Proud to Call it Home

One reason we like coming to the Bayou Boogaloo so much is the genuine affection the organizers and attendees have for New Orleans culture. Last night, I talked to people from North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Quebec and of course Virginia, all of them absolutely nuts for New Orleans and our culture. Keep in mind this is a relatively small festival. About 15,000 people are expected over the weekend. This isn't Jazz Fest, this isn't French Quarter Fest, and yet for the people who love New Orleans, it's a fantastic time. When you have fans like these, it makes us proud to represent New Orleans, and we're going to give them a great show!

In Norfolk

After a smooth, relatively quick 20 hour bus ride, we arrived in norfolk yesterday around noon. After set up and well deserved shower time, we headed over to the artist welcome reception. The last three year's, this party has been called the Hurricane Relief party, and I think it's worth noting that, without prompting, the Norfolk folks have changed the name to artist welcome. Another milestone passed!

Lovely party featuring Terrence Simien and lots of kegs of Abita beer trucked up from the piney woods. Plus boiled crawfish! Not half bad either. Raised some money for the Arts Council, and met lots of people who love New Orleans. Fest starts in earnest today. Here's the line-up.

Arts Council brings artists to Norfolk Bayou Boogaloo

Linda Lesperance loading her work to head to Norfolk

Once again this year, the Arts Council is bringing 24 local artists to the 20th Annual Bayou Boogaloo and Cajun Festival in Norfolk, VA. The Boogaloo runs July 30 to August 2 at Town Point Park in the heart of the city, and along with these top visual artists, features Louisiana musicians such as Dr. John, Bonerama, The Radiators and more.

The result of many months of planning and coordinating between the Arts Council of New Orleans and Norfolk Festevents, this “take-the-show-on-the-road” trip is part of the Arts Council’s aggressive strategy for promoting the cultural economy of New Orleans while providing viable avenues for artists to bring their creative works to the marketplace.

The artists leave by bus on Wednesday July 29th from the Arts Council. Follow our trip via our blog or follow us on Twitter.

Arts Council of New Orleans Recieves National Endowment for the Arts Recovery Grant

Recovery Grant to create new funding opportunities for local arts and cultural organizations.

The Arts Council of New Orleans today announces its selection as a $250,000 grant recipient from the National Endowement for the Arts (NEA) as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Arts Council of New Orleans is amoung the 631 nonprofit arts organizations awarded the one-time grant from the NEA to preserve jobs in the nonprofit sector that are in jeopardy due to the recent economic downturn.

The Arts Council of New Orleans applied for NEA funding to regratn to regional arts and cultural organizations. NEA funds will create a one-time grant opportunity to support salaries of positions at risk, or those that have been eliminated as a result of economic challenges, which are critical to the organizations's artistic mission. Grants can also be applied for to expand a period that previously engaged artists or contractual personnel will be employed by arts organizations.

"The Arts Council applied for NEA funds to fill a critical need within the arts community, retaining staff as budgets are tightened," Interim President and CEO of the Arts Council Mary Len Costa said. "We appreciate the opportunity to provide additional financial assistance to arts organizations across the greater New Orleans community. However, the need to support our cultural institutions continues to be great. We need locals to continue investing their time, energy and finances into supporting the arts and cultural organizations as we continue to face economic challenges."

Additional Louisiana arts councils that recieved NEA Recovery Grant Funds to regrant to their respective constituents include the Arts Council of Baton Rouge, Inc. and the Shreveport Regional Arts Council. New Orleans area arts organizations that received a NEA Recovery Grant include Friends of A Studio in the Woods, Junebug Productions, Inc., Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, National Performance Network, Inc. New Orleans Ballet Association, Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival, Inc. University of New Orleans, Xavier University of Louisiana and Young Aspirations/ Young Artists, Inc. The Lafayette-based organization Louisiana Folk Roots, Inc. also recieved funding.

In total, the NEA awarded $29.75 million across the country in this second round of grants from the stimulus package. It previously awarded 63 state and regional first round grant submissions in April, totalling $19.8 million. In this third round of grants, thirteen arts organizations in Louisiana were awarded gratns totaling $1,175,000.

Arts Council of New Orleans Awards Grants Totaling $508,406

The Arts Council is pleased to announce grants awarded through the Louisiana Decentralized Arts Funding Program. A total of $508,406 has been awarded to 97 recipients in Orleans, Jefferson, and Plaquemines Parishes. Decentralized funding supports arts and cultural activities through Operating Support, Project Assistance, and Technical Assistance grants. Grant-sponsored activities will take place October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009. Decentralized grants are made possible with state funding through the Louisiana Division of the Arts, under the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism.

Decentralized awards in Orleans Parish include 40 Project Assistance grants to organizations and individuals doing community arts projects and nine Technical Assistance grants that enable organizations to hire professional consultants or partake of arts program-related educational or professional opportunities. Also included in this grant cycle is the second year renewal of 16 two-year Operating Support grants to Orleans-based arts and cultural organizations.

Notable first-time project grant recipients in Orleans Parish include: Children's Hospital - for a music education and performance series for patients and their families featuring performances of Delfeayo Marsalis's "Swinging with the Cool School" and performances by other local musicians; CubaNOLA Arts Collective - for the Vecinos Series of concerts and gatherings at neighborhood venues to bring together new Latin American residents and established New Orleanians for music by international and local musicians and for food and dancing; Rashida Ferdinand - for a ceramics guild program for young people in the Lower Ninth Ward including intensive instruction and opportunities for participants to sell their creations in the community; Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans - for a 7th Ward digital storytelling project that includes training for neighborhood participants and a new media festival which will present and archive the stories of 7th Ward residents; New Orleans Fringe, Inc. - for the first New Orleans Fringe Festival featuring comedy, dance, drama, performance art, puppetry, and spoken word performed at an array of venues in Bywater; St. Louis Cathedral - for a series of concerts presenting internationally-acclaimed organists performing a range of pipe organ music; and Jan Villarrubia - for the production of Whispering Bones, a community-based, collaborative performance piece examining racism and the role of black domestics in white households.

Decentralized awards in Jefferson Parish include 22 Project Assistance grants and one Technical Assistance grant. Five two-year Operating Support grants to Jefferson-based arts and cultural organizations were renewed.

Notable project grant recipients in Jefferson Parish include: Grand Isle Community Development Team - for the 7th annual regional juried art exhibition established to raise awareness of coastal erosion of Louisiana's only inhabited barrier island and the surrounding wetlands; Anita Kulkarni - for workshops in classical Indian music and classical Indian dance and a concert featuring both; Moscow Nights - for An Evening with Anton Chekov, a theater production featuring three Chekov plays; St. Jerome Church - for an after-school dance and drumming program for a mostly Latino student population; and the West Bank Art Guild - for a series of hands-on visual arts workshops for area adults, children and seniors. Eleven school-based projects in Jefferson Parish received funding for arts-in-education activities.

In Plaquemines Parish, four Decentralized Project Assistance grants were awarded. Belle Chasse Academy, Belle Chasse Primary School, and Boothville-Venice Elementary School received funding for arts-in-education activities. Plaquemines Parish Library was awarded a grant to present a series of guest artists as part of its Summer Reading Program.

The Arts Council of New Orleans is one of nine regional agencies in the state that administers the Decentralized Arts Funding Program. Funding is allocated to each parish in the state on a per capita basis, giving each parish the opportunity to develop arts and cultural programming that meets local needs. The Arts Council of New Orleans uses a community-based panel review process involving over 35 volunteers. Panels of community representatives who have arts expertise and diverse community knowledge recommend grant awards. A narrative list of all Decentralized (DAF) grant recipients in this cycle is attached to this email as is a WORD document of this press release.


About the Arts Council of New Orleans:
The Arts Council of New Orleans is a private, non-profit organization designated by the City of New Orleans as its official arts agency. Now in its 33rd year, the Arts Council works in partnership with the City of New Orleans, community groups, local, state, and national governmental agencies, and other nonprofit arts organizations to meet the arts and cultural needs of the New Orleans community through a diversity of initiatives and services. The Arts Council also administers the Community Arts Grants and the Percent For Art program for the City of New Orleans.

Artist Opportunity: New Orleans Fringe Festival

We are looking for artists to design and create promotional mannequins and venue banners for the New Orleans Fringe Festival on November 13-16. We will organize materials and volunteers to help if necessary, so the earlier we plan it out, the better. If you are interested, please contact ben@nofringe.org and specify that you are an artist. Visit www.nofringe.org for more details.
THANKS!!!
ben@nofringe.org

JPAS Children’s Apprentice Chorus Sign-up NOW through September 8

Jefferson Performing Arts Society announces sign-ups for its Children’s Apprentice Chorus through September 8. The Children’s Apprentice Chorus is open to children in first and second grades. No audition necessary. Please call Lynne at 504.885.2000 ext. 211 or email lynne@jpas.org to sign your child up. Space is limited.

The JPAS Children’s Apprentice Chorus holds rehearsals for the 2008-2009 school year on Saturday afternoons beginning in September at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School, 4119 St. Elizabeth Drive in Kenner. A parent/guardian must attend all rehearsals. The Apprentice Chorus focuses on music education, introduction to choral singing and fun with music.

More about the JPAS Children’s Chorus and Youth Chorale:

The Jefferson Performing Arts Society Children's Chorus and Youth Chorale have been cultivating young voices in song for over 20 years. The JPAS children’s choirs welcome singers who want to develop their singing skills, explore different genres of music, and have fun performing for others. Each year the choirs perform throughout Jefferson and Orleans and often tour to regional and national festivals. Programs include seasonal music, art music of the masters, contemporary hits, Broadway show tunes, traditional choral works, and folk classics. The choral repertoire performed is selected to teach, challenge, and motivate the students. Choir Director Mary Lou Fuenzalida is a Kodály-certified teacher and has been directing award-winning choirs for over twenty years.

More about Jefferson Performing Arts Society:

The Jefferson Performing Arts Society is a non-profit arts organization dedicated to artistic and cultural enrichment for the Gulf South since 1978. Our mission is to support, produce and promote the performing arts in Jefferson and its surrounding areas.

Through the efforts of the Jefferson Performing Arts Society, Jefferson Parish has been turned into an artistic gateway for the Gulf South. Collaborations with Tulane University's Amistad Research Center, the Houma Terrebonne Civic Center, the Gulf Coast Performing Arts at the Saenger Theatre in Biloxi, and national and international organizations, such as the French Consulate, Korean Society, Consulate General of Japan, and Habitat for Humanity, establish JPAS a regional leader in multi-cultural programming and outreach.