Jackson Hole Art Blog

Wildlife photographer Tom Mangelsen’s October presentation at the National Museum of Wildlife Art was so packed, they had to send people away.  So, Mangelsen is generously presenting his program again–at NMWA–on Thursday, November 19th, at 7:00 p.m.  Mangelsen will talk about his nature photography, specifically the work now on view at the Museum.  That exhibition, “The Natural World: Photographs by Thomas D. Mangelsen,” is on display through April 25th, 2009.

I can make this one, yay!   By the way, the last post on Mangelsen’s show was Twittered about, out in the enviromental-creative universe….proof we’re all connected.  Proof that Wyoming’s artists are among the best in the world when it comes to representing this powerful place.

For information, give NMWA a call at 307.733.5771 or log on to www.wildlifeart.org.

Item #2:  Repeat Arts Grant Opportunities

A second deadline has been added to receive grant money from Art Works of Wyoming (AWW), a Wyoming Arts Council program.  Funding comes from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Timeline is as follows:

• December 11, 2009 2nd deadline to apply for AWW funds.

• February 11-12, 2010 WAC Board meeting and 2nd Art Works for Wyoming Panel.

• February 19, 2010 Award letters for second funding deadline issued.

For full details and guidelines, log onto the Wyoming Arts website here.

Item #3:

Colorado landscape painter David W. Mayer’s paintings “Autumn at String Lake” and “Spring Runoff” are to be included in the C.M. Russell Art Auction, in Great Falls, Montana next Spring.  The auction takes place March 17-20.

Mayer, a colleague of painters Scott Christensen, T. Allen Lawson and other painters; he is an acolyte of such writers and artists as Richard Schmid, Edgar Payne, Joaquin Sorolla and the California Impressionists.

The C.M. Russell Art Auction is juried.

The National Endowment for the Arts is in the process of reviewing the applications that were received for Recovery Act funds.  The NEA received approximately 2,400 applications requesting support for projects that focus on the preservation of jobs in the arts, now under review.  The amount of money requested by applicants far exceeds the nearly $30 million available for grants.

For Wyoming this means that, if an application is denied, applicants can look to other possible NEA sources:

•    Wyoming’s state arts agency deadline has passed, but there may be a second deadline January 15, 2010, depending on funding.

•    A designated local arts agency that receives Recovery Act funding. (See the list of state arts agencies and regional arts organizations on the NEA Web site; a list of local arts agencies that receive Recovery Act funding will be available in July.)

Applicants are encouraged to consider the NEA’s traditional funding opportunities: the Access to Artistic Excellence category deadline is August 13. The NEA Chairman will make final decisions on Recovery Act funding following the meeting of the National Council on the Arts at the end of June. Applicants will be informed of funding in July. In the meantime, check the “Recovery” section of the NEA web site for the most up to date information on all aspects of the NEA’s Recovery Act program.    http://www.arts.gov/

First Lady Michelle Obama’s remarks at ribbon cutting ceremony for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s American Wing are stirring indeed.  The Jackson Hole Art Blog takes this opportunity to remind its readers of art’s crucial role in our education, cultural life and economy by reprinting her speech here.  The “…intersection of creativity and commerce…” The text of Mrs. Obama’s speech is supplied by the White House Press Office.   The ceremony took place at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 18, 2009.

MRS. OBAMA: Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you so much.  Please, rest.  (Laughter.)  Good afternoon and thank you, Emily, for that introduction, and thank you for reminding me.  You know, after 20-some-odd years of knowing a guy, you forget that your first date was at a museum.  (Laughter.)   But it was, and it was obviously wonderful; it worked.

So I am delighted to be here with you to celebrate American history through the arts.  From the beginning of our nation, the inspired works of our artists and artisans have reflected the ingenuity, creativity, independence and beauty of this nation.  It is the painter, the potter, the weaver, the silver smith, the architect, the designer whose work continues to create an identity for America that is respected and recognized around the world as distinctive and new.

The American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art captures this spirit in presenting a variety of American art forms and providing a link to history for us to learn from, appreciate and be inspired by.

Our future as an innovative country depends on ensuring that everyone has access to the arts and to cultural opportunity.  Nearly 6 million people make their living in the non-profit arts industry, and arts and cultural activities contribute more than $160 billion to our economy every year.  And trust me, I tried to do my part to add to that number.

The President included an additional $50 million in funding to the NEA in the stimulus package to preserve jobs in state arts agencies and regional arts organizations in order to keep them up and running during the economic downturn.  (Applause.)

But the intersection of creativity and commerce is about more than economic stimulus, it’s also about who we are as people.  The President and I want to ensure that all children have access to great works of art at museums like the one here.  We want them to have access to great poets and musicians in theaters around the country, to arts education in their schools and community workshops.

We want all children who believe in their talent to see a way to create a future for themselves in the arts community, be it as a hobby or as a profession.

The arts are not just a nice thing to have or to do if there is free time or if one can afford it.  Rather, paintings and poetry, music and fashion, design and dialogue, they all define who we are as a people and provide an account of our history for the next generation.

The President recently nominated renowned theater producer Rocco Landesman to chair the National Endowment for the Arts.  Rocco’s entrepreneurial spirit and his commitment to being a bridge between the philanthropic, non-profit and commercial arts community will ensure that all types of art and creative expression are provided fertile ground to live and to grow.

And that’s what we hope to do at the White House, that’s what we’ve been trying to do at the White House.  We’ve been trying to break down barriers that too often exist between major cultural establishments and the people in their immediate communities; to invite kids who are living inches away from the power and prestige and fortune and fame, we want to let those kids know that they belong here, too.

I want to applaud the Metropolitan Museum of Art for all the outreach that you do, for having kids like these here today to be involved in this and to experience this and to share this with us, because this is your place, too.  So we’re very proud of the Met for the work that they’ve done.

So we are excited.  Thank you for including me.  And now we can get to the — we’re going to cut the ribbon now.  (Laughter.)  Thank you so much.  (Applause.)

END
3:21 P.M. EDT

A Wyoming Arts Council (WAC) release has announced that applications are available for the new “Art Works for Wyoming” grant program.  The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is providing this one-time opportunity, and is able to offer the program as a result of its recently secured federal stimulus funding package.  Any and all Wyoming arts organizations may apply, which, of course, includes Jackson arts entities.  Grants are available to all qualifying arts venues.

WAC manager Rita Bascom says, “We are fortunate to live in a time when the arts are recognized for the impact they have on our economy.  The fact that the NEA was included in our nation’s Stimulus Funding Plan is a credit to all of the artists, arts businesses, and nonprofit arts organizations who make their living through the arts, or hire artists to paint, dance, act, write, sculpt, design, etc. – not just at this point in time, but throughout our nation’s history.”

Throughout world history.

The program offers up to $25,000 in grants monies for projects meeting one of the following two criteria:

Salary support, full or partial, for one or more positions that are critical to an organization’s artistic mission and that are in jeopardy or have been eliminated as a result of the current economic collapse.

Fees for previously engaged artists and/or contractual personnel to maintain or expand the period during which such persons would be engaged.

Applications are due at the WAC by May 15, 2009. Applications will be forwarded to the Western States Arts Federation on June 1.   June 3-5, applications will be considered and winning grants will be notified by mail on July 1.   NO PAPER APPLICATIONS will be accepted.

For full application information on this program, log on to WAC’s online granting site here.

“We are excited to be a part of this national effort to save arts jobs.  And we encourage all qualified Wyoming organizations to apply for funding,” Bascom said.

The Wyoming Arts Council, a state agency promoting and supporting the arts in our state, says it will receive $290,000 in funds.  Those funds will be sliced from the $50 million the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is distributing to arts entities around the country.

The NEA is a standout amongst the countless arts concerns struggling to survive.  The Wyoming Arts Council receives more dollars per capita than any other arts agencies; Wyoming is also the country’s least populous state.