GET YOUR EVENTS LISTED!

The Vermont Arts Calendar is the Council's FREE database of arts and cultural events across the state, complete with mapping features to event locations as well as information on nearby restaurants, accommodations, and other facilities.

Add your events and they will also post in the Vermont Department of Tourism's calendar at vermontvacation.com, as well as in the electronic kiosks in the State's Welcome Centers. System administrators also email event listings to over 40 media outlets in Vermont. We encourage all artists and presenters to use this free tool to help you spread the word about your arts events.

Please note: you must have your event listed in the Vermont Arts Calendar in order to be considered for inclusion in ArtMail.

OK, I HAVE AN EVENT TO PUBLICIZE. HOW DO I GET STARTED?

Click here and we'll walk you through it.

APPLICATIONS DUE FOR THE CREATIVE COMMUNITIES PROGRAM - The Creative Communities Program provides communities with technical assistance for strategic planning around their creative economy. Participants are selected through a competitive application process. Both a description of the program and application guidelines are available online at http://www.vtrural.org . Upcoming deadlines for letters of interest: August 16th (2006), December 4th (2006), and February 1st (2007).

COMMISSION ON NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND SEEKS FEEDBACK - As you may know, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which authorizes the U.S. Department of Education’s major programs for public schools, is up for reauthorization next year. Congress has recently begun preliminary hearings and will continue to gather information and feedback through early next year, when an actual drafting process will begin.  As Congress starts this process, it is important that arts advocates speak up and make their support for arts education known. Currently, the Commission on No Child Left Behind, a bipartisan independent commission, is soliciting comments in all areas of K- 12 education. The Commission will make formal recommendations to Congress in early 2007. Therefore, this is a key opportunity to offer constructive feedback on the importance of the arts in the next version of NCLB. To facilitate the collection of these comments, Americans for the Arts has designed a webpage that will send your comments to both the Commission and to your congressional delegation. Read more

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE VOTES ON ARTS AND EDUCATION FUNDING - On July 20, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved an FY 2007 spending bill that offered a $1.2 million increase for the Department of Education's Arts in Education programs. The Committee also provided level funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). As you may recall, the House version of the bill threatens to eliminate funding for the Arts Education programs and cut CPB funding by 21 percent. We encourage you to write your Members of Congress and urge them to support the Senate Committee-offered funding levels for Arts Education and CPB.

YOUNG ARTISTS IN THE GARDEN PALETTES ON EXHIBIT AT HILDENE - In late spring area children in grades one through six were invited to participate in a junior version of Hildene’s Artists in the Garden. Junior artists were encouraged to paint, draw, photograph or otherwise create a work of art on a paper palette on site at the Lincoln Family Home between June 23 and July 23. Their works of art will be on display in the Hildene Visitor Center from August 5 through August 20. Admission is free. For information on the Young Artists in the Garden Palettes Project Exhibit or Artists in the Garden, call Lisa at 802.367.1144 or email Lisa@hildene.org.

VERMONT ARTS COUNCIL FY07 GRANT DEADLINE CHANGES

Some programs with multiple deadlines in the past may now have only one.

Important Notice: Grant Deadlines Extended. It is estimated that revised guidelines for online submissions will be available September 14, 2006. In the meantime, guidelines from prior years are still available for viewing on the website. Do not submit any applications until after September 14, 2006.

The Council is pleased to announce that it will be transitioning to an online grant making system beginning this fall. It is estimated that revised guidelines for online submission will be available September 14, 2006. The on-line system will streamline applying for grants from the Council by providing applicants with many features designed to enhance, simplify and expedite the application process. Our grant deadlines have been extended in the following programs to accommodate the revised launch date.

• Cultural Facilities: Deadline extended to October 16, 2006
  
  
• Creation Grants: Deadline extended to October 17, 2006
  
  
• Mini Presentation Grants/American Masterpieces - First deadline extended to October 17
  
  
• Mini Artist-in- Residence Grants - First deadline extended to October 17

See a complete list of grants and our revised deadline schedule at
www.vermontartscouncil.org. Guidelines from prior years are still available for viewing on the webstite. Please do not submit any applications until after September 14, 2006.

To make this transition as easy as possible, the Council is preparing to provide a variety of assistance to grant applicants and the grants program staff is available to field questions: Lindsey Harty, Grants Manager at (802) 828-5425 or lharty@v ermontartscouncil.org; Michele Bailey, Program Director at (802) 828-3294 or mbailey @vermontartscouncil.org

CALL FOR PANELISTS – Are you interested in serving on a Council grant review panel? Are you a professional artist, educator, arts administrator, community leader or other professional with specialized knowledge? The Vermont Arts Council would like to expand its pool of potential panelists and invites you to submit a nomination for a panelist (self-nominations are encouraged and welcome).  Panelists serve the Vermont arts community by contributing their time and expertise to evaluate grant applications. Panelist's careful and thoughtful consideration of applications is critical to the success of the Council's programs. If you or someone you know is interested in serving as a panelist please send a brief bio or resume along with contact information to Michele Bailey at mbailey @vermontartscouncil.org.

POETRY OUT LOUD IN- SERVICE DAY - Goddard College in Plainfield hosts a teacher in-service day on Monday, August 21, a training for high school teachers interested in the national Poetry Out Loud project. A participatory, standards-based workshop on how and why to integrate poetry as performance into your classroom curriculum. Limited spaces is available, so register promptly. For more information or to register call Vermont Poetry Out Loud coordinator Morgan Irons at (802) 223-7044 or email onstage@togeth er.net (please include POL in the subject line).

PERFORMING ARTS EXCHANGE BOOKING CONFERENCE - Register now for Performing Arts Exchange (PAE), the Eastern regional performing arts booking conference. This year’s conference takes place in Baltimore, Maryland from September 27- 30, 2006. Presenters and performing artists are able to develop relationships, exchange information and knowledge, view showcases, and discuss issues concerning the field. For registration and more details visit www.southarts.org .

TWO SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE FOR NEW ENGLAND TEACHING ARTIST INSTITUTE - Two scholarship slots are remaining for the first New England Teachign Artist Institute, to be held at Lesley University on August 21 and 22. This Teaching Artist Institute is designed to bring teaching artists together with leaders in the field. This growing field is producing an impressive body of research in a variety of educational settings. The institute is an important opportunity to create a dialogue among teaching artists across New England and beyond. Share resources, knowledge and develop networking opportunities as we explore the current educational landscape. For more information about these scholarships please contact Stacy Raphael at (802) 828-3778 or email sraph ael@vermontartscouncil.org. To register (w/ no VAC scholarship): E-mail: slevy@lesley.edu Phone-1-617-868-9600 ext. 3101. For a complete schedule: www.lesley.edu/gsass/cal_teachartists.html

NEFA AWARDS OVER $38,000 FOR REGIONAL TOURING PROJECTS - The New England Foundation for the Arts is pleased to announced recent grant recipients for NEFA's regional performing arts touring programs: New England States Touring (NEST) and Meet the Composer, which award grants on a quarterly basis. This quarter's NEST and Meet the Composer grants totaled $38,769. Vermont beneficiaries of the program include Sandglass Theater in Putney, Scott Ainslie of Brattleboro, and Music for a Sunday Afternoon in Newport.

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Visit the Vermont Arts Calendar to search for arts events statewide!

Do you have an arts event you want to publicize? Click here and we'll walk you through it.

THE ART LOVER'S GUIDE TO SOUTHERN VERMONT - “The Art Lover’s Guide to Southern Vermont” provides information on nearly 90 galleries, museums, and artist studios and also includes a county map and an events calendar. The Southern Vermont Regional Marketing Program and Primetime Concepts, Inc. have collaborated to produce and print 7,500 copies of the guide's first edition. The guide has a dual purpose. It will help attract tourists and will also convey a message to the creative business community: The arts are important to help build a strong sustainable economy and improve quality of life. Supporting the arts through tourism marketing is only one small step to strengthen the creative sector. Southern Vermont’s arts focus will be marketed to travel editors across the country through press releases and a new web site, SouthernVermont.com, which will be live on August 5 complete with a downloadable version. The guide will also be distributed throughout the area to local galleries, Chambers of Commerce and Welcome Centers, as part of the Regional Marketing Program. For more information call the Mt. Snow Chamber at (877) 887- 2378, or email prime@svcable.net. Read more

VERMONT MUSICIAN AVAILABLE FOR COMMERCIAL WORK - Vermont singer/songwriter, Gregory Douglass is available for collaboration with the local film industry. Whether it's a short commercial jingle, an already existing song from one of his five albums, or something new for your film, Gregory has the uncanny ability to get inside a character and deliver the emotion of that character through his singing and his songwriting while accompanying himself on piano or guitar, or a fully orchestrated background. INFO: www.gregor ydouglass.com. Contacts: glory@greg orydouglass.com 802-279-3233; gregory @gregorydouglass.com 802-238-9754. Emote Records, P.O. Box 8021, Burlington, VT 05402

STAGE MANAGER NEEDED - Solo show headed to the NY Fringe desperately seeking Stage Manager (had one but she got another job!). Must be able to deal with stress well and be organized and reliable. Experience in theater not necessary. Must be available between August 4th and August 27th (we have not received our tech date and time yet--can be anywhere between the 4th and 9th). We play for 6 performances between
Aug 13-27th. Free transportation to and from, free housing, small stipend. Call Gail ASAP if interested/available. (802) 865-8301

THE DESIGN ENCYCLOPEDIA - During its initial stage, The Design Encyclopedia has been steadily amassing over 530 entries through a growing number of registered users (520 and counting) that have willingly shared their knowledge and time to garner information on an encouragingly wide range of topics that further enhance and illustrate the influence of design—in all sizes, shapes and meanings of the word. As we move forward with The Design Encyclopedia we want to thoroughly involve design teachers and students in the process of generating content. If you teach a class that revolves around research and writing, and addresses design’s history, contemporary practitioners or the profession’s essentials your help would be invaluable. We feel these contributions would add tremendous value as design references. Please visit our Written section for more information. Read more

THE FINE PRINT:
The Vermont Arts Council makes every reasonable effort to ensure that the information provided in this newsletter is accurate and appropriate. Readers are advised to confirm time sensitive information such as performance dates, times and locations, deadlines, and requirements with the sponsoring organization. The Vermont Arts Council cannot assume responsibility for any consequences (good or bad, although we love to hear about the good) experienced by readers as a result of the information they obtain from this newsletter. Feel free to email us with your comments or questions or call 802- 828-5422.