CT ARTISTS RESPOND GRANTS
Grant Application Deadline May 4,2020, 11:59pm
Funded by the CT Office of the Arts
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Call for artists to create teaching videos through the CT Artists Respond Grants
Send inquiries by April 28, 2020 to submit proposals for consideration for teaching videos for Bridgeport youth to clgallerybpt@gmail.com to provide ample time to meet 5/4/20 grant deadline.
Bridgeport Art Trail would like to offer our assistance to help artists fill out their grant application forms and will consider proposals from artists interested in working with City Lights/Bridgeport Art Trail school program. Artists need to apply for funds from CT Artists Respond Grants and submit proposals for consideration to be included in the City Lights/Bridgeport Art Trail arts integration and enrichment programs. In 2019 City Lights programs and services disseminated $80,000 to local artists and creatives. By collaborating with CL/BAT together we can sustain and grow these work opportunities for artist and enrichment opportunities to serve the community, especially our Bridgeport youth. To prepare a competitive grant and work with CL/BAT please reach out to clgallerybpt@gmail.com by April 28, 2020.
See CL/BAT Outreach Programs.
Decisions for the CT Artists Respond Grants will be made by the CT Office of the Arts. However, by working with City Lights/Bridgeport Art Trail we hope to provide future work opportunities through arts enrichment programs both online and in places where people naturally congregate, (post Covid-19).
To collaborate with City Lights/Bridgeport Art Trail send inquiries to clgallerybpt@gmail.com by April 28, 2020 to provide ample time to submit grant application for May 4, 2020 deadline.
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CT OFFICE OF THE ARTS ANNOUNCES
TWO NEW EMERGENCY GRANTS FOR ARTISTS
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GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR CONNECTICUT ARTISTS IMPACTED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
APPLY NOW! - MAY 4 DEADLINE
DECD’s Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA) has created two new grant programs for artists negatively impacted by the coronavirus. One is a general relief grant that may be used for any kind of relief; grantees will be randomly selected from the pool of eligible applicants. The other is project-based artist compensation for the creation and presentation of free and accessible on-line arts-based experiences, learning opportunities and services.
1. The Connecticut Artists Relief Fund provides $500 grants to some 120 individual artists and teaching artists who live in the state and whose creative practices and incomes are being adversely impacted by the safety measures put into place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The grant is partly funded by the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA).
2. The Connecticut Artists Respond Grant helps artists translate and present their art virtually. Individual or collaborative artists who create, or have created, projects that respond to the needs of the times by presenting arts activities, classes or other creative experiences online, at no cost to the public, will be eligible for $1,000 (individual) or $2,000 (collaborative) grants.
Artists may apply for only one of these two grants
Deadline: May 4, 2020; Notification May 18 - May 25, 2020.
Artists provide inspiration, connection, education, and so much more, and these programs provide funding for artists at a time when the creative sector is needed most. Applications will be accepted for both programs through May 4, 2020. For specific questions, artists may contact Tamara Dimitri at tamara.dimitri@ct.gov and teaching artists may contact Bonnie Koba at bonnie.koba@ct.gov.
Content by The Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County
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Remembering Bridgeport Born Actor Brian Dennehy
Tribute by Joe Meyers
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Brian Dennehey, "proud of his working-class Bridgeport and Naugatuck Valley roots", photo from CT Post, T. Charles Erickson
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“Larger than life...but down to earth.”
That assessment of Brian Dennehy in a Valley Independent story last week captured the essence of the great actor, and Bridgeport native, better than anything else I read after he died April 15.
Dennehy often said his imposing size was a bit of a detriment when he was first starting out as an actor - he tended to be typecast as villains or boozy athletes - but over the years he used that physical heft as a striking contrast to the often pitiful and damaged men he loved to play.
The actor was proud of his working class roots in Bridgeport and the Naugatuck Valley. He also had a great respect for newspapers and journalists because his dad was a hard-working Associated Press reporter for most of his life.
When I interviewed Dennehy many times over the years - as a Connecticut Post arts reporter - he always made it clear that he valued local journalism. Dennehy paid tribute to the profession with a powerhouse performance as the editor Walter Burns in a wonderful production of the classic newsroom comedy “The Front Page” at New Haven’s Long Wharf Theatre in the early 1980s.
As much as he enjoyed the work he did in movies and television, Dennehy’s first love was theater. Even during his busiest movie and TV times, the actor would always find a way to do stage work in New York City and in Chicago, where he collaborated with the most important director of his career - Robert Falls, the artistic director of the Goodman Theatre.
It was a Robert Falls production of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” that travelled from Chicago to Broadway in 1999, earning Dennehy the first of his two Tony awards. They teamed up again a few years later for Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” which became the hottest Broadway ticket of 2003, with Dennehy and co-star Vanessa Redgrave both winning Tonys.
After that triumph, Dennehy decided to make theater his top priority for whatever time he had left. (A heart attack during his “Death of a Salesman” run served as a wake up call).
The actor doubled down on his commitment to tackling major stage roles in Chicago and New York and at the festival theater in Stratford, Ontario.
Connecticut audiences became the beneficiaries of Dennehy’s final phase when he teamed up with Gordon Edelstein at Long Wharf Theatre for great productions of O’Neill’s “Hughie” and two devilishly difficult plays by Samuel Beckett, “Krapp’s Last Tape” and “Endgame.”
The last time I interviewed Dennehy - just before “Endgame” opened in 2017 - he said he thought it might be his final “big one” because he was playing such a complicated and physically taxing role in his late 70s.
“(That’s) why I’m doing it,” he said of the challenges posed by Beckett’s bleak, nonlinear tragicomedy.
At the time, I urged Dennehy to write a memoir, but he shut me down.
“I’m an actor, not a writer,” he said. “Sure, I’ve had an eventful life, but a relatively normal one. I’ve done right things and wrong things. Actors get too much attention anyway. The real stars are Beckett and O’Neill and Miller — the people whose work we’re doing. I’m just dancing to their music.”
As far as the difficulty of “Endgame” went, Dennehy was characteristically forthright.
“What the hell? I’ve spent my whole life shooting the dice. Why should I stop at this point? ... They can’t put you in jail for bad acting.”
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Bridgeport Art Trail thanks Joe Meyers, best known and respected as the Arts Feature Writer for the CT Post and Director of Programming for Focus on French Film. Thanks, Joe for sharing your rich insight from multiple interviews and years of viewing the work of Brain Dennehey, both on film and stage.
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BRIDGEPORT ART TRAIL ARTISTS DURING THE CORONAVIRUS/COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Here is a review featuring some of the artists who, like all of us have been affected by the social distancing protocol. They have lost income but they are still making art and living creative lives.
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"EYE FOR ART" GUEST CONTRIBUTOR DOLORES DEGAGE FEATURES BRIDGEPORT ARTIST LIZ SQUILLACE
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Bridgeport Art Trail introduces guest contributor Dolores Degage "Eye for Art", who scours the social media and internet landscape for arts features to help you stay connected to greater Bridgeport art scene while we are distant during Covid-19 pandemic.
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Like many artists and creatives Liz is still churning out work, being creative during the extraordinary time of Covid-19
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Black and White series by Bridgeport artist Liz Squillace
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Why did you choose these musicians as subject matter?
“I chose to paint Tom Waits, Tom Petty, and Leonard Cohen with their lyrics because the words resonated with me at this time of quarantine during the Covid-19 crisis. Joni Mitchell is another musician I love whom I had painted years ago.”
Why monochromatic?
“I painted the portraits in black and white to simplify the process of color selection. Because I was working on several paintings at once, I could use the same limited palette for each one to paint when the moment struck me.”
How has COVID-19 isolation effected your artistic routine?
“I find myself being more resourceful about materials I have in the studio. Mostly, I’ve been making paintings while isolating in the studio versus working on more commercial work now that the economy seems to be on pause.”
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ABOUT LIZ SQUILLACE
Artist Liz Squillace lives and works in Bridgeport, CT. She earned her BFA from Rhode Island School of Design. She also participated in the copyist program at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She is a City Canvas Grant recipient for a large scale mural at the Bridgeport Train Station and a Regional Initiative Grant recipient for the Painted Stairway of the Broad Street Steps. Liz began a grassroots public art campaign in 2005 transforming utility boxes into works of art in Stamford, CT that was featured in the New York Times. She continued the enterprise in Bridgeport completing 50 hand-painted utility boxes including one in Amsterdam. Liz is the owner of Paradox Ink, screenprinting and murals, with a studio/storefront located in the Arcade Mall.
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ARTIST FEATURE: ALICIA COBB
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My name is Alicia Cobb. I am a full time visual artist and arts educator residing in Bridgeport, CT. I am best known for body art but I also paint murals, canvas, clothing etc. I began my professional art career part time in 2009. I went full time in January, 2015.
How have you been impacted by COVID-19/closures due to social-distancing restrictions
March 11th was my last physical day of work outside of my home. I had just been hired one month prior as an art instructor with Lifebridge Urban Scholars program in Bridgeport, CT. In addition to Lifebridge, I have contracts in place with several other CT organizations to teach art to youth groups. Arts education has been my primary source of income as a full time artist for the last two years. Outside of this stream, I offer private & group instruction, I take commissions and I do a lot in the community. All of this has come to a halt or shifted since COVID-19 hit.
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"Being an artist is easy, I was born this way. Being an artist in a society that doesn’t see it as an essential job is tough at times."- Alicia Cobb
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What challenges do you currently face as an artist?
The biggest challenge I am currently facing and quite frankly have always faced as an artist is financial challenges. When contracts are coming to an end, there is usually time to prepare. Land another contract or gig. Pick up a commission or another opportunity. The challenge is the ability to maintain my daily costs of living. The hope that I will be able to hold on to my apartment, my modest studio space for work. Food, insurance, vehicle maintenance, gas. You know, the everyday things we all have to deal with. Being an artist is easy, I was born this way. Being an artist in a society that doesn’t see it as an essential job is tough at times.
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What motivates or inspires you during this time?
What motivates me is art & helping others. These are gifts that I’ve had since I was born. The ability to utilize the gift of art and creation to guide and help others right now is beautiful. Purpose is motivating me right now. I feel like I am really starting to understand this valuable gift that I’ve been given and how to help others with it.
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Have you experienced any positive or interesting creative developments during this time?
Yes, at the very beginning of the quarantine, I saw parents on my timeline posting about struggles homeschooling children who are not ordinarily homeschooled. I teach art to kids regularly so I decided to offer a free art class on my art page on Facebook live. It was only supposed to be one class but I enjoyed it so much, I did a second and third class. I just finished my fifth week teaching for free Monday through Friday online. I’ve developed a class of devoted students who come every day. I average 25 to 30 students from all over the world. The US, India, Amsterdam, Canada, Russia. I had no idea it would turn into my daily motivation. Class if free but I share links to my PayPal & cash app in case people are able to give. Parents have donated to me out of gratitude which has been very helpful in keeping food on the table. I’ve also booked a few virtual private classes because of this class.
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What are you hopes for “what’s next”?
There is no way of know what’s next. I’d like more than anything to enjoy what’s now because it’s what we’ve got. I hope for good health and survival of this pandemic. I hope to continue to grow as an artist and human being. I hope that the world starts to be more present and see the value in the little things; the things that were passed by or missed before. I hope that we begin to understand that all workers are essential, especially those who are finally being seen. I hope they are valued & compensated accordingly. I hope to continue my career as an artist and arts educator. I hope that my children who are not children anymore find their way in the world. More than anything, I hope that we heal.
Alicia Cobb ~ Art Simplicated
The Nest Studio #1, 1720 Fairfield Ave.
Bridgeport, CT 06605
www.ArtSimplicated.com
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ARTIST FEATURE: SCOTT SCHULDT
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I am a self-taught artist. My work is very content driven with detailed multi-layered ideas and concepts imbedded in the work. Thematically, I work with environmental issues, archaeology, natural sciences, history, social and political issues. I will use any medium that I can figure out. I am probably best known for my bead embroidery, but I also work in drawing, photography, installations, sculpture, video and mapmaking. I exhibited for the first time in 2003 and that piece was purchased by the Museum of Art and Design a year later. I have work in the Seattle, King County, WA and Norwalk Community College art collections.
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How have you been impacted by COVID-19/closures due to social-distancing restrictions?
I currently have one piece sealed up in a group show. Two other group shows were canceled. I declined a small art hanging job because the risk didn’t make sense to me.
What challenges do you currently face as an artist?
Right now, staying healthy is the primary concern.
What motivates or inspires you during this time?
I am 15 months into a very large bead embroidery work with at least a couple more months to go...I always have something to do. Work in progress “Trade Route”. 37x55 inches, bead embroidery.
I also hike and canoe a few times each week- that is my spiritual place. I have a journal blog that has an entry for every one of the days (nearing the 1000 mark) I have canoed since 2008.
What are your hopes for “what’s next”?
I don’t really think that way. I tend to adapt to where I find myself. I have full confidence that artists will come together and figure out the art related problems and issues once the pandemic subsides. Most artists tend to be excellent team players.
Scott Schuldt – Artist
http://www.scottschuldt.com/
canoepost.blogspot.com
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WE CAN MAKE IT BY DAN MAKARA AT CITY LIGHTS
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“WE WILL MAKE IT!” is the message in a piece of art by Dan Makara. The reassuring words are a neon beacon shining from the window of City Lights gallery in downtown Bridgeport at 265 Golden Hill St. The words of encouragement are part of a construction that melds retro science Fiction B movie aesthetic with the jarring reality of the COVID19 nightmare we are now living. A lenticular image of a healthcare worker in a hazmat suit walks through a twilight zone vortex of vibrating colors. Vintage 50’s faces of women applaud the effort. Viewers of a certain age may remember the lenticular images that came as prizes inside every box of Cracker Jack.
Makara’s work frequently expresses irony, and dark humor, which may be just what we need to rappel us forward. It is a bizzarro time we are living, harkening back to the days of duck and cover-nuclear bomb safety training, as the public then and now relies on the government to provide the proper information about precautions and protocol. The ‘We” in this statement is critical, we are all required to pull together to be responsible for our actions, be proactive and to remain positive and kind, to others and ourselves.
This is just one example of how artists are using their to work offer comfort and support during a difficult time. City Lights is grateful to Dan Makara for sharing his art and his vision once again with Bridgeport. In 1981 Makara and a small group of artists and musicians started Bridgeport’s first City Lights coffee house on Fairfield Ave in the downtown. This was pre-coffee shop chains. The gathering place was prompted by the need of an arts social venue for the artists and patrons of The Elm St artists at 170 Elm Street.
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Along with Makara’s art, “We Will Make It”, here are some images from Bridgeport art scene in the 1980’s. We are looking back because April marks the 16th anniversary of City Lights. The City Lights crew is working on its online anniversary exhibit, “Only Sixteen.”
Coming soon!
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VIRTUAL EXHIBITS AND EVENTS
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The Klein – Live Streaming Presentations
Featuring Gershwin @ The Klein
Apr 28 @ 4:00 PM – 5:00 pm
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A letter from Orin Grossman, President of the Board of Trustees of the Greater Bridgeport Symphony
Dear friends of the Greater Bridgeport Symphony,
Many of us are exploring the availability of streaming and taped cultural events during these difficult times.
As president of the Board of Trustees of the Greater Bridgeport Symphony I wanted to let you that I will be offering a series of presentations featuring the music of George Gershwin. As a pianist and lecturer I have been performing, thinking about, and discussing George Gershwin’s music for most of my professional life and his music has always brought me joy.
Beginning Tuesday, April 14, at 4:00 p.m., I will be hosting a weekly streaming event featuring Gershwin’s songs and other compositions on behalf of two amazing cultural resources for Fairfield County–the Quick Center for the Arts at Fairfield University and the Greater Bridgeport Symphony.
In each presentation of about 15 or 20 minutes I will perform and discuss a number of his Broadway songs and other compositions, all in Gershwin’s own brilliant piano arrangements.
To access these broadcasts simply go to “theQuicklive.com” at 4:00 p.m., next Tuesday, April 14. Mix your favorite 1920’s drink, pull up an armchair or two, and enjoy this excursion into the world of George Gershwin.
Subsequent weekly broadcasts will be at the same time at the same site. I hope you will join me.
Every good wish and stay safe,
Orin Grossman
President, Greater Bridgeport Symphony |
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Walking With The Wild Woman Archetype
City Lights Gallery
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City Lights is committed to presenting the broad spectrum of visual expression through exhibits like “Walking With The Wild Woman Archetype” when we can present the work of artists of diverse backgrounds, trainings, experiences, motivations and disciplines all in the same exhibit.
The commonality of this exhibit is to celebrate the authentic female nature/persona of nurturer, warrior, sorcerer, the feminine ability to create something from nothing or nearly nothing), the caregiver, life sustainer, the burden bearer, the homemaker and protectress. The inspiration of the exhibit and the title comes from a book that explores the power women have and can acquire by reclaiming her authentic self which accepts the dualistic nature of the ability to be good/bad, hard/soft, beautiful/ugly, whimsical/practical and tapping into the metaphysical power that supports us, and find the community that enables us to thrive.
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About the Wildwoman Archetype from Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Jungian analyst and the author of Women Who Run With The Wolves:
“The wild woman archetype is about claiming and reclaiming power, authenticity, voice, and action in daily life. The wild woman uses intuition and inner knowing as guides throughout the cycles of life.”
Exhibitng artists: Susan Clinard, Nicloe Cyr, Marissa Ferrao, Kateleen Foy, Caitlin Iannucci, Robin Jopp Suzanne Kachmar, Abbe Miller, PJ McCreanor, Yolanda Vasquez Petrocelli, Jean Sanchez, Amanda Walker.
Welcome to City Lights first online exhibit. Click here to see the art and listen to the artists talk about their work and practice.
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PECHAKUCHA NIGHT BRIDGEPORT
STORYTELLER CHANNEL
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PechaKucha (Japanese for “chit chat”) is the world’s fastest-growing storytelling platform, used by millions around the globe. 20 slides. 20 seconds of commentary per slide. That’s it. Simple. Engaging. Spurring authentic connections. View PechaKucha presentations from past Bridgeport storytellers! VISIT
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NEED ART SUPPLIES? OPEN CONNECTICUT ART SUPPLIES
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Palooza our partner store in Fairfield, CT is open. Palooza has been granted as an essential business in Connecticut for Educational supplies and Art supply hardware for both students and professionals. Operating days and hours are from Tuesday - Saturday 11:00-3:00. They have a full selection of art supplies. Product shipping from New York on Wednesdays and Saturday’s.
Please send us a email of your needs to ctpalooza@yahoo.com with your phone number, You can also call 203-257-3471 or 203-255-3655 for questions or requests. Orders can be scheduled for pick-up. They are allowing 1 customer in at a time, so please no browsing. Gloves are available at the front counter for shopping. The door will be locked so just knock gently. Please follow social distance guidelines. Many of our popular linens and Aluminum Stretchers are available at Palooza along with our full line of professional artist’s materials.
Palooza
1636 Post Road
Fairfield, Ct 06824
203-257-3471
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SUPPORT DOWNTOWN BRIDGEPORT
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SUPPORT THE BRIDGEPORT ART TRAIL
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A Special Message From the Bridgeport Art Trail
Many of us are turning to social media, TV, video, music, dance, literature and art to keep us sane and work through this extraordinary time. The artists who create these opportunities for aesthetic respite and comfort need to be professionally compensated. They are part of the gig-economy. Artists cannot pay their bills on free exposure.
The arts are leveraged for economic development and placemaking. The arts are used for therapy, respite, to conceptualize new ideas and to bring people of diverse backgrounds together to share a cultural exchange whereby strengthening bonds and building community and nurturing cultural literacy; we learn to celebrate our differences and find our commonality. These creative laborers deserve to be compensated. They are small business owners, creative thinkers, visionaries, they are the spice of life that we all need to get up and fight another day.
Stay safe, be prudent, and kind to others and yourself. Stay in touch with us on the Bridgeport Art Trail Facebook Page where we post frequently.
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