Architecture & Desire panel Nov. 5th, 7pm

panel talk held at Women and Their Work

Women & Their Work awarded NEA Stimulus grant!

We are very proud to receive this American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding from the NEA. This one time grant will be used to continue our current Education Programs. Congratulations Erika Shamaly at Motion Media and to the other grant writers. Thanks Vincent Kitsch for this nice mention in the COA AIPP Newsletter today…

Greetings,

I want to begin with an important announcement regarding the Cultural Funding Program. We have been notified by the NEA that the City of Austin Cultural Arts Division will not receive any American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding. Therefore, we will not be able to distribute any sub-granting funds for special salary support as we had hoped.
 
I do have some good news to report, though; four cultural contractors have been awarded stimulus grants from the NEA: Center for Women and Their Work, Motion Media Arts, Rude Mechanicals, and Texas Folklife Resources. To those groups I offer congratulations, and we are glad you were able to take advantage of this one-time federal funding!
 
I would also like to extend congratulations to the Art in Public Places Program. Last month, two Austin AIPP projects were recognized for excellence at the Americans for the Arts Convention by the Public Art Network. Grotto Wall at Sparky Park by Berthold Haas and Letterscape by Jimmy Luu were chosen out of more than 300 entries from across the country. You may or may not know that Austin was the first city in Texas to establish a public art ordinance over 20 years ago, and we are still leading the way with innovative and exemplary public art works.
 
Sincerely,
Vincent E. Kitch
Cultural Arts Program Manager
City of Austin

Way to go Margo!

From Board President Kati Hernandez Cowles …

Check out this great link to a mention in a NY Times article about a new major work by Margo Sawyer, who serves on WTW’s Community Council.. (Thanks to Mark Holzbach, who caught it first and sent it to me). The article talks about how Houston is polishing up its image by emphasizing its arts, social spaces, and landmarks, and Margo’s piece is the main image associated with the article. The work is being dedicated today in Houston. You may remember her dynamic presentation at the “Why then, Why now” panel discussion we held last fall. She’s been away from Austin a lot lately, and this is why!

And I was also tickled that the article is finished with a quote from Katherine Howe, curator of decorative arts at the Museum of Fine Art, Houston and now director of Rienzi, which is a beautiful house-and-garden complex focused on the European decorative arts. She was my first-ever museum boss! I served as her intern while I was still in college.

-Kati

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/02/us/02houston.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=houston&st=nyt&oref=slogin <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/02/us/02houston.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=houston&st=nyt&oref=slogin>

P.S. Our favorite preparator, Robert Boland, is in the middle with the floppy hat. We love that guy!