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GO ART!

GO ART! picks assistant to be new executive director

By Maria Pericozzi

Gregory Hallock began the transition as the new executive director of the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council five weeks ago, after former Executive Director Jennifer Gray resigned.

Hallock grew up in Delevan and went to Genesee Community College. He graduated with a Theater degree and from there, went to Brockport to get his bachelor’s degree in Acting, with a minor in Dance. He received his graduate degree from the University at Buffalo and started working for GO ART! a year and a half ago as the assistant director.

As the executive director, Hallock’s schedule changes from day to day. He works on events, finances and the Decentralization Grant Program.  

“I’m getting paid to be involved with the arts,” Hallock said. “It’s the most incredible thing in the world. Most people, arts is a luxury. It’s something that they can only hope they can get somewhere. I get to do it as my job.”

Since 1962, GO ART! has been dedicated to developing the cultural life in Genesee and Orleans counties by facilitating the creation, presentation and experience of art, heritage and traditions.

GO ART! is in the midst of hiring a new assistant director to take over the grants program. Hallock said he hopes the new director will start Aug. 1.

Gray resigned from the position for personal reasons, but still volunteers, Hallock said.

“She is still completely passionate about us,” Hallock said. “She is still dedicated to us.”

Hallock said his immediate goal is to increase the membership to 600 members by June 2018 and he also wants to increase awareness of GO ART!

“I’ve been trying to attend every event possible,” Hallock said. “Once I am done with the transition [into the new position] I am going to start going to board meetings all over the place.”

Picnic in the Park, at 11 a.m. on July 4, is one of Hallock’s big projects. He is in charge of the event at Centennial Park, and said he is excited for this year’s theme, “Summer of Love.”

Hallock said he is more than willing to meet with anybody or talk to anybody about GO ART!, and arts and culture in general. He wants to get more people into the building, known as Seymour Place, located at 201 E. Main St. in Batavia, to see the artwork.

“This building is our biggest expense,” Hallock said, of the historic brick property downtown. “It’s an amazing building and I want to utilize it to its fullest potential. I want to get people in this building and have art hanging on every wall.”

Hallock said working under Gray was extremely beneficial for his transition to the new position.  

“Working with her has been amazing,” Hallock said. “I’ve made the connections I didn’t previously have. I got to see how things worked here before I got to dive in.”

Anyone can visit GO ART! from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturdays and every second Sunday from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.

“We may not be the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, but we have some pretty amazing stuff here,” Hallock said.

GO ART! receives $10K National Endowment for the Arts Grant

By Billie Owens

Press release:

The Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council (GO ART!) has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support the Genesee-Orleans Culture Connects Series, which is called "GO-C."

This is a multi-month program to highlight, explore and increase appreciation for the artistic contributions of diverse ethnic and cultural populations of Genesee and Orleans counties. The project will enhance our region’s current arts offerings, and enable us to create new opportunities to feature our region’s diversity through performances, arts workshops/classes, screenings, lectures, exhibits, and historical presentations.

NEA (www.arts.gov) Chairman Jane Chu said, “The National Endowment for the Arts is committed to nurturing artists and the arts in communities across the country. Supporting projects from organizations like GO ART! represents a wise investment in both western New York and the creative vitality of the nation.”

At GO ART! the project is being led by Karen Canning, Director of GLOW Traditions, a traditional arts and folklife program shared by the arts councils of the GLOW region.

Canning says, “We want to create more spaces and places where people can celebrate their cultural heritage, experience cultures different than their own, and find connections that may otherwise remain hidden or forgotten.”

GO ART! began offering programs in the series last October, including a Mexican Sugar Skull Workshop for Día de los Muertos, a Celtic Christmas event as part of Batavia’s Christmas in the City, and “Hush Now: Poems to Read Aloud,” poetry workshops and reading by Annette Daniels Taylor in February.

Currently, the Bank of Castile Main Gallery features a traveling exhibit, “Dream of America,” showcasing the work and creative lives of Hispanic farmworkers in our state.

The series will extend through 2017, and includes collaborations with local libraries, festivals and town and village partners. GO-C events will feature the cultural and/or artistic contributions of ethnic communities in our region, historically and present-day. These include Italian, Polish, Irish, African American, Latino, Anglo, and Native American traditions.

Other events will highlight unique cultural traditions of our region, related to our particular histories, environment, agriculture and economies.

We welcome information about programs on these themes, to add to our listings and promotions of GO-C events. Call 585-343-9313, email glowtraditions@goart.org, or visit www.goart.org/go-c for a full listing.

GO ART! to host show by plein aire artist Stacy Kirby

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

GO ART! presents an exhibit by Stacy Kirby “A Nice View “-- A Collection of En Plein Aire Paintings and Illustrations.”

After a couple decades of drawing, first in crayon then in pencil, Stacey Kirby picked up a paint brush, pursuing an education in illustration at Montserrat College of Art. After graduating she applied her illustration skills to mural painting, creating large scale art works for private homes, businesses, and public spaces.

Her passion is forming concept and idea into impactful paintings, whether the theme is historic, or of the natural world.

Kirby, a native of Albion, has been contributing murals to the Orleans and Monroe counties for a number of years.

"As a muralist, it's my goal to create artwork that is accessible to everyone, to encourage appreciation for art and the deeply rooted communities that we're a part of," Kirby said. "Public murals are a great opportunity to expose numbers of people to the arts, while sharing something important about that community with the world.”

In her free time she enjoys painting "en plein aire." She is working with “Traveling Towpath Troubadours" -- a music performance group whose summer concerts are part of the Bicentennial Celebration of the Erie Canal in Orleans County -- on a commemorative painting capturing the idea behind their 2017 endeavor.

"A Nice View" opens July 11 and runs through Sept. 10 at GO ART!, located inside historic Seymour Plac,e 201 E. Main St., Batavia.

Gallery hours: Thursday and Friday 11 a.m. - 7 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., and on the second Sunday of the month, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

There will be a closing reception, with light fare, on Sept. 7 from 6 to 8 p.m.,  featuring “Traveling Towpath Troubadours” as entertainment and the unveiling of the commemorative painting.

Photos: GO ART! opens 'Summer of Love' and photo exhibit on immigrants

By Howard B. Owens

GO ART! opened two shows at Seymore Place last night -- the member's show, with the theme, "Summer of Love," in honor of the 50th anniversary of the hippies' heyday --summer of 1967, and "The Dream of America."

"The Dream of America: Separation & Sacrifice in the Lives of North Country Latino Immigrants," is a display of the photography and writing of Lisa Catalfamo Flores. It originally was on display at the Crandall Public Library in Glens Falls. GO ART! is its first stop on a statewide tour. The show will be on display through July 7.

'DREAM of America' photography exhibit of North Country Latino workers opens next month at GO ART!

By Billie Owens

GO ART! will present a collection of photographs depicting the lives and sacrifices of Latino workers in this country along the U.S.-Mexican border and the families they left behind in Mexico in a special exhibit next month.

"DREAM of America: Separation & Sacrifice in the Lives of North Country Latino Immigrants" is the title of the collection by Lisa Catalfamo-Flores.

The opening reception is from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 16, at GO ART!, located at 201 E. Main St. in Downtown Batavia.

The exhibit will be subsequently available for viewing during these gallery hours:

Tuesday: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Wednesday: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Thursday: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Friday: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., 6 – 8 p.m.
Saturday: 10  – 11 a.m.

Contact:
Gregory Hallock, assistant director
(585) 343-9313
ghallock@goart.org

'Art of the Rural' showcases dozens of artists from the region

By Howard B. Owens

Gregory Hallock, assistant director of GO ART!, reads off the winners Thursday night of the juried exhibition held by the arts council this month at the show's opening at Seymore Place in Batavia.

First Place, with a $200 cash prize, went to Conrad Borucki, of Alden. Joann Long, of Bloomfield, was second (both pictured below).

Third, Kevin Hammon and honorable mentions to: Rebecca Graham, John Hodgins, Lynnette Celedonia, Sabrina Ahmed, Brian Kemp, David Burke, Tracy Billings and Richard Ellingham.

GO ART! received hundreds of submissions under the theme "Art of the Rural." A total of 68 pieces were selected for the show, which runs through May 12.

Pictured with Hallock, Director Jennifer Gray and Board Member Mary Jo Whitman.

Picnic in the Park organizers ask City Council to provide more funding to help hold event this year

By Howard B. Owens

With only one dissenting vote, the Batavia City Council last night agreed to take up the issue at its next meeting of providing $4,000 to GO ART! to help fund the July 4 Picnic in the Park.

The GO ART! Board almost didn't approve hosting the annual event in Centennial Park because of financial concerns. 

There was a time when the city provided GO ART! with $5,000 in annual funding. That assistance has been cut back to $2,500. This year, the county cut its funding to the arts council by 10 percent. Local donations continue to be hard to generate.

"We have a small number of businesses that support everything in our community and we tap them a lot," GO ART! Director Jennifer Gray told the council last night during a short presentation about the need for the assistance.

GO ART! was all set to drop the event when Michelle Crier came forward and offered to chair the event committee in an effort to keep it going at least one more year.

Gray said Picnic in the Park has never been a moneymaker, but it's at least broken even some years.

It costs $12,000 to host.

Council members had some questions about where the money was going to come from, with Al McGinnis raising a question about funds being transferred from the former Vibrant Batavia account. He said he thought that account was rolled back into the general fund. 

City Manager Jason Molino said that money remained earmarked, with approval of the council, for neighborhood projects and Picnic in the Park fit that criteria.

Gray, Crier and council members all mentioned how the community has lost some significant events in recent years, such as Summer in the City, the St. Joe's Lawn Fete, the Elba Onion Festival, and the Stafford Carnival.

Councilman John Canale noted that without Summer in the City and the Lawn Fete to support, the city was saving some money on those events.

"If we can look at some savings where events have been canceled, we can also apply some of those dollars towards the arts council," Canale said.

The council will vote on a resolution to approve the funding at its next business meeting, April 10. Councilwoman Rose Mary Christian voted no on the motion to consider the resolution at the business meeting.

Canale said he was a supporter of the arts -- he's a musician himself -- but in looking out for his constituents, he had to ask why the arts council was running into difficulty funding Picnic in the Park this year.

Gray said it's always been a struggle. The event was saved last year by a donation from the Red Osier restaurant in Stafford. 

Councilwoman Patti Pacino said another way of looking at it is that Gray is bringing more fiscal discipline to the arts council.

"A lot of the difference is we now have Jennifer Gray running this and she’s a businesswoman and she’s saying, ‘wait a minute, we can’t go in the drain every single year over Picnic in the Park,' " Pacino said.

Crier said she stepped up and volunteered to chair the picnic committee because she thinks it's an important community event, especially in light of other traditional events coming to an end.

"My husband and I moved here in 2000 from Buffalo," she said. "We raised our child in this community and I can’t image raising them anywhere else. Being in Batavia with the activities and the sense of community, you don't find that anywhere, especially on the west side of Buffalo. It’s a safe and beautiful community and it’s because of these events, because that’s where we see our neighbors, see our community."

Also at Monday's meeting:

  • Council considered an application from a group planning a rally at 8:15 a.m., April 8, on East Main Street, on the north side of the street near Clinton Street. The rally will protest Congressman Chris Collins. Councilman Bob Bialkowski raised concerns about whether the group would be trespassing on private property -- the Aldi's parking lot -- and City Manager Jason Molino said that was between the property owner and the rally organizers. He also said that technically, the organizers didn't need to apply for a permit. So long as the sidewalk or traffic isn't blocked, it's a permissible activity.  
  • Three people spoke against a proposed 80-unit apartment complex proposed for East Main Street that DePaul Community Services would like to build. The apartments would target veterans and their families as residents. A zoning change would be required and the property would become nonprofit owned. Councilman Al McGinnis shared the speakers' concerns about the project and objected to his conception that DePaul was looking to profit off of veterans, and that as a veteran he believed veterans wanted to live in houses and be part of the community. Apartments, he said, change the nature of the community. "This is a city of families," McGinnis told WBTA after the meeting. "Families are close-knit. Families live in houses. They become neighborhoods. I honestly think that too many apartments make for too many transients."
  • The City Council agreed to vote on a resolution at its business meeting to declare four submachine guns in the Police Department as surplus so they can be traded for rifles that Police Chief Shawn Heubusch said better meet the department's strategic needs.
  • The council also agreed to vote on a resolution at its next meeting to authorize spending $5,000 on a property appraisal on the former Wiard Plow Factory site on Swan Street. A city-appointed committee had recommended the site last fall as the best location for a new police headquarters, but property owner Tom Mancuso initially said he had other plans for the property. Just before the end of the year, he agreed to discuss a sale of the property to the city. The first step is getting an appraisal to determine fair market value, Molino said. If the owner was willing to sell at that price, the city would then need to complete an environmental review and title search before entering into a cost-analysis phase. With those details completed, the council then could consider whether to move foward with the project and complete the land purchase.

GO ART! releases list of annual grant recipients

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

2017 marks the 30th year that GO ART! has proudly administered the New York State Council on the Arts’ Decentralization (DEC)  Regrant Program  in Genesee and Orleans counties. This program was initiated by the NYS Legislature to offer more artistic and cultural decision-making for state monies spent at a local level.

On March 2nd , GO ART! honored 24 grant recipients from across our two-county region. This year, 20 Reach Grants have been awarded to deserving nonprofits and local government entities who will provide cultural and artistic programming to benefit the local community. In addition, one Ripple Grant has been awarded to an individual artist to create a new work, and three Spark Grants (Arts in Education Grants) have been awarded to individual artists and nonprofit organizations, providing K-12 public school students and/or senior learners high-quality artistic learning experiences.                

With the honorees and GO ART! Board and staff, Sharon White representative of Stephen Hawley, Lynne Johnson, Vice Chairperson of Orleans County Legislature, John DeFillips, of Orleans County Legislature, and Gregg Torrey, of Genesee County Legislature, were treated to a vocal performance by the Genesee Chorale and local school music teachers, Lauren Picarro-Hoerbelt and Jennifer Neroni-Trupo.

 These are the 2017 DEC recipients:

 Orleans County

  • The Arc of Genesee Orleans, sponsored by Orleans County Chamber of Commerce (Open Mic & Art Show), $2,375
  • Lee-Whedon Memorial Library ("Finally Fridays!"), $2,800
  • Lyndonville Lions Club (Music Fun in the summer in Lyndonville), $3,800
  • Orleans County Chamber of Commerce (Traveling Towpath Troubadours: Bicentennial Celebration of the Erie Canal), $5,000
  • Village of Albion (Concerts on the Canal), $2,673
  • Village of Holley (Concerts at Canal Park), $1,000
  • World Life Institute Inc. (Voices from Earth: Pottery Experience in Orleans County), $4,908
  • Yates Community Library (More Than Just Books ),  $4,400

Genesee County

  • The Arc of Genesee Orleans (Art Show and Film Festival), $2,394
  • Batavia Concert Band (2017 Summer Concert Series), $4,250
  • Batavia Players (Summer Musical), $1,750
  • Byron-Bergen Public Library (Art and Music in the Community), $2,250
  • Genesee Chorale (Genesee Chorale 2017 Season), $4,000
  • Batavia Players (Spring After School Program), $1,427
  • Jill Pettigrew (NYS School for the Blind 150th Anniversary Permanent Ceramic Tie Mural), $3,559
  • Ted Canning sponsored by Genesee Symphony Orchestra (Steel Band Residency), $1,725
  • David Burke (Byron-Bergen Public Library Exterior Mural),  $2,500

If you enjoyed any of the events or public artwork created by the recipients, please note that the Decentralization Grant Program (DEC) is probably in danger of being cut or disseminated by Federal budget cuts that are being proposed. If you care about art and culture in your life at the grassroots level, let your legislators know that we need funding to continue to promote art and culture in our community.

Local arts could lose funding under Trump's proposed budget

By Howard B. Owens

The proposed federal spending plan released today by the Trump Administration cuts funding for the arts, which, as the Washington Post points out, will hit small rural communities, such as Batavia, the hardest.

The $148 million National Endowment for the Arts Budget -- 0.004 percent of the overall federal budget -- is funneled down the local level by the New York State Council on the Arts.

If cut, that funding will mean the elimination of grants for local arts groups, said Jennifer Gray, executive director of GO ART! She said there are 25 organizations and individuals in Genesee and Orleans counties who depend on those grants to provide arts events, about 70 a year, along with classes and programs that are enjoyed by more than 20,000 people throughout the two counties.

"If those programs are defunded, those programs will not happen," Gray said.

Early today, Rep. Chris Collins issued a press release expressing a couple of reservations about the Trump budget, particularly as it pertains to agriculture and the National Institute of Health, but did not address any other budget cuts, including eliminating the NEA. Twice today we emailed members of Collins staff requesting a comment on the topic from the Congressman and did not receive any response.

Elimination of arts programs could have far-reaching effects locally, including on education and business.

Steve Hyde, CEO of GCEDC, said he understands the balancing act the president must go through to arrive at a budget he believes is best for the country, but it's also true businesses are looking for communities where they might set up shop certainly take into consideration lifestyle issues for employees, which includes access to arts and entertainment opportunities.

Companies want to know that potential employees will want to move into a community that offers the lifestyle choices and amenities that attract top talent.

The arts, Hyde said, also play a key role in educating the future workforce.

"The arts help kids engage and it draws on those necessary critical thinking and creative thinking skills," Hyde said.

Gray also noted the potentially dire economic impacts of cutting arts funding.

"Our region will continue to become a cultural wasteland, which in turn drives away potential residents, potential property tax income, potential industry, the list goes on," Gray said. "We will be an area that supports methadone clinics before it supports the arts. Our children will have the options to get drug treatment over participating and thriving in the arts. The arts change lives, change regions, (it) lifts up the economy and drives tourism. Who wants to live in a region devoid of all that?"

Eliminating the NEA has been long been the goal of many social conservatives who not only say the NEA is wasteful spending, but that it also promotes artistic expression social conservatives find objectionable.

While the NEA is only a tiny portion of overall federal spending, the funds it disperses is also only about 1 percent of all the money spent on the arts in the United States. In smaller communities, though, where just as a matter of smaller populations, there are fewer people to support the arts and fewer rich patrons, the federal spending has a greater impact.

Gray doesn't know if defunding NEA will lead to the eventual demise of GO ART!, but even if it doesn't, she said, it will have a profound impact on the local arts community.

"Like all of Trump's policy's so far," Gray said, "it will devastate those people and organizations that need it the most. Poverty-stricken areas and low-income regions will further fall into the abyss of both cultural void and economic destitution."

DISCLOSURE: Howard Owens is on the board of directors of the Genesee Symphony Orchestra, which in the past has received grants from GO ART! that help fill budget gaps for the orchestra.

New art classes at GO ART! offer adults a chance to stretch their creative talents

By Howard B. Owens

Adults interested in trying out different kinds of art projects, different mediums, different techniques now have an outlet through Queen of the Arts, a new arts class business started by Jill Pettigrew.

Pettigrew moved to Batavia two years ago after being an art teacher (she has a master's degree in painting) at the public schools in Erie, Pa., and she missed teaching.

She thought adult art classes would help fill a need in the community. 

"I think it's really important for adults to have a creative outlet," Pettigrew said.

Classes are on Friday evenings at GO ART! and are $25 per session, which includes all supplies. Students are welcome to bring wine, snacks and other beverages.  

For more information, visit the Queen of the Arts page on the GO ART! website.

Photos: Shake on the Lake at Darien Lakes State Park

By Howard B. Owens

Shake on the Lake, Genesee Valley’s Shakespeare Festival, now in its fifth season, performed Saturday at Darien Lakes State Park, entertaining an audience with "Twelfth Night," co-produced by Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre.

The evening, which opened with plein air artists painting Darien Lakes landscapes, was sponsored by GO ART!

If you missed the performance, there are opportunities this week to see it in Attica and Silver Lake. For more information, visit the theater company's website.

GO ART! Picnic in the Park is Monday in Centennial Park, see 'Airigami' balloon art, hear Puerto Rican folkloric music

By Billie Owens

The 38th annual GO ART! Picnic in the Park will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Centennial Park, located at Richmond and Ellicott avenues in the city.

Arts, culture, heritage and community meld in celebration of Independence Day.

The Kiddie Parade kicks things off at 11:30 a.m. Children are encouraged to ride their bikes to the park by 11 a.m., decorate them with patriotic embellishments that will be provided, and open the festivities with a bicycle parade down Ellicott Avenue.

On the Main Stage, the lineup of featured performers is:

  • Noon – The Batavia Concert Band
  • 1:15 p.m. – The Buffalo Touch, Grammy-nominated polka band
  • 2:30 p.m. Kelly’s Old Timers, performing square dancing & standards since 1950
  • 4 p.m.: Conjunto Classico with Johnny Vega, Puerto Rican/Latin folkloric & dance music

New this year is “Airigami” – the fine art of molding air! Airigami is an incredible Rochester-based artist duo, Larry and Kelly, who, together with their skilled staff, create larger-than-life balloon sculptures that inspire awe in audiences worldwide.

They will set up in the park and create a one-of-a-kind balloon sculpture during the picnic. YOU will get to participate by helping blow up balloons and also sculpting them along with the artists.

Expect plenty of food and lots of fun. There will be artists, crafters and many vendors.

The main sponsor of this year’s event is the renowned Red Osier Landmark Restaurant in Stafford.

Photos: Appraisal Fair at GO ART!

By Howard B. Owens

Modeled after Antiques Roadshow, GO ART! hosted its second annual appraisal fair today at Seymour Place. Area residents were able to bring in the rare, the antique and the unique to have experts give their best estimate of the piece's value and quality.

GO ART! seeks to exhibit works that evoke all that is GREEN

By Billie Owens
Press release:

For a Members Challenge Show at GO ART! we are looking to exhibit artwork that evokes the idea, feeling, meaning, or experience of the word GREEN.

Artists are encouraged to submit works that interpret this theme in any way they choose. This will be the unveiling of our newest gallery here at GO ART!, located in the bar at Seymour Place, 201 E. Main St., Batavia.

One piece per artist requested. No media restrictions. Entries must be no larger than 3' x 3'.

This will be a juried show with an opening reception on Thursday, June 2nd. The show will run from May 11th through Aug. 31st.

Entries must be physically received between May 5th and May 7th. The deadline for entries is 1:50 p.m. on Saturday, May 7.

UPDATE: According to GO ART!'s Web site "Through this exhibit, we hope to offer a unique opportunity for GO ART! members to showcase a small selection of their works in a professional setting, allowing for increased visibility and networking with fellow artists. In turn, we hope to provide you, the viewer, with a unique opportunity to celebrate the remarkable talent and creativity of our local artists, and perhaps to even purchase one of these exceptional pieces to enjoy in your home!

To contact the organization about membership:

Phone: (585) 343-9313

FAX: (585) 345-1608

E-mail: INFO@GOART.ORG

GO ART! Creative Arts Camp during Spring Break is a big hit, more planned

By Steve Ognibene

(Photos by Steve Ognibene.) (Above, 6-year-old Lilian Gary paints a clay mushroom.)

During the school Spring Break, some families go out of town and some stay local to enjoy with friends and family from out of town. Parents are still working during the day and looking for an opportunity for learning something new.

This week GO ART! offered its first Creative Arts Camp in the Seymour Place buildingin Downtown Batavia and hopes many others will follow.

The camp sold out. All this week, 28 students in grades two to six participated in many different activities like: drumming, Colombian dance, steel drums, photography class, drawing and theater.

Director Jennifer Gray said they wanted to give kids a small snippet of a little bit of everything in the creative world and include different tastes of performing arts, music, dance and visual arts as part of it. If parents are not aware coming from an arts background, this camp offers what they might not get in school and pique some future interests for the students.

(Above, Director Jennifer Gray giving a drawing lesson to 11-year-old Hunter Kelsey on a graphic abstract.)

GO ART! also plans to offer one-day drop-in camps during the summer and they are looking to offer a younger camp for toddler, pre-K to second-grade kids, and perhaps one for middle school students.

They want to thank generous sponsors for this event: Applied Business Systems -- ABS, T-Shirts Etc., Art Ah La Carte, Design by the Hour, and Glass Roots.

For more details on this event go to: http://www.goart.org/

Also Facebook page: GO ART!

Above, 10-year-old John Riley participating in a Performance Theater segment taught by Assisant Director Gregory Hallock.

Above, Director Gray teaching painting on model clay to elementary students.

GO ART! calls artists to exhibit work in all media for fifth annual Members Exhibition March 2 - April 22

By Billie Owens

The Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council announces a call for artists to submit their work in all media for the fifth annual Members Exhibition.

The works selected will be on display for March -- Arts Awareness Month -- and remain in place at the GO ART! Bank of Castile Main Gallery in Downtown Batavia until April 22.

Artwork can be dropped off between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Feb. 24-26. Remember to include the completed exhibition registration form with work that is dropped off. (The gallery is equipped with the Walker Hanging System.)

The opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, March 11. 

For the second year in a row, there will be an Audience Favorite Award designated.

Artwork pickup will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 26-28.

For general guidelines and additional details, visit the GO ART! Web site, call 343-9313, or e-mail:  info@GOart.org

GO ART! seeks new executive director, deadline to apply is Nov. 20

By Billie Owens

Lauren Picarro-Hoerbelt, president of the GO ART! Board of Directors, reports that the organization is conducting a new executive director search. Heather Grant, the former executive director is leaving Nov. 1. They have hired Interim Director Jennifer Gray until a permanent person is chosen for the position.

Here's their press release:

GO ART! seeks an energetic, organized, communicative manager for a two-county regional arts council, responsible for:

  • Staff of two full-time and three part-time employees;
  • Annual budget of $338,000;
  • Working collaboratively with county and municipal government agencies;
  • Writing and supervising grant applications and projects, including approximately $138,000/year of New York State Council on the Arts regrant funds;
  • Working with a diverse clientele including other arts organizations (historic preservation, music, visual and performing arts), individual artists and groups;
  • Administering an Historic Landmark facility in downtown Batavia, New York and seven local and regional galleries;
  • Supervising GO ART! sponsored and/or based events including annual July 4th “Picnic in the Park";
  • Working with a volunteer Board of Directors, currently eight members representing both counties;
  • Leads development and fundraising efforts including locating possible sources of funds.

Candidate Submissions must include:

1. Letter addressing why the candidate would be a good choice for GO ART!  (Please see the GO ART! Executive Director Job Description on the GO ART! Web site at http://www.goart.org/news/).

2. Résumé.

3. Two (2) Reference Letters (may not be from a relative of the Candidate) – at least one (1) Reference Letter must be from a community leader, an educator, or a person working in the artistic community.

If submitting electronically, submit all documents in .pdf or .docx format to:

GOARTDirectorSearch@gmail.com

If submitting via U.S. Mail, mark envelope as Confidential and mail to:

Executive Director Search Committee

GO ART!

201 E. Main St.

Batavia, NY 14020-2205

Attn.:  Lauren Hoerbelt – Search Committee Chair

ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST BE POSTMARKED OR ELECTRONICALLY SUBMITTED BY MIDNIGHT ON FRIDAY, NOV. 20.

GO ART! announces call for artists to display winter-related 2-D work for 14th annual Holiday Group Show

By Billie Owens

The Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council announces a call for artists to submit up to five pieces of winter-related 2-D work for the 14th annual Holiday Group Show. The exhibit will be held Nov. 5 through Dec. 17 at the Batavia Satellite Gallery inside the Genesee County Senior Center, 2 Bank St. in the city.

Drop-off dates are 9 a.m to 4 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, Oct. 29 and 30, at GO ART! Seymour Place, 201 E. Main St., Batavia. (The Batavia Satellite Gallery is equipped with the Walker Hanging System.) Remember to include the completed inventory form with your work when you drop it off.

There will be a meet-the-artists reception at the Senior Center from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4, during Batavia's Christmas in the City event.

Pick-up dates are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 22 and 23, at GO ART! Seymour Place.

General Guidelines:

1)  The exhibit invitation is open to all artists in 2-D media;

2)  All artwork submitted must be winter-related;

3)  Work MUST be framed, wired and ready for hanging. NO sawtooth hangers;

4)  GO ART! reserves the right to accept or refuse pieces;

5)  All questions should be directed to GO ART! by calling (585) 343-9313 or via e-mail  info@goart.org

6)  The inventory/release form should accompany your artwork when you drop it off. These can be picked up at GO ART! or printed out from our Web site;

7)  All artwork should be labeled on the back with name, title, medium and price;

8)  Items may be offered for sale. If sold, GO ART! will receive 10-percent commission;

9)  Insurance is the responsibility of the artist.

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