Art Auction and Benefit

Tomorrow evening, Saturday, April 20th, there will be a lovely art auction to benefit the families of Madison Wallace and Lyle Eagle Tail.  The event is schedule from 5-8pm.  Please consider joining us.

"Under the Rainbow: Poems from Mojácar," a poetry reading and book signing by Norma Wilson.

We sure hope the weather turns by Thursday night!  We are very excited to be hosting our dear friend Norma Wilson, for what looks to be a fantastic night of poetry, art and food.

In addition, Vermillion's Sam Pearson, this year's winner of the SD Poetry Out Loud competition, will also be reading.  Don't miss it!!

Bluegrass Music coming to the Washington Street Arts Center

Friends and Members - We are very excited to announce that the VAAC will once again have regular music programming!  The East River & Missouri Valley Bluegrass Music Association will be holding monthly open jams at the Washington Street Arts Center, beginning February 10th.  Sessions will take place on the 2nd Sunday of each month, from 1-6pm.  Open to musicians, but also to music appreciators... A fantastic opportunity for those who would like to be introduced to Bluegrass techniques, but also to music-lovers with families who can appreciate a safe, warm, smoke-free and alcohol-free environment.
More information on the attached flyer; or feel free to contact us at vaacboard@yahoo.com.

CAN'T WAIT to see you there!!

Art For Peace

Hello from the VAAC!
Just a reminder: Vermillion Area Arts Council is celebrating Martin Luther King Day today (Monday the 21st), so stop by anytime in the afternoon or evening for some good treats, music and inspiring work from local kids, community artists and writers. Here's the evening schedule of events.

5:30 pm: Kids songs, with Elaine Peacock
6:00 pm: Songs of Peace with Two Old Hippies: Cindy Gehm and Bruce Gray
7:00 pm: Vocal melodies provided by a group from the USD Chamber Singers
7:30 pm: Open Mic for the reading of poetry and other works

It's not too late to come up with your own verbal contributions! We'll see you there!

Sincerely,
Becca Gehm 
Events Chair, Vermillion Area Arts Council

Rebecca Gehm

Events Chair, Vermillion Area Arts Council

Happy New Year from the Vermillion Area Arts Council!  We’re excited to kick off 2013 with some new and exciting plans to help our art community grow.  First, I must remind you it is not too late to get your vision into our MLK celebration.  As I said in the last issue:

Attention artists, writers, musicians and dreamers of all ages!  The Vermillion Area Arts Council is excited to announce a call for art, writing, music and other creative observations of peace to be contributed on January 21^st, 2013, for our celebration of Martin Luther King Day.  Appropriately titled “Art for Peace”, this community event seeks to ask you:  “What is your dream?”

In the past, the Arts Council has worked with local schools as well as artists in displaying their own visions of peace with drawings, paintings and multimedia works.  We have also featured collaborative projects and a variety of music.  This year, we are looking to expand the array of art and generate more community participation by including documentaries, sculptures, presentations, and the sharing of written inspirations.  All ideas are welcome.  Please contact me within the next two weeks at beccagehm@gmail.com/605-659-5283 with your vision, be it small or large. 

The last day to contact will be Thursday, the 17^th of January, as we will be setting up the show that evening.  Good People will be bringing some peaceful melodies on the evening of January 21^st, followed by the USD Chamber singers at 7pm.  If you are reading something, we will be starting the written word portion around 7:30 PM in the style of a poetry reading.  The will be a variety of food, drinks and smiles throughout the afternoon and evening.

In other news, the arts council will be trialing new software this year in the hopes of tightening efficiency, bringing our members closer to the action and effectively communicating ideas and information amongst those who chose to receive it.  We have had enthusiastic conversations about this new development, because with tools like this, growth is inevitable!  We’ll be kicking this off within the month.  Also, we will be developing a new website and a new look for the organization this season, further increasing our own enthusiasm and hopefully that of the community!

As always, we welcome you to sign up as a member of the Arts Council and would love to hear your ideas for further developing this organization and integrating our thriving art community.  Please visit our website at www.vermillionareaartscouncil.blogspot.com for more information. 

Rebecca Gehm

Events Chair, Vermillion Area Arts Council

CALL FOR ART:

Attention artists, writers, musicians and dreamers of all ages!  The Vermillion Area Arts Council is excited to announce a call for art, writing, music and other creative observations of peace to be contributed on January 21^st, 2013, for our celebration of Martin Luther King Day.  Appropriately titled “Art for Peace”, this community event seeks to ask you:  “What is your dream?”

In the past, the Arts Council has worked with local schools as well as artists in displaying their own visions of peace with drawings, paintings and multimedia works.  We have also featured collaborative projects and a variety of music.  This year, we are looking to expand the array of art and generate more community participation by including documentaries, sculptures, presentations, and the sharing of written inspirations.  All ideas are welcome.  Please contact me within the next five weeks  at beccagehm@gmail.com with your vision, be it small or large.

While you’re pondering this, look for the presence of Vermillion Area Arts Council and the United Way in Vermillion’s Parade of Lights, held on the evening of December 7^th!  On this busy Friday, we’d also love to see you at a student exhibition held by Christopher Meyer, assistant professor of sculpture at USD.  Meyer explains, “This exhibition will be the culmination of my Installation and Contemporary Sculptural Practices class. The class is designed to encourage students to break out of traditional sculptural media, approaches and straight forward object-making in order to experiment with new materials processes and concepts. The theme of the class is experience and it focuses on non-traditional media, installation (the creation of an environment as opposed to an art object), art videos, site specific works, assemblage, digital media, performance, happenings and ephemeral works.   This exhibition will be a group show for the whole class (2 Grads-1 MFA art, 1 MFA theater / 5 undergrad BFA art students) and will contain a large variety of works ranging from sculptural objects to art videos to installations and possibly performance art.”

There will be a reception for the show on the evening of Friday, December 7th at 7:00PM and the gallery will remain open through the weekend for viewing.

As always, we welcome you to sign up as a member of the Arts Council and would love to hear your ideas for further developing this organization and integrating our thriving art community.  Please visit our website at www.vermillionareaartscouncil.blogspot.com for more information.