Be part of the South Pasadena “Creative Arts Experience”!

The South Pasadena Arts Council will host its first community arts event this spring 2010 tentatively titled, South Pasadena Creative Arts Experience.



At this event, the community will be invited into local visual and performing art venues to participate in demonstrations, performances and interactive activities conducted by South Pasadena visual and performing artists.

• Possible dates for this event are April 25, May 1, 2.

• The tentative hours of the event are 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

• We would like to keep the event venues centrally located and within walking distance of each other.

We are inviting performing and visual artists to submit proposals to the South Pasadena Arts Council “Creative Arts Experience” Committee for consideration of participation in this event. The requirements are as follows:

• Each artist must be a resident of South Pasadena, or work in South Pasadena or have an interest in working in South Pasadena.

• Each artist must commit to a one-hour time slot on the day of the day of the event and the time necessary for preparation.

• Each artist will be required to include within their allotted time: a demonstration of their talent, and interactive/audience participation portion, and a Q&A.

• Each artist will be responsible for setting up and breaking down your materials, staging, etc.

In submitting a project for this event please describe how you will fill your spot:

• DEMO: (or Exhibition) (15 min) to demonstrate your talent: ie- your artwork, performance, dance, music, etc.

• INTERACTION: (15 min) Engage participants in the art form. Example: play a theatre game on stage, have the participants paint a watercolor or drawing, pass out instruments to play, etc.

• Q&A: Answer questions

Regards,

Hope Perello, hopeperello@sbcglobal.net

Karen Cooper, karencooper@me.com

Co-Chairs, South Pasadena Arts Council “Creative Arts Experience” Committee

October 17 Arts Council Meeting

Hey everyone!

Our Oct 17 Arts Council Meeting was held once again at the BurkeTriolo studio and kicked off with a half hour drum circle group led by Munyungo Jackson! Lisa Watson, who moderated a Mission /Vision Statement Arts Council Focus Group, started off our meeting by talking about the process and how the Focus Group arrived at the statement below:

We the South Pasadena Arts Council believe that the Arts enrich and enliven our lives and are vital to the social, educational and economic well-being of South Pasadena.

The Council will advocate for and promote the Arts in order to recognize local artists as a rich resource within our city and build appreciation and understanding of the value of the Arts within the community.

Some comments were to shorten the Mission Statement and not limit recognition to “local artists” and list that as one of our goals instead. If you were not able to give input at the group meeting please do so here on the blog! We will do the final tweaking and list it here in its finished form.

Next, Victoria Arriola gave a short presentation about designing the Arts Council web site and asked the group for ideas. Some of the ideas shared:

• Arts calendar of local performing and visual Arts events

• Arts Resource guide

• Arts links page

• Arts advertising page

• Arts map of arts organizations, galleries, theatres etc.

• Arts networking system like “Social Sam”

• Arts on-line way to collect donations or pay for future events

• Arts Advocacy page

If you have other ideas please share here on the blog.

Victoria is going to put a plan together and start the process to develop the Arts Council Web site, and come up with a budget to help get it done!

Next, Hope Perillo spoke of organizing our first Arts event in the Spring of next year. It is based on an idea presented on the blog by Karen Cooper for an Interactive Arts Event for both kids and adults. It is conceived of as a way to have a fun, hands-on experience with both the visual and performing arts.

There was a lots of interest in this and people signed up to participate. So if any of you out there in blog land would like to be a part of this event, leave a message here for Hope or Karen, who will be co-chairing this event.

Thanks to Jeff and Lorraine Burke for hosting our end of year group meeting! Thanks once again to Munyngo for leading our Drum Circle group! Thanks to Lisa Watson, our volunteer focus group, Hope Perillo and Victoria Arriola. Thank you Desiree Paterson for the refreshments. And thanks to artist Liz Reday for drawing the sketch of some of us during our group meeting which we include on this blog. Very cool. And thanks to all of you for showing up. Let’s keep moving forward.

On another note, run don’t walk to see the documentary film of the rehearsal of Michael Jackson’s last concert – “This Is It!” It’s amazing to watch an exceptional artist in action behind the scenes.

My husband and I will be doing an Armed Forces Entertainment tour overseas in Dec & Jan visiting with soldiers and their families. We’ll meet as a large group again in Feb. I sign off with this thought:

“On a day no different than the one now dawning, Shakespeare sat down and started Hamlet, Leonardo stepped to an easel and made the first strokes of the Mona Lisa, and Beethoven took out a sketch book and began the Ninth Symphony.”

-adapted from Robert Richardson, Emerson: The Mind on Fire

Have a wonderful holiday- see you next year!

Lissa Reynolds / Fremont Centre Theatre

Change of Meeting Date!

We are changing our group meeting date from October 3rd to Saturday, October 17th at the BurkeTriolo Studios at 538 Mission St. South Pasadena. Our Drum Circle will be led once again by Munyungo Jackson beginning at 10:30AM and the meeting will be from 11-1.

On Oct 3rd 5pm-10pm we encourage you to participate in ArtsFest in South Pasadena hosted by our incredible Chamber of Commerce! There will be Open Galleries and Studios, Live Music, Wine & Beer Gardens and Free Shuttles- so come with your family, invite your friends and have some fun!

Please consider being a volunteer for this event- it's a great opportunity to meet some people, introduce people to the thriving Arts Community in So Pas and help make this event successful!

The Chamber is looking for people to:

• Distribute maps to merchants
• Host at the Community Room of the Library for the exhibition "South Pasadena, City of Trees"
• Stage Assistant helping the musicians
• Work at the information desk at the Community Stage
• Set-up
• Clean-up
• and more!

Please e-mail the Chamber if you can spare an hour or two!

info@southpaschamber.com

More at: SouthPasadena.net

See you at ArtsFest on Oct 3rd & at our Arts Council Meeting on Sat Oct 17th!

Lissa Reynolds / Fremont Centre Theatre

Focus Group

At our Arts Council Meeting in June we formed a volunteer focus group to come up with a mission and vision statement. That meeting was held on Aug 1st, hosted by Walter Zooi at the South Pasadena Music Conservatory. The meeting was facilitated by Lisa Watson, who recently organized the Art Walk in South Pasadena which was a wonderful event. The focus group members who attended were:

Walter Zooi, Lisa Watson, Mike Wilson, Eric Jenson,

Hope Perello,Sharon Frayer, Howard Spector,

Amanda Ramirez, Lynne Heffley,Shelly Stephens,

Kathy Fuller, Lisa Marsh, (and myself, Lissa Reynolds)

It was a wonderful, energetic and creative meeting. Much thanks to Lisa Watson for guiding the group! We have a good starting point which we will share and discuss at our next meeting.

Victoria Arriola is going to head up our Web site development, and community leader Ted Shaw has pledged $1,000. to help us get that started. So the seeds are planted and we will start figuring out how we want this "garden to grow" at our next group meeting! Bring yourselves, your ideas about our Arts council web site and how we can start to realize our Mission Statement.

I am leaving for the Cape May Stage in New Jersey to perform my one person show "A Woman Of Independent Means" by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey, and will return at the end of Sept. So our next group meeting will be on Oct 3 11am-1pm so save the date and time and we will let you know the location.

Thank you all for each step forward in helping to form this Arts Council!

Lissa Reynolds / Fremont Centre Theatre

Homework Assignment!

At the second Arts Council meeting, Walter Zooi from South Pasadena Music Center and Conservatory collected names to form a focus group to develop a mission statement. As South Pasadena resident Ernest Dillihay, who works with the LA Dept. of Cultural Affairs, said at this meeting: “Until we know where we’re going, we don’t know what size bus we need to get there!” Lisa Watson, a South Pasadena resident, co-owner of SOPA Studios and Executive Director of the Downtown Women’s Center, volunteered to facilitate a meeting to develop this mission statement. Before the focus group meets we want to hear ALL VOICES- so please take the time to answer these questions and share your ideas.

Please post them before July 27.

The questions we need feedback on, are as follows:

1. What is the purpose of the council – what do you want the council to achieve?
(Please remember your answer should not detail specific strategies. Describe in broad strokes what you would wish the council to achieve.)

2. Why do you want the council to achieve this?
(For example your response might begin “in order to” or “we believe”)

A good mission statement should accurately explain why the South Pasadena Art Council exists and what it hopes to achieve in the future. It articulates the council’s essential nature, its value and its work. Your responses to the above questions will help the steering committee to identify an appropriate mission statement.

Thanks for taking the time!

Second Arts Council Meeting

I can’t say thanks enough to Jeff and Lorraine Burke for hosting our second Arts Council meeting at their BurkeTriolo Studio here in South Pasadena. Their space cries “beauty” & “creativity” which was what the people attending this meeting were all about. Everyone who attended was connected to the arts; actors, dancers, artists, producers, directors, photographers, members of arts organizations, and art patrons- it felt like family! Many new faces. I had no idea there were so many creative souls in this town I have never met before. So great to be finally be meeting you all now, gathered around this collective purpose.


The first thing I noticed about this second meeting was how much larger our drum circle was! At the first meeting, I was encouraging people to participate in the drumming. At this meeting people arrived with drums and some brought extra drums to pass out to others. This time, people just naturally took a seat in the circle and starting drumming. Children joined us for the first time, which was so cool! With Munyungo guiding us, our drum circle is starting to take on a life of it’s own. It already feels like a stronger heartbeat.


The meeting that followed was great... different opinions, different point of views, all positive suggestions on how to move forward. Like the different tones and beats of our drum circle gradually coming together as one. I feel like something not only productive but exciting is going to happen... I have no idea what but I can’t wait to see! I know in our conversations we are often “preaching to the choir” but it’s so great to have the choir all in the same room! None of us with our passion for the Arts need to feel so alone- at least not in this town!

Keep blogging and sharing your ideas- large or small.

You will receive a “homework” assignment soon.

To be continued...

Lissa

* Photos by Carla Larissa Fallberg

Photos From Our First Meeting & Drum Circle!

Here are some pictures from our first independent Arts Council meeting in March 2009!

The pre-meeting Drum Circle was lead by
Munyungo Jackson.

Terry LeMoncheck, Executive Director of the Pasadena Arts Council and Scott Feldman Executive Director of the South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce spoke to the group along with Lissa Reynolds, Artistic Director of South Pasadena's
Fremont Centre Theatre.

Lynne Heffley wrote a wonderful article about the meeting which appeared in the March 25th issue of the
South Pasadena Review.

There were over 70 people in attendance!

Welcome!

Welcome to the informal South Pasadena Arts Council Blog!

This is our forum for each of us introduce ourselves to the rest of the Arts community in South Pasadena, and share ideas large or small about what we want our newly forming independent Arts Council to do!

Our second group meeting will be late May or early June, so get the ideas a'blogging so we can talk about them at our next gathering of creative minds!

On this blog leave comments and tell us about yourself, how you participate in the visual arts, performing arts, musical arts or supportive arts and what you think the most important thing an arts council can do to enrich the lives of the citizens of South Pasadena and help the arts in these hard economic times survive and thrive!

Lissa Reynolds / Artistic Director / Fremont Centre Theatre