Dear Arts Patrons, Aficionados and Supporters,
We have some exciting news and initiatives to report on. Read on for all the details.
2021 Arlington Arts Groups Performances and Events
Calendar of Live Events (Subject to Change)
April – June
1/21-4/16 – “Magnolia” exhibit by Nekisha Durrett, Cody Gallery, Info here.
3/13-4/24 – “Flux” Exhibition by Scott Hutchison, Fred Schnider Gallery of Art
3/21-4/25 – “SHRINES,” The Arcanists, Info here.
3/27-6/5 – “Stretched,” Exhibition various artists, Arlington Arts Center
3/27-6/5 – “From an Abyss,” Exhibition by Ryan McCoy, Arlington Arts Center
4/1-4/30 – “Urban Soul” Exhibition, Gallery Underground
4/22 – “Stretched,” Artist talk (registration required), Arlington Arts Center
4/29 – “Stretched,” Artist talk (registration required), Arlington Arts Center
5/13 – Artist talk with Ryan McCoy (registration required), Arlington Arts Center
5/22 – “Four Seasons of Vivaldi,” National Chamber Ensemble, Gunston Arts Center, Tickets here.
5/27 – “Stretched,” Artist talk (registration required), Arlington Arts Center
Calendar of Arlington Arts Organization Online Productions/Events
10/16-4/16 – “The Roost,” UrbanArias, Info here.
“Beethoven in Vienna” (available after 10/23), National Chamber Ensemble, Tickets here.
11/1-4/20 – “Dance for PD,” Bowen McCauley Dance Company, (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays), Sign up at dance@bmdc.org.
11/5-5/6 – “Signature Vinyl,” Signature Theatre, Tickets here.
2/2-4/12 – “Simply Sondheim,” Signature Theatre, Tickets here.
“Hungarian Delicacies”, National Chamber Ensemble, Tickets here.
4/5-4/27 – “Light” by Jarrin Davis play reading, Signature Theatre, Watch here.
4/8 – Virtual reception, Arlington Arts Center, Info here.
4/10 – “Drift,” Jane Franklin Dance Company, Tickets here.
5/26 – “25th Season Virtual Opening Performance from Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, Bowen McCauley Dance Company, Info here.
To view the entire calendar, as well as the continuously streaming events, click here.
Embracing Arlington Arts to Launch “Benefits of Arts on Community Sectors” Library
As part of the 3-year Strategic Plan approved by the Embracing Arlington Arts Board of Directors, the organization is beginning its initiative to compile a “one-stop” library of resources, studies, testimonials and more about the benefits of the arts and culture on various community sectors (i.e., seniors, students, disabled). The goal is to create one specific web page where visitors can obtain the most recent scientific information on these benefits. No studies or data cited will be more than 5 years old. We also are collecting written and oral testimonials from patrons who specifically benefitted from having arts in their lives. These will be added to the list and a video will be released at the end of the year.
The Board members launched this initiative because researchers and interested parties currently have to search through scores of different websites to find this information, and many of the resources found are more than 10 years old. We want to make it easier for potential donors, corporate sponsors, media representatives, government leaders, and anyone with an interest in tis data to find multitudes of information about how each specific sector benefits.
If you want to submit a study or report for inclusion, please send the website url to janetk@embracing-arlington-arts.org. Also, if you want to send in a testimonial, please contact us using the same email.
As part of this initiative, we also will be doing a weekly social media post citing recent studies or reports. We hope that through the sharing of this critical information, support for artists and arts organizations will rise exponentially as more people are educated about the importance of this critical industry.
Update on the “Tom Prewitt Fund for Theatre Arts”
As we reported in our last Update, Embracing Arlington Arts joined with the family of W. Thompson (Tom) Prewitt to launch a memorial fund to honor the legacy and contributions of longtime DC area theater professional and former Executive and Artistic Director of Avant Bard Theatre Company Tom Prewitt. The “Tom Prewitt Fund for Theatre Arts,” which is being managed through the Arlington Community Foundation, will foster Tom’s lifelong passion for mentoring aspiring young theater artists and nurturing theater/community partnerships.
In order to make this Fund “in perpetuity,” the goal was to raise $25,000 and we are HALFWAY THERE. To put us over the finish line, the Prewitt family is generously matching 100% all donated funds from now until April 30, 2021. In other words, your donation is doubled! For information on how you can donate either online or with a check, go to this link. Every dollar goes to help young artists and the theater community directly. Thank you!
Corporate Sponsor(s) of the Month:
This month we are honoring two of our generous sponsors. The first is CNA, and its Educational and Charitable Fund Committee (ECFC) – CNA employees make a difference in the quality of their communities and in the lives of their friends, neighbors and those in need. The ECFC reflects the spirit of giving back and pursues efforts to establish CNA as a positive, responsible civic partner and contributor to cultural and human service activities that enrich the quality of life in the community, promote the arts, health, education, welfare and environment in the community, identify charitable activities to serve community needs, encourage and facilitate employee involvement in community work and help fellow employees overcome catastrophic or temporary financial hardship.
Our second honored corporate sponsor is Mindcubed – an SBA 8(a) certified information technology software and services company headquartered in the DC metro area. The company thrives on and excels at delivering creative solutions quickly and cost effectively in the areas of Big Data Analytics, Mobile Apps Development, Agile Systems Engineering and Cybersecurity. Mindcubed’s GRID software enables organizations to understand trends, predict outcomes and make data-driven decisions.
“Embracing Arlington Arts Talks” Podcast:
We welcomed back to the show several Arlington arts organization guests to update us on new events and productions happening in the County – both online and live (outdoors). The Executive Director of the Arcanists Quill Nebeker talked about his organization’s exciting event called “SHRINES’ which is an interactive and socially-distanced series of activities throughout the DC region.
Next we chatted with the recently named Director of Education at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts Natalie Cutcher who taught us a lot about the Italian theater acting genre of “Commedia dell’Arte.” Continuing on the topic of “movement” theater, we learned about all the many diverse digital offerings Synetic Theater has put on its new streaming website “Synetic Streaming” from the organization’s Managing Director Jason Najjoum and Associate Producer J.P. McLaurin.
We then moved to the music world when we welcomed back to the show the Artistic Director of the National Chamber Ensemble Leo Sushansky who updated us on two upcoming shows rounding out this current season, and offered a sneak peek into next season’s productions.
We finished the month with an interview with Actor Sara Barker and Director Demone Seraphin about their very exciting Artistic Partnership comprised of five theater professionals who will be managing Avant Bard Theatre Company.
To listen to any of our interviews, follow this link.
Media Hits:
Arlington arts organizations continued to publish Community Post columns in ArlNow that Embracing Arlington Arts underwrites. The Studio 10 Artists Collaborative published information about their exhibition at the Gallery Underground. The organization Study Japanese Arlington also submitted a column about their virtual event “Japan Day 2021” which was full of fun activities for the entire family.
If you would like to support the work Embracing Arlington Arts by making a donation, here’s how:
* Make tax-deductible contributions online.
* Tax-deductible contributions by check: check made out to Embracing Arlington Arts and sent to Embracing Arlington Arts, 754 North Vermont Street, Arlington, VA 22203
* Make Embracing Arlington Arts your AmazonSmile charity and shop with this link.
Every dollar helps us help the arts organizations in so many ways. Thank you in advance!
Embracing Arlington Arts 