Connecting with the Arts – July 2023
Welcome back to the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County’s monthly blog series, Connecting with the Arts, where we feature news and updates from the arts community in Anne Arundel County. Tune in the last Friday of each month to connect and learn more about the arts organizations that are making an impact locally.
Here’s a look into this month’s post:
DEIA Conference at Chesapeake Art Center.
Workshop and more at Arts Lab of South County.
Exhibits presented by Maryland Federation of Art
2023 DEIA IN THE ARTS CONFERENCE
August 17th | 9 AM – 4:30 PM
Check-in: 8 AM
The Arts Council of Anne Arundel County is committed to advancing and modeling equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in all of our programs and services and those of our grantees. We are dedicated to embracing equity and non-discrimination regardless of race, religious creed, color, age, gender expression, sexual orientation, class, language, and/or ability.
In 2021, the Board of Directors of the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County developed a strategic plan to incorporate the principles of DEIA into every aspect of the organization’s programming and operations. This document outlines ACAAC’s key strategies to expand outreach to underserved sectors of our community and provide our stakeholders with the tools and resources they need to integrate DEIA into their own organizational cultures.
2023 Annie Award Applications Open
In 2000, the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County first publicly recognized six exceptional Annie Award winners for their lasting, significant, and inspiring contributions to an art form, an arts organization and/or to the wider community of Anne Arundel County.
This year will mark the 23rd annual presentation of these prestigious arts awards honoring one member of the Anne Arundel County community in each of nine categories: Arts Education, Arts Leadership, Arts Maverick, Arts Patron, Historic Arts, Literary Arts, Performing Arts, Visual Arts, and Lifetime Achievement in the Arts.
Start thinking about who you will nominate for 2023! Applications deadline August 10th . To review the program guidelines and begin your nomination, go here.
Words on the Thirds Arts Lab’s Words on the Thirds poetry workshop continues. Participants had a lovely time wandering the rural outdoors of Arts Lab during a plein air poetry writing experience in July. The next workshop will be held on August 16th from 6-8:30pm and will lean into the theme, “Fire.” Words on the Thirds is held on the third Wednesday of each month and is open to all who want to know more about words and how to use them. August marks our fourth workshop in a year-long series. Participants who attend at least 6 Words on the Thirds workshops will have the opportunity to be paired with an Arts Lab artist, and together they will collaborate to create a work of art that incorporates original poetry. These collaborative artworks will be displayed in a publication and an exhibition that will open in June of 2024.
Tickets Here
Arts Lab Mural Project Imagine a piece of Public Art in South County! Something that inspires the viewer and speaks to the rich history and culture of this part of Maryland… Arts Lab has received a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) to fund planning for the first public art mural in Southern Anne Arundel County. A Steering Committee is being formed which will help engage the community, spread the word, obtain financial support, make decisions about placement and design as well as artist selection. We will be reaching out to a wide range of local constituencies to hear their desires for this project. If you would like to learn more or participate in this project please send a note to [email protected]. Thank you MSAC! To discover more about the Maryland State Arts Council and how they impact Maryland, visit msac.org.
Kay Fuller and Janet Ewing MFA at Paul’s Homewood Café August 1 – End of October Kay Fuller is a multi-media artist who creates expressionistic figurative works that are a reflection of her innermost thoughts and feelings, inspired by intuitive urges and exploration of color, shape, and textures. Color is used as an emotional tool for expression, with a focus on texture, composition, and depth. Janet Ewing grew up in Annapolis surrounded by art and artists. Her work for this show reflects that as many of the paintings in this exhibition were inspired by boats sailing on the waters surrounding Annapolis. See Fuller and Ewing’s work at Paul’s through the end of October. Visit mdfedart.com/pauls to learn more about the artists.
Studying the natural world and its elements has been essential to society and science today. Without these studies, herbal remedies would’ve never grown to become the pharmaceutical drugs we use today, essential agriculture techniques would have never become more than farming near rivers, and astronomy would still be stuck in Aristotle’s Cosmic model, with only the idea of planets moving in a circular shape around the heavens. When in art, the earth’s natural elements still have great influence. Landscape paintings are the most well-known visual of artists connection to the elements, but artists do so much more with the elements. Elemental: Earth, Fire, Water, Air 2023 is an exhibition that focuses on this relationship between elements and artists. Juror Richard Niewerth selected 62 pieces by 55 artists showcasing artists’ use of and representation of the elements. Visit mdfedart.com/portfolio/296 to see the show through Sept 30. Awards will be announced Sept 1 at 5 PM.
Eye of the Beholder 2023 MFA Circle Gallery Inspiration can come from anywhere. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure, or in this case, the beginning of a found object assemblage artwork. Eye of the Beholder: The Art of the Found Object is a biennial found object art exhibition now in its eighth year. This exhibition will showcase fine art constructed from ordinary, everyday objects that have been scavenged and repurposed into art by the artist. Works selected by juror Toni-Lee Sangastiano will be exhibited in MFA’s Circle Gallery from Jul 26 – Aug 26, 2023. There will be a closing reception Aug 26 at Circle Gallery from 4 – 6 PM. Visit mdfedart.com/portfolio/293/ for more information.
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