April 27, 2008

ArtsCAP calls artists to join Asbury Park events

ASBURY PARK -- In conjunction with the upcoming Tri-City Arts Tour scheduled the weekend of June 6-8, the Arts Coalition of Asbury Park's (ArtsCAP) Public Art Committee kicks off the next chapter of public art in the city with an interactive Art Mark Mural concurrent with a projection art project.

ArtsCAP is calling out to all artists, looking for six mural starters as well as additional participating artists, to join in this exciting mural-making event to be created live during the weekend-long arts festival with the idea that each artist will make their mark on the wall next to another artist.

ArtsCAP also invites all artists to submit their work to be projected at night on various buildings throughout the downtown during the weekend. All media are accepted.

"This is a very exciting occasion for artists to come together to show their work, create side by side in a historical public art event and support their very active local arts community," said Dawn von Suskil of ArtsCAP's Public Art Committee.

"The Art Mark Mural will not only harness and promote the collective energy of our area's talented artists," she said. "It is also a vehicle for individual artistic expression, giving a public voice to each artist's unique point of view as creators within our community and beyond."

Madison Marquette, Asbury Park's arts-friendly waterfront redeveloper, has offered ArtsCAP the Arcade Wall in the Casino building on the boardwalk for the mural. With paint donated by Siperstein?s and press coverage for the six mural starters from Madison Marquette, ArtsCAP is asking all artists to donate their painted contribution.

Consisting of 4-by-8 plywood panels, the wall will be dismantled from one large painted expanse to individual art pieces at the end of the weekend so that the painted panels can be auctioned off. All proceeds benefit ArtsCAP's efforts build sustainable policies and programs for the arts in Asbury Park.

Artists interested in participating in the Art Mark Mural can contact Dawn von Suskil at info@themuralists.com or call 732-361-6680. Artists interested in participating in the projection art can contact Susan Pellegrini of ArtsCAP's Public Art Committee at spellegrini@optonline.net

The Tri-City Arts Tour seeks to unite the towns of Asbury Park, Long Branch, and Red Bank in a weekend-long arts festival during the weekend of June 6-8. Tourists are invited to park in one city, then take the train to the other two cities to sample the culture in all three.

Each train station will serve as a welcome wagon/information booth and feature live entertainment. Pre-programming at the Stone Pony, The Saint, Paramount/Convention Hall, Wonderbar, Twisted Tree, Mattison Park and other venues will be included on the weekend map, supplemented by special events including public mural creations, theatrical performances, street musicians, and art shows. Please visit www.artscap.org or www.tricityartstour.com for more information on the Tri-City Arts Tour.

Friday, April 11, 2008

ArtsCAP Announces Final Roundtable at the Paramount

ArtsCAP, the Arts Coalition of Asbury Park, will take the first step towards building an artistic vision for Asbury Park, when it holds a Roundtable Briefing for artists, community leaders and all residents of Asbury Park on Sunday, April 20, 2008 in the Paramount Theatre.

This serious yet fun-filled event, which begins at 3 p.m. in the theatre located in Convention Hall on Fifth and Ocean avenues, culminates ArtsCAP's efforts to engage local artists and performers, developers and business people, and local government officials in numerous roundtable discussions held during March and April about the "state of the arts" in Asbury Park.

"With this gathering we strive to illustrate the financial and cultural benefits of the arts within Asbury Park, highlight our findings through these roundtables, lay out the city's cultural benefits and deficiencies, and explain how we can build on our existing resources to enhance our community by making it a welcoming place for the arts," explained Brett Colby, president of ArtsCAP.

ArtsCAP member and Tony Award-nominated actor Lou Liberatore will emcee the event, which will include remarks City Manager Terence Reidy, Marilyn Schlossbach of Market in the Middle, ReVision Theatre's Tom Morrissey, Madison Marquette's Gary Mottola, MCAC's Terri Thomas, non-profit expert Lori Heninger, and Long Branch Arts Advocate Todd Katz. Also included will be a presentation about ArtsCAP and what it is doing; an explanation of an arts district; a discussion of how an arts district in Asbury Park would benefit the city, and some of the findings, information and opinions about the arts in Asbury Park gathered from the recent roundtable discussions held in March and April.

The roundtable process has determined five broad needs of artists in Asbury Park:
1. Increased communication amongst the arts community, city government, and business community, and between artists and the public at large.
2. A Public Art Policy to enhance the value and beauty of existing/proposed public spaces through art and thus raise the awareness of the value of art to the community.
3. Appropriate and affordable working spaces for all artists to create or practice their work.
4. Appropriate venues for artists to display, show or perform their arts  for the public and arts patrons.
5. Affordable living spaces for artists who rely on their artistic endeavors as their source of income.

Following the presentation, during a reception with live entertainment and cash bar, ArtsCAP members will meet with anyone and everyone who wants to develop concrete and viable ways to meet these needs and otherwise enhance the arts in Asbury Park, help local artists thrive, and celebrate the city's rich cultural and artistic heritage.

This briefing is the next step ArtsCAP is taking to meet the goals of the Asbury Park Cultural Plan 2006-2012 for promoting the arts in Asbury Park. These nine goals include establishing at least one cultural center in Asbury Park, developing cultural arts districts, starting a public art program, supporting the development of historic preservation policies in the city, and more.

February 19, 2008

Artist's Roundtable - March 3, 7:00 PM

What do artists want and need from their city? What can their city provide them? What do developers already have planned to promote the arts?

ArtsCAP, the Arts Coalition of Asbury Park, will sponsor a series of roundtable discussions during this March and April to facilitate a dialog between artists, developers and city officials in Asbury Park about the specific needs of artists and what the city government and developers can be expected to provide them.

The initial discussion, open only to artists, sculptors, writers and performers living or working in Asbury Park, as well as representatives of arts-related organizations like art galleries, music venues and theater companies, will begin at 7 p.m. Monday, March 3 in the City of Asbury Park. Those who wish to participate in this discussion should send an email to ArtsCAP at artscap@aol.com to receive a detailed invitation.

“We're inviting all artists in Asbury Park to join us and discuss their needs, wants, likes and dislikes about working in Asbury Park,” said Brett Colby of ArtsCAP.

“After that meeting, ArtsCAP will compile this information and present it to developers and city officials at two subsequent meetings later in March,” Colby said. “These three meetings will culminate in a fourth and final, all-inclusive discussion in late April, with details to be announced later.”

The aim of these discussions is to flesh out the goals of the Asbury Park Cultural Plan 2006-2012 for promoting the arts in Asbury Park. These nine goals include establishing at least one cultural center in Asbury Park, developing cultural arts districts, starting a public art program, supporting the development of historic preservation policies in the city, and more.

The entire plan can be downloaded as a PDF or Microsoft Word file from http://www.artscap.org, which also has lots of information about the arts in Asbury Park, including upcoming events, ongoing programs and much more.

January 25, 2008

Artscap's bi-monthly "ArtsConnect" events newsletter is temporarily disabled while we make upgrades to our system. Please refer to our "Upcoming Events" section of this site to keep up-to-date on upcoming events. Be sure to check back often as the calendar is updated daily. Newsletter mailings will resume shortly.

December 6, 2007

The Arts Coalition of Asbury Park announces its Strategic Plan for 2008

The Arts Coalition of Asbury Park (artscap) has approved its Master Plan for 2008, which includes plans to carry out many of the goals set by the Asbury Park Cultural Plan.

ArtsCAP's 2008 plan is designed to contribute towards achieving the goals created by the Asbury Park Cultural Plan, which was developed in 2006 and is the first such plan developed jointly by artists, citizens, arts consultants and local government officials in any Monmouth County community,

“This plan seeks to unite Asbury Park's visual and performing arts community, and make Asbury Park a vibrant cultural hub for New Jersey,” said artscap President Mark McDonald.

Goals for this coming year include:

1. Debuting of artscap's new website, www.artscap.org, featuring a state-of-the-art events calendaring system for all Asbury Park cultural happenings.

2. Advocating for affordable artist housing, rehearsal and performance studios, and public art space, especially within the Springwood Avenue redevelopment plan.

3. Continuing of arts education programs, the Photo Literacy Project for 2nd and 4th graders, and the Acting Studio at Asbury Park High School.

4. Continuing to present the quarterly “artscap presents” series, which introduces local artists to the community via performances or lectures.

5. Developing a comprehensive database of Asbury Park's visual and performance artists, venues and arts supporters.

ArtsCAP's website has already gone on-line and is constantly being updated as new information on upcoming arts and cultural activities is received by artsCAP. Work on achieving the other goals has already begun through artsCAP volunteers or is in the planning process. ArtsCAP members helped lead the development of the Asbury Park Cultural Plan, which sets nine long-term goals for the City and its residents, including developing at least one cultural arts center in the city, several cultural arts districts, public arts programs, historic preservation plans, supporting arts education in city schools, directly support artists in the city, build Asbury Park's image as an arts-rich community, develop a public transportation route to arts sites in the city accessible to all, and build resources design to see the plan's goal to fruition.