or on Twitter and tag it #AAD14 in honor of Arts Advocacy Day 2014.

-Kelley

P.S. If you’d like to see the painting; “Valley of Light” in person, join me at YorkArts one-night only art show “Art In Residence-Black and White Night” at the Bon-Ton Corporate Center on Saturday, April 26^th. You can get your tickets here.

Bringing Our Theme Of "Create Community" To Life

Gary and Ryan of Hayman Studio with Kelley Gibson and David Kennedy (center)
at the voice-over recording for the 2014 campaign video

When I joined the Cultural Alliance of York County as the Director of Communications & Engagement a few months ago, my main task at hand was to take the message of "Create Community" for our 2014 Annual Campaign and bring it to life. Who is the Cultural Alliance? What do we do to benefit York County and its residents? How do we illustrate the ways that our eight partner agencies and the Creative Impact Awards develop lively neighborhoods, new jobs, and smarter kids? And how to we show our volunteers, donors, and the public that each and every one of them is vital in this effort to create community in York?

Instead of spelling it out in numbers and figures pointing to the impact that the Cultural Alliance and its partner agencies make on York County, we instead posed the bigger question; "What Makes A Community?" What are the pieces that are needed to turn a group of people into a true community, one that thrives on creativity and new ideas? We didn't want to tell people, we wanted to show them. To do that, we needed help.

We turned to Ryan Hayman and Gary Gearheart of Hayman Studio, gave them creative control, and asked them to tell our story. With their wealth of artistic talent, production know-how, and amazing skills they shot footage of our partner agencies and Creative Impact Award projects to illustrate how the Cultural Alliance creates community, piece by piece, project by project. These images are truly worth more than words; they get to the heart of what we do. We are honored to have worked with such great partners who truly captured what it means to create community.

We hope you enjoy this watching this video as much as we did making it. After viewing, please share it to spread the word and do your piece to help us Create Community in York!

How stARTSomething Invests Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Gifts To Transform Our Schools-BIG and SMALL.

As we near the end end of year, your company may be looking for options to donate their Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) gifts. I wanted to share with you how those gifts enable stARTsomething Arts In Education to transform our schools through artist residencies.

THE BIG 

Talented multi-media artist Justin Ayala and the supportive staff at West York High School came together in a 65-day artist residency to create a mobile mosaic mural embedded with technology-the first of its kind.  Almost 1,000 students and 90 faculty members used content from 14 classroom disciplines and 16 different art forms to design, construct and execute the mobile mosaics and the digital content.

THE SMALL

Andrew Steed, gifted storyteller and teaching artist, joined the Central York High School student journalist team for a 10-day residency. The student writers were stuck, rigid, in their approach to  newswriting.

As Andrew led them through highly untraditional exercises, the students brainstormed new strategies to make the formerly “ho hum” school paper into a more interactive platform.  Students abandoned their traditional news gathering techniques and experimented with new ways of thinking/ writing.  After ten days, the paper added several new sections and the students reported new attitudes. “He was inspirational. He put a positive twist on everything—even some of our concerns,” said senior Prowler editor, Kayla Smith. “He helped us open our minds—not just with the newspaper, but with life in general,” said public relations editor Jordan Nittinger.   

EITC gifts enable us to make this difference in students’ lives – whether they are BIG or SMALL. Please donate your end of year EITC gifts to the Cultural Alliance of York County and its stARTsomething Arts In Education program!
 

Create Community

While I am excited to announce our 14th annual campaign "Create Community" I am even more excited that Joe Crosswhite and George Hodges are chairing it.  Their enthusiasm and strategies have energized us AGAIN.

We have a public community celebration on January 15 at 6:00PM at the Strand.  Our partners will be there and our Creative Impact Award winners from last year and this year (hint hint we will announce them from the stage).  It will be a true celebration of how far we have come in 14 years.  Not only are we still raising money and in-kind services for our partners, but we've expanded to designing the Creative Impact Awards that serves any artist, arts organization, or non-arts organization with a creative project throughout York County.  We funded projects all over York including the Hanover Lancers and New Freedom Heritage.  What a thrill for us to be able to fund in all corners of the county.

We are also an official partner with the Pa Council on the Art - that means we help grant state funds in four counties - York, Adams, Franklin, and Fulton counties.  We are also the Pa Council on the Arts' Arts in Education partner funding artists' residencies in the same 4 counties.  Gayle Cluck manages that program and has been recognized by the state for her distinct and effective residencies.

So - here we go - and it is not a "oh, here we go, ugh" it is a true "HERE WE GO".  Come to our celebration of our creative community on Tuesday January 15 at 6:00 PM.  We have an awful lot to celebrate!

Summertime.......

I am so tired of this hot weather - I feel loggy all the time.  The only thing that gets my energy up is granting money....while I love raising the money, I adore giving it away.  Cannot wait to see what we get in preliminary grants for our Creative Impact FOCUS Awards due August 16.

We are also giving away funds as part of our Partnership with the Pa Council on the Arts.  Four counties, York, Adams, Franklin, and Fulton  will receive a total of  about $22,000 in state money through the Cultural Alliance.  We are meeting on August 20 and I can't wait to see what happens.  Stay tuned....

Speaking of August 20, we have a dine-out fundraisier at the White Rose Bar and Grille.  Come out and support the Creative Community and eat well.  White Rose has always been a wonderful supporter of the Cultural Alliance so I want to encourage everyone to support them and us on August 20.  Call me for more information.

Creative Impact Awards

I am so excited about our Creative Impact FOCUS Awards  that give bigger pots of money to one or two selected projects.  You can read all about it on our web site.

Our board decided to pick two FOCUS areas and had Al Weber conduct a planning day to get everyone's feedback.  We arrived at Making Downtown York livelier and Arts Education for Children throughout the County.  We think directing our money towards these two areas can really have an Impact. 

We had a meeting this week for potential grantees with great turnout.  We are excited to see what collaborations (a requirement of the grant) come about because of the funding.  We are not asking people what their project should be, just that it Focus on these two areas.  There's some talk of the grant even being funded for three years.  I hope that really inspires creative planning.  Stay tuned to see what comes from our first FOCUS awards - and call us if you want to find out more.  Preliminary grants (white papers) are due on August 16.

What Art Truly Means

Here is a blog about Pat Potter's experiences!

Picture this - It's 6am on a cool March morning, no one else is up yet. The house is quiet except for the hum of the furnace. The sun has yet to show it's early light as she turns on the lamp to the den where her big mirror sits, propped against the wall waiting for her like an old friend. She dons her ballet shoes and begins the morning's practice, holding onto the back of a chair as if it were her own personal ballet barrre. Slow tendus are her subject this morning, as controlled and perfect as she can, toes pointed, slowly moving her delicately bowed foot to the side in a precise, predetermined route... each time a little better than the last.
As she watches herself in the mirror, she doesn't see an eleven year old girl practicing one of the most basic of ballet movements. In her mind's eye, she's on stage in front of thousands of people performing her favorite ballet, The Nutcracker. Her head is filled with the cacophony of sounds coming from the orchestra pit. The lights are warm and bright as the other dancers move around her seemingly effortless. She floats across the dance floor and off into the stage wings and has to quickly change into another costume before going back onto the stage. She is alive in a way only she can feel... she is dreaming of her future.
This scene plays out every morning in many homes, including my own. My daughter's chosen art, dance, has impacted her life positively in so many ways. She's learning discipline, time management skills and how to be a part of something larger than herself. She's learning how to deal with success and failure in a positive and healthy way. She's learning how to be a strong, confident young woman who values her body and her mind and realizes that she has something unique to give back to society. She may graduate from her dance school and never step foot on another stage but the lessons she learned there will stay with her throughout life, indeed enhancing her life in a way that is both valuable and quantifiable.
I realize I'm partial to my own child's artistic journey and art form but, this can be said for any art that one participates in wholly regardless of age. The ability to pull from oneself that which is our essence, our passion is the true function of art, a function from which our society benefits. We are the sum of our experiences and when an art form is part of that experience subset, we are made better by it.
I can wax philosophic about this topic for hours but most of us who work in the arts can attest to the fact that those who participate in artistic endeavors report that it positively affects many other aspects of their lives. There are a multitude of studies which support this sentiment, so why aren't the arts garnering more support? There are many reasons, but I believe the onus falls on us to advocate for change. We are not elitists, rather we are humanists and it's up to us to change the stigma and educate society of the importance of art in our lives.

An interesting link

Here is an interesting article from the Harvard Business Review. Let me hear what you think!

http://blogs.hbr.org/pallotta/2012/02/multiplication-philanthropy.html#.T2ovTFniGLE.email

Creative Impact Awards

Eight terrific agencies and artists were granted the first ever Creative Impact Awards. These awards were designed as a result of our Community Cultural Plan which called for us to 'open our tent' and have an impact on the York Cultural community through creativity.

We did just that and heard from some impactful programs and projects throughout the county. When you see them congratulate them!

New Freedom Heritage $21,600
The Creation of a passive video and an interactive kiosk that depicts the evolution of historic landmarks in the Borough of New Freedom. The passive video will be displayed in the Heritage Theater, a part of the heritage Museum of New Freedom and will be available for viewing on the New Freedom Heritage website. The interactive kiosk will leverage and expand on the passive video. The kiosk will be available for deployment to local schools to use for educational purposes and to local retirement homes for the benefit of t our aging citizens.

Hanover Lancers $2,000
A three hour concert involving Alumni Drum & Bugle Corps from Four (4) states. Also expect either the US Naval Academy Drum & Bugle Corp from Annapolis, MD or the US Air Force Academy Drum & Bugle Corp. from Colorado Springs to participate in the show. The goal is to give the residents of York County this unique music in an indoor setting. High school bands will be invited. Hope to inspire youth and cultivate an enthusiasm for this music.

Robert Miller $2,000
Retired director of the William Penn Performing Arts Institute (23 years). Produces the Rosies, high school award program, at the Strand. The York Summer Arts Institute will offer a one-week intensive program for approximately 40 students. Students will major in either the visual or the performing arts. Professionals from the Strand-Capitol and YorkArts will work with internationally acclaimed artists in developing their skills and talents, while learning about the possibilities and problems of a life in the Arts. Students will be selected by their high school directors and teachers. Students not selected will however, have the opportunity to audition for inclusion in the program. There will be no cost to students.

Don Gogniat $1,500
Retired Campus Executive of Penn State York, Director of International Programs for Penn State. PhD in Cultural Geography from the University of Pittsburgh. Each of the 700 students on the fall voyage of Semester at Sea 2012 will be asked to work in a group of no more than 7 people and choose a topic that can be researched and documented in at least 7 countries on the voyage. They will prepare a DVD on the topic selected. The videos from each of the chosen countries will look at how the topic has “migrated” and/or “mutated from its place of origin. For example a group may choose “searching for cross-cultural patterns in hip-hop music.” Could be about people (migration patterns), Ideas (democracy, capitalism, education), Culture (art, music, dance, language), or things (food, clothing, transportation, architecture, gardens). The result will be an exhibition entitled, “Atlantic Ocean Cross-Currents: Four Continents of Blended Cultures.” The DVD will be available to any student from the voyage to send it to their high school, hometown or university. A website will be established for viewing the individual videos.

Jewish Community Center $4,500
The culture of childhood that played outside is gone and children’s everyday life has shifted to the indoors. We will hold workshops that will provide resources and inspiration to help adults more effectively reach pre-school through elementary children through re-connecting the children with the creative wonders of nature. Some of the workshops will take place in our natural playscape allowing adults and children to work hands-on while learning how to bring nature and the natural arts into children’s lives on a regular basis. Outdoor play and exploration involves art forms such as sculpture, gardening, and music. Local organizations and artists will include YorkArts, York Gardening Club, and York Art Association.

New Hope Academy Charter School $17,618
Fund the purchase of mobile piano learning lab based on iPads and ION Piano Apprentice Keyboards. They system blends technology and the classic art in a way that students understand and embrace.

Foundry Plaza Inc. Two Schools and a Creek $15,000
Logos Academy and York Academy Regional Charter School together with Foundry Plaza Inc plan to build creative outdoor play spaces in the Codorus corridor. “Image a classroom with the sky for a ceiling and the earth as a floor . . .” this project will, “Create an environment that promotes healthy and creative play that engages the whole child . . .” Once completed, these play spaces will “serve as a model for other organizations and communities working to integrate art into their development projects.”

ForSight Vision $5,000
The Art class for Children Who Are Blind will build a large-scale mosaic project. The mosaic will be the focal point for a renovated entrance into the building. The art class will give sight impaired children the same experiences as those enjoyed by sighted children. They will be exposed to various art mediums in a safe and nurturing environment. The children also learn appropriate social skills and creative problem solving skills. Since art is neither right nor wrong, the children flourish in this atmosphere of acceptance.

We are now revisiting the Creative Impact Awards - from expectations, to process, and even the application. Please check out our website for the fall announcement of the awards and even better - check out these fabulous funded projects. We are proud to help make them happen.

An interesting article

I just read this and thought it would be interesting to share. The author is Michael Kaiser from the Kennedy Center.



It makes no sense to me that the arts are not embraced more emphatically by politicians these days.

I understand that the country was founded by Puritans who believed that music and dance were evil. That has led to a separation of art and state and a far lower direct subsidy for the arts than in many other nations.

I also understand that there is a deep fear, even contempt, for all that is considered elitist in this nation (until one's child turns out to be talented -- then the elitist tag magically disappears) and that many people mistakenly believe that arts organizations primarily serve the elite. (These people should visit the hundreds of community arts organizations, arts organizations of color, rural arts organizations and grassroots arts organizations that I get to visit every year.)

But at a time when unemployment is the key political issue and when virtually everyone in politics is struggling to find ways to reduce the ranks of the unemployed, why doesn't some smart politician realize that the arts are one way to help solve this problem?

No, I am not talking about the arts employing more people, though that would be a wonderful thing. (Franklin Roosevelt's WPA comes to mind.)

I am talking about the way the arts can help train people to be creative thinkers and entrepreneurs.

Virtually every economist agrees that for the United States to thrive, we need to reignite the spirit of creativity and invention that formed the foundation of the major corporations that now employ so many of us.

That is one rationale for encouraging small businesses -- new products and inventions are often developed by small entrepreneurial ventures.

But successful small ventures can grow to become big economic engines and major employers. Google, for instance, which started as recently as 1998, now employs over 30,000 people!

But economists are also lamenting the dearth of creative entrepreneurs. Who is going to be the next Bill Gates or Steve Jobs or Sergey Brin? How do we continue to be the innovative leader of the world as so many countries pass us in test scores?

That is where the arts come in.

Who better to train young people to think creatively, to exercise their own unique ways of thinking than we in the arts? The success of arts organizations and artists depends on the ability of people to be creative and make something new.

I am convinced that if all children were able to partake in a consistent arts education, we would create a larger group of innovators who would become the corporate leaders of tomorrow.

By allowing children to exercise their creative muscles, by encouraging them to think outside the box, by allowing them to invent, we must be abetting their ability to innovate with confidence as they grow older.

No, it isn't a short-term fix. Installing meaningful arts education programming takes time and doing, so will not reduce unemployment before the presidential election.

But it could be a very low-cost approach that leads to huge long-term benefits.

Isn't there one serious politician out there who agrees with me?

We made it!

Yes folks, the Cultural Alliance hit its 2011 goal! And to add to the excitment, we exceed the $1.16 millon goal and (drum roll please) reached $1.25 million on the last day of 2011.

Can you imagine reaching this goal which serves the arts-creative-cultural sector AND doing so in this down economy? What a spectacular acheivement anywhere, but in a town of just 44,000 and county of 400,000, this is remarkable. NO wonder York is envied across the United States.

To thank Larry Miller,CEO of PeoplesBank and John Klinedinst, President of C.S. Davidson is to understate. They are true leaders who inspired 300 solicitors to make their calls. What can I say? They are wonderful.

What a way to start our 2012 campaign, Create Community. Larry and John have raised the bar and with their results and urged us on as an Arts Army to do more for the creative community in York. We can do it!

Campaign 2012 - CREATE COMMUNITY

It's that time again. The Cultural Alliance is gearing up for its 13th annual campaign headed by John Klinedinst with Anne Zerbe and Jerry Watson. We are so excited to head into this campaign year though we know it will be tough. This year, besides supporting our partners, we now have developed the Creative Impact Awards which funds creative activities throughout York County.

The Creative Impact Awards came directly from the Community Cultural Plan. The York Community asked us to fund more throughout York county and we did just that. The deadline for the Pilot year of the Awards was November 14, 2011 and we received 13 applications requesting twice what we had to distribute. So if we can increase the campaign numbers, we can increase the amount to be distributed.

Please help us! We need volunteers and that means you. Call Mary Anne if you want to help grow our creative community.