December brings to a close another successful year of working with our greatest partner--you! Whether you are an independent artist or scholar, CEO, or loyal arts patron, (or maybe all of the above), you play a major role in developing the vibrant culture that's come to be synonymous with Montgomery County living.
That vibrancy, that indescribable bubbling energy which enlivens our communities, is sparked by the cultivation of arts and humanities organizations and the individuals that support them. I believe that the cultural sector is good for our spirits, good for our County, and great for Montgomery County's economy.
If you believe this too, I ask that you consider making a donation to our annual fund.
Making a contribution is as easy as clicking the "donate" button on the upper right hand corner of our website, or clicking the button below:
Your support allows us to administer our grants programs (which has distributed over $4M in critical funds to Montgomery County's cultural sector) and launch programs and services (like power2give, The Non Profit Energy Alliance, and Market Power) that help the cultural sector grow, innovate, and thrive. These programs and services are sustained only through your support. Donate Today.
Thank you for keeping the arts and humanities alive in Montgomery County.
Happy Holidays,
Kudos & News
Kudos to our Award-Winning Public Art Guidelines!
We are thrilled to announce that the Public Art Guidelines, produced by the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County and the Maryland Capital Planning Commission earned the 2013 MarCom Gold Award in the Annual Report/Government Category!
The MarCom Awards is a global creative competition for any individual or company involved in the concept, writing and design of print, visual, audio and web materials and programs. Its one of the largest competitions of its kind in the world with about 6,000 entries per year.
The Montgomery County Public Art Guidelines outline the policies and procedures that assign responsibility and set goals for the county's public art collection. Molline Smith of Montgomery County Capital Planning and Michele Cohen, PhD of the Arts and Humanities Council developed these guidelines on behalf of the citizens and government of Montgomery County.
To learn more about Public Art in Montgomery County, visit our website or download the report here.
Kudos to Montgomery County Public Libraries
Mark your Calendars! Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL) has announced that the newly renovated Gaithersburg Library will celebrate its Grand Re-opening on Saturday, January 4, beginning at 9:30 a.m., with the ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. County Executive Ike Leggett and other elected officials will join MCPL and Department of General Services representatives and local residents to mark the re-opening of the library located at 18330 Montgomery Village Ave. Special programs, presented by the Friends of the Library, Montgomery County, Inc. and the Friends of the Library, Gaithersburg Chapter, will be held throughout the day. There also will be entertainment, refreshments and tours of the building.
Kudos to Montgomery County Scholar Joel Snyder
Joel Snyder, a long-time member of AEA, AFTRA, and SAG, and a recipient of a Montgomery County Executive Award, has just been awarded his Doctorate degree in "Accessibility and Ambient Intelligence" (audio description, a form of audiovisual translation, making images accessible to people who are blind) by the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. Snyder is the President of Takoma Park's Audio Description Associates, LLC, the Director of the American Council of the Blind's Audio Description Project, and a prolific worldwide audio description trainer. After 30 years' experience in the field, Dr. Snyder is pulling together the four years of work on his degree to publish "The Visual Made Verbal: A Comprehensive Training Manual and Guide to the History and Applications of Audio Description" in early 2014 under the American Council of the Blind's imprint.
Adventure Theatre MTC Raising Recovery Funds Through Holiday Concert
You may recall that nineteen performances of Adventure Theatre MTC's professional production Goodnight Moon were canceled from October 1-19, 2013 due to Adventure Theatre MTC being a resident of Glen Echo Park. Help Adventure Theatre MTC recover from losses suffered during the shutdown by supporting a one-night-only holiday concert by singer and stage performer Sandy Bainum on Sunday, December 8 at 7:30pm. All proceeds of this event will benefit Adventure Theatre MTC’s recovery.
Sandy, along with her band which includes Emmy-Award winning Lanny Meyers, will take the audience through holiday favorites, musical theater tunes, and her own tender holiday memories at Adventure Theatre MTC in Glen Echo Park. Tickets are $35 each and can be purchased online at www.adventuretheatre-mtc.org
The NonProfit Energy Alliance ( NPEA) Forms New Partnership with Groundswell
The Nonprofit Energy Alliance (NPEA) and Groundswell's new partnership will expand opportunities for nonprofits to acquire green energy at a reduced cost and with enhanced consumer protections. The partnership brings together NPEA and Groundswell’s group purchasing efforts. With Groundswell leading the group purchase efforts, NPEA will design and implement knowledge and capacity building programs that encourage more nonprofits to adopt environmentally sound best practices. Organizing for the first combined group purchase will begin in December. A leader in a rapidly growing field of clean energy suppliers, Groundswell works directly with local electricity suppliers to find the best options for clean power. Will Byrne, Groundswell’s Executive Director says, “Groundswell is excited to be partnering with NPEA to help more nonprofits learn about the financial and environmental benefits of switching to clean energy as a group.†Read More Here!
Fine Arts & Crafts Holiday Gift Show at the Sandy Spring Museum
Looking for a unique holiday gift? The Sandy Spring Museum Artisans, a group of nine artists who have studios at the museum, have finely crafted handmade items that will be exhibited and available for purchase through December 29th. See the works of these artisans at the special reception Sunday, December 7th from 11AM -3PM. Artists include quilter, Lauren Kingsland; silversmith EunJu Lee; painter Eileen Crowe; enamellist Sue Garten, and the members of Sandy Spring Clay Works, a potters cooperative. Works for sale include quilts, pillows, jewelry, and pottery such as plates, bowls, mugs, and pots. Artist Courtney Miller Bellairs will also be exhibiting and selling work from her show, I SEE, a body of work based entirely on artifacts from the Sandy Spring Museum collection. Her graphic and bold compositions are photo collages of spice tins, old toys, wedding dresses, and household goods, produced in limited edition giclee prints. Learn More.
The Maryland Federation of Art (MFA) 37th Annual Art on Paper
The Maryland Federation of Art invites all artists residing in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico to enter its Art on Paper competition. Original work created on or made from paper (including photography), meeting size requirements and following entry guidelines will be considered. The selected works will be on exhibit at MFA’s Circle Gallery.
Submission Deadline: January 15
Exhibit Dates: March 20 - April 20
Notification Date: February 13
Show Chair: Thyra Moore
Juror: Eric Denker, Senior Lecturer at National Gallery of Art, Curator of Prints and Drawings Corcoran College of Art + Design
Studio Space Needed
Photographer seeking temporary summer residence in Greater Washington Metro area to execute Jazz photo project. Secure, small, and furnished sublet ideal. Need lease to cover from May through August 2014. Contact tyronekenney@gmail.com for more information.
This year...
CAPACITY BUILDINGmore than $545,126 in savings for 68 Arts and Humanities nonprofits through The Nonprofit Energy Alliance.
ADVOCACY a new $5M capital improvement appropriation over the next five years.
INNOVATION over $40,000 raised for 24 different creative project across the County through power2give!
We cannot do this important work alone. Donate Today and support our efforts to lift the entire community.
power2give $40,000 Raised In First 6 Months
Power2give.org (p2g), a nonprofit crowd sourcing platform for arts and humanities organizations was launched by AHCMC in Montgomery County on June 12, 2013.Since that time, the platform has raised over $40,000 for the cultural community and funded 24 separate creative projects across the county! Helping to continue this success, Gary Rosethal recently became p2g’s fifth local matching sponsor, donating 50 cents to each power2give.org project for every dollar raised. Visit the site at www.power2give.org/MontgomeryCountyMD and see for yourself.
CULTURAL EXCHANGES on view at Kramer Gallery through February 7th!
CULTURAL EXCHANGES celebrates the diversity of Montgomery County and explores artistic crossfertilization. Nine artists - Fetunwork Amedie, Ann Becker, Sally Brucker, PierreAntoine Goho, Winston Harris, Shanye Huang, Pauline Jakosberg, Dawda Oliver,and Linda Slattery-Sherman - draw from rich artistic traditions from across the globe in this powerful new exhibition.
Acclaimed sculptor and stained glass artist Karl Unnasch's public art installation, a holiday tree made entirely of toys, is a bright new addition to Downtown Silver Spring! The holiday centerpiece located in the Fountain Plaza of Silver Spring, MD was unveiled on Nov. 16 in a Tree Lighting Celebration amidst hundreds of spectators, streamers and holiday music. Unnasch’s winning proposal was to create a nontraditional sculptural “holiday tree†comprised entirely of new and gently used outdoor-friendly toys and sporting goods which – in keeping with the holiday spirit - would be donated to less-fortunate area children following de-installation.
With its whimsical construction and bright colors, the tree – appropriately entitled Playtime Jubilee – has been said to have a “Dr. Seuss†feel. Boldly colored plastic sleds and play sets form the skin of the 35-foot-high tree, which is in turn thickly adorned with smaller toy forms as ornaments. The piece, however, becomes even more magical at night. Inspired by his stained glass work, Unnasch illuminated the plastic panels of the tree from within, causing the entire installation to glow in what he calls “rich and juicy colorsâ€.
“This sculptural holiday tree is an ingenious re-use of childhood’s leftovers…No matter the viewer’s age, Playtime Jubilee appeals to the child in all of us,†says Michele Cohen, Director of the AHCMC Public Art Trust. “It’s an enormous undertaking… I think the people who are passing by are in awe, frankly. They immediately respond to the humor of it and the fact that it’s such a fun thing… and then they understand the scale, and their jaws drop.â€Read More Here.
