Dear Arts Patrons, Aficionados and Supporters,
This has not been the best month for the arts in Arlington (and it is only March 5th), but there are ways to help us fight the draconian budget cuts the County Manager is proposing. Read on for more details, and other news about Embracing Arlington Arts.
Proposed Budget Cuts:
Last week we sent out an Action Alert on the proposed budget cuts to the arts which will prove devastating to the industry and basically mean an end to the award-winning Space and Services Grant Program. The only way we can stop them at this point is to have Arlingtonians weigh in with the County Board by the hundreds, if not thousands. Everything you need to know can be found on our website here. But in a nutshell:
- Come to our Strategy session on March 11th from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm at the offices of Encore Stage & Studio (4000 Lorcom Lane).
- Email (countyboard@arlingtonva.us) or call (703-228-3130) the County Board to tell them these draconian proposed cuts will devastate the arts organizations in Arlington.
- Speak at the County Board FY20 Budget Work Session on April 2nd at 7:00 pm (NOTE: You must sign up in advance: https://countyboard.arlingtonva.us/speaking-budget-tax-rate-public-hearings/).
And please encourage your friends, colleagues, neighbors and family to do the same. Let us NOT become the “soulless suburb” once asserted by a Senator!
Media Hits/Community Posts:
Another part of this budget cut proposal is the incredibly disproportionate share of the cuts that the arts are being asked to shoulder. Total reductions for fiscal year 2020 are $5 million, and the arts account for 10% of the reductions, or $500,000. However, the Cultural Affairs total budget in fiscal year 2019 was $2,668,359, or 0.16% of the total County budget (one tenth of one percent.) Therefore, the already tiny arts program is being held accountable for 62.5 times greater than its share of the fiscal year 2019 county budget. If the cuts were proportional to the actual budget, then the cuts to the arts would be only $8,000.
Embracing Arlington Arts issued a Press Release with these numbers and it was picked up by ArlNow. Read the article here. Also, we are expecting another article to appear in Arlington Magazine.
Speaking of ArlNow, Arlington Arts organizations continue to take advantage of our subscription to allow them to publish a Community Post column for free. The most recent column was submitted by WSC Avant Bard (link to column). The next one will appear on Monday, March 11 and is being submitted by the Arlington Concert Band.
Embracing Arlington Arts Organization:
We are VERY excited to be officially launching our website at https://embracing-arlington-arts.org/. We want your comments and suggestions on how to make it better and more effective. Also, if you know any creative person who might want to donate a couple of hours to sprucing the site up that would be absolutely wonderful! We have the content; now we need the “snazzy” presentation.
As we ramp up this year, we are looking for volunteers of any kind. So, if you have a special talent or skill and want to volunteer a couple hours a month, please send me an email. Any talents will help from accounting to social media to marketing to a warm body willing to help out at events. Not only are the arts a worthy cause to help out, but we also have a lot of fun getting things done. Thank you in advance!
Radio Show on WERA 96.7FM:
We had some very interesting shows over the last several weeks. We started with Graham Dunn and Andrew Bashuk who are managing the Observation Deck in the CEB Tower in Rosslyn. The Tower has the most fantastic view of the DC region, as well as numerous events and productions scheduled throughout the year. Hopefully Embracing Arlington Arts can do a fundraiser there as well! Next up the newest County Board member Matt de Ferranti conducted one of his first public interviews after being sworn in on our show. We discussed his goals as a Board member, some of his priorities, and how the arts have positively impacted him. Rounding out the month was the return of Bowen McCauley Dance’s Executive Director Helen Chamberlin who talked about the many events the company has coming up this spring, including the “Move Me Festival,” a collaboration with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, and an event with Arlington’s National Chamber Ensemble.
To listen to these interviews, or any others in the past, follow this link.
2019 Arlington Arts Groups Performances and Events
March 2019
1/23-3/10 – Ain’t Misbehavin’, Signature Theatre
2/6-3/10 – Cyrano de Bergerac, Synetic Theater
2/26-4/7 – Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible…, Signature Theatre
3/8 – Reception, Arlington Artists’ Alliance, Gallery Clarendon
3/9 – Fairfax Symphony Orchestra and Bowen McCauley Dance Co., George Mason University’s Center for the Arts Concert Hall
3/12-3/13 – Devising Hope, Educational Theatre Company
3/14 – Artist Talk with Rachel Schmidt, Arlington Arts Center
3/14-3/15 – Write On!, Educational Theatre Company, McKinley ES
3/14-4/14 – Top Dog/Underdog, WSC Avant Bard, Gunston II
3/16 – MOVE ME Festival, Bowen McCauley Dance Co., Kenmore MS
3/16 – Our Stories of Migration with Natalia Nakazawa, Arlington Arts Center
3/19 – Creative Age Sharing, Educational Theatre Company, Culpepper Gardens
3/19-3/23 – Hansel and Gretel, Opera NOVA, Thomas Jefferson MS
3/23 – The Viennese Classics, National Chamber Ensemble, Gunston I
3/28 – Backstrap Loom Weaving Workshop with Steven Frost, Arlington Arts Center
3/30 – Gallery Talk & Interactive Weaving with Steven Frost, Arlington Arts Center
April 2019
4/2-4/6 – Unforgettable, Cabaret Series, Signature Theatre
4/4-4/5 – Chronicles of Snoozeland, Educational Theatre Company, Tuckahoe ES
4/5 – Reception, Arlington Artists’ Alliance, Gallery Underground
4/5-4/12 – ArtFest, Arlington Artists’ Alliance, Ft. CF Smith
4/8 – Play Reading, SigWorks, Signature Theatre
4/12 – Reception, Arlington Artists’ Alliance, Gallery Clarendon
4/25-5/19 – Dog Sees God, Prologue Theater
4/26-5/12 – Grand Hotel, Signature Theatre
4/27-5/12 – Curtains, Arlington Players, Thomas Jefferson Middle School
4/27 – Complete Dogness, Jane Franklin Dance, Theatre on the Run
4/27 – EyeSoar, Jane Franklin Dance, Theatre on the Run
4/30-6/23 – Spunk, Signature Theatre
May 2019
5/3 – Reception, Arlington Artists’ Alliance, Gallery Underground
5/3-5/18 – P.S. Your Cat Is Dead, Dominion Stage, Gunston II
5/4 – The Contemporaries, National Chamber Ensemble and Bowen McCauley Dance Co., Gunston I
5/4 – Complete Dogness, Jane Franklin Dance, Theatre on the Run
5/4 – EyeSoar, Jane Franklin Dance, Theatre on the Run
5/10 – Reception, Arlington Artists’ Alliance, Gallery Clarendon
5/11 – Argentine Festival, Festival Argentino, Kenmore Middle School
5/15-6/16 – Richard III, Synetic Theater
5/17-5/19 – Spring Show, Ballet Nova
5/17 -5/18 – Spring Performance, Bowen McCauley Dance Company, the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater
5/30-6/30 – A Misanthrope, WSC Avant Bard, Gunston II
5/31-6/9 – The Talented Clementine, Encore Stage & Studio, Gunston I
For the complete calendar, go to our website at https://embracing-arlington-arts.org/calendar-of-events/.
Embracing Arlington Arts 