Alaska News

National foundation heads met in Anchorage

The board of directors for United States Artists met in Anchorage last week, visiting Alaska art venues, meeting with artists and arts boosters, and participating in two panel discussions on Monday.

Their business meeting took place on a private rail car en route to Seward and back on Tuesday.

I had doubts that anyone would be able to pay attention to anything but the scenery, but chairman Susan Berresford assured me that the work would get done. One reason why the national board travels for these meetings is to get members out of their comfort zones and build esprit de corps.

USA was started as a partnership between the Ford Foundation -- which Berresford led until last year -- Prudential Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation and Alaska's Rasmuson Foundation; Rasmuson head Diane Kaplan is part of the national board. In the past three years eight Alaskans have received unrestricted USA Fellowship Grants of $50,000 each. Among the 50 states, that number is exceeded only by New York, California and Massachusetts.

In addition to offering grants to artists, USA has also funded artist-in-residency programs that have brought several fellows to work in Alaska. Most recently fabric artist Liz Collins had a residency at Out North. The Alaska residencies are in particularly high demand, executive director Katharine DeShaw said. "We've been buried in requests since word got out."

Berresford and DeShaw said the prominence of Alaskans as fellows and Alaska as an artistic destination are due, in part, to the Rasmuson Foundation getting the word out. The selection process doesn't favor any given region, they said, but the Rasmuson group makes a strong effort to encourage qualified applicants to apply.

DeShaw said winners are not only established, accomplished artists, but people whose work is likely to change the course of their discipline in the future.

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The purpose of the USA coalition is to create a permanently endowed source for funding artists that is independent of the political vicissitudes of government arts funding.

Among the Alaska fellows attending the events was former State Poet Laureate John Haines, who recently released a 2-CD set of himself reading his work in a clear, cleanly edited voice as deep and melodious as a bassoon.

Haines celebrated his 85th birthday on Monday, by the way. He received a chorus of "Happy Birthday" during a dinner for the USA folks held at the home of Ed and Mary Rasmuson.

Arts awards are announced

On June 5 the Alaska State Council on the Arts held its annual meeting and awarded operating support grants to 41 organizations around Alaska for FY 2009-2010. The total amount granted was $420,630. Major recipients included:

• Perseverance Theatre (Juneau), $20,000

• Fairbanks Concert Association, $20,000

• Pratt Museum/Homer Society of Natural History, $19,782

• Anchorage Museum Association, $19,304

• Fairbanks Arts Association, $18,177

• Anchorage Concert Association, $16,349

• Out North/VSA Arts of Alaska, $16,204

• Alaska Arts Southeast, $16,033

• Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, $16,005

• Alaska Dance Theatre, $15,921

The council also awarded $69,868 in grants for special projects to 11 Alaska artists and arts organizations in several communities. In addition, $39,973 was provided for Artists in Schools grants.

For more information, go to www.eed.state.ak.us/aksca.

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Also on the receiving end, Koahnic Broadcast Corporation received $45,000 from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation to support the 2009 season of "Earthsongs," a program showcasing contemporary Native American music. Among the non-arts groups included in the announcement of about $2 million in Allen grants for nonprofits throughout the Northwest was Bethel's Tundra Women's Coalition, which received $200,000. The coalition provides the only shelter and outreach program that provides services to victims of family violence, sexual assault and child sexual abuse to Bethel and the 56 Native villages in Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region. The money will help fund a proposed facility with more space for emergency shelter bedrooms.

Arts garage sale

The Turnagain Community Arts Alliance will hold a community garage sale of instruments, original art, new and used CD's, costumes, electronics, art supplies, jewelry and more, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, at 4105 Turnagain Blvd., just off Spenard Rd. Call 245-7311 or send an e-mail to kategrlk@gci.net for more information.

Want a job in show business?

Anchorage Community Theater is looking for someone to fill the part-time position of assistant managing director. The selected individual will be expected to start between the middle of July to early August. Details at actalaska.org.

South American send-off

The Anchorage Concert Chorus will present an hour-long concert in advance of its upcoming tour of South America. The performance will take palce at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the sensational acoustics of St. Andrew Catholic Church in Eagle River. Tickets are $5 at the door.

Fresh pots

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Cheryl Morrison, Jenny Ditto and Teresa Ascone have a one-day sale of hand-thrown pottery, decorated and fired by the artists. Look for them between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot at Allen and Peterson at Benson Boulevard and the Old Seward Highway.

A passing

The Alaska arts community mourns the passing of long time teacher, singer, arts booster and all around musician Mickey Belden, who died in Anchorage on July 1 at the age of 70. She was born Sandra Duane Riley in Belleville, Kan., on Nov. 27, 1938. She was the wife of composer George Belden, who survives her.

Arts groups eligible for stimulus money

The Alaska State Council on the Arts has also announced the availability of $250,000 in grants to organizations through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Called "Alaska Art WORK Grants," the funds are Alaska's share of the stimulus package from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The counsel advises that "funding and reporting rules are strict for these grants." Qualified organizations that have received a grant from the Alaska council since 2004 are eligible to apply. The maximum grant award amount is $21,000.

Deadline for applying is July 24.

Changes at the top

The board of trustees of Alaska Dance Theatre has announced that Codie Costello will join the organization as executive director in mid-July. Costello's arts administration career spans 13 years and includes positions at San Jose Repertory Theatre in California, The Pearl Theatre Company in New York City and the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts. She also has more than 15 years of personal dance experience.

Teresa Kaptur, executive director of Anchorage's Basically Bach Festival back in the 1980s and most recently executive director of the Fort Collins Symphony in Colorado, will return to the state as the new executive director for the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival.

Student wins award

Violinist Alec Lindsay of Anchorage will receive a full scholarship to attend Interlochen Arts Camp, a premier summer arts program for aspiring young musicians. Lindsay is a senior at Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan. He was named among 46 Emerson Scholars to get their costs covered at the program.

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Find Mike Dunham online at adn.com/contact/mdunham or call 257-4332.

By MIKE DUNHAM

mdunham@adn.com

Mike Dunham

Mike Dunham has been a reporter and editor at the ADN since 1994, mainly writing about culture, arts and Alaska history. He worked in radio for 20 years before switching to print.

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