2016–17 annual report
IMPACTS & HIGHLIGHTS
THANK YOU FOR ENRICHING OUR REGION’S CULTURE BY MAKING THE ARTS ACCESSIBLE TO UC SAN DIEGO STUDENTS, K–12 STUDENTS, AND OUR NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS!
Thanks to our family of enthusiastic supporters, the 2016–17 season marked ArtPower’s 13th year of programming – a celebration of how the arts connect, engage and enrich a community. Throughout 2016–17, ArtPower presented over 100 public performances and engagement events of chamber music, theater, dance, contemporary music, film, jazz and global music! As our partner, your generous support helped make performing arts and artists accessible, underscoring ArtPower’s position as a valued asset in our community and in the lives of young people. As a patron, you’ll appreciate the stories of impact in the enclosed report, and we hope that it inspires you to support ArtPower. We believe you’ll agree that together – as patrons, performers and promoters – our artistic influence on campus and in the community is invaluable!
There is much to be proud of when reflecting back on ArtPower’s 2016–17 season!
MESSAGE FROM JORDAN PEIMER As we look back on another season, it is always humbling to think of the captivating moments that artists have shared on ArtPower stages. No one who witnessed it will soon forget the Avi Avital and Dover Quartet’s magnificent performance of David Bruce’s Cymbeline, the leader of the Swamp Donkeys serenading his mother, the dark sensuality of L-E-V or the magnificent piano playing of Christian Sands. Every performance had its own special moment, and each illuminated the power of live performance. What makes ArtPower so special is that these moments are shared by both San Diego and UC San Diego communities simultaneously. More than one-third of ArtPower audiences are students, many of whom have worked with the artists on stage to learn about their craft, their culture and their lives. ArtPower and the university now stand at a transformative moment. With the launch of the Campaign for UC San Diego, ArtPower has identified access as a fundamental goal. We will look to our supporters to help us establish the UC San Diego Student Ticket Endowment Fund to ensure that every UC San Diego student can attend a free ArtPower performance each year. Our ultimate goal is to endow ArtPower to ensure the program’s viability for generations of students to come. None of this would be possible without your generous support and your advocacy. Ticket sales represent less than 15% of ArtPower’s annual budget, and while the university partially funds the infrastructure, the program relies heavily on private support. It is really gratifying to see so many of you at our events, to see you bring friends, and to know that many, many of you have gone above and beyond the purchase of a ticket to make donations that support these events and the people who attend them. Without you, the curtain couldn’t go up at ArtPower 30 times a year!
ARTPOWER RECIPIENT OF UC SAN DIEGO DIVERSITY AWARD ArtPower was the proud recipient of the campus-wide Diversity Award in February of 2017! Staff and faculty across campus are invited each year to nominate those individuals, departments and students who have made outstanding contributions in support of UC San Diego’s commitment to diversity. This award is especially meaningful to us because it’s a tribute to the true impact ArtPower has across campus. We’re proud to be a part of UC San Diego, an institution that acknowledges and celebrates groups and individuals who nurture equal opportunity, inclusivity and diversity.
ARTPOWER IS INDUCTED INTO THE NATIONAL PERFORMANCE NETWORK Last June ArtPower was invited to join the National Performance Network/Visual Arts Network (NPN/VAN), a consortium of arts organizations from around the country. The consortium’s 60-member performing arts group includes museums (Walker Art Center; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans; etc.), colleges (Ohio State University, Columbia College, CalARTS, etc.) and large and small performing arts organizations from across the country. The NPN believes artists and arts organizations are essential for creating a just and sustainable world, and that communities deserve broad access to art and culture that reflect their own experiences and those of others. ArtPower applied to the network and was invited to join after being vetted through a nearly year-long process. Membership in the NPN/VAN provides ArtPower staff the opportunity to meet with colleagues from some of the most prestigious institutions in the country to discuss the arts as a means to explore culture. It also will provide ArtPower with a funding stream to bring artists from other communities to campus for week-long residencies as well as to support the commissioning of new performances. These residencies allow artists the opportunities to work with and learn from students and community members.
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT HIGHLIGHTS AND IMPACTS Your support enabled us to ensure that . . .
$75,000
the amount of free and discounted tickets distributed to UC San Diego students by ArtPower during the 2016–17 season.
35%
More than of ArtPower audiences are comprised of students. Trials in pricing have shown an upward spike in purchases when pricing dips below
$10!
Due to your donations, we were able to subsidize a greater portion of student ticket costs. ArtPower offered steeper student discounts, cutting student ticket costs by 25% to $9 and $5 during the first week of each quarter.
CAMPUS PARTNERSHIPS Raza Resource Centro / Black Resource Center / Women’s Center / LGBT Resource Center / Cross-Cultural Center / Hillel at UCSD / Ethnic Studies Department / Music Department / Theatre & Dance Department / Visual Arts Department / Thurgood Marshall College / Qualcomm Institute / Department of Sociology / Transnational Korean Studies Program / Literature Department/ UCSD Virtual Reality Club / Virtual Reality Lab/ I-House / International Center / African and African-American Studies Research Center / Stuart Collection / UCSD Media Services and Teaching Lab / UCSD-TV / The Library UC San Diego / Musician’s Club / UCSD Zor / Graduate Student Association / John Muir College
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS transcenDANCE Youth Arts Project / La Jolla Symphony and Chorus / La Jolla Playhouse / San Diego Unified School District / Chula Vista Elementary School District
CULTIVATING NEW PATRONS IN THE ARTS – THE JACOBS SCHOLARS
Proving that engineering and chamber music are a powerful combination, ArtPower, in collaboration with Joan and Irwin Jacobs, recently welcomed the esteemed group of Jacobs Scholars to dinner and a performance of the Ariel Quartet. Jacobs Scholars are a select group of undergraduate scholarship recipients who are highly likely to contribute to engineering innovation. Every year, the Jacobs treat the scholars to a world-class performance, and this year an ArtPower event was selected. The evening began with dinner followed by remarks from the Jacobs and Albert Pisano, dean of the Jacobs School of Engineering. Joan shared her passion for the arts environment on campus – and ArtPower in particular – while Irwin challenged the group to consider the engineering marvel of acoustic planning within concert halls. Following, the students attended an ArtTalk with members of the Ariel Quartet hosted by Jordan Peimer. Students were given the opportunity to ask quartet members questions and learn of their process. It was an evening of mutual admiration between artists and engineers.
INNOVATORS-IN-RESIDENCE: THALMA AND LAERCIO DE FREITAS This season, ArtPower had the opportunity to host Brazilian artists and father-daughter duo Laércio and Thalma de Freitas for a week-long residency filled with student engagement activities, culminating in their sold-out public performance at The Loft on February 24. While on campus, Thalma and Laércio held a workshop with jazz students in the Music Department under faculty member Kamau Kenyatta. The coursework was an exploration of Laércio’s recordings and his composition process. Thalma and Laércio also conducted a workshop for the UC San Diego Brazil Initiative at the Black Resource Center, investigating the translation of George Gershwin and Cole Porter music into Portuguese. The Visual Arts Department opened their performance arts space to Thalma and Laércio, hosting a Brazilian Music Listening Party that introduced students to the vast array of musical genres that originated in Brazil. The International Center’s Friday International Café focused on the food of Brazil while over 150 students enjoyed a lovely performance of Brazilian jazz music by the artists. Finally, through ArtPower’s collaboration with Partners at Learning at UC San Diego, Thalma and Laércio ventured off campus to perform a student matinee for 450 K-5 students at Rancho de la Nación Elementary School in National City. It was a wonderful week of familiarizing students of diverse ages, majors and backgrounds with the beauty of Brazilian music and culture.
GIFT ANNOUNCEMENTS AND IMPACT This was a special year for ArtPower, with longstanding supporters deciding to make estate gifts that will establish endowments for ArtPower’s programming in perpetuity. THE POWER OF A CHILDHOOD ARTS EXPERIENCE Eric Lasley was in the seventh grade when he attended, for a class assignment, a chamber concert of Beethoven’s String Quartets at the University of Illinois. “It was wonderful, I had never heard anything like it,” he said. It would later inspire his legacy at ArtPower. When Eric moved to San Diego, he started attending chamber music concerts. When he discovered ArtPower, it opened up new worlds of art and culture for him. He credits UC San Diego with exposing him to genres and groups that he might not otherwise have accessed. For students to have these opportunities right on campus is incredibly valuable, he says. Eric has made arrangements in his estate plans to establish the Dr. Eric Lasley ArtPower Endowed Fund, which will provide support i to bring performing artists to campus.
STRENGTHENING UNIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY BONDS For Joyce Axelrod, ArtPower provides an opportunity to enjoy world-class arts while learning more about UC San Diego and engaging with students. “The idea that the San Diego community can be enjoying performances along with students is very unique,” she said. “When a university reaches out to the general community, including elementary students, I want to encourage that outreach.” Joyce has long been involved with the arts and other community organizations in San Diego. She co-founded the San Diego Jewish Film Festival and annually gives to causes that are close to her heart, including ArtPower. In her legacy plan with the Jewish Community Foundation, Joyce has designated ArtPower as a beneficiary of her testamentary gift. Her unrestricted gift will allow ArtPower to invest where needed most to ensure the program thrives in its mission to engage students with the arts.
VIP DONOR EVENTS ARTPOWER GEISEL HOUSE CONCERT On Saturday, January 28, Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla invited ArtPower VIP donors to his home for an intimate performance by the Ensō String Quartet, a celebration of the arts at UC San Diego. Joined by members of ArtPower’s advisory council and community leaders, Chancellor Khosla thanked the attendees and shared his thoughts on the important role of the arts in a young person’s education and growth, placing emphasis on the cultural contributions of the university. Guests shared their enthusiasm and delight with the quality of the performance of the Ensō String Quartet. Many mentioned how special it was to be so close to the performers during their concert – that the opportunity to see the passion in their playing and literally feel the force of their music is something most people rarely have the privilege of experiencing.
2016–17 DONOR HONOR ROLL VISIONARY ($50,000+) Joan and Irwin Jacobs Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation CATALYST ($20,000–49,999) Joan Jordan Bernstein Judith Bachner and Eric Lasley George Clement Perkins Endowment Jon and Bobbie Gilbert The Weil Family Foundation CREATOR ($10,000–19,999) Amnon and Lee Ben-Yehuda Sam B. Ersan New England Foundation for the Arts PERFORMER ($5,000–9,999) Epstein Family Foundation Renita Greenberg Hamburger Chamber Music Series Endowment Fund ADVOCATE ($2,500–4,999) Elaine Galinson and Herb Solomon Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation Wynnona and Ronald Goldman Alexa Kirkwood Hirsch Bjorn Bjerede and Jo A. Kiernan Hans Paar and Kim Signoret-Paar GUARDIAN ($1,000–2,499) Joyce Axelrod and Joseph Fisch Teresa and Sam Buss Ann Spira Carol and Jeffrey Chang Alain Cohen and Denise Warren Ruth Covell Martha and Edward Dennis Christine de Pagter ’90 and Bruce Woods ’91 Wayne and Elizabeth Dernetz Wita and Ed Gardiner Norman J. Goldberg and Fusako Yokotobi Mehran and Susan Goulian Maryka and George Hoover Lauren and Robert Resnik Liz Lancaster and Eli Shefter Barbara and Robert Nemiroff Arlene and Edward Pelavin Marilyn and Charles Perrin Edith High Sanchez and Paul Sanchez Barbara and Sam Takahashi SUPPORTER ($500–999) Janice Alper and Charles Kantor Anonymous in honor of Joyce Axelrod Maureen and C. Peter Brown Janice and Nelson Byrne Bill Coltellaro and Eric Cohen Sally Corson ’79 and Steve Schreiner ’80 Pat Jacoby Ellen Lehman, Ph.D. and Charles Kennel, Ph.D.
William Michalsky Phyllis and Ed Mirsky Clayton and Susan Peimer Sharon Perkowski Anne Marie Pleska and Luc Cayet Brenda and Gary Ratcliff Robert and Lauren Resnik Elaine and Jerry Schneider Marilies Schoepflin Susan Shirk and Sam Popkin Mr. and Mrs. Eli Strich Ruth Stern and Mort Levy Judith and Lee Talner Sylvia Wechter CONTRIBUTOR ($250–499) K. Andrew Achterkirchen Mark Geyer ‘72 Richard L. Gomez, ‘79 Barry and Helen Lebowitz Joani Nelson Rod and Barbara Orth Doug and Eva Richman Maxine Snyderturner James and Kathleen Stiven Johanna Thompson SPARK ($100–249) Anonymous Linda Cory Allen Gregory Athens Paulyne Becerra Mary Beebe Laurie Coskey and Beth Kransberger Francine Deutsch and Carole Leland Russell and Eloise Duff Meg and Allan Goldstein Carol F. Hinrichs Cynthia Kroll Stefanie Levine and Michael Breslauer Elaine and Howard Maltz Kathe Oesterreicher John Payne and Susan Payne ’08 Sue Rosner Janet Smarr Jimmy Tran ’02 Mary and Joseph Witztum YORK SOCIETY Donors who make provisions for ArtPower in their estate Joyce Axelrod and Joseph Fisch Judith Bachner and Eric Lasley
CORPORATE SPONSORS SUPPORTING SPONSORS ($5,000–9,999) National Performers Network New England Foundation for the Arts CONTRIBUTING SPONSORS ($2,500– 4,999) Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation SPONSORS ($1,000–2,499) Allianz Global Investors urbanKITCHEN Group Bottles & Wood Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation ARTPOWER STAFF DONORS Molly Clark Carolena Deutsch-Garcia Jordan Peimer Joanna Szu ‘06
POWERPLAYERS
PowerPlayers are an exceptional group of donors that have made a three year commitment to support ArtPower. This multi-year support is crucial to ArtPower’s continued success and growth. Joyce Axelrod and Joseph Fisch Joan Bernstein Alain Cohen and Denise Warren Martha and Ed Dennis Phyllis and Daniel Epstein Elaine Galinson and Herb Solomon Bobbie and Jon Gilbert Norman Goldberg Renita Greenberg and Jim Alison Eric Lasley Hans Paar and Kim Signoret-Paar Robert and Lauren Resnik Paul and Edith H. Sanchez Molli Wagner Zelda Waxenberg Pat Weil and Christopher Weil A portion of funding for ArtPower is provided by the UC San Diego Student Services Fee Committee. Donor list as of March 26, 2017. List reflects giving from March 26, 2016.