At Pontiac’s Creative Arts Center from May 1 to May 15, 2010
The reception will be held on Saturday, May 1 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Exposed: The Art of Getting Published is a multi-media exhibit hosting the works of John Cohassey and Steven Mitchell. The reception is a “meet and greet” artist event. John and Steven will conduct a question and answer session exposing methods they employed to become published in the world of art.

Since the early 1990s, John Cohassey, has written music CD liner notes, and over fifty entries on blues and jazz for Gale Research Inc.  His articles have appeared in the Detroit News as well as trade jazz and blues magazines. His first book, Toast of the Town: The Life and Times of Sunnie Wilson (Wayne State University Press, 1998), which chronicled the glory years of Black Detroit, won an award of merit from the Historical Society of Michigan. John was also a consultant for the History Channel’s 2007 documentary, Hippies. In 2008 John published his second book American Cultural Rebels:  Avant-garde and Bohemian Artists, Writers and Musicians from the 1850s through the 1960s (McFarland Co. Inc.).

Steven Mitchell began his photography career in 2003.  His “Off the Wall” collections are known industry-wide and sold in national-chain department stores as well as through independent retailers.  Steven’s images are the blending of media.  They are “a recipe of flavors and colors found in the world around us.  I blend and knead the various elements of the art world that result in an explosion of the senses,” stated Mitchell.  Steven recently began Mindgasmz, a GREEN greeting card collection sold Michigan-wide. The cards pair Steven’s “Off the Wall” photographer with his “Off the Wall” sense of humor.  They project a delicious slice of life without the calories.

The Creative Art Center is located at 47 Williams Street in Pontiac, one block south of Huron (M59) and one block west of Woodward Avenue southbound.  There is free, lighted parking in the Center’s lot on pike Street, behind the Center.

Spring art classes can breathe new creativity into life, or help one retool for a career transition. Underscoring that the BBAC provides “art for all,” the spring roster includes 153 classes for adults as well as children as young as preschool in a variety of art media including painting, drawing, book arts, calligraphy, design, ceramics, metals, fibers, glass, jewelry, photography and sculpture.

There is a series of Welcome Classes for beginners. These are adult classes aimed at those who might say they “can’t draw a straight line.” Students with no experience get to see the world through an artist’s eye and learn fundamental tools that can unlock dormant creativity.

The BBAC faculty brings extraordinary experience and perspective. New classes of note are The Beautiful, The Personal and The Inappropriate and New Directions on Watermedia with noted artist Marilyn Derwenskus; and Designing with Acrylic Plastic with Stephen Caliguiri, who was termed “Prince of Plexi” by Barney’s in New York.

Amy Dietrich brings her Seventh Avenue experience to Flat Sketching for the Fashion Industry where she teaches drawing and design specifically for presentation boards and merchandising. The Floral Still Life is taught the former head of Wayne State University’s painting department, Robert Wilbert. John Murphy will teach Wheel Throwing for all levels, among other pottery classes. Murphy will be assuming the role of director of the Ceramic Arts Department at the BBAC.

There are also classes some might be surprised to find at a visual art center: Getting Personal, Memoirs & Personal Essays; Screenwriting; and Songwriting: Methods & Prompts. For the DIY crowd, there is a perennially popular class in Decorative Painted Furniture with step- by-step instructions. The entire spring program book is online at www.BBArtCenter.org.

Registration is ongoing through the week of April 12. Registration and class details are available online at www.BBArtCenter.org. One can also register in person, or by phone at (248) 644-0866. The BBAC is located at 1516 S. Cranbrook Rd. (Evergreen Rd.), Birmingham, MI 48009 between 14 and 15 Mile Roads.

The seminar is for all who wish to write movies and songs that complement scenes for movies. Learn what’s happening in Detroit’s world of opportunities in film, how to write movies and develop theme music. Be enlightened by Ms. Erica Hill, Film Detroit; Zelmer Bothic III, Screenwriter-worked with Spike Lee; Guitar Center Representative and Herbert Metoyer-, Musician/Poet and Author, topic Music Scoring Equipment & Software

Early Registration: $50.00
Registration at the Door: $70.00

Register on-line www.detroitwritersguild.com or Make money order payable to: DWG, 18508 Greenlawn, Detroit, MI 48221 Attn: Sharon Floyd
(313)213-7329

Wayne State University; 573 Student Center at 5221 Gullen Mall and Reuther Mall

Naomi Long Madgett

Detroit’s Poet Laureate Naomi Long Madgett, Poets Hilda Vest and Marilynn Rashid will read. In addition, Melba Joyce Boyd will perform her poetry in concert with jazz bassist, Marion Hayden. The event is co-sponsored by the Arts League of Michigan and Wayne State University’s Department of Africana Studies. It is free and open to the public.

Naomi Long Madgett is Detroit’s second poet laureate and winner of several awards including the Governor of Michigan’s Artist Award. She is the author of nine books of poetry and the memoir, Pilgrim Journey. She is the founder and editor of Lotus Press, and editor of Adam of Ife: Poetry In Praise of Black Men.

Authors will be available for a book signing after the reading. For more information call: 313-965-8430 or 313-577-2321.

Virgil Carr Center
311 E. Grand River
Detroit, MI

E. Ray Scott

It was Saturday, Feb. 6, when the cheerful, tuxedoed members of Detroit’s Players Club gathered for their monthly show of plays at their historic Playhouse. The mood quickly sobered when they heard that Player E. Ray Scott had died at 86. As Executive Director of the Michigan Council for the Arts from its inception in 1966 to 1985, and as Director of Michigan’s Commission on Art in Public Places until 1991, E. Ray was the solidifying voice and personality of the arts in Michigan.

E. Ray Scott was born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1923, and the gentle tones of his Southern childhood never left him. Echoing erudition wherever he went, with a tongue he used as both rapier and unguent, E. Ray earned Bachelors and Masters degrees in Speech and Theatre from the University of Southern California. He then spent six years in the United States Army as the Producer and Director of Army Entertainment for the Armed Forces in Germany.

In pursuit of a Ph. D. in Theatre and Communication Arts, Ray moved to Michigan in 1961. It was as a lobbyist for the State Medical Society and a popular figure in Lansing that Scott became aware of the need for a central figure who could gather the many tributaries of Michigan’s artistic life into one coherent, persuasive and forceful voice. E. Ray had found his life’s work.

As former Governor William Milliken remembers, “I was a State Senator when I first met Ray. He was omnipresent in Lansing and, from then on, Ray gave me advice on when and how far we could go in supporting the arts in the state.” It was when Senator Milliken became Lt. Governor that E. Ray approached his wife, Helen Milliken, with his idea for an art train. Mrs. Milliken describes it as “the genius idea which was soon thereafter copied all across the continental United States.”

As noted by his long-time friend Robert O’Leary III, “Yes, if there was one defining moment in which Ray took the most pride, it was in the establishment of Artrain, Inc.” (the official name of the art train concept). Launched in 1971 Artrain was a rail car equipped as a traveling art gallery. With great support from the railroads, the original mission of bringing art to under-served communities throughout Michigan expanded and eventually traveled over the whole country, Artrain, Inc. continues today and has provided arts and cultural programs for over 3.2 million people in cities, towns and villages across the country. Artrain’s exhibitions have become the catalyst for the development of local community cultural programs and the artists who have been nurtured by these programs.

Close behind the Artrain project, E. Ray was also instrumental in creating the enabling legislation that created the Michigan Council for the Arts – only the second state arts council in the country. Getting the State Legislature to approve a reasonable appropriation for the Council was his greatest task made easier perhaps by his warm and personal relationship with Governor William Milliken, which lasted for the 17 years he was governor of Michigan. In a meeting during his first year in office, Gov. Milliken told E. Ray, “If you can encourage the Appropriations Committee to allocate more than I have designated in my budget, I will not veto it.,” and he never did.

Though Artrain became the flagship program of the Michigan Council for the Arts (MCA) when E. Ray served as the Council’s Executive Director, his tenure, on all levels, was always marked by his passionate, intelligent and persuasive lobbying for state support of artists, all cultural institutions, artists and arts in education programs. On a national level, he established a warm working relationship with Nancy Hanks, Director of the National Endowment Arts, and served on numerous boards and committees of the NEA. E. Ray will always be remembered, however, as the tireless and determined advocate for the arts and artists in Michigan. He oversaw major growth in the arts council, which became one of the leading – and largest supporters—of public arts in the country.

Under Ray’s tenure, the arts council pioneered the concept of mini-grants – smaller grants to initiative local community arts activities. A large network of community arts councils that provided grass roots support to all areas of Michigan was a direct outgrowth of Artrain and Ray’s own commitment to Michigan artists and cultural institutions. The arts council provided significant support to every major arts institution in the state – supporting commissions, artistic seasons, premiers, new work, major museum shows, and a wide array of arts education projects.

Scott used his own resources to work with ArtServe Michigan to establish the Michigan Artist Award, which awarded $3000 prizes to three Michigan artists for two consecutive years. The purpose was to provide them with a level of economic freedom that allowed them to concentrate all of their energies on their art. In 2007, E. Ray received the Arts Advocate of the Year award from ArtServe Michigan.

E. Ray Scott is survived by his sister, Jo Ann Cole, and his daughter Dana (Mrs. Scott Tschirhart), seven grandchildren and one great grandchild. A memorial service will be held for E. Ray at 11 a.m. on Saturday, February 27th, at the GEM Theatre at 333 Madison Avenue in downtown Detroit. The service will be followed with a light lunch. Once more stories and legends about E. Ray will be passed around among as many of his friends and admirers who can be there.

Family requests memorials to support the arts in Michigan and Michigan Artrain. To make a contribution in E. Ray’s honor, please go to www.artrainusa.org.

MOCAD’s Winter 2010 Readings series curated by Barry Schwabsky begins on Saturday, March 20th w/ a bilingual poetry reading with preeminent Cuban poet, Jose Kozer reading his own works in the Spanish language and local poet, educator and activist, Marilynn Rashid reading English language translations of Kozer’s works.

The reading series is Free and open to the public. The readings begin at 7PM sharp. MOCAD’s fresh cafe will be open for service at 6PM.

JOSE KOZER, Havana, Cuba, 1940, is the son of Jewish parents that migrated to Cuba in the late twenties, father from Poland, mother from Czechoslovakia. He left Cuba in 1960, lived in New York until 1997, where he worked as a Prof. of Spanish and Latin American Literature, specializing in Poetry, at Queens College (CUNY) for 32 years. Upon retiring he moved to Spain, living in Málaga until 1999 and then moved to Hallandale, Florida, where he now resides. He has published a good number of books of poetry in Cuba, Spain, USA, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Argentina, and Chile; two books of prose (short poetical texts under the title of Mezcla para dos tiempos; and excerpts of his personal diaries – so far there are 40 handwritten volumes – under the title of Una huella destartalada). His work has been partially translated into English, Portuguese, Greek, Italian, French, German, Hebrew but alas not Japanese nor Chinese.

JOSE KOZER is a voracious, prolific writer of poems, indeed a graphomaniac, or rather a graphophile, and has as of this date written, corrected, filed away in his computer and forgotten exactly 5463 poems, some 1000 of which have been published here, and there.

Other readings in the series include;
3/18 – K. Silem Mohammad and Lara Glenum
4/01 – David-Baptiste Chirot and Wanda Phipps

Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit
www.mocadetroit.org
4454 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, MI 48201
(313) 832-6622

There is one month remaining for emerging and established metropolitan Detroit literary and performing artists to apply for one of 18 $25,000 Kresge Artist Fellowships. Applications are only available online at www.kresgeartsindetroit.org and must be completed by Friday, February 26, 2010. Kresge Artist Fellowships are funded by The Kresge Foundation and administered by the College for Creative Studies, with professional development opportunities for the selected fellows provided by ArtServe Michigan.

The fellowships provide support for 18 artists living and working in metropolitan Detroit (Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties) whose commitment to innovation and artistic achievement are evident in the quality of their work. Artists in the following literary and performing arts disciplines are eligible to apply:
• Literary Arts: Art criticism in all disciplines (including visual, literary and performing arts), creative non-fiction, fiction, poetry, playwriting and interdisciplinary work within the above disciplines.
• Performing Arts: Choreography, music composition (in all genres – classical, country, electronic, experimental, folk, hip-hop, jazz, rap, rock, etc.), performance art, spoken word, sound art and interdisciplinary work within the above arts disciplines.

The fellowships recognize creative vision and commitment to excellence within a wide range of artistic disciplines, including artists who have been classically and academically trained, self taught artists and artists whose art forms have been passed down through cultural and traditional heritage. The fellows are selected through an open, competitive process as judged by an independent panel of local and national artists and arts professionals. The 2010 Kresge Artist Fellows will be announced in June 2010.

The Kresge Foundation is a $2.8 billion private, national foundation, based in Troy, Michigan, that seeks to influence the quality of life for future generations through its support of nonprofit organizations in six fields: health, the environment, arts and culture, education, human services, and community development. Kresge Arts in Detroit, an initiative comprising the Kresge Eminent Artist Award, Kresge Artist Fellowships and Kresge Arts Support, represents one of five strategic objectives set forth in the foundation’s Detroit Program, a comprehensive community-development effort to strengthen the long-term economic, social and cultural fabric of the city and surrounding region by strengthening Detroit’s neighborhoods and downtown, promoting arts and culture, advancing regional economic development and enhancing the natural environment. For more information, visit www.kresge.org.

The Kresge Eminent Artist Award and Kresge Artist Fellowships are administered by the Kresge Arts in Detroit office at the College for Creative Studies. Located in Detroit, the college is a world leader in art and design education and prepares students to enter the new, global economy where creativity shapes better communities and societies. A private, fully accredited college, it enrolls 1,400 students pursuing Master of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees. For more information, visit www.collegeforcreativestudies.edu.

ArtServe Michigan is the statewide arts and cultural advocacy organization. Its mission is to cultivate the creative potential of the arts and cultural sector to enhance the health and well-being of Michigan, its people and communities. The organization is committed to developing and supporting the creative and professional potential of artists and other creative practitioners working in Michigan. Through a portfolio of statewide programs, services and resources designed to connect practitioners to resources, information and networks needed to help them thrive, ArtServe Michigan provides practical opportunities that stimulate ideas and growth. Programs focus on four main areas: professional development, networking and dialogue, research and analysis, and awards and benefits. For more information, visit www.artservemichigan.org.

For more information about Kresge Arts in Detroit, visit www.kresgeartsindetroit.org.

All nonprofit organizations are welcome to apply, including schools, municipalities, churches, civic cultural & art groups and libraries.

Applicants may apply for up to $4,000.00. Funded activities include art activities for students; exhibits, readings, performances, workshops and broadcasts; artist residencies, consultancies and design activities; the commissioning or restoration of public art; video and film production and screening; and the publication of limited edition, original works of an independent, non-profit press.

Round 2 Minigrant applications must be postmarked by February 24, 2010 in order to be eligible to receive funding, for activities occurring between April 1, 2010 and September 30, 2010. Guidelines and applications are available on the center’s website, www.theartcenter.org.

Anton Art Center Executive Director Dr. Jennifer Callans will lead a free grant writing workshop Wednesday, January 27, 2010, from 6:00 to 7:30 pm. at the Anton Art Center. Interested attendees should RSVP to Dr. Callans at 586-469-8666.

The Anton Art Center, the hub for the arts in Macomb County, is located in historic downtown Mount Clemens on the southeast corner of Southbound Gratiot Avenue (M-3) and Macomb Place. Convenient public parking is located in the adjacent Roskopp Parking Lot. For more information please visit www.theartcenter.org.

The State of Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA), an agency of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), serves to encourage, develop and facilitate an enriched environment of artistic, creative, cultural activity in Michigan. The Council’s Regional Regranting program utilizes a network of nonprofit organizations to distribute small arts and cultural projects grants (Minigrants).

For more information about the Anton Art Center, or to make a donation or become a member, call the center at 586-469-8666 or visit www.theartcenter.org. The Anton Art Center is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm; Friday, 10 am to 6 pm; and Sunday, 12 noon to 4 pm. The center is closed on Mondays.

The Anton Art Center, the hub for the arts in Macomb County, is located in historic downtown Mount Clemens on the southeast corner of Southbound Gratiot Avenue (M-3) and Macomb Place. Convenient public parking is located in the adjacent Roskopp Parking Lot. For more information please visit www.theartcenter.org.

An evening of prose and poetry at ARTCITE
Features Live readings by:

Len Gasparini
Jim Christy
Edward A. Watson
Salvatore Ala

To lead off the new decade, Artcite will feature an evening of prose and poetry by Windsor (and Toronto area) authors: Len Gasparini will be launching his latest book; “When does a kiss become a bite?”.
Jim Christy will read excerpts from his last year’s music and poetry CD “God’s little Angle” and other works.
Edward A. Watson will read from his newest work “Where Hidden Love Lies” and his collected works.
Salvatore (Sal) Ala will feature new poems and excerpts from his latest book: “Straight Razor and Other Poems”

Light refreshments, Admission as always is free.
Confirmed Guests

ARTCITE is located at b
109 University Ave. West Windsor ON

n the Spotlight is ACT I: THE ION TELEVISION MOVIE CONTEST, an unmissable opportunity for aspiring writers, presented by the esteemed New York Television Festival (NYTVF) and the ION Television Network.

ACT I invites writers to submit their original idea for a procedural drama TV movie for the chance to win a $40,000 USD cash prize and a development deal with ION Network. What’s more, the winning dramatic teleplay may be offered a production deal and then broadcast on ION Television, while up to 25 finalists will be offered first-look deals with the Network.

To vie for these exceptional prizes, writers should submit the treatment and first act for an original two-hour made-for-TV movie. Projects submitted should be dramas intended for mature audiences, with a strong lead character or team of characters and a plot that focuses on a central problem or mystery in any field, in the vein of such procedurals as “CSI,” “Law & Order,” “House M.D.” and the Jesse Stone TV movies. Comedic elements are welcomed, and highly suggested are projects that could serve as a pilot for launching an hour-long series and powerful endings that leave the door open for sequels or future episodes.

UPCOMING DEADLINE
January 15, 2010 – Regular (Final!) Deadline

Go to http://www.facebook.com/l/ef21d;IonTvContest.MichiganMovieMarketing.com

MISSION AND OBJECTIVE
Established in 2005, NYTVF provides a platform to elevate the work of artists creating for the small screen and to honor television as an institution and an art form. Held annually in New York City, NYTVF unites artists, executives, industry figures, and fans to celebrate the medium and to help shape its future.

MORE ABOUT THE COMPETITION
NYTVF provides unprecedented access and exposure for emerging television artists looking to showcase new and innovative ideas for television programming. Since 2008, the Festival has strategically partnered with FOX and now ION to discover the best new voices in television writing. Alumni have secured representation with CAA and WMEE, among others, and sold or produced work for FOX, NBC, A&E, Comedy Central, Spike, Versus, MTV, IFC, and the Sundance Channel.

For your shot at these exceptional prizes, and to become part of the NYTVF network, submit a detailed treatment of your idea along with the first 40 (or so) pages of your teleplay. But, don’t delay…while the Contest’s final deadline is in January, ACT I will immediately stop accepting entries when it receives 1,500 valid submissions. Submit your teleplay and treatment to ACT I: The ION Television Movie Contest today!