Update from Embracing Arlington Arts
Dear Arts Patrons, Aficionados and Supporters,
We hope that everyone had a nice relaxing weekend. Embracing Arlington Arts has a lot of exciting initiatives and projects coming up this fall to tell our readers about. Read on for the latest details.
Calendar of Arlington Arts Organization Online Productions/Events
9/23 – Arlington Visual Art Studio Tour (AVAST) Premier, 7:00 pm, Watch here.
9/26-9/27 – Arlington Visual Art Studio Tour (AVAST), Info here.
Continuously streaming
Visual Arts:
The Arlington Arts Center has several classes, workshops and activities to do at home online.
Online Gallery of Art, Arlington Artists Alliance, View
“Artists and Poets Response to the Pandemic”, Arlington artists, View
“The Divine Feminine”, Arlington artists, View
Dance:
“Best of 30 Years,” Festival Argentino, Watch here.
Opera:
Opera Nova streaming “Celebrating African-American Opera Singers: Past and Present” Concert”. Listen.
Performing Arts/Theater:
Synetic Streaming Various Productions and Events, Buy tickets
Music:
Summer Concert, Washington Balalaika Society, Watch here.
“Beethoven in Vienna” (available after 10/23), National Chamber Ensemble, Tickets here.
“NCE Holiday Celebration” (available after 12/19), National Chamber Ensemble, Tickets here.
Poetry:
“Written in Arlington,” Arlington Poets, Read the poems here.
Calendar of Live Events (Subject to Change)
8/22-12/13 – “Passage” exhibit by Lynda Andrews-Barry, Arlington Arts Center
8/27-11/24 – “Havana Youth,” exhibit by Greg Kahn, Cody Gallery, Marymount Univ.
9/1-9/25 – “Reflection: Vian Borchert’s Latest Paintings,” Gallery Underground
9/1-9/30 – “Impressions” exhibit by Roya Chadab, Fred Schnider Gallery of Art, Appt only: 703-495-1642
9/12 – “Virtual Kick Off Event,” Jane Franklin Dance, Tickets here.
9/26 – Talk with Artist Lynda Andrews-Barry, Arlington Arts Center
2/13 – “A Russian Valentine,” National Chamber Ensemble, Gunston Arts Center, Tickets here.
3/20 – “Hungarian Delicacies,” National Chamber Ensemble, Gunston Arts Center, Tickets here.
5/22 – “Four Seasons of Vivaldi,” National Chamber Ensemble, Gunston Arts Center, Tickets here.
Embracing Arlington Arts Busy Agenda for the Fall:
We are excited to announce some special projects Embracing Arlington Arts is launching in October in conjunction with National Arts and Humanities Month. First, we will be airing our second educational podcast series – this one focused on cultural equity and diversity. On October 6 we will air five episodes featuring interviews with black, indigenous and people of color (or BIPOC) leading voices in the theater industry. They will be talking about current equity problems and the demands they are making of White American theaters (WAT). Then on October 13 we will be airing interview with Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) experts who will specifically address these demands and offer some tools and best practices to help theaters make progress meeting those demands.
During October we also will be talking with arts organizations about the status of the industry following more than 7 months of a shutdown. Our survey will encompass loss of jobs, loss of revenues, state of the industry, and more.
Also, the month will be focused on renewing and obtaining new corporate sponsors for the 2020-2021 year. Sponsorships not only bring visibility to our sponsors through social media, our website, inclusion in our Updates and acknowledgements on our weekly podcast, but allow us to support all of our efforts to enhance the health and vibrancy of all the arts and culture organizations. Our work is especially critical at this time when the industry is hurting so drastically. This sponsorship drive will coincide with a month-long fundraising campaign to raise individual donations. All funds are used to directly provide support through various channels of arts and culture organizations.
Finally, at the end of October we will be releasing our new Strategic Plan covering the next three years. Considering all the vast changes seen since the pandemic hit, our goal is to prioritize what we can and should be doing to be as effective and successful as possible in achieving our mission.
ZOOM Calls for Arts Organizations:
We have arranged for two very important ZOOM guest speakers over the next several weeks. First on Tuesday, September 15th at 11:00 am we will be hearing from the Artistic Producer of the Barrington Stage Company (BSC) Branden Huldeen. BSC is one of the first theaters in the nation that will be presenting live performances again both inside and outside. Branden will be talking about their experience in reopening, changes they had to make to remain socially distanced, lessons learned, and much more.
Then on Thursday, October 1 at 11:00 am the Managing Director of the American Shakespeare Center Amy Wratchford will be joining us. The Center has also begun doing live shows and she will be talking about their experiences in reopening.
If any of our Update readers are interested in sitting in on either of these calls, send us an email (to janetk@embracing-arlington-arts.org) with your name and organization name (if applicable).
Corporate Sponsor of the Month:
Our corporate sponsor of the month is JBG SMITH – an S&P 400 company that owns, operates, invests in and develops a dynamic portfolio of high-quality mixed-use properties in and around Washington, DC. As many readers know, JBG SMITH has been very busy in the Crystal City neighborhood preparing for the launch of National Landing. As the manager and developer of National Landing, JBG SMITH is focused on creating authentic community-oriented developments that enhance the fabric of the neighborhood. The area encompasses Crystal City, the eastern portion of Pentagon City and the northern portion of Potomac Yard and spans 6.2 million square feet of existing office space and 7million square feet of additional development opportunities. Among some of their plans is the development of a central retail district – an approximately 109,00 square foot entertainment and shopping destination. Check out their website for all the details, specs, renderings and updates.
“Embracing Arlington Arts Talks“ Podcast:
Continuing our weekly podcast has been so very important during this shutdown and joining us in August were some really interesting guests. First we learned about the organization “Encore Creativity for Older Adults” from its founder Jeanne Kelly. Not only did she tell us about the organization, programming they are doing during the pandemic and classes they are offering, but Jeanne also imparted the results of an NEA study showing the benefits of choral singing for older adults.
Next we turned to the visual arts world and chatted with artist Sarah Hardesty about her work, how she prepares for an exhibit and how she thinks the pandemic might impact visual arts throughout the nation. We shifted again to the performing arts genre with our interview with the Artistic Director of Theater Alliance Raymond Caldwell. Learn how they have been dealing with the shutdown, tentative plans for their next season and hear a very entertaining story about when he directed himself in a one-man show.
We switched arts genre again to dance with our interview with the Founder and Director of Prio Bangla Pryalal Karmakar. Find out which part of the multicultural festival they might still put on this fall, as well as insightful information about the Bangladeshi community in northern Virginia.
Finally, we rounded out the month with a chat with the Senior Manager for Social Media Lyndsey McFail during which she offers best practices and tips for a successful social media campaign and talks about her stellar career so far. Also learn about her “webby-award” nominated phenomenal YouTube series “Emoji That Track.”
To listen to any of our interviews, follow this link.
The Arlington Chamber of Commerce published our blog about our upcoming diversity and cultural equity series.
Embracing Arlington Arts published a Community Post column in ArlNow acknowledging the generous support of our corporate sponsors during this current year.
Our arts organizations continued to take advantage of our subscription with ArlNow during this month. The National Chamber Ensemble wrote a column about their exciting upcoming season both online and in person starting next year.
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
Every dollar helps us help the arts organizations in so many ways. Thank you in advance!
Embracing Arlington Arts 