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« June 2007 | Main | August 2007 » 
July 30, 2007 Mark Valdez is first NET coordinatorLinda Frye Burnham / 10:42 AM Artist/educator Mark Valdez has been named the first national coordinator of the Network of Ensemble Theaters. For five years, he served as the associate artistic director for Cornerstone Theater Company, an ensemble-based company located in Los Angeles. Valdez has directed at such theaters as Mixed Blood in Minneapolis, Teatro Vision in San Jose and East West Players’ David Henry Hwang Institute and the Ricardo Montalban Theater. He holds an MFA in Directing from UC Irvine and is the recipient of a Princess Grace Award in Directing and Special Project Grant. Valdez will meet NET members at the network's annual national gathering, September 2-5, 2007, at Camp Winnebago, Fayette, Maine.
July 19, 2007 Sekou Sundiata passesLinda Frye Burnham / 03:57 PM Forwarded from the Web site "Garvey's Ghost" Obituary: On Wednesday, July 18, 2007, at 5:47a.m. (ET), poet Sekou Sundiata passed away. A highly esteemed performing poet, Mr. Sundiata wrote for print, performance, music and theater. Born Robert Franklin Feaster in Harlem, on August 22, 1948, Sundiata came of age as an artist during the Black Arts/Black Aesthetic movements of the 1960s and 1970s.
July 11, 2007 Busking in Seattle for The ManLinda Frye Burnham / 03:45 PM Seattle Parks and Recreation Department has begun paying street performers to entertain in five downtown parks in hopes that with more people around, a park will be less hospitable to illegal activity, says Lynn Marshall in the L.A. Times (7/2/07). The parks are considered dangerous, noisy and sites for drug-dealing and prostitution. "It's an experiment," said Victoria Schoenburg, one of the program organizers. She said that a concert may draw people to a park once, but the presence of performers everyday at lunchtime would more likely draw return visitors. "We've been trying all kinds of things in the parks over the past few years — free concerts, basic ambient improvements. We've discovered that low-cost, simple grass-roots ideas are the most effective," Schoenburg said. So far, the city has signed up 20 street performers to work from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday., paying them $30 for each lunchtime set. Tips are still accepted. Some artists are quoted as happy with the opportunity, but it has sparked controversy within the busker community, and a bit of boycotting by those who feel the city is "using us, trying to control us, and not paying enough." (Thanks, Cultural Policy Listserv.) http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-parklife3jul03182417,0,7206825.story
July 10, 2007 ...and, yes, even in Baltimore.Linda Frye Burnham / 03:17 PM Station North is Baltimore’s inaugural arts and entertainment district, says Elizabeth Evitts in The Urbanite (#37, July '07). "Spanning the communities of Charles North, Greenmount West, and Barclay, and located near Penn Station, the district is witnessing a burst of activity after decades of decline. Small businesses are popping up: new galleries on Charles Street, a bike cooperative on Lanvale, a new cafe that caters to the growing number of people who work in the area. "There are also several larger-scale development projects. The former North Avenue Market is now being transformed by Center City Incorporated into affordable retail and office space for local business, according to developer Mike Schecter. Down the block, the Maryland Institute College of Art took over a building at the corner of North Avenue and Howard Street. This sits across North Avenue from the Load of Fun warehouse owned by Sherwin Mark, which is occupied by a lively group of artists and professionals. Washington, D.C.-based Somerset Development Company and Riverdale International, Inc. saw the grand opening of their Station North Townhomes on North Calvert Street. Designed by Baltimore architect Klaus Philipsen, the homes are fetching prices from $360,000 to close to $500,000. Architect and developer Ed Hord of Hord Coplan Macht, along with several additional development partners, invested more than $10 million to convert the 1929 Railway Express Building near Penn Station into lofts and commercial space. That project is scheduled to open at the end of 2007. The list goes on and on." (Thanks, Cultural Policy Listserv.)
July 09, 2007 Mobius goes upscale in the South EndLinda Frye Burnham / 04:56 PM Mobius Artists Group has a new home in the ArtBlock development (artblock.net), "initiated by the Boston Redevelopment Authority and developed by New Atlantic Development) comprising the Joshua Bates Art Center and newly constructed artist live-work spaces and condominiums." Mobius was founded by artist Marilyn Arsem in 1977, a compatriot in the national alternative artspace network. In those days, my live-work space, an empty warehouse on the 5th floor of the Victor Building in downtown L.A., shared with three others, rented at $500 a month for 8,000 sq. ft. Don't know what Mobius is paying, but here's the description of Artblock from its Web site: "A vibrant and creative community of the arts, featuring lofts and townhomes within the South End of Boston. Priced from the low $500’s." That would be the $500,000s. Here's the dope on one of the currently available lofts, 1,116 sq. ft., $589,000, with a $296 monthly condo fee: "This private address East Newton Street home is flooded with light by two south facing 17’ x 10’ energy efficient windows. Thoroughly modern finishes include espresso cabinets, Giallo granite, stainless steel appliances and bamboo hardwood flooring. The first floor features a gourmet kitchen, convenient half bath, open layout and dramatic 18 foot atrium. A master bedroom, huge master closet, fully tiled bathroom with two entrances and a loft area round out the second floor. All this in an elevator building steps from all the South End has to offer. Garage parking is available." |
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