NEWSLETTER Nov. 2009
Greeting to all Hants County Arts Council (HCAC) members.
Following each of our monthly meetings, I will send out a newsletter to all members. Members can attend any of our monthly meetings. Our next meeting is on November 25 at 6:30 p.m. at Cravings Cafe, 3816 Hwy 14, Upper Rawdon. Most of our meetings are the fourth Wednesday of each month.
The directors of the HCAC would like to make the newsletters as informative as possible. I invite all members to contact me with any information they have which they think may be of interest to others: websites, art competitions, announcements of art shows by, or including, the works of our members, public art events, grants, public seminars, workshops, etc.
One of the best sources of information on the arts in NS is VANS.
For those not familiar with VANS (Visual Arts Nova Scotia), here is a little information from their website.
"VANS works for the advancement of visual arts and artists of Nova Scotia.VANS is a provincial artist-run organization incorporated in 1976 to serve visual artists. We promote and support the visual arts and artists of Nova Scotia by providing a voice and advocating for the rights of visual artists. We support members by providing exhibition, marketing and educational opportunities. The public frequently consults VANS about Nova Scotian artists."
They send out a biweekly electronic news bulletin providing the most current information on calls for submissions, grants, lectures, events, classified ads and workshops. Their website is: http://vans.ednet.ns.ca/
Jaki Durocher will be representing the HCAC on the Mayor's Task Force on Arts, Culture and Heritage. Briefly, The Mayor's Task Force on Arts and Culture has been created in an effort to enhance, grow and perpetuate the rich arts and cultural sector in the Windsor area. Town Council also wants to investigate how the arts and cultural sector can be integrated as a key component in an overall community and economic development strategy. A mandate has been established. I think this is a great initiative, in keeping with the goals and aspirations of Catherine Jamieson/Utata.
If you haven't recently received a letter and membership card from our membership director (Andrew Harvie), please let me know.
We are planning to stage the 4th Annual Festival of Art in 2010, though the location has not been decided upon. This is a great opportunity for our members to get involved. At our last meeting we discussed the possibility of having our art show on the same weekend as the Town of Windsor has its pumpkin regatta. Having the show at the end of July\beginning of August has proven to be far too hot.
John Webb handles our public relations and has set up a Google group for members of the HCAC. As everyone is not familiar with this yet and people do have to accept the offer of invitation to use it, it is something that John is still working on. Stay tuned for more on this.
Sandra MacDonald (HCAC president) pointed out that the feedback from our first artists directory 'Hants County Arts Digests 2008' has been very strong, with a great deal of interest expressed by artists wishing to be included in our next arts digest. The vote was unanimous that we would strive to publish a second arts digest in 2010. This is another great project for members to help with.... we certainly cannot get too much help. If you are interested in being part of the group that will oversee this project, please drop me a line or visit our website and click on the link to contact Sandra.
Our web address is: http://www.hantscountyartscouncil.com/
We now have 52 members. I'd like to welcome Christine Ellis and Ben McLellan, our two newest members.
"The Nova Scotia Art Bank encourages the development of artistic excellence and stimulates awareness of and interest in visual arts and craft among Nova Scotians and visitors. This is accomplished through the acquisition, loan, maintenance and display of works of art by established Nova Scotian artists. Works are added to the collection annually through the Art Bank Purchase Program."
Here is the link to a PDF file for the Nova Scotia Art Bank Purchase Program.
http://www.gov.ns.ca/tch/pubs/ABapppdf02.pdf
The application form is here and the next deadline is January 15
The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia has an art sales and rental gallery. For more information about this you can visit the website below.
http://www.artgalleryofnovascotia.ca/en/AGNS_Halifax/visit/artrentals/default.aspx
It's always nice to have members attend our meetings and give us additional input and the all-important feedback we need. Thanks to Gerald and Joyce Jank and Carlos Da Rosa for joining us at our last meeting.
Regards,
David Howells
