Two Local Arts Groups Unite
Two Local Arts Groups Unite
[Information gathered by Tom Duffy, Henry Leck, Joanne Shank. Written by Connie Shakalis. See Press Release here.]
Dynamism can happen when people think, then act, together. See what local artists Joanne Shank, Tom Duffy, and Henry Leck have taught me about the power of joining forces.
A man painting by Alice Dietrich on Unsplash
Addressing public arts policy
Arts Forward Bloomington began in 2019. It's a group of artists, arts organizations, and arts supporters interested in public arts policy. Two of its recent accomplishments were (1) providing advocates for the continued use of the Waldron Arts Center and (2) supporting the performing arts.
Late last year it merged with the Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington, a nonprofit organization born in 2011. The Arts Alliance's goal was to sustain the arts through people-connections. Artists, cultural organizations, and artistic endeavors can now go face-to-face and brush-to-tap-shoe with the Bloomington community.
A dance rehearsal by Miguel Angel Hernandez on Unspalsh
"Flex Space" in the Mall welcomes your next performance: Why not rent it?
For instance, the "Flex Space" in the College Mall is an Arts Alliance project. It's a separate room, 25 feet by 30 feet, inside the Arts Alliance Center's Gallery. Not only have people been shopping, learning, and browsing in the Center's gallery and gift shop, they've been dancing, rehearsing, singing, and teaching in its Flex Space.
The Alliance also has a website with an online arts calendar, arts directory, and blog about local arts topics.
Arts Forward's advocacy having been largely successful, they decided to join the Arts Alliance, whose mission includes advocacy as well as all kinds of arts support.
Adding new arts spaces around town
What's particularly exciting is the combined groups' search for performance spaces around Bloomington. It's just one of the "artist support tools," that Arts Alliance website visitors will be able to use.
Get answers to your arts-in-the-media questions Jan. 31
Arts Forward and the Arts Alliance invite you to a Zoom meeting, "Promoting Your Art Event in Bloomington on Local Online Calendars and Social Media" at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 31. Guest speakers are Henry Leck, president of the Arts Alliance, Ron Eid cofounder of Limestone Post, Rodney Margison, photographer and Bloom Magazine's managing editor, and Connie Shakalis, a freelance journalist who writes for The Herald-Times.
Bring your questions and ideas. Find the Zoom link at the Alliance's online calendar listing and on their Facebook page.
April meeting calls on environmentalist and physicist Ben Brabson
Arts Forward holds its next quarterly Zoom meeting April 12. The topic is "Artists for the Environment." Artists of all genres are invited to help coordinate an event-series that will call attention to the environment. Seeking visual artists, songwriters, poets, theater and expressive movement performers. Bloomington physicist Ben Brabson of the Brabson Family Foundation will speak.
The Brabson Family Foundation used to be called the Brabson Library and Education Foundation. The philanthropic family foundation shines light on the family’s interest in ideas that could lead to long-ranging effects, particularly in education, sciences, and the arts.
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