Archive for June, 2009

Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act

Published: June 29, 2009Posted in: NEWS BULLETIN, STATE NEWSTags: , , , ,

picture-414% of the Massachusetts work force is employed by non-profits. UPMIFA will free funds to provide charities operating cash to maintain jobs and services. The non-profit sector is already shedding jobs, and Massachusetts Advocates for the Arts, Sciences and Humanities (MAASH) is asking the Legislature to pass UPMIFA before July 1 to halt imminent layoffs.

Click here to visit MAASH and learn more about UPMIFA advocacy options!

The UPMIFA would replace the Uniform Management of Institutional Funds Act (UMIFA), which was instituted almost 35 years ago by The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.

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Creative Jobs in the Creative Economy!

Published: June 29, 2009Posted in: ARCHIVES, JOB ARCHIVETags:

career_change2Check out these career opportunities in the creative economy!

Editorial Designer/Associate Editor, Association of Marian Helpers

Dance Faculty, Berkshire Dance Theatre

Coordinator of Marketing and Communications, Berkshire United Way

R&D Project Leader, Crane & Co.

Nail Tech/ Hair Stylist, Cranwell Resort, Spa & Golf Club

Marketing Manager, Dominion Enterprises

Bookkeeper, IS183  Art School of the Berkshires

Master Electrician, Mass MoCA

Skilled Warehouse Operations Manager, Pine Cone Hill

Sous Chef, Patina Restaurant Group

Art Sales / Frame Design, R. Michelson Galleries

Java/.NET Developer, Rational Retention

Independant Film Budgeting Person, Undisclosed

Ad Operations Coordinator/Trafficker, Waterfront Media

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Call for Submissions

Published: June 27, 2009Posted in: OPPORTUNITES ARCHIVESTags: ,

picture-51Check out these calls for submissions! Click each title to learn more!

SPACES: Call for Proposals
Deadline: July 3, 2009
ARTMARKET: Juried Photography Competition
Deadline: July 6, 2009
Deadline: August 3, 2009
Deadline: Friday, August 14, 2009
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BFMAC Members To Speak At Berkshire Made Film Series

Published: June 27, 2009Posted in: ARCHIVES, HAPPENINGS ARCHIVETags: , , ,

picture-3Berkshire Made Film Series is an eleven-week series of free films. The series is devoted to movies with strong Berkshire County connections. This includes films that were shot on location in the Berkshires, films with visual effects produced in the Berkshires, or with Berkshire residents as cast members.

The films will be shown on the Topia Arts Center new 32-foot screen, with a high-definition projector and sound system. Many of the films will be preceded by a lecture or talk by BFMAC members who worked on the film.

July 12, Douglas Trumbull, Academy Award winning visual effects pioneer will present 2001: A Space Odyssey, as he did for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last year. Other speakers will include visual effects producer Diane Pearlman on August 2, Bob O’Haver who worked on visual effects for Stargate on August 16, and Jeff Kleiser from Synthespian Studios in North Adams, whose film credits include Stargate, X-Men and Fantastic Four who will speak on July 26.

All films will be free to the public. Seating is limited. For a complete listing of films and speakers please call Topia Arts Center at (413) 743-9605 or visit their website at www.topiaarts.org.

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Government offering small firms ‘bridge’ loans

Published: June 26, 2009Posted in: FOR PROFIT RESOURCES, RESOURCESTags: , , , , ,
Government offering small firms ‘bridge’ loans

The U.S. Small Business Administration has begun accepting applications for loans of up to $35,000 to provide a “bridge” for small businesses with immediate financial hardship to stay open until they get back on track. The loans are available through a temporary new program called America’s Recovery Capital or ARC.

ARC loans are deferred-payment loans of up to $35,000 that are available to established, viable, for-profit small businesses that need short-term help to make their principal and interest payments on existing and qualifying business debt.

They are 100 percent guaranteed by the SBA and have no SBA fees associated with them.

Click here to learn more!

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Second Season of Downstreet Art!

Published: June 25, 2009Posted in: HAPPENINGS ARCHIVETags: , , , , , , , , ,

picture-1Following the extraordinary success of last year’s DownStreet Art program, MCLA, along with the City of North Adams, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA), Northern Berkshire Community Coalition (NBCC) and Scarafoni Realty once again will present DownStreet Art.

This year’s Downstreet Art  will be nearly doubled in size and scale, with 27 galleries, museums and other arts destinations participating, including 13 new galleries to open TONIGHT, Thursday, June 25, beginning at 6 p.m.

DownStreet Art, a public art project of MCLA’s Berkshire Cultural Resource Center, is designed to revitalize downtown North Adams, harnessing existing arts organizations and events, and transforming vacant and open spaces into arts destinations.

MCLA’s Gallery 51 joins in the celebration with a free opening reception for Threaded, a presentation of unconventional textiles that straddle the fine line between craft and art. Threaded, which also opens at 6 p.m. June 25, features works made from fabric, yarn, and thread.

Gallery 51 is at 51 Main Street in North Adams, in the center of the DownStreet Art scene.

“This program defines North Adams as a cultural haven, driving tourists and community members downtown,” said Jonathan Secor, director of special programming at MCLA. “Last year, DownStreet Art brought 15,000 visitors to downtown North Adams. Businesses felt the impact, both in attendance as well as in sales. Our goal is to increase those numbers.”

“North Adams is an arts destination – not only because it is the home of MASS MoCA, but because of the scope of art in the downtown,” Secor added.

In addition to performances to take place throughout the downtown tonight, a number of area restaurants and cafés will be open late and feature menu specials in honor of the program’s launch.

“DownStreet Art Thursdays” will be held the last Thursday of each month, when all of the galleries will be open late. These events will include the opening of new exhibitions, dance performances, meet and greet gatherings with the artists and other festivities.

Click here to learn more about Downstreet Art and download a map of participating venues!

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National Arts Education Report

Published: June 25, 2009Posted in: NATIONAL NEWS, NEWS BULLETINTags: ,

koi-fish-spring-2008-3Last week, for the first time in 11 years, the federal government released a national report card on achievement in the arts among 8th graders. This long-awaited report finds that since 1997, our nation’s students have not made significant progress in developing their skills and knowledge in the arts.

The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) in the Arts report is the only continuing, national measure of academic achievement in America’s schools.

A nationally representative sample of over 7,900 eighth grade students from public and private schools participated in the NAEP Arts Assessment in 2008. Students were measured on their ability to create and respond to the visual arts; whereas, the study scaled back on music questions and only measured a student’s ability to respond and identify music. Unfortunately, theatre and dance skills were not assessed at all due to budgetary and data collection constraints, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

As reported today in the New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, and USAToday, the findings are “mediocre,” “lackluster,” and “may make America’s arts instructors kind of blue.” Not a great report card. However, new U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan gave a strong reaction in support of arts education, “This Arts Report Card should challenge all of us to make K-12 arts programs more available to America’s children …We can and should do better for America’s students.”

Click here to visit Americans for the Arts to read more!

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FROM BFMAC: Budget Person Needed

Published: June 24, 2009Posted in: ARCHIVES, JOB ARCHIVETags: , ,

daily021125Experienced Budgeting Person Needed for Independent feature film to be shot in New Mexico.

Interested parties, please contact Patricia Baker of The Big Picture Agency LLC at 413-623-0950 ext. 221 or pbaker@bigpictureagency.com.

Click here to visit the Berkshire Film and Media Arts Commission online!

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Massachusetts Launch of PEW Cultural Data Project

Published: June 24, 2009Posted in: NON PROFIT RESOURCES, RESOURCESTags: , , , , , ,
Massachusetts Launch of PEW Cultural Data Project

204967062The Cultural Data Project “enables participating organizations to track trends and benchmark their progress through powerful reporting tools, empowers researchers and advocates with information to make the case for arts and culture, and equips funders with data to plan and evaluate grant-making activities more effectively.”

The Cultural Data Project (CDP) started in Pennsylvania in 2004 and launched in Maryland in 2007, California in 2008, and in Illinois and New York in 2009. The Pew Charitable Trusts operates the project for each state, helping to ensure comparable, standardized data across regions.

How does the CDP work? Arts and cultural organizations enter financial, programmatic and operational data into a standardized online form and then use the CDP to produce a variety of reports designed to help increase management capacity, identify strengths and challenges and inform decision-making. They can also generate reports to be included as part of the application processes to participating grantmakers.

“The Cultural Data Project will help our organizations turn financial and attendance data into powerful planning and diagnostic tools,” said Anita Walker, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. “This couldn’t have come to Massachusetts at a better time. The Cultural Data Project will help organizations navigate in a difficult economy and ensure their fiscal health.”

The Cultural Data Project (CDP) started in Pennsylvania in 2004 and launched in Maryland in 2007, California in 2008, and in Illinois and New York in 2009. The Pew Charitable Trusts operates the project for each state, helping to ensure comparable, standardized data across regions. The CDP is expanding to other states across the country each year.

Want to learn more?

Click here to register for the August 4, 2009 free training session for all Berkshire County cultural organizations!

Click here to view online MCDP user training options!

Click here to visit the Massachusetts Cultural Data Project online !

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Berkshire Arts Festival

Published: June 24, 2009Posted in: LOCAL NEWS, NEWS BULLETINTags: , , ,

Berkshire Arts Festival organizers project that “Eight to 10 thousand people will spend approximately half a million dollars on works and wares by over 175 different artists at the Berkshires Arts Festival.”

Now in its 8th year at Ski Butternut in Great Barrington, the Arts Festival is organized by Richard and Joanna Rothbard, owners of An American Craftsman Galleries, which has locations in Stockbridge, New York, and Savannah.

This year, the Festival also includes the Art of Clay tent, an all ceramics showcase sponsored by Sheffield Pottery (which is celebrating their 60 years in business in the Berkshires this year).

The show is a unique opportunity for artists in the Berkshires, because it brings together local and regional artists with others from around the country. The Festival also provides space for local arts organizations to present information about their institutions to the public. Make sure to check out Berkshire based artisans River Hill Pottery, Barbara Doncaster, Grenadier Pottery, Kaolin Pottery, and Stamped Earth at the festival July 4th weekend! Interested in participating? Last minute artist applications are also still being accepted. Click here for the application!

Any arts-related organization interested in space at the Festival, contact Richard Rothbard at rothbard@warwick.net.

Click here to visit Berkshire Arts Festival online!

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