Free Grant Writing Workshops Offered By Lehigh Valley Arts Council In 2017

In an effort to assist applicants with the 2017-18 Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA) Project Stream grant application process, the Lehigh Valley Arts Council will offer free grant writing workshops in Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties in May of 2017. “The PPA program initiative is a critical source of state and federal funding for eligible individuals, community groups and nonprofit organizations interested in conducting arts projects with a clear public component,” stated Randall Forte, Executive Director of Lehigh Valley Arts Council. “As the regional partner of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, we have accepted as many as 60 requests in any given year, awarding grants to community projects including, but not limited to exhibitions, films and performances that impact a wide range of constituents from young children to senior citizens, regardless of ability, ethnicity, culture or socioeconomic status.” The keys to successfully navigating the Project Stream application process lie in a deeper understanding of content, format and fiscal expectations set forth in the grant guidelines by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. By attending one of the workshops, applicants will gain a thorough understanding of review criteria, suggestions for constructing compelling and comprehensive narratives and guidance in building detailed project budgets. Applicants are encouraged to RSVP and attend one of the following workshops: May 4, 2017 | 4:00 – 5:30 pm Anita Shapolsky Art Foundation; 20 West Broadway, Jim Thorpe, PA, 18229 May 9, 2017 | 4:00 – 5:30 pm Lehigh Valley Arts Council; 840 Hamilton Street, Allentown, PA. 18101 May 16, 2017 | 4:00 – 5:30 pm Arts Establishment; 945 Broadway, Fountain Hill, PA, 18015 For more information regarding this opportunity, please contact: Zach Kleemeyer, Community Engagement Coordinator Lehigh Valley Arts Council ppa@lvartscouncil.org | 610-437-5915

About the Lehigh Valley Arts Council The Lehigh Valley Arts Council is the region’s central voice for the arts, promoting arts awareness and advocating its value while strengthening access to the arts for all citizens in our community. The Arts Council’s mission is to promote the arts; to encourage and support artists and their development; to assist arts organizations; and to facilitate communication and cooperation among artists, arts organizations, and the community. Services include arts research and advocacy, professional development seminars, publications, and cooperative regional marketing initiatives.

Lehigh Valley Arts Advocate – August 2016‏

MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: What I Did This Summer

This summer I have been out front in the Lehigh Valley more than usual, surveying audiences at various arts events. The study, Arts & Economic Prosperity V, is part of a national study to determine the economic impact of the nonprofit arts industry. Sounds dry, doesn’t it? Actually, it’s been fun to mingle with arts patrons and bump into old friends at the theatre or a concert. It is too early to tell, but attendance at these events seems very strong. The data collection continues through 2016, and the results of the analysis will be released in Spring 2017 at a public forum, Whose Business is the Arts? For the past twenty years, the Lehigh Valley region has enjoyed double-digit increases that are far above the national average. The previous study in 2012 determined that arts and culture was a $208 million industry. It will be fascinating to see what the numbers tell us this time. Maybe I am turning into a data-geek! Randall Forte, Executive Director SAVE THE DATE! Arts Count 2016 Arts Count celebrates the essential public and private partnerships that fuel the arts, engages business and foundation leaders as well as elected officials to be advocates for arts and culture, and acknowledges the year’s grant recipients. Free to members of the Arts Council and grant recipients, the Lehigh Valley Arts Council event honors the Project Stream and Program Stream recipients awarded state arts grants through the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts. SAVE THE DATE! ARTS COUNT 2016 October 19, 2016 Smooth On 5600 Lower Macungie Road Macungie, PA 18062 UPCOMING PERFORMANCES PENNSYLVANIA SINFONIA ORCHESTRA presents: Valley Vivaldi August 21, 2016 at 7:30pm Wesley Church, Bethlehem Trio Solisti September 16, 2016 at 7:30pm Foy Hall, Bethlehem PURCHASE TICKETS AT OUR BOX OFFICE TODAY! Lehigh Valley Arts Council 840 Hamilton Street, Suite 201 ◊ Allentown, PA 18101 610.437.5915 ◊ info@LVArtsCouncil.org www.LVArtsCouncil.org ◊ LVArtsBoxOffice.org

Last Call For A Free PPA Grant Workshop!‏

Calling all artists, community groups and arts organizations of the Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties!Applications are now being accepted for the Pennsylvania Partners of the Arts (PPA) Project Stream Grant. The deadline for all applications is June 20, 2016. To encourage participation in the application process, The Lehigh Valley Arts Council has offered FREE grant writing workshops throughout the month of May – 5/12, 5/14 and 5/24 — only one workshop opportunity remains! FINAL WORKSHOP May 24, 2016 | 4:00 – 5:30 pm Touchstone Theatre; 321 E. Fourth Street, Bethlehem, PA New and returning applicants have found these sessions critical to their success in meeting the demands of a compelling, competitive proposal. Applicants will have the opportunity to review PCA’s eligibility rules; detailed criteria, narrative and budget requirements; and digital work samples that make a successful application. The PPA Project Stream Grant awards up to $2,500 to eligible individuals, community groups, and non-profit organizations to conduct arts projects which have a significant public component. The grant application and award process is locally administered by the Lehigh Valley Arts Council staff, who then convene advisory panels from the local cultural community to review the applications according to PCA guidelines. Registration for the final Project Stream grant writing workshops is recommended but not required. To register, please email the Lehigh Valley Arts Council’s new PPA Coordinator Zach Kleemeyer at PPA@LVArtsCouncil.org. *** The Lehigh Valley Arts Council’s mission is to promote the arts; to encourage and support artists and their development; to assist arts organizations; and to facilitate communication and cooperation among artists, arts organizations, and the community. www.LVArtsCouncil.org

ARTS COUNCIL ANNOUNCES PROJECT STREAM GRANT WORKSHOPS

LEHIGH VALLEY, PA – The Lehigh Valley Arts Council is presenting 3 complimentary workshops in Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties in effort to support applicants in the planning stages of the 2016-2017 Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA) Project Stream grant application process.

“The PPA Project Stream is a critical source of state and federal funding for eligible individuals, community groups and nonprofit organizations interested in conducting arts projects with a clear public component,” stated Randall Forte, Executive Director of Lehigh Valley Arts Council. “As our region’s partner, we have accepted as many as 60 requests in any given year, awarding grants to community projects including, but not limited to exhibitions, films and performances that impact a wide range of constituents from young children to senior citizens, regardless of ability, ethnicity, culture or socioeconomic status.”

The keys to successfully navigating the Project Stream application process lie in a deeper understanding of content, format and fiscal expectations set forth by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. By attending one of the following workshops, applicants will gain a thorough understanding of review criteria, suggestions for constructing compelling and comprehensive narratives and guidance in building detailed project budgets.

Applicants are encouraged to RSVP and attend one of the following workshops:

May 10, 2016 | 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Lehigh Valley Arts Council; 840 Hamilton Street, Allentown, PA

May 12, 2016 | 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Anita Shapolsky Art Foundation; 20 West Broadway, Jim Thorpe, PA

May 24, 2016 | 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Touchstone Theatre; 321 E. Fourth Street, Bethlehem, PA

Arts Count Rallies The Arts Community

The Lehigh Valley Arts Council observes National Arts and Humanities Month with Arts Count 2015, an arts rally and awards ceremony, on Tuesday, October 13, 2015, at the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. This year’s gathering also celebrates the new and expanded Charter Arts facility at Third and Polk Streets in South Bethlehem. “We are very excited to offer the arts community an opportunity to tour this 80,000 square-foot facility,” says Forte, “now equipped with a recording studio, a black box studio, four dance studios, expanded art studios and gallery, and a 350-seat performing arts theatre. Wow!” ARTS COUNT serves as the occasion for the Lehigh Valley Arts Council to distribute grant awards to the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA) Project Stream recipients in Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties. The Project Stream is open to individual artists and community groups who apply for support of an arts-related project with strong public impact. More than $34,000 in state funds will be awarded to twenty-seven applicants for activities September 1, 2015 through August 31, 2016. “Arts Count celebrates the public/private partnerships that fuel the arts in our region,” says Executive Director Randall Forte, “and features local business and foundation leaders giving testimony on the value and impact of the arts.” Locally elected officials are invited to present checks to the grant recipients from their districts. In keeping with the spirit of fellowship, Arts Council members are encouraged to bring a guest and rally for the arts. PPA, an initiative of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, is designed to widen the circle of funding opportunities in support of arts activities throughout the Commonwealth. The grant application and award process is administered by the Arts Council staff, who convene advisory panels from the cultural community to review the proposals for artistic excellence and public impact. This year, grant activities will reach a wide range of constituents, from young children to senior citizens, and engage audiences in projects that include Latin, Native American, and Asian cultural festivals; multidisciplinary endeavors in dance, theatre, film, photography and music; public arts events, classes, and exhibits in sculpture gardens, heritage centers, county museums and campus galleries, bus shelters, and city streets. Among this year’s grantees, there are ten first-time grantees. The grant awards recipiencts are: ALLENTOWN PUBLIC THEATRE ANNA CHUPA ANTHONY SMITH/ART REGISTRY BETHLEHEM FINE ARTS BOROUGH OF EMMAUS CHURCH OF THE MANGER FRIENDS OF THE ALLENTOWN PARKS HELLERTOWN PUBLIC LIBRARY HISPANIC AMERICAN LEAGUE ARTISTS LEHIGH RIVER BLUES JAM LEHIGH VALLEY DANCE EXCHANGE LYDIA PANAS MARILYN HAZLETON MARTHA MONROY MICHELLE NEIFERT MORAVIAN COLLEGE MUSIC INSTITUTE MUSEUM OF INDIAN CULTURE NORA SUGGS/FAIRFIELD DUO NORTHAMPTON COUNTY HISTORICAL & GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY PA JAZZ COLLECTIVE PENN STATE LV ART GALLERY PUERTO RICAN CULTURE FESTIVAL SARAH STEELE/SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK SUMMIT HILL HERITAGE CENTER TOTTS GAP ARTS INSTITUTE UKRAINIAN AMERICAN FOUNDATION WDIY 88.1 FM PUBLIC RADIO The October reception is supported by Gross McGinley, LLP and PPL, and is free to Arts Council members and grant recipients; the cost to guests and nonmembers is $10. Refreshments will be served. R.S.V.P. to 610-437-5915 to attend. For information about the PPA grant application, contact PA Partners in the Arts Coordinator Marilyn Roberts at ppa@LVArtsCouncil.org.

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About the Lehigh Valley Arts Council The Lehigh Valley Arts Council is the region’s central voice for the arts, promoting arts awareness and advocating its value while strengthening access to the arts for all citizens in our community. The Arts Council’s mission is to promote the arts; to encourage and support artists and their development; to assist arts organizations; and to facilitate communication and cooperation among artists, arts organizations, and the community. Services include arts research and advocacy, professional development seminars, publications, and cooperative regional marketing initiatives.