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1108 Jefferson Street
Alexandria
Virginia 22314
Phone:703.838.6348
Fax:703.838.6344 |
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For Immediate Release
May 27, 2009
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For
More Information, Contact
Cheryl Anne Colton, Cultural Arts Administrator
Office of the Arts
703.838.5095 or cherylanne.colton@alexandriava.gov |
Juneteenth
Film and Music Celebration:
“Come Walk in My Shoes” Film and Gospel Choir Concert
To be held at MetroStage
Click Here
for The Event Flyer
WHEN:
Sunday, June 14, 2009 - 5 pm - 8 pm
WHERE:
MetroStage, 1201 N. Royal Street, Alexandria, VA
WHO:
Sponsored by MetroStage, Alexandria Film Festival, Alexandria
Commission for the Arts, and Office of the Arts
WHAT:
Join us for a viewing of the film “Come Walk in My Shoes” and
meet the director, Robin Smith. The documentary depicts a pilgrimage
led by Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) to major sites in the battle for
civil rights. An inspirational performance of songs of the civil
rights movement by the Women’s Ecumenical Church of Ebenezer Baptist
Church, Alexandria, directed by Minister Becky Mays and Mr. Jeff
Conroy, will follow the film. Also included in the program is
a dessert reception and a “conversation” with the film’s director
Robin Smith. Space is limited, reservations required. To purchase
tickets online ($25), please visit:www.alexandriacommissionorthearts.org
or call (703) 838-6348.
The Juneteenth Film
and Music Celebration is a collaboration among MetroStage, Alexandria
Film Festival, Alexandria Commission for the Arts, and The Office
of the Arts. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Alexandria
Film Festival and MetroStage.
For more information
or to learn more about Office of the Arts programs and services,
contact the Alexandria Commission for the Arts at (703)838-6348
or aca@alexandriava.gov.
The Alexandria Commission
for the Arts is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The Commission
and the Office of the Arts, a division of the Department of Recreation,
Parks & Cultural Activities, work together to promote and cultivate
the arts in the City of Alexandria. For more information, please
visit their websites at www.alexandriacommissionorthearts.org
and www.alexandriava.gov/arts.
Founded in 1984, MetroStage
is a professional theatre company offering an eclectic season
of plays and musicals in an intimate theatre setting in North
Old Town Alexandria. MetroStage presents challenging, innovative
work, chosen to enrich, enlighten, and entertain and reflecting
the diverse population of the Washington metropolitan area. MetroStage
is widely recognized for its artistic vision and its contribution
in the community. To learn about MetroStage call (703) 548-9044
or visit: www.metrostage.org.
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For Immediate Release
July 1, 2008
PIO#257-08/jlh
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For
More Information, Contact
Jennifer Harris, Communications Officer, at 703.838.5078 |
City
Council Authorizes Plan for Design Competition To Develop Public
Art Honoring Charles Houston
Art Will Be Displayed in Plaza of the Renovated
Charles Houston Recreation Center
For more information on the Charles
Houston Public Art Project, Click Here.
On Tuesday, June 24, the Alexandria City Council received a status
report on the proposed public art honoring civil rights attorney
Charles Houston, and authorized a plan to hold a design competition
to select public art honoring Houston in the plaza of the renovated
Charles Houston Recreation Center. The center is scheduled to
reopen in the spring of 2009. The City Council authorized the
City Manager to appoint a selection panel to oversee the design
process for the public art. They also authorized Mayor William
D. Euille to appoint a Charles Houston Art Project Stakeholder
Advisory Group to work with City staff and the selection panel
in choosing the finalist for the design competition. The Commission
for the Arts will proceed with a plan to raise the $300,000 needed
to pay for all aspects of the design competition and the public
art chosen from the competition.
In
October 2005, Councilman Ludwig Gaines recommended to City Council
that the Charles Houston Recreation Center renovation project
feature public art honoring the memory of Charles Houston. Charles
Houston was an attorney of national reputation and a seminal figure
in the civil rights movement. He used his expertise and influence
to bring educational opportunity to Alexandrias African
American community. The Council endorsed Councilman Gaines
recommendation that public art honoring Charles Houston be incorporated
into the renovated Center, and requested that the Commission for
the Arts coordinate with City staff and obtain input from the
community to identify the type of public art that should be located
at the center.
From
September 2007 through May 2008, Pat Miller, Chair of the Commission
for the Arts, and City staff met with representatives of numerous
organizations and stakeholder groups to discuss the public art
for Charles Houston. In addition, two community meetings and a
public hearing were held to solicit public input. The Commission
for the Arts made a final recommendation to City Council that
a design competition be held to develop the public art honoring
Charles Houston.
A
design competition is expected to begin in the summer of 2008.
The competition will be advertised widely and will target local,
national, and minority participation. A selection panel will choose
three semi-finalists by late fall, each of whom will receive a
$1,000 honorarium to develop a concept model for the public art.
The final proposals will be exhibited for a two-week public review
period. Based on public comment, selection panel review, and Stakeholder
Advisory Group input, one of the proposals will be chosen as the
final concept to be recommended to City Council during the winter
of 2009, in order for the art to be ready when the center reopens
in the spring.
For
more information, please contact Cheryl Anne Colton at 703.838.6348.
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Alexandria
Commission for the Arts
Solicits ideas for the
CHARLES HOUSTON PUBLIC ART PROJECT
In
June, Alexandria's City Council endorsed the concept of incorporating
public art honoring Charles Houston into the renovated Charles
Houston Recreation Center slated to be completed in December of
2008.
The
Alexandria Commission for the Arts with the Department of Recreation,
Parks and Cultural Activities is in the process of organizing
a series of community outreach activities to garner insights,
input and community support on the type of public art that should
be located at the Charles Houston Recreation Center plaza honoring
Charles Houston. The public art proposal will honor, commemorate
and memorialize Charles Houston and his contributions to the struggle
for civil rights and equality in public education in the City
of Alexandria. It is anticipated the memorial will be sited in
the open space-pedestrian plaza at the main entrance of the new
facility.
Charles
Houston was an attorney of national reputation and a seminal figure
in the civil rights movement. He was Dean of Howard University
Law School and authored a legal brief that was used by his protégé,
Thurgood Marshall, to win the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case,
Brown vs. the Topeka Board of Education, which helped end racial
segregation in American schools. Houston used his expertise and
influence in bringing educational opportunity to the Alexandria
African-American community. In appreciation for his contributions,
the elementary school on Wythe Street was renamed in his honor.
The Arts Commission is developing fund-raising plans for the Houston
memorial. Lavern Chatman, Urban League President and CEO, and
Mame Reiley, President of the Reiley Group, will be heading the
fundraising efforts. If you wish to become involved with the Alexandria
Commission for the Arts in these planning efforts or have any
suggestions or comments you wish to provide, please visit, the
Alexandria Commission for the Arts' website at www.alexandriacommissionforthearts.org,
or send in your comments to:
Charles Houston Public Art Project
c/o Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities
1108 Jefferson Street, Alexandria, VA 22314,
or call 703.838.6348 or email: publicartCH@alexandriava.gov.
The City of Alexandria
is committed to compliance with the City's Human Rights Code and
the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation
or to request materials in an alternative format, call Cheryl
Anne Colton, Cultural Arts Administrator, of the Department of
Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities at 703.838.6348 (TTY
703.838.4902) or email cherylanne.colton@alexandriava.gov.
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City Council Receives the Lord Cultural Resources
Final Report on the Arts
To
obtain a copy of the "Lord Report" in Acrobat Reader
format, CLICK
HERE.
On On February 23, the Alexandria City Council received the Lord
Cultural Resources' final report, and thanked the members of the
Commission for the Arts for their efforts on behalf of the City.
The next step is to have a joint work session with the Arts Commission
to further discuss the contents of the recommendations, to specifics
in terms of processes, goals, missions and outcomes, to be followed
by an implementation process.
Lord Cultural Resources consultancy firm conducted
a study of the arts in Alexandria to assist the Commission for
the Arts in creating a plan for the future to make Alexandria
a more exciting, dynamic and creative community that embraces
and celebrates the arts and culture. The report offers fifteen
recommendations. These recommendations focus on a vision for the
arts; a new mission, strategic plan, and organizational structure
for the Commission; and ways to increase funding resources for
the arts.
To obtain a copy of the Lord Cultural Resources'
final report, or for more information about the Alexandria Commission
for the Arts, call 703.838.6348 or CLICK
HERE to obtain a copy of the "Lord Report"
in Acrobat Reader format.
The City of Alexandria is committed to compliance
with the City's Human Rights Code and the Americans with Disabilities
Act. To request a reasonable accommodation or to request materials
in an alternative format, call Cheryl Anne Colton, Cultural Arts
Administrator, of the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural
Activities at 703.838.6348 (TTY 703.838.4902) or email cherylanne.colton@alexandriava.gov.
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Alexandria Commission for the Arts Announces Results of
National Study: Arts & Economic Prosperity III
To
obtain a copy of the Report in Acrobat Reader format,
CLICK
HERE.
To
download Mary Margaret Schoenfeld's Power Point Presentation,
CLICK
HERE
The City of Alexandria’s Commission for the Arts is pleased to
announce the results of the most comprehensive economic impact
study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry ever conducted
in the United States. Americans for the Arts, a nonprofit arts
organization based in New York City, conducted the study, Arts
& Economic Prosperity III. The study report documents the impact
of the cultural industry in 156 communities across the country.
The report can be downloaded at in Acrobat Reader format Here.
The City of Alexandria and the Alexandria Commission
for the Arts are proud to have been active partners in this groundbreaking
study. The results establish the arts and cultural industry as
a major factor in Alexandria’s economy. “Alexandria is very lucky
to have such an active and diverse arts community. The impact
the arts has made on our community is very obvious,” stated Mayor
William D. Euille.
Each year, the arts and cultural industry contributes
more than $80 million to the local economy in Alexandria. This
figure comprises $13.64 million in expenditures by nonprofit arts
and cultural organizations and an additional $66.37 million in
event-related spending by their audiences. It is this corollary
spending that pumps vital revenue into local restaurants, hotels,
retail stores, parking garages, and other businesses in the City.
Mary Margaret Schoenfeld, Community Development
Manager with Americans for the Arts presented the City of Alexandria's
findings at the Wednesday, February 27 artCHAT event held at the
Torpedo Factory Art Center (105 N. Union St.). Residents wishing
the opportunity to further explore this groundbreaking survey
can download a copy of Ms. Schoenfeld's Power Point presentation
by clicking Here.
The City of Alexandria is committed
to compliance with the City's Human Rights Code and the Americans
with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation or
to request materials in an alternative format, call Cheryl Anne
Colton, Cultural Arts Administrator, of the Department of Recreation,
Parks and Cultural Activities at 703.838.6348 (TTY 703.838.4902)
or email cherylanne.colton@alexandriava.gov.
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