Roxbury Arts Group awards NYS arts funds to local art efforts
2008 NYS Council on the Arts grants go to 18 programs across Delaware County
Hardy perennials, late bloomers and some fresh new sprigs were all among the arts recipients as the Roxbury Arts Group (RAG) presented more than $23,000 in 2008 Delaware County Community Arts grants from the New York State Council on the Arts this past Sunday.
Back to the Grassroots
The accent on community was pronounced this year among the 18 projects, which
ranged from non-traditional chamber music concerts to multimedia projects
about farmers. RAG Executive Director Susan Kenny stressed that RAG would
also be "trying to do more in the community" and making "collaborative
projects with other organizations" a priority in the coming year.
One example is the upcoming "how to" square dance events by Folk
Life Connection, a new consortium of local organizations dedicated to preserving
and reinvigorating mountain folk ways.
Grant checks were presented by Assemblyman Clifford Crouch's legislative aide, Kathleen Mami Moore, and RAG's long-time "grant nurturer" Ann Epner. Before the presentations, the audience was regaled with an award-winning storytelling performance of "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs," by Andes sixth grader Zackery Grapes. Zackery was one of two Andes students among the five New York State finalists in the 2007 National Youth Storytelling Showcase.
That led naturally into the first grant presentation to the Andes Public Library, which, under the guidance of "Story Laurie" McIntosh will create a story telling troupe through workshops with professional storytellers. "We will hit the road and travel around Delaware County," said McIntosh, telling tall tales along the way and, she hopes, inspiring youngsters and even older yarn-spinners to join in.
As she launched into the grant presentations, Ann Epner noted with great
feeling the absence of two Delaware County artistic mainstays: Al Davino
of Catskill Theatre Works was awarded a grant but withdrew from this year's
program due to a family tragedy, and the "Renaissance man" of the
Pepacton Center for the Arts, Cuban-American composer José Bernardo,
lost his courageous battle with leukemia on February 4.
All together now
Some new collaborative ventures are afloat this year and show the power of
bringing community organizations and creative artists together. For example,
artist Ellen Wong will create a multimedia exhibit with portraits and interviews
of the few surviving Middletown farm families, a project that dovetails
perfectly with the Historical Society of Middletown's effort to map the
more than 180 family farms that once existed in that town. "We started
this project looking back, and sometimes artists can open our eyes to what
is right in front of our faces," said HSM President Diane Galusha,
adding "Farming is not dead, there are people working at it every
day." Wong spoke passionately about how focusing on farms had deepened
her relationship to her home: "I appreciated the role of local farmers
in our lives, but I realized I did not know these farmers. Like artists,
time is very precious for them and they have to have a passion for what
they do."
Another cross-genre collaboration will make it possible for Inverna Lockpez
to create a book about her famed barn paintings with several essays by local
writers, historians, farmers and other 'barniacs.' Inverna's first exhibit
of barn paintings seven years ago was funded by decentralization grant. "More
than 300 barns later," Lockpez said, "now I am ready" make
the book she has long dreamt of: "It will not be didactic or heavy," she
said, but will highlight 35 barns where she feels "the structure bears
the stamp of individuality of each farmer," she added, noting that even
after logging 100,000 miles finding and painting barns, the county's landscapes
could still make her emotional.
Funding projects hopscotch through every corner of our enormous county. Among the familiar organizations were the libraries in Sidney, Walton, Franklin, Roxbury — in addition to Andes and Margaretville. These projects help bring quality programs — some of them quite internationalist — to children and families in their communities. Also well represented were community and workshop theatre programs.
Other "hardy perennials" included the Todd Mountain Theatre, which mounts a professionally produced new theatrical work each year; The Community Chorale of the Catskills (for sheet music); the Delhi Senior Community for its free public concerts; and The Denver/Vega Preservation Committee for a series of concerts in the First Old School Baptist Church — this year venturing beyond classical and into more wide-ranging musical offerings. A grant to Writers in the Mountains will allow that organization to offer some of its most popular workshops at greatly reduced rates to make them more accessible to local participants.
Stephanie Zito, who treated the audience to a haunting original piece on
her cello, will be composing and performing more solo pieces (hard to come
by for cellists), sponsored by the Roxbury Library Association.
With all this frenetic artistic activity afoot in the coming months, keeping on top of it all can be a challenge for any arts enthusiast. As RAG Executive Director Susan Kenny noted, "We have a lot to celebrate," and urged everyone to sign up for Roxbury Arts Groups' e-blasts to have news of upcoming events and performances delivered right to their inboxes.
Kenny also urged arts organizations and artists to get their performance dates to RAG, since they are happy use the e-blast program for any local arts event. Kenny was proud to show off the newly upgraded kitchen and bathroom in the RAG Arts Center on Vega Mountain Road, with thanks to the O'Connor Foundation for funds and contractors Bergman and Jorge for their excellent work. A wonderful reception provided by Bonnie Walker and RAG volunteers and floral arrangements by Wildflowers of Margaretville added a sumptuous and festive touch to the afternoon.
But it was Nat Thomas of the Longyear Gallery who 'zinged' the need for more arts funding when he thanked ex-Governor Eliot Spitzer, "for proving to us this week that quality costs."
Visit the Roxbury Arts Group on-line at www.roxburyartsgroup.org or join the events mailing list on this site to stay on top of local arts events.
