THE ARTS CENTER What’s Inside: A Word From Our Director
THE ARTS CENTER NEWSLETTER Issue 124: Nov – Dec 2015
Arts Park Update
Courtesy of:
New Exhibits
Upcoming Classes
A Look Inside Upcoming Performances Wine & Cheese Tasting Special Thanks
From the director’s desk:
As we approach the end of the calendar year, I feel compelled to write a fundraising appeal. But I’ve got writer’s block because I’ve only ever read one really emotionally compelling year-end fundraising letter; the rest sound formulaic or corny to me.
Cyndi Wish Executive Director
I can say that The Arts Center touches many lives in ways which are quietly heroic. But let’s face it: the arts are not something that restores vision to the blind, the arts won’t directly cure a malignant tumor. The arts enrich lives - a harder thing to measure and to articulate. Lately I’ve been interested in the similarities between participants of The Arts Center’s “Art For Life” program, which is conducted in collaboration with Ave Maria Village and The Heritage Centre, and the Arts After School program, which sees a group of 3rd – 6th graders after school every day that school meets. There is an exuberance, a buoyancy, and a real desire to take creative risks in the people who participate in these programs. Which has me thinking: what if we, as a society, paid as much attention to things like creative spark, or smiles, or anything that motivates people out of the inertia that we all occasionally fall in to? What if we choose to support positive motion as much as we support solving critical issues? What if we saw encouraging peoples’ happiness as a critical issue? You can trust that The Arts Center’s programs, and The Arts Center’s existence, improves lives of those in Jamestown and surrounding communities. If you don’t believe this, you can ask any program participant, performance attendee, Board, or staff member, who will tell you why the organization is invaluable to those who come in contact with it. As the year ends, The Arts Center is facing a significant funding gap. This is because of programs and developments that support the Jamestown area community, like the development of the Arts Park, and the expansion of our educational programs for kids, teens, and adults. And so we trust that, when you receive our year-end appeal, you will support The Arts Center right back.
Colored paver stones being laid in the Hansen Arts Park on October 14, 2015.
ARTS PARK UPDATE: Foundation Laid & A New Name The park is now, due to a generous benefactor, called the Hansen Arts Park. Jo-Ida Hansen, daughter of the late Charlotte and Gordon Hansen, wanted the memory of these two very active community members to live on with the park. The concrete pathways are in. They are wide and the grade is gentle offering full access and movement to people of all ages and abilities. The hardscape will eventually be flanked with mosaic benches, grassy areas, flowers, shrubs and trees. The process for securing artists/designers to create a pavilion and signature sculpture is underway. The artists are working on their designs and the finalist for each component will be selected in the upcoming weeks. We have been lucky to have a wonderful fall for the foundational work to occur. Stop by and see the progress, it changes daily. When you visit try to imagine the finished space, awash with colorful plantings, engaging sculptural features, and people of all ages enjoying the space. We are providing updates on the park’s continual progress on our blog: theartscenter.areavoices.com. For more information on the project and to offer your financial support please visit jamestownarts.com/artspark.
This project is made possible in part by grants from ArtsMidwest, the Bush Foundation and ArtPlace America as well as local business, city and individual donations.
upcoming classes providing opportunities for artistic development and exploration Creative opportunities for adults (and serious teens)
More details and registration online at: www.jamestownarts.com/classes
Color Your World with Christine Burchill
Friday, Nov. 13 from 6:30 – 8:30 pm & Saturday, Nov. 14 from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm Hansen Arts Studio • $60 / $50 for members Whether you are a painter, quilter, home decorator, or a crafty do-it-yourselfer, understanding color is a must. Using the color wheel, students will learn how to mix the exact shade they want, put unexpected colors together for the WOW factor and make sense of the color terminology used in the how to books.
*NEW* GIFT MAKING SERIES: Print Your Holiday Cards with Cyndi Wish Three Sessions: Nov. 9, 16, 23 from 5:30 – 7:30 pm Hansen Arts Studio • $70 / $60 for members
Using relief printmaking techniques you will make two-color unique cards for the holidays (or any other kind of cards). Come with a 5” x 7” design in mind. Inks stain, so dress for a mess. We will go over how to make an edition as well as mono printing.
Crochet with Tracy Middaugh
Five Sessions: Thursdays, Nov. 5, 12, 19 & Dec. 3 & 10 from 6:00 – 9:00 pm Hansen Arts Studio • $80 / $70 for members Students will learn how to read a crochet pattern, basic stitches/abbreviations, chart reading, and symbols. Students will have the opportunity to complete five separate projects that can be used in their home or would also make beautiful gifts. Students are asked to pick up a supply list and provide their own materials.
JewElry making with Matt Swearingen
Friday, Nov. 20 from 5:30 – 7:30 pm Hansen Arts Studio • $20 / $10 for members
This workshop is a great introduction into the wonderful world of beads! Students will learn about beads, bindings and how to use beading tools. Students will then apply this knowledge to complete a necklace or bracelet that they can wear home or use as a gift. Beginners welcome, 18 years and older, all materials provided.
art classes for kids World Travelers—Off the Beaten Path with Jennifer Wentz
2nd Saturday of each month from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm • Grades K – 2
The 2015 – 16 Second Saturday program takes children to different parts of the world to learn about unique cultures by studying their art, dance, music, and language. Ethnic snacks will be provided.
ARTS AFTER SCHOOL with David Dobbs
Creative learning for grades 3, 4, 5, & 6. Classes run each school day from 3:30 – 5:00 pm. After school snack included. Pre-registration is required. Space is limited. More details and registration is online at: jamestownarts.com/artsafterschool.
exhibitions revolving gallery exhibitions every four to six weeks
photography fills the gallery November 12 – December 12, 2015 There are two photography exhibits sharing the gallery starting November 12. The first was developed by Minot State University and is touring through the North Dakota Art Gallery Association. The exhibition is a survey featuring 15 photographers from North Dakota and 15 from South Dakota. The second exhibition of photography is based on a book collaboration between a poet Sharon Chmielarz and photographer Ken Smith, whose black and white photos were paired with poems by Chmielarz. To kick off this visual spectacle we will be hosting the artist and poet as well as some of their musical friends. Poetry & Photography Performance Event Thursday, November 12 from 7:00 – 9:00 pm A live performance featuring poetry and photography from Visibility Ten Miles: A Prairie Memoir in Photography and Poetry (North Star, 2015) by poet Sharon Chmielarz and photographer by Ken Smith. This multimedia event will feature readings of the book’s poems by Sharon Chmielarz and Becca Barniskis, accompanied by the music of Nick Jaffe. A lively discussion with Sharon Chmielarz, Ken Smith and other performers to follow. Copies of the book will be available for purchase. Sharon Chmielarz has had nine books of poetry published. One of her recent titles, Love from the Yellowstone Trail has been called “uniquely American,”“finely crafted,”“powerful,”“a joy to read.” She has been a finalist in the National Poetry Series, nominated for a Pushcart Prize and featured on American Life in Poetry. Learn more at: sharonchmielarz.com. Ken Smith, a native of Western Colorado, lives in North Dakota, where he and his wife, Robin, raised six children. Ken holds an M.A. and D.A. in history from the University of North Dakota. After teaching in high school and college, he’s attending North Dakota State University, working toward a Ph.D. in Great Plains History. Becca Barniskis and Nick Jaffe perform often as the duo, Downrange Telemetrics. Becca is a noted Minnesota-based poet/performer/singer. Nick is a guitarist and a veteran of the Chicago soul, hip hop, post-rock, and experimental music scenes. They have performed to critical acclaim in a wide variety of music venues, on radio and live-television.
Badlands National Park: Near Cedar Pass, oil on canvas, 18”x 49.75”
greg walter: Missouri Valley Gold December 17, 2015 – January 16, 2016 “I believe that the greatest contribution an artist can make is the gift of sight to others. Just as a writer weaves a beautiful tapestry of words, and the culinary artist combines bold and subtle flavors which surprise and delight us, so the visual artist works with the elements of design to give us a vision of things which we may have never noticed or considered.” ~Greg Walter For more than twenty years Walter’s work has focused on the landscape, its expanses and its intimacy, its subtle and dynamic beauty, the play of light, shadow and color, throughout the changes of the seasons. “The landscape offers unlimited possibilities in subject, and great variety within those subjects. Simply studying the changes in light and color over the course of a day, a month, or a season is engaging enough to keep the me painting until I can no longer hold a brush.”
On the cover: Badlands National Park: Green Gully, oil on canvas, 42”x 36.5”
The gallery will share Walter’s most recent series of paintings that explore the beauty and variety Missouri River Valley landscape from Nebraska to North Dakota. The artist credits the diversity of this landscape in which he lives as profound, and believes that a landscape artist could spend a lifetime exploring its subtleties without growing bored with it. Everything from the lay of the land to the lighting above, and the way in which the changing atmosphere affects the color and contrast stimulates his creative instincts Walter teaches art at Dickinson State University. This exhibition is sponsored by the North Dakota Art Gallery Association with support form the North Dakota Council on the Arts, which receives funding from the State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.
performances bringing performing artists to the community
chuck suchy concert Saturday, December 12 at 7:30 pm Chuck Suchy (pronounced soo-key) is the real thing—one of the foremost musical voices of the American Great Plains. In 1982 a major event occurred when an acquaintance gave him a tape of Canadian troubadour Stan Rogers singing his classic Field Behind The Plow. “It was at that moment” Suchy says “that I realized that the life I was immersed in was worthy of song.” Dirty Linen Folk and World Music Magazine exclaims: “Ya gotta love this guy, he writes a fine song, plays a solid guitar, sings with rare confidence, and lives his material. …insights on the interior of human life.” Rich Warren, Midnight Special, WFMT Chicago says: “One of the great undiscovered treasures of contemporary American folk music… ” Tickets at the door: $15 / $10 for Arts Center members & students. Chuck Suchy is a working farmer, born and raised and at home in the blue hills along the Missouri River south of Mandan, North Dakota, Chuck Suchy has a love for making music that goes back to his childhood. Throughout his youth and young adult life, he found time to perform in the area’s halls, clubs and lounges, singing and playing guitar and accordian. He began writing his own ballads and songs, slipping them into his performances and it was soon obvious that he was on to something quite unique: sensitive and honest portrayals of contemporary American farm life, but from an insider’s point of view. In the decade since, Chuck Suchy has continued to write, sing and record songs evoking and extolling the Great Plains region and lifestyle. His themes have expanded to include songs about human relationships, spirituality, motorcycles, and even sailing. The Plains have seen a lot of change over this time, including farm crises, loss of population, and a major restructuring of the agricultural economy. Chuck remains an astute observer of it all and his songs chronicle not only the events, but the emotions and feelings that accompany such upheaval and change.
upcoming events creative opportunities to break up your routine
an artful happy hour meet people. mix drinks. make art.
Create your own masterpiece... or close anyway. Join us after work for a creatively good time. All materials provided. 5:30 in the Hansen Arts Studio. $10 - materials fee. RSVP Required: info@jamestownarts.com November 18 –Pen Project Sculpey with Bonnie Tressler December 16 – Acrylic Painting with David Dobbs
Open Mic Night Saturday, December 19, 7:00 pm. Poets, writers, musicians, comedians, and any and all performers welcome. There will be a sign up sheet at the door. Please limit your piece to 5 minutes. Original work only. Refreshments will be served. Free.
Wood carving with the local Woodchippers Our local Woodchippers meet each Thursday of the month from 6:30 – 8:30 pm at the Hansen Arts Studio. Any skill and interest level welcome. Free.
Reader’s Theater Tuesday, November 24, 7:00 pm in the Hansen Arts Studio Do you enjoy the drama of theater, but don’t like the spotlight? Then Reader’s Theater is for you! Join this lively bunch for the dramatic reading of original scripts the fourth Tuesday of every month. For more information, contact: Dina Laskowski at dlaskows@jc.edu or 701-269-9111. Free.
Photography Club Gathering Tuesday, November 17, 6:30 pm at the Hansen Arts Studio The local band of photo enthusiasts will be meeting the third Tuesday of each month. Topics are focused primarily for DSLR camera users. Free and open to anyone.
wine &cheese The Arts Center
2015 tasting
EXPLORE THE WORLD OF WINE SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21 6:00 PM — PREMIERE: Join us an hour early for a special preview with a professional sommelier and select premium wines. (Limited to 50 people.) 7:00 – 9:00 PM — MAIN EVENT: Sample a large variety of wine from around the world all perfectly paired with great cheeses and delicious morsels. Tickets at The Arts Center: Main Event $35, Premiere Hour + Main Event $100 per couple.
Eleventh Annual Wine & Cheese Tasting presented by The Arts Center Board of Directors Proceeds go to The Arts Center. Must be 21 years of age.
a look inside DAVID DOBBS & ARTS AFTER SCHOOL Our new Artist in Residence, David Dobbs, has brought a fresh perspective to the Arts After School program. Starting with the first session of Arts After School, David challenged our 3, 4, 5 & 6 grade students with working in animation (everything from traditional flip books to digital stop-motion photography). The students accepted the new challenge with enthusiasm. Watch for clips from their projects to be posted to Facebook and YouTube. Currently Arts After School kids are working in Seasonal Sculpture. In November they will be moving to Painting & Color Theory. Arts After School is creative learning for grades 3, 4, 5 & 6. Classes run each school day from 3:30 – 5:00 pm. After school snack included. Pre-registration is required. Space is limited. More details and registration is online at: jamestownarts.com/artsafterschool.
David was born in La Crosse, WI, and received both his BFA and MFA from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He has exhibited his work around the United States and China and has participated in residencies at the Shangyuan Museum in Beijing, China and the Prairie Center for the Arts in Peoria, IL. For the past two years, before becoming the newest resident artist at JFAA, David served as an Americorps VISTA (Volunteer In Service To America) in his hometown of La Crosse. During his service, he designed many public art projects that were created by children in low income neighborhoods to help beautify the neighborhood, and instill confidence and pride in the residents of that neighborhood. David is excited to be teaching again and looks forward to working with the Jamestown community. Pictured above: two Arts After School students work together to create a paper mâchµ†é giraffe. The Arts After School program is made possible in part by grants and donations from: United Way, Optimist Club, Hugo’s, Kinder Morgan, Windgate Foundation
club of Jametsown
take note CALL TO TEACHING ARTISTS
The North Dakota Council on the Arts is looking to expand and enrich its Artist in Residence Program. Are you a professional artist, musician, writer, actor, director, dancer, media expert, storyteller, folk, traditional or multicultural artist who has experience teaching your chosen medium? Do you celebrate the transformative power of artistic self-expression as a means for creating a higher quality of life for all? If so, please consider joining NDCA to help make the arts central to education in North Dakota and to expand arts education opportunities for all citizens within our schools. For more information visit: http://1.usa.gov/1GncXMZ
Brookings Arts Council Sculpture Project 2016
In 2010 the Brookings Arts Council began an annual sculpture rotation opportunity supported by the patronage of local art benefactors, Bob and Jean Jostad. This year marks the inaugural “Call for Submissions” for the BAC’s own Sculpture Project. One sculptor will garner the opportunity to showcase their piece in front of the BAC building, the former historic Carnegie Library of Brookings, in a thriving civic neighborhood directly across from the Children’s Museum of South Dakota. For more information: http://bit.ly/1MfJB5k
special thanks donations: Jo-Ida Hansen, Kelly & Larry Krien, Noreen Olson, Karla & Scott Sandness, Bonnie Tressler in memorial: Ray Greenwood—Angela & Bob Seitz, Don Wilhelm, Inc., Laurel Haroldson, Joe Schmitt, Bonnie Bowen and other anonymous donors. business member donations: Stutsman County Abstract, Ave Maria Village, Reuben Liechty Realtors, Medicine Shoppe, Greenwood Plumbing & Heating, Heinrich & Company, Lindberg Brothers, Lifetime Vision Source, Farmers Union Insurance, Infinity Building Services, Edward Jones-Mike Smyth, R. M. Stoudt, Inc., Don Wilhelm, Inc, Jamestown Travel, Inc., Quality Inn & Suites, Dr. Timothy H. Sinner, D.D.S., Buchanan Law Office, Century 21 Heritage special thanks to: Aloha Kercher, Betty Brosz, and Judy Martini for gallery sitting on Saturdays. The Arts Center Board (Karen Crane, Terri Qual, Casey Stoudt, Janis Bensch, Dave Hillerud, Joan Morris, Steve Maier, Bev Orr, Laurel Haroldson, Meghan Braun, Emma Mickelson, and Bob Toso) for all their hardwork on the Oktoberfest event. Bonnie Tressler for baking the German Pretzels. Taylor Barnes for preparing a lovely dinner for our Arts Park meeting. Sharon our new office volunteer.
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OFFICE: 115 2nd Street SW, Jamestown HOURS: Mon – Fri, 9 am – 5 pm and Sat, 10 am – 2 pm
The Arts Center activities are supported in part by a grant from the North Dakota Council on the Arts, which receives funding from the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Arts Center is participating in ArtsLab, a program of Arts Midwest.