Maryland State Arts

Applications are being accepted for grants from the Maryland State Arts Council's Non-Arts Organization Grant program.The program offers money to churches, libraries, community centers, schools and other nonprofit organizations for arts activities.The primary purpose of organizations that apply for these grants has to be other than the production or presentation of the arts.* Arts program grants are for continuing arts activities produced for general audiences in one of nine categories. The grants, which may provide as much as 10 percent of a project's budget, will be based on artistic merit, the organization's administrative performance and service to the community.

The state of Maryland will provide grants of up to $20,000 to cultural organizations hit by the recession. The initiative is being funded by a $318,600 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The stimulus money, administered by the Maryland State Arts Council under the Maryland Arts Employment Stabilization program, "will help us to sustain jobs in this vital industry, which is essential to the continued growth of Maryland's creative economy," Gov. Martin O'Malley said in a statement Wednesday.

Maryland Humanities Council, Maryland State Arts Council and Maryland Historical Trust will present a free workshop on funding opportunities in the arts and humanities from 1 p.m. to 4: 45 p.m. today at the Central Howard County Public Library, 10376 Little Patuxent Parkway in Columbia.The workshop, which is designed to help applicants gain access to grant money for programs in the arts and humanities, is open to individuals and organizations.Representatives from each organization will be available to meet individually with potential grant recipients.

In tough times, arts need support The arts community and the audiences we serve are grateful to The Baltimore Sun for Tim Smith's thoughtful analysis of the financial challenges we face ("Hard times for the arts," Nov. 23) and for the subsequent editorial "A gift of art" (Nov. 26), which noted, "In tough times, music, theater, dance and the visual arts offer a boost - and their patrons and supporters can come from all walks of life." Truer words were never spoken. Last year, 14 million people attended arts events in Maryland, many of them in Baltimore, the art epicenter of the state.

In a three-week program, Maria Anasazi, artist-in-residence at Thunder Hill Elementary School in Columbia, is teaching fifth-graders how to make "visual-sculptural" books. The pupils are using mixed-media techniques - including paper, fabric, paint, stamping and collage - to create their individual projects. A grant from the Maryland State Arts Council contributed $1,650 toward the program, and the Thunder Hill PTA matched that amount. A small group of pupils is also working to create six sculptural books, one representing each grade at Thunder Hill, to be on display permanently at the school.

Maryland's poet laureate since April 2001, award-winning poet, University of Maryland English professor and Bread Loaf Writers' Conference director Michael Collier is expected to step down from the post early next year. The search for his successor is under way. Nominations for the post are being accepted until Dec. 31. The state's poet laureate is an honorary position of the Maryland State Arts Council, a subdivision of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development Division of Tourism, Film and the Arts.

The Maryland State Arts Council's guidelines and applications for 1992 grants are available.Awards are based on artistic excellence and range from $2,500 to $6,000.The deadline for organizational applications is Friday, Jan. 18.Arts organizations may apply for general operating or special project grants.Other not-for-profit organizations, such as libraries, community groups and recreation centers, may request special project grants for cultural activities.Funding categories are children's events, dance, folk arts/heritage, literature, media, multidiscipline, music, theater and visual arts.

Five Howard County artists have been selected to receive individual artist awards from the Maryland State Arts Council. The five are among 87 Maryland artists, representing eight artistic disciplines, who were awarded a total of $200,000. James A. Adkins (visual arts: two-dimensional), Edward Brown (visual arts: two-dimensional), Ivy H. Goodman (fiction), Elizabeth Mary Larson (fiction) and Jessica Mendels (media) each will receive $1,000. Participants were judged in the categories of fiction, media, solo dance performance, solo instrumental performance, solo theatrical performance, solo vocal performance and visual arts.

Dance company names new officersThe Ballet Theatre of Annapolis has announced its new officers for 1993-94.Susan Davies is the new president of the board of trustees, succeeding Bettze Libson who will continue to serve on the board. Tom Saquella is the administrative vice president; Cynthia Stiverson, vice president; Stoddard Knowles, treasurer; Jan Rutherford, assistant treasurer; and John Menocal, technical director. Linda Lamone continues as secretary.New board members are Deborah Potter, Laurie Putscher, Bob Agee and Paul Serini.

Nominees sought for volunteer award Nominations are being accepted for the Richard H. Carter Memorial Award, which will be presented to an outstanding volunteer at the Glen Burnie Memorial Day Parade on May 18. A $299 donation will be made to the charity of the winner's choice. The Glen Burnie Improvement Association's annual award honors the late Richard H. Carter Nominees must reside in ZIP codes 21060 or 21061 and must have performed a variety of volunteer services. They must have served the greater Glen Burnie community as volunteers, not as part of a job. Those who have previously received the award and members of the award committee are ineligible.

After 10 years of performing The Nutcracker at Jim Rouse Theatre in Columbia, the Howard County Ballet is moving its popular holiday tradition to Reservoir High School. The price tag was too high and funding too scarce to use the Rouse Theatre this year, said the ballet's director, Kathi Ferguson. She also has cut back on staffing and looked for ways to reduce overhead, and plans a smaller dance concert than usual in the spring. Like many other segments of society, local arts organizations are feeling the squeeze of the tough economy.

Joseph "Marty" Descoteaux and his fianc?e, Jene Barsh, were among the first to embrace the idea of an arts and entertainment district in Annapolis. Envisioning renting units in their home to artists and creating space for performances or for art to be sold, they spoke out at city council meetings and traversed their Germantown-Homewood neighborhood, getting 40 people to sign a petition in support of establishing the arts district.The couple thought victory was near when the city and county councils this spring endorsed joining the state-administered program, which offers tax credits to developers who create combination living and working space for artists; tax credits on the work they sell; and an exemption for the admissions and amusement tax. But state officials, after touring the stretch of West Street, home to car dealerships, a Gold's Gym and a library, decided it would not work as an arts destination.

Annapolis officials are seeking to transform outer West Street into an arts and entertainment district of music venues, art galleries and theaters that would draw art-based businesses and artists with tax breaks. The goal is to revitalize the 100 acres from Monticello Avenue to Chinquapin Round Road, now known for its car dealerships, homes, law offices and restaurants, and extend the traditional downtown area for visitors. Mayor Ellen O. Moyer, a longtime booster of the arts, plans to introduce to the city council next week legislation that would formally begin the process.

Do whatever it takes to fund arts, schools Whatever it takes. That's what I thought when I learned that the Maryland State Arts Council could be abolished and that small liberal arts colleges are on the brink of losing state funds in our budget crisis. Whatever it takes to keep these funding sources intact is exactly what state legislators should do ("Tax plan changes urged," Nov. 1). Gov. Martin O'Malley's "Cost of Delay" budget would abolish the Maryland State Arts Council and its $16 million budget, which would eliminate assistance to hundreds of local arts organizations and individual artists like me. The governor's proposal would also put the Sellinger program in jeopardy.

THE ARTS ARE LIKE A MIXED BED OF VEGetables and flowers. Not only are they a delight to the senses, they are chock full of stuff that's good for you. And, by most measures, Maryland in 2006 produced a plentiful harvest.

In a three-week program, Maria Anasazi, artist-in-residence at Thunder Hill Elementary School in Columbia, is teaching fifth-graders how to make "visual-sculptural" books. The pupils are using mixed-media techniques - including paper, fabric, paint, stamping and collage - to create their individual projects. A grant from the Maryland State Arts Council contributed $1,650 toward the program, and the Thunder Hill PTA matched that amount. A small group of pupils is also working to create six sculptural books, one representing each grade at Thunder Hill, to be on display permanently at the school.

Arts programs across the county received a boost this week from nearly $320,000 in state grants recommended by the Maryland State Arts Council. The local grants are among $9.6 million in arts awards statewide announced by Gov. Parris N. Glendening - an increase of nearly $1.9 million for the Maryland State Arts Council over those for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. Awards for individual county programs ranged from $55,973 for Maryland Hall...

Tricia L. Thomas receives alumni awardTricia L. Thomas is the recipient of Mount St. Mary's College's Distinguished Young Alumni Award.Ms. Thomas was selected for the award for setting an example for graduating seniors that hard work, study and perseverance can lead to a successful career.Ms. Thomas, who received a bachelor of science degree in 1984, is manager of the audit department at Coyne & McClean, a certified public accounting and management consultant firmwith offices in Bel Air and Towson.

A memorial service for David P. Hilton, a poet and retired Anne Arundel Community College English professor, will be held at 11 a.m. May 15 at the pavilion in Wilmer Park in Chestertown. Mr. Hilton, who was 67, died of complications from prostate cancer April 7 at his Chestertown home. Born in Oakland, Calif., Mr. Hilton earned an associate of arts degree from Oakland Junior College and then served in the Army. After his 1964 discharge, he earned a bachelor of arts degree from San Jose State University and a master's degree from what was then California State College at Hayward, and studied as a doctoral candidate at the University of Wisconsin.

Creating a piece of art can be an intensely personal experience. And having it critiqued - in front of other artists, no less - takes courage. About 50 local artists displayed that courage last week when they attended the Harford Artists Association's annual critique, held at the Bel Air Library. They came bearing all manner of art, including watercolors, acrylic paintings, photographs and digitally created works, and placed them on the floor, table or wall at the front of the meeting room where they would be critiqued by Jeffrey Reed, a landscape artist and teacher from Philadelphia.