Somerville Arts Council December News

November 2013 Newsletter Somerville Arts Council Newsletter Arts Census, Holiday Lights Tour, Art Superstars & Phone Box Art! Please forward this newsletter to friends and have them subscribe by clicking here. Save the Dates    Wed., Nov. 27 Deadline to return Somerville Creative Economy Survey The Somerville Arts Council is working with the City's OSPCD Department and UMass Center for Policy Analysis to conduct a survey and derive a report on Somerville's Creative Economy. We are trying to understand the overall economic impact and assets of the cluster. Please take 5 minutes to answer the survey and spread the word! Go here to fill out survey. Sun., Dec. 1, 7:30pm Art Superstars Event! Join us at the Armory as we celebrate our the 2013 artists of the month. See our Facebook event page to rsvp and help us spread the word! Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave. Sat., Dec. 14 Illuminations Tour A 45-minute trolley ride of the 'ville's most spectacular holiday displays. Tour times: 4:30, 5, 5:45, 6:15, 7, 7:30, 8:15, 8:45, 9:15. Tickets on sale beginning Monday, Dec. 2 at Blue Cloud Gallery, 713 Broadway, Ball Square. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for kids and seniors. Tours leave from, and return to, City Hall, 93 Highland Ave. Snow emergency date: Sun., Dec. 15. Get In My Shoes Check out the exhibit at the Inside Out Gallery in Davis Square      The Inside-Out Gallery in Davis Square presents "Get In My Shoes," an exhibition curated by Jenn Harrington featuring the work of four Somerville artists-Anastasia Cazabon, Caleb Cole (his photo is above), Robert Gallegos, Stebs Schinnerer. Braving a delicate walk with empathy, narrating stories to which we tend to turn a blind eye, "Get In My Shoes"  presents artists with work devoted to the consideration of stepping into the shoes of another.    The exhibit runs through Nov. 25, CVS windows, Davis Square  Calling Cultural Producers We're getting ready to unfurl a new year of ArtsUnion events. For our Winter Series, we start by posting a call to artists and cultural producers. So whether you want to organize an ice sculpture exhibit, a storytelling showdown or a Union Square tasting tour-send us your ideas! Events need to take place in the Union Square area between January and early April; indoors or outdoors. Stipends given to selected proposals. Download the call here. The deadline is Monday, December 9th. Giddyap! Shop Local Snag yourself holiday cards & two great books: Somerville: City of Lights and Nibble--they make fabulous gifts   Nibble ($20) is our book filled with recipes, articles and art that reflect food and culture in Union Square and beyond. Somerville: City of Lights ($5) features stories and photos about the families who decorate their homes for the holidays. We are also selling holiday cards featuring decorated Somerville homes. You can find out where to buy these products here: SAC Holiday Merch When you buy any of these items, you not only get a great product, you are supporting the public arts programming of the Arts Council. Thank You! The Somerville Arts Council is a municipal agency of the city of Somerville. Joseph A. Curtatone, Mayor SAC Staff Gregory Jenkins, Director Rachel Strutt, Program Manager Heather Balchunas, Office Manager Carlene Campbell, Director of Community Relations Meagan O'Brien, ArtsUnion Coordinator SAC Board Valeria Amato Kelvy Bird Tori Costa Tim Devin Jacy Edelman Michael Epstein Nicole Pierce Robert Smyth  Contact Information Somerville Arts Council 50 Evergreen Ave. Somerville, MA 02145 t: 617-625-6600, x2985 f: 617-666-4325 www.somervilleartscouncil.org                  Greetings! Over the summer we worked with the local Sikh community to throw a festival in September called "Utsav! A Festival of Sikh & Punjabi Culture." On the day of the festival, Union Square was swathed in a rainbow of vibrant colors, thanks to several hundred women wearing gorgeous saris (there were plenty of men there, too, albeit a little less colorful!). We hope you made it to this ArtsUnion event and others, but if you missed it, fear not: We will be unveiling our ArtsUnion Winter Series in early January. To unsubscribe from this newsletter, click on "SafeUnsubscribe" at the bottom of this newsletter. Somerville Arts Council, City of Somerville Joseph A. Curtatone, Mayor Stand Up and Be Counted! Fill out the Somerville Creative Use Survey you arm the city with data that might affect future development. It will take you only 5 minutes! The Somerville Arts Council is working with the City's OSPCD Department and UMass Center for Policy Analysis to conduct a survey and derive a report on Somerville's Creative Economy. We are trying to understand the overall economic impact and assets of the cluster. Once we have a sense of how many artists-of all kinds-live in the city and contribute to the economy, the arts community may have more leverage regarding future development of the city. Please take 5 minutes to answer the survey and spread the word! Plus you'll be entered to win one of four $50 gift cards to a local restaurant or business of your choosing or at Amazon.com. Go here to fill out survey. Mega-Watt Tour   Tix for the Illuminations Tour (12/14) will sell at the speed of light. Grab yours beginning Dec. 2 or consider other options for lights gawking.  Take the Illuminations Trolley At the darkest time of the year, Somerville residents decorate their homes with festive strings of lights and collections of holiday figurines, transforming our cold winter nights with a blaze of light and beauty.  In celebration of this community expression, the Somerville Arts Council conducts the Illuminations Tour, a 45-minute trolley ride featuring the city's brightest displays. Tours leave from Somerville City Hall where coffee, hot chocolate and cookies are served. There also will be craft activities for children and live music. We offer tours to both East and West Somerville. Ticket information is here. Please note you must pay by cash or check at Blue Cloud Gallery; also note whether you want East or West tickets. Illuminations Bike Tour    Date: Saturday, Dec. 14  Departure time: meet at 5:50pm, leave at 6pm   Departure location: Somerville High school Main entrance Route: To Willow Ave & back, same as last year Duration: 45 minutes, or less Required: warm clothes & bike lights; Recommended: holiday lights, costumes & good cheer;   Suggested Donation: Donate $5 to the Somerville Arts Council, and post-tour, enjoy hot drinks & treats at City Hall   Take a Self-Guided Tour with our official Illuminations Map Illuminations Tour Maps ($3) will be available at Blue Cloud Gallery and Magpie beginning Monday, December 16; you can also buy them the night of the tour, Dec. 14th, at City Hall. Art Superstars! Come mingle with 2013 artists of the month     Thanks to the SAC's Tim Devin, Valeria Amato and the Nave's Jenn Harrington, the Arts Council's Artist of the Month program has been running since the beginning of 2013.  One of this year's artists is musician and artist Dan Blakeslee, whose poster is featured above. To read all about 2013 artists, go here: Artist of the Month. And don't miss your chance to celebrate and mingle with this creative lot -- and view their work! Join us at the Arts at the Armory Cafe on Sunday, Dec. 1st for an evening of artsy revelry. For full event info, go the the Art Superstars! facebook page. Dialing for Art Local Artists transform abandoned pay phones into playful works of art It is said that if SAC volunteer and community supporter extraordinaire Ron Newman doesn't show up at a local event, it didn't happen. Ron = reality. Well, we can tell you our city-wide opening for the Phone Art Project DID happen, because Ron was in the house! He's seen here with another one of our loyal supporters, Dan Toner, standing by a phone box by Joe Barillaro. For those of you who missed the opening, be sure to check out the playful new phone booths around town; this is a joint project between SAC and the Nave Gallery. Participating artists are: Barillaro, Pauline Lim, Rachel Mello, Gary Duehr, Jude Griffin and Friends of the Somerville Library. And special thanks to Mayor Curtatone for: 1) dreaming up the idea of converting abandoned phone booths into art and 2) coming to our opening! Below is a photo of Jude Griffen with her phone box on Highland Ave. She created a gorgeous "floating" collage using shells. And this leads us to a joke: It's not a cell phone, it's a SHELL phone. (Sorry.)