Let’s Talk, Tacoma! Part 2

Photo by Jason Farris, Frankly Cinematics, LLC.

The Tacoma Arts Commission and the Arts & Culture Coalition of Pierce County invite the public to gather for the second Creative Community Conversations event on Wednesday, May 30, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Asia Pacific Cultural Center, 4851 S. Tacoma Way in Tacoma. This free public event will include facilitated break-out sessions and discussions focused on “Tacoma Creates” – an initiative to expand arts, heritage, science and cultural experiences throughout Tacoma, reduce barriers to access, and increase offerings for youth after school and in the summer. The event will also include an overview from the Jan. 24 Creative Community Conversations event.

“Tacoma Creates’ has the potential to be a transformative, powerful tool for community enrichment and equity throughout Tacoma, but we need to hear from you about the role you or your organization could play in this process. What do you need to make Tacoma a more dynamic place to live and thrive? Help us build on the momentum from our first meeting by contributing your collective vision and energy to this event.”
– Tacoma Arts Commission Chair Mike Sweney

Community input and insights from this event will help inform the development of the “Tacoma Creates” initiative. This event is part of a continued effort to nurture an authentic and vibrant arts community reflective of the voices and talents throughout Tacoma.

What: Creative Community Conversations: Tacoma Creates
When: Wednesday, May 30, 2018, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Where: Asia Pacific Cultural Center, 4851 S. Tacoma Way
Cost: Free and open to the public

This event is hosted by Asia Pacific Cultural Center. Supervised children are welcome and light refreshments will be served.

More information can be found on the event’s Facebook page.

Music shines in Tacoma with ORS and TYSA

 

ORCHESTRAL RECITAL SERIES
The Orchestral Recital Series, held May 19 to May 24, 2018 at the University of Puget Sound’s Schneebeck Concert Hall, is well worth attending to enjoy serious young musicians play repertoire that is pleasing to listen to as well as lush, full-toned with a great orchestra to accompany many young, talented musicians.  Saturday night’s concert, with Even Lambert as Conductor, was impressive with a great rendition of Liszt’s Concerto in E Flat Major, No. 1 by Nathan Zhao.  Many stand-out performances ensued, with Abigail Park playing a wonderful Greig Concerto as a finale.  If you like classical piano music and an interesting variety of music, plan to attend this series this week! The concert is free, but a donation is kindly requested.

Coming Up

What: Orchestral Recital Series – piano students of all ages perform live with an orchestra
Where: University of Puget Sound, Schneebeck Concert Hall, 1500 N. Warner Street in Tacoma
When: Continues May 21, 22, 23, & 24, 2018 @ 7:30 pm
Cost: Donations accepted at the door
More information: www.orstacoma.org

 

Tacoma Youth Symphony performs their season finale at the Rialto Theater.

TACOMA YOUTH SYMPHONY
Tacoma Youth Symphony once again showed their stars and stripes in their latest amazing performance at the Rialto Theater for their finale concert on Sunday, May 20, which featured Spanish composers, along with the famous and rousing march, Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever.  Dr. Paul-Elliot Cobbs conducted with great love and elicited a response from the orchestra that is performance at its best.  The orchestra has many talented young musicians that obviously love what they do, but it is their ability to play as one instrument that distinguishes them.  My favorite piece was the three-movement, The Three Cornered Hat, by Manuel de Falla, but Concerto de Aranjuez for Guitar by Joaquin Rodrigo was an obvious crowd-pleaser.  The guest guitarist, Michael Partington, was captivating and lyrical.  The excellence of the music and the performance left a smile on my face and a skip in my walk as I left the acoustically lovely Rialto Theater. Everything about this performance shined bright.

 

The Tacoma Arts Commission is proud to support Orchestral Recital Series of Tacoma through Arts Projects funding and Tacoma Youth Symphony Orchestra through the Arts Anchor Fund.

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This review was written by Tacoma Arts Commission member Liesl Santkuyl. She works for the College Success Foundation and serves on the board of Latinx Unidos of the South Sound. Liesl has served on the Tacoma Arts Commission since 2017.

Call for Tacoma Artists: Studio Tour 2018

UPDATED 6/25/18: The application deadline has been extended to Monday, July 2, 2018 by 11:59pm.

Application deadline: Monday, June 25, 2018, 11:59 pm NOW 7/2/2018 by 11:59pm

Are you a professional artist that lives in Tacoma and/or has a working studio in Tacoma? Help us advance the visibility of the arts in Tacoma by applying to participate in our 17^th annual Tacoma Studio Tour! The Tacoma Studio Tour is an exciting way to open your studio to the public, give demonstrations of how you make your work, or host a hands-on activity for the community.

The Tacoma Arts Commission is seeking professional artists who are willing to open their studios to the public for the Tacoma Studio Tour, one of the features of Tacoma Arts Month this October. The emphasis of this tour is to raise visibility of the arts and provide artistic opportunities for the community to connect to the arts. We encourage artists to have work for sale. Studios will be open on Saturday, October 13^th and Sunday, October 14^th from 11 am to 5 pm. Artists can choose to be open on Saturday, Sunday, or both days. The Tacoma Arts Commission will produce extensive electronic publicity materials including email newsletters, blog posts, and an interactive website and map. We will also produce a printed brochure for the Tacoma Studio Tour. The studio tours are free to both the artists and visitors. Artists are encouraged to use the Tacoma Arts publicity materials to invite personal guests and patrons to attend this event.

This year, we will be continuing the Studio Tour Passport program as an incentive for people to visit new and/or multiple studios that they’ve never been to before. Each studio space will receive a unique stamp to indicate guests’ attendance. Studio Tour artists are encouraged, but not required, to donate a small art item that can be included in the prize packages.

Deadline for applications is Monday, June 25, 2018, 11:59 pm. Applicants will be juried in a competitive process by a sub-committee of the Tacoma Arts Commission and selected based on the quality of artwork and the overall diversity of the work presented, as well as geographic diversity of the studios.

Eligibility:

• You must live within the City of Tacoma limits and/or your working studio must be located within the City of Tacoma limits
• You must provide a demonstration of your art form and/or provide a hands-on activity for attendees
• You must actively promote the Studio Tour to your own contacts

If you would like to be a guest at another studio, the above guidelines still apply. A studio is defined as a location where artwork is created on a consistent basis.

People who are members of historically disenfranchised racial, ethnic, cultural, and other identity groups are strongly encouraged to apply.

To Apply:

Eligible artists interested in this opportunity must fill out the online application form and attach the following items via Submittable: https://tacomaarts.submittable.com/submit

1. Five Work Samples: Submit 5 high quality JPEG files of your past work. If selected for the tour, we will use the images in materials produced for Tacoma Arts Month. Images must be at least 300 ppi resolution. Images smaller than 600 pixels per side are not recommended
2. Artist Resume or Bio (if you have not participated in the Studio Tour in the past 2 years)

Please note: each artist in a group studio needs to submit their own application, work samples, and artist bio.

Questions? Contact Rachel Betron at 253.591.5191 or rbetron@cityoftacoma.org

Spaceworks Tacoma Seeks New Director — Spaceworks Tacoma

We are looking for our next director Over the past eight years, Spaceworks Tacoma has developed into a pillar of the Tacoma arts and maker communities, while invigorating the entrepreneurial ecosystem. We are seeking the next Spaceworks Program Director to grow the program and the entrepreneurial community. The ideal candidate must be passionate about the role…

via Spaceworks Tacoma Seeks New Director — Spaceworks Tacoma

Take New Survey for TRANSFORM: Theater District Public Projects — Spaceworks Tacoma

What would you change in Tacoma’s Theater District? What will improve your experience? The new survey released on tacomatheaterdistrict.com includes proposals for Public Realm Projects in different areas within the TRANSFORM project footprint. The project partners, invite all comments and ask you to share the survey widely to gather as much community feedback as possible.…

via Take New Survey for TRANSFORM: Theater District Public Projects — Spaceworks Tacoma

Refugee Stories

Tacoma Refugee Choir invites you to join in an evening of music and storytelling grounded in themes of hope, heroism and compassion amidst adversity. “Refugee Stories” will feature Tacoma Refugee Choir in collaboration with local artists as they explore songs and stories surrounding refugee experiences and celebrate the invaluable contributions of refugees in the Tacoma community. There will be a brief talkback after the event.

What: “Refugee Stories” multi-media concert
Where: Stewart Middle School, 5010 Pacific Ave, Tacoma
When: Saturday, May 12, 7 pm
Tickets: Admission is free at the door; seating will be on a first-come basis

After hosting two successful Community Sing-Along events, Tacoma Refugee Choir plans to delve deeper into conversations about experiences our refugee community members encounter and accounts of courage and resilience in meeting those experiences. The program will include several original songs composed by refugees within the ensemble as well as dance, original poetry, stories by refugee community members, a guest performance by Caribbean singer Anthony Cole and artwork by Jonathan Hanks.

Tacoma Refugee Choir is a nonprofit music ensemble committed to the mission of building a more welcoming community through song. By creating opportunities for people to come together through music, TRC strives to create a welcoming, supportive network of refugees, immigrants and allies in the Tacoma and surrounding communities.