Upcoming Workshop Opportunities- Don't Miss Them!

The Division is hosting two workshops with Bruce Baker, a nationally-recognized consultant from Vermont.  These workshops are a great opportunity for Visual Artists to learn valuable skills to promote their work and enhance their careers.  Information will be provided about marketing your work, selecting slides for jury review, and trends in the market today.  The workshops will take place at two locations in the Florida panhandle next week- so please register NOW if you are interested!

Tallahassee - June 14, 2007
Location: The TCC Capitol Center (In Kleman Plaza)
Time: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
$35 a person, includes lunch
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: June 12th (Tuesday)
To register: contact Clint Riley, clint@cocanet.org or 850.224.2500
Hosted by the Tallahassee Council on Culture and Arts

Pensacola - June 15, 2007
Location: The Pensacola Museum of Art
Time: 9:00 am to 4:30 pm
Call to reserve your spot: 850.432.6247
Hosted by the Pensacola Museum of Art

These professional development workshops for Florida's visual artists are made possible through generous funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Challenge America Program.  For more information on the NEA and its programs visit www.nea.gov. 

Convening Sessions Coming Up- Mark Your Calendars!

Culture Builds Florida's Future is the strategic plan for arts and culture in Florida.  The plan was completed through a series of visioning meetings in 2004 and is now being implemented.  The next phase of the plan will include convening sessions on the four key areas of the plan.  The statewide meetings are planned to develop specific implementation strategies and success measurements for the new goals of the plan.  The meetings are scheduled for the following dates and locations, each location will focus on a different component of the plan. 

Promoting Learning and Wellness
July 17, 2007
Gainesville

Strengthening the Economy
July 19, 2007
St. Petersburg

Building Leadership and Advancing Design and Development
July 20, 2007
Fort Lauderdale

We encourage you to attend a session and bring your ideas and enthusiasm to make this plan a success.  Details on specific locations and times will be provided on the Division's website, www.florida-arts.org as they become available. 

To download and read an electronic copy of Culture Builds Florida's Future, click here. 

Individual Artist Grant Programs News:

Panel Meetings Set for the Individual Artist Fellowship Program

Detail of Artwork by Billie Grace Lynn, 2006 Visual Arts Fellowship Recipient

The panel meeting review for the Individual Artist Fellowships are set for the October 2007.  If you submitted an application to the program for the 2008 Fellowships in Visual Arts and Media Arts; your application will be reviewed at one of the following meetings:

October 10th - Media Arts
October 23rd - Visual Arts 3 Dimensional
October 25th - Visual Arts 2 Dimensional

All meetings will take place in Tallahassee at the RA Gray Building, Room 307 and will begin at 9 am.  More information will be posted on the Division's website about the meetings, including panelist biographies and agenda information as it becomes available.  Attendance at the meetings is not mandatory for the Fellowship Awards, however all meetings are open to the public. 

Artist Enhancement 2nd Quarter Deadline Coming Up

The next deadline for applications to the Artist Enhancement Grants Program will be July 12, 2007. This deadline will be for applications for activities or purchases occurring between October 1, 2007 and June 30, 2008. To download the program guidelines for the Artist Enhancement Grants Program, visit the following link: http://www.florida-arts.org/grants/ae/.  

The Artist Enhancement Grants Program serves Florida's Individual Artists through monetary awards that allow them to take advantage of specific career building opportunities to advance their work and careers.  For more information about the program, visit the link above.

Artist Enhancement Application Tips and Information!

Don't forget, if you are applying for an Artist Enhancement Grant; you must fill out the application forms on the Division's website through the OASIS system.  In addition to filling out the electronic version of the forms, you will also need to send in a packet of support materials.  This package is important as it will give the panel valuable information to substantiate your application.  Though the support materials are optional, they are strongly encouraged from each applicant.  It is also extremely important that you include a resume as part of this package with a copy for each panelist.  Detailed instructions on completing the application and compiling this package are available at the following link: http://www.florida-arts.org/grants/ae/.  

Important Opportunities for Florida's Touring Artists!

Travel Support Available for Booking Conferences:
The Florida Artists and Presenters Network (FAPN) is offering Florida resident touring artists (solo or part of an ensemble) and Florida presenters travel support to attend two major booking conferences.  If you have never attended one of these booking conferences (but always wanted to), you are eligible to apply for travel support to one of them. 

The conferences are as follows:
Performing Arts Exchange, September 26 - 30, 2007
Southern Arts Federation, Louisville, KY
www.southarts.org

Association of Performing Arts Presenters, January 11 - 16, 2008
New York City
www.artspresenters.org

You will need to contact each booking conference agency (see above) for details regarding attendance, membership, registration, booth rental, lodging, etc. These arrangements must be made between you and the agency; the Division will make no such arrangements.  To download the application form and for more information, visit the FAPN portion of the Division's website at the following link: http://www.florida-arts.org/programs/fapn/FAPNTravel.htm. 

2008-2010 State Touring Roster Application Deadline is Coming up: August 20, 2007!

If you are a Florida-based artist or organization who has a touring program in place, you are eligible to apply for inclusion on the roster! The State Touring Roster is a menu of touring artists and information about them which is provided to potential applicants to the State Touring Program. For additional information on the State Touring Roster, please click here. Or contact Gaylen Phillips: gphillips@dos.state.fl.us.

Meet Individual Artist Fellowship Recipient Edward Simon

Simon is a 2007 Fellowship Recipient in Music Composition

Edward Simon was born in the coastal town of Punta Cardón, Venezuela where he grew up in a family of musicians surrounded by the sounds and rhythms of Latin and Caribbean music. The talent he showed as a youth led his father to send him to study in the US, where he won scholarships in classical piano at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia under the tutelage of concert pianist Susan Starr and in jazz at the Manhattan School of Music where he studied with Harold Danko. While a student in his teens, Simon performed with Philly guitarist Kevin Eubanks, saxophonist Greg Osby and Frank Sinatra.

Settling in New York City in 1989, he performed with many jazz masters, including Herbie Mann, Paquito D'Rivera, Bobby Hutcherson, Bobby Watson, Terence Blanchard, Jerry Gonzalez and The Fort Apache Band, Arturo Sandoval, Many Oquendo and Libre and Don Byron. Simon quickly discovered that if he wanted to use jazz as a medium of expression he needed to immerse himself in this tradition. Membership in Bobby Watson’s influential group Horizon (1989-94) and the Terence Blanchard Group (1994-2002) were instrumental to this end during his formative years. The experience of playing with Paquito D'Rivera proved to be pivotal, as it sparked an interest in the music of his native country.

Simon made his first recording as a leader in 1994 (Beauty Within, on Audioquest), giving birth to the Edward Simon Trio. That same year he became a Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition finalist. Since then he has written extensively for the trio, using it as a platform for other projects and developing his unique compositional voice. Adventurous yet rooted in tradition, the trio moves fluidly between Latin and jazz sensibilities as its members engage in sparkling conversations of rhythmic interaction and group improvisation. In 1995 Edward received his first commission and composed Rumba Neurotica for the Relache Ensemble. In recognition of his distinctive accomplishments, Chamber Music America awarded Edward Simon the New Works: Creation and Presentation grant to compose the Venezuelan Suite. The program supports composer/performer-led ensembles in the creation and presentation of original compositions within the jazz idiom. Simon has served as adjunct faculty at the University of the Arts and continues to teach clinics, seminars and workshops at music schools and universities around the world. Currently, he serves as adjunct faculty at The New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music in New York City. Simon has participated on more than forty recordings (including several Grammy nominated albums)lead by jazz greats such as Terence Blanchard, John Patitucci, Bobby Watson, and Herbie Mann among others and numerous soundtracks. He has produced seven critically acclaimed albums as a leader including two New York Times Top Ten jazz records of the year: Edward Simon (Kokopelli, 1994) and Simplicitas (Criss Cross, 2005). Today, Simon keeps himself busy writing for and leading his trio, Sexteto Venezuela, Afinidad - a quartet co-lead with long time collaborator saxophonist David Binney and Simon, Simon & Simon, a project co-lead with his two brothers. While he may be considered as part of a new generation of “multilingual” musicians which have grown up studying classical, jazz and Latin American music, Edward is inventing a language that transcends any rigid genre.

For more information about Edward and his work, visit: www.edwardsimon.com. 

Deadline not Specified
The Atlantic Beach Public Arts Commission seeks artists for rotating art in public locations around the city. Works will be juried, and accepted works placed throughout the city for a six month period with the artist's name, name of work and biography. The works must be able to withstand the beach elements. At the end of the six months the artist may sell his work, retrieve it or the city will find another location for it. The City will pay up to $500 for transportation and installation of accepted works. Artists interested in displaying their works should send inquiries to ABPAC, 1970 Mipaula Court, Atlantic Beach, Florida 32233, call (904) 247-1473, or Email: Wgaspaul@aol.com. 

Ongoing Deadline
Miami-Dade Art in Public Places invites professional artists working in all media to open a file in the Art in Public Places Artists Registry. The Artists Registry serves as a resource to the community and to Art in Public Places in the selection process for new public art commissions. Once an artist is in the registry, he or she will be advised of all upcoming public art opportunities. For more information, e-mail: publicart@miamidade.gov; phone: (305) 375-5362. Web: www.co.miami-dade.fl.us/publicart/. 

Deadline: June 15, 2007
CraftArt is an indoor and outdoor art fair hosted by Florida Craftsmen, a statewide organization promoting fine craft and craft artists.  CraftArt 2007 will be limited exclusively to 120-juried fine craft artists. 'Fine craft art' is defined as work which utilizes either the materials and/or processes associated with fine craft art. Paintings, drawings, photography, printmaking and/or commercially made works are not eligible.  For more information, visit http://www.floridacraftsmen.net or call (727) 821-7391.

Deadline: June 22, 2007
Call to artist: MOCA seeking film and video submissions for upcoming Optic Nerve IX Showcase– The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) is seeking film and video submissions for the ninth annual Optic Nerve, the museum’s popular film and video showcase featuring the work of emerging South Florida artists and filmmakers. Submissions must be on VHS or DVD, no more than 6 minutes in length, contain original material and has been made within the last 2 years. All applicants must include the artist’s resume, contact information, a brief description of the work, a biographical statement, price of work and number of edition. Submissions must also include a $10 entry fee for MOCA members, $20 for non-members, payable in check or money order to Museum of Contemporary Art. Entries are limited to two submissions per person. A separate entry fee applies to each submission. Films will be selected by a jury of film and art professionals, and will be screened at MOCA during Optic Nerve on Saturday, July 28, 2007 at 7PM. One of the films will be purchased for MOCA’s Permanent Collection. Deadline: Submissions must be postmarked no later than June 22, 2007. Only those submissions accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope will be returned. All artists will be notified early July via mail if their work has or has not been selected for the July 28th screening. Optic Nerve is sponsored by Starbucks Coffee Company. “Optic Nerve has become a wonderful way to discover new South Florida artists. It has also inspired artists to create new works for submission to the jury,” said MOCA Executive Director Bonnie Clearwater. For more information, please contact Esther Park, Programs Manager at 305-893-6211 ext. 29 or e-mail: epark@mocanomi.org. 

Deadline: August 13, 2007
DeLand Fall Festival of the Arts- The 15th Annual Fall Festival of the Arts will be hosted on November 17th and 18th, 2007, in historic Downtown DeLand. The festival will include over 200 of the nations finest artists, live entertainment, exceptional food, a youth art exhibition, hands-on art for children, an artist’s welcome party Friday evening and $25,000 in
cash awards. Click here http://www.florida-arts.org/jobs/documents/2007FFOAApplication.pdfto download the applications and for additional information.

Nov. 2 - 4, 2007
Artist’s Way Weekend Workshop II
Jump start your Creativity!
Historic Camp Wingmann, Avon Park , Florida. An amazing annual weekend workshop for all creatives, featuring the “Artist’s Way” Philosophy.
Learn to recognize, nurture and protect your inner artist. Discover ways to identify and resolve creative fear, strengthen your confidence, and develop techniques that will move you beyond creative blocks. Experience an intensive, lively and entertaining guided encounter with your own miraculous creativity! $280.00 includes all meals, accommodations and classes www.artistwayworkshop.com/weekend.html.  For more information contact Cheryl Jones Evans @ Studioe109@aol.com or 407-339-3305. 

Many more conference and workshop listings can be found on the Division's website at http://www.florida-arts.org/resources/events.cfm