2012 New Year’s Resolution: Join the Arlington Cultural Council!

Do you feel invested in the cultural life of our town?  How would you like to be part of an organization that supports our local artists, humanities, and interpretive science scholars, and brings outside productions and presentations to Arlington audiences?

The Arlington Cultural Council is a local council and arbiter of grant funds from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. We are actively seeking new members to join our group of dedicated volunteers with backgrounds or strong interests in the arts, humanities or interpretive sciences.

We are particularly looking for someone with experience or interest in being our Treasurer.

If you are interested in joining the Arlington Cultural Council in any capacity, please contact Stephanie Marlin-Curiel, ACC Do-chair at smc2149@nyu.edu. You are also welcome to come to our monthly meeting (generally 2nd Monday of the month at 7:30p) and check us out anytime!

Next meeting is Monday, January 9, followed by Monday, February 13, etc.   We usually meet at the Robbins Library in the 4th floor conference room.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Stephanie Marlin-Curiel
Co-chair, Arlington Cultural Council

Photos From Town Day 2011

Here are a few photos of our arts activity at the 2011 Arlington Town Day.

Town Day Fun! 1

Town Day Fun! 2

Town Day Fun! 3

Town Day Fun! 4

2011 Programs and Events Supported by the Arlington Cultural Council

2011 Programs and Events
Supported by the Arlington Cultural Council

Each year the Arlington Cultural Council awards grants for a wide variety of projects. See what we sponsored last year, and what there is to look forward to later in the fall. You can also learn more about us, and consider joining the Council, at: http://arlingtonculturalcouncil.wordpress.com/

Jan-June:  Le Café Francais Sunday gatherings at Jam ‘n Java

January:  Thompson School 2nd grade field trip to Children’s Museum to see Five Friends from Japan

Jan-March:  Peirce Elementary Author-in-residence program with Julie Hahnke and literacy night

February: Concerts and Master class by Ricardo Odriozola and Einar Rottinger, including performance at the Menotomy Concert series

February: Tuba City cultural trip by youth at First Parish Unitarian church

Spring: Drum workshops for middle schoolers at Arlington Enrichment Collaborative

March:  Sudanese Education Fund Art project

March-June: Our Fragile Earth art exhibit by Gail McCormick at Town Hall

April: The Silly Laughing Musical Fun Poetry Show at Robbins Library

May: Sol y Canto musical performance for all Arlington 4th grades

July: Kamishibai performances presented at 2 Arlington schools and the Waldo Park Neighborhood Picnic

June:  Meet Eleanor Roosevelt, at the Arlington Senior Center

July and August – Shakespeare in the Park – Revitalized, at Spy Pond and at Robbins Farm

October 16, 2011: “Off the Walls” a concert with Shari Craig and Sarah Newcomb at Robbins Library

Dates to be announced:
Fall 2011:  Concert and CD release by Celtic artist Aine Minogue, at Robbins Library
November-December – Simba Masai performance at Arlington Schools

The ACC’s next set of grants will be awarded for projects in 2012. Grant applications will be due October 15. For more information, please check our website.

2011 Grant Recipients Celebrated at Town Hall

The 2011 Arlington Cultural Council Grant recipients were honored at a reception held at Arlington Town Hall on Monday April 11th, 2011.

2011 Grant Recipients Honored at Town Hall

Front Row: Shunsuke Yamaguchi and Alice Dungan Bouvrie

Second Row: Elena Dodd, Gail McCormick, Aimee Taberner, Gina Sonder, Doreen Stevens, Betsy Schramm, Aine Minogue

Back Row:  Shari Craig, Sarah Newcomb, Senator Ken Donnelly, Representative Will Brownsberger, Maryellen Loud, Diana Weisner, Angelika Festa

This year’s Arlington Cultural Council Grant recipients were honored at a reception held at Arlington Town Hall on Monday April 11th, 2011. Joined by Senator Ken Donnelly and Representative Will Brownsberger, recipients had a chance to meet the members of the Council and area residents interested in promoting arts and culture in Arlington. Selectman Clarissa Rowe announced the awardees, and gave a short description of their projects. A special highlight of the evening was the presentation of a Gold Star award to Betsy Schramm by Mass Cultural Council program coordinator Kylie Sullivan. The MCC’s Gold Star Awards, established in 2001, recognize exemplary cultural programs funded by local cultural councils (LCCs) throughout the state.

Upcoming performances by ACC grantees include Elena Dodd’s portrayal of Eleanor Roosevelt at the Arlington Senior Center on Friday, June 10 at 1pm, and two performances of Shakespeare in the Park this summer. For more details, see the ACC website at http://arlingtonculturalcouncil.wordpress.com

The Council is actively seeking new members to join the ACC beginning in September. Council members attend monthly meetings, serve as liaisons for grant recipients, and assist with various projects. This is a great way to get involved with arts and culture in Arlington. We are particularly seeking new members who may be interested in serving as treasurer, or working on publicity. If you are interested, learn more on our website, and contact us at arlingtonculturalcouncil@yahoo.com

2011 Grant Recipients

We are pleased to announce that the following artists and organizations have received funding in the 2011 Arlington Cultural Council grant cycle:

Le Cafe Francais, Gina Sonder,

AEC African Drum Project,  AEC,

The Silly Laughing Musical Fun Poetry Show, Robbins Library,

Tuba City Cultural Odyssey, Luke Jaffe,

Kamishibai (Japanese Puppet Theater), Shunsuke Yamaguchi

Songs Off the Walls: CD and Concert, Shari Craig,

Arlington and the Cultural Renaissance, Dallin Museum and Arlington Historical Society,

A Master Class and Concerts, Pasquale Tassone,

Our Fragile Earth, Gail McCormick,

Meet Eleanor Roosevelt, Arlington Seniors Association,

Celtic Lullabies, Aine Minogue,

Author-in-Residence & Literary Festival at Peirce Elem School, Jocelyn Willet,

Our Village of South Sudan, Sudanese Education Fund,

Shakespeare in the Parks – Revitalized, Arlington Center for the Arts,

Maasai Cultural Performance, Simba Maasai Outreach Organization,

Sol y Canto Latin Music Ensemble Performance at Town Hall, PASS Grant, Arlington Elem. PTOs,

A Trip to the Japanese House at Boston Children’s Museum, PASS Grant, Thompson School PTO,

Town Day News

TOWN DAY NEWS:

This Town Day, The Arlington Cultural Council in collaboration with the Arlington Center for the Arts and the Town Planning Department is staging a Public Art Expo in Lamson Way. The exhibit will consider Public Art in Arlington present and future.  How and where do you think public art can help us celebrate life in our town? Come learn about existing public art, share your ideas about what should come next, and help create a piece of temporary public art right in Lamson Way.

Please also visit 2010 Cultural Council grantee, Kendall Dudley, who will feature his work Postcards to Afghanistan:Contacting the Other Side. Passersby are invited to reflect on daily life in Afghanistan and then compose messages of support and concern for citizens that will be translated and sent to schools in Northern Afghanistan.  By offering a human face to both sides,  this project is aimed at opening the gates to further community-to-community contact. Look for Postcards to Afghanistan on Town Day in front of the First Parish Church, 630 Mass Ave, and also mark your calendars for Monday, November 15, when Kendall Dudley will present an interactive program on Afghan daily life at the Robbins Library, 7:00 – 9:00pm.

2010 Grant Recipients

ARLINGTON CULTURAL COUNCIL  2010 Grant Recipients

This year, the Arlington Cultural Council granted $10,000 to 20 applicants:
·         The Center for Cancer Support and Education for the publication and distribution of poetry and prose by the Writers’ Group for Cancer Survivors and Caregivers.
·         David Bates and Roger Tincknell for the presentation of the program “Earth Rhythms,” stories and songs celebrating and teaching environmental awareness and responsibility.
·         Richard Clark for his theatrical presentation of Ernest Hemingway’s life and literature scheduled to be performed for the Arlington COA on May 25, 2010.
·         Hands on History, Inc for their enrichment program on the lifeways of Continental Soldiers that will be presented to all of the Arlington elementary schools.
·         Yetti Frenkel for her 5-session, after-school poetry workshop,“The Anonymous Poet: a Poetry and Image-Making Adventure,” scheduled for March 2010 at the Robbins Library.
·         Arlington Center for the Arts for “Face It—Self Portraits by Teens,” an exhibit that will be mounted at the Gibbs Gallery at the Arlington Center for the Arts.
·         Cyrus E. Dallin Museum for the restoration of “My Mother,” a plaster bust made by Cyrus Dallin of his mother, Jane Hammer Dallin
·         Liz Buchanan for a multi-generational singalong event, “Making Music Across the Generations.”
·         Pierce Elementary School for the science enrichment program “Butterflies, Moths and their Caterpillars” by Arlington resident Darlyne Murawski.
·         Dena Ressler for her program, “Learn to Dance Klezmer Music,” that will teach attendees Yiddish Dance (the celebratory dances of Eastern European Jews) accompanied by klezmer music.
·         The Robbins Library for a summer writing program,“The Story of our Lives,” that is designed to bring together Arlington students and seniors to learn about each other.
·         A Couple of Redheads to support their March 2010 performance, “BROAD-ville: a Women’s Vaudeville Show,” featuring original comedy, music and art by Boston-area women.
·         Thompson Elementary School for a Martin Luther King celebration featuring jazz and poetry created by Thompson students.
·         Malong Malual for his documentary work (photographs, video and drawings) on his travels to South Sudan and an exhibition of this work.
·         Julie Leven for her “Viva Due Violin! Virtuoso, Vocal and Fiddling Extravaganza,” an interpretive musical program that is scheduled for May 14, 2010 as part of the Menotomy Concert Series.
·         Dallin School for West African drumming workshops for Dallin’s first grade students.
·         The Friends of Spy Pond Park for their Spy Pond festival, aimed at educating children about environmental systems in and around the pond by involving them in environmental art activities.
·         Music to Cure MS for assistance with their fundraising concert that brings classical singers and instrumentalists together to raise funds for the Accelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis.
·         Kendall Dudley for his cross-cultural “Postcards to Afghanistan” project that would involve a presentation about the daily life of women and children in Afghanistan, followed by a hands-on card-making event.
·         Too Human for their program entitled, “A Celebration of Song: The American Songbook and Beyond,” a musical act with vocals, guitar and percussion.

Heights Bus Depot Community Mural Project Wins the 2009 Gold Star Award!

The Arlington Cultural Council is proud to announce that during our reception celebrating the 2009 grant recipients there will be a special presentation of a 2009 Gold Star Award by the Massachusetts Cultural Council for the Arlington Heights Bus Depot Community Mural Project . This is a very special honor for exemplary projects funded by local cultural councils across the state. These projects celebrate diversity, foster collaboration, showcase artistic excellence, and provide learning experiences for people of all ages and backgrounds. The reception is Monday April 6, 6:00-7:30 at Town Hall in the 2nd floor conference room. Light refreshments will be served.

Last fall, a group of students from Dearborn Academy designed and painted Arlington’s first public mural under the direction of artists Tova Speter, Anyah Lee and LeeAnn Love and with the help of community members. Celebrating Arlington’s past and present, the mural highlights historical buildings and events including Paul Revere’s ride, the Old Schwamb Mill, Uncle Sam, and the old trolleys as well present day landmarks such as the Minuteman Bike Path and Spy Pond.

Students worked throughout September and October 2008 to paint the design they created during a series of workshops last year, and were joined by the general community who participated in a Community Painting Day in September. The mural was funded in part by a grant from the Arlington Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council as a project grant, and supported by the Town Manager’s office and the MBTA.

A mural dedication celebration took place Friday October 31 at the bus depot. Speakers included:
Daniel A. Grabauskas, General Manager, MBTA Sean Garballey, State Representative Sharon Shaloo, Arlington Cultural Council Howard Rossman, principal, Dearborn Academy Enrique Velasquez, student artist.