City of Richmond Seeks Professional Artists for Multiple Design Projects

The Richmond Community Redevelopment Agency is seeking professional artists to apply for multiple design projects and integrated public art commissions. Artists will be asked to submit qualifications for one or more of a variety of sites, including the newly renovated Civic Center Plaza.

The deadline for applications is January 15, 2007. Details are available at: City of Richmond

Supervisors Seek Candidates for AC5 Positions

Interested in serving on AC5?

Two supervisors-Mary Piepho and Federal Glover-are seeking candidates from their respective districts to fill vacancies on the Arts and Culture Commission of Contra Costa County (AC5).

Piepho's district (3) includes Walnut Creek, Alamo, San Ramon, Danville, Brentwood, Knightson, Discovery Bay and Byron.

Glover's district (5) includes Pittsburg, Antioch, Bay Point, Oakley and Bethel Island.

Applications are available on Contra Costa County's web site, or may be obtained from Piepho's offices in Danville (925.820-8683) or Brentwood (925.240-7261) and from Glover's office in Pittsburg (925.634-5915).

Information about the commission, its mission and activities, is available at the AC5 website

Survey is First to Find Links Between Arts Participation and Community Health

People who participate in the arts are people who help make communities thrive, according to a study released by the National Endowment for the Arts. The study, The Arts and Civic Engagement: Involved in Arts, Involved in Life, reveals that people who participate in the arts also engage in positive civic and individual activities -- such as volunteering, going to sporting events, and outdoor activities -- at significantly higher rates than non-arts participants.

The report shatters the stereotype that art is an escapist or passive activity, showing instead that it is associated with a range of positive behaviors. The study also reveals that young adults (18-34) show a declining rate of arts participation and civic activities.

"Healthy communities depend on active and
involved citizens. The arts play an irreplaceable
role in producing both those citizens and
those communities."

- Dana Gioia, NEA Chairman

The study is the first to measure the connection between arts and civic engagement, which can be defined as promoting a positive quality of life through individual and group activities. This new examination of data is based on information from the 2002 NEA Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, which interviewed 17,135 adults ages 18 and older about their activities in a 12-month period. This latest report analyzes civic behaviors reported by arts participants and non-arts participants.

Among the key findings:

• Arts participants volunteer more. Literary readers and arts participants volunteer at more than twice the rate of those who do not read literature or participate in the arts. For example, half of all performing arts attendees volunteer or do charity work, compared with less than 20% of non-attendees. Those who read literature such as short stories, poems, or novels are almost three times as likely to volunteer as non-readers.

• Arts fans are sports fans. Contrary to popular belief, the people who go to theater and concerts are also comfortable showing team spirit at the sports stadium or neighborhood soccer field. People who attend performing arts attend sporting events at twice the rate of non-attendees, and arts participants are also more likely than non-arts participants to play sports.

• Arts participants enjoy the great outdoors. Literary readers and arts participants engage in outdoor activities, such as camping, hiking, or canoeing, at double the rate of non-arts participants. They also exercise at nearly twice the rate of non-readers and non-participants.

• Young adults are less involved in civic life. Over a 20-year period, young adults are reading less literature, attending fewer arts performances, and even listening to less jazz and classical radio. Young adults also are less involved in sports and exercise, and volunteer rates were flat. Over a similar 20-year timeframe, obesity among young adults grew by roughly 10 percentage points (source: National Center for Health Statistics, Health United States, 2004).

The study shows that arts participants and readers lead more active lifestyles than commonly is perceived, that they contribute substantial social capital to their communities through high levels of charity works and participation in sports and outdoor activities. Further, the study demonstrates that arts participation can be seen as an indicator of civic and community health. Finally, the study reveals that young adults may be particularly susceptible to giving up both artistic and civic activities.

Two Contra Costa Arts Organizations Receive Grants from NEA

The California Symphony and Sundar Kala Kendra Foundation (Anjani's Kathak Dance of India), both based in Walnut Creek, are among 132 California arts groups receiving a total of $2,920,500 in grants from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Both Contra Costa organizations were awarded grants in the NEA's "Access to Artistic Excellence" category.

The symphony received $10,000 to support its Young American Composer-in-Residence Program. The year-long residency with an emerging composer will include recorded reading sessions, high school visits, and the creation and presentation of a new work.

The foundation was granted $15,000 to support Indian Film Melodies in Kathak Style. The project will research the past 50 years of film songs in the Hindi language and will present songs that represent compositions from devotional to contemporary.

Broadway Actress Cherry Jones Tours O'Neill's Tao House in Danville, Receives Award

Cherry Jones, the Tony Award-winning actress widely regarded as "the finest stage actress of her generation," will toured the Tao House estate of playwright Eugene O'Neill in Danville and received an award for performance distinction in November. Jones, who was appearing in "Doubt" at San Francisco's Golden Gate Theatre, received the award from the Eugene O'Neill Foundation during a luncheon prior to the Tao House tour. Her performance in the play on Broadway earned her a Tony Award in 2005 for best leading actress in a play. Previously, she was nominated for a Tony for her highly acclaimed performance in O'Neill's "A Moon for the Misbegotten," one of his last six plays, all of which he wrote at Tao House. She received a Tony in 1995 for her performance in "The Heiress." Jones received the foundation's prestigious Tao House Award, given in partnership with the National Park service, which oversees Tao House. The award is presented to individuals who have "served the American theater with distinction." The first award was presented in 1989 to actor Jason Robards, Jr. "The thought that Tao House allowed him (O'Neill) the serenity to do what he had to do - well, I am beside myself," Ms. Jones said. "I thank you for preserving this landmark." The San Francisco Chronicle recently described Jones as "the finest stage actress of her generation," noting she is routinely placed in the same league as Broadway legends Helen Hayes, Julie Harris, and Colleen Dewhurst.

Name Change

The Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek is now minus the "Dean" and the "Regional." The facility, which includes three theaters and the Bedford Art Gallery, is now known as the Lesher Center for the Arts. City officials say the main reason for the change, which won't affect outside signage on the building, is to be more inclusive of the surrounding areas.

Northgate High School in Walnut Creek has named its newly renovated little theater as the Jack DeRieux Little Theatre in honor of the school's retired drama instructor. DeRieux retired in 2003 after teaching for 26 years at Northgate and 35 years in all in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District.

The renovation cost $2.2 million.

Brentwood Publishes Results of Community Arts Survey

Brentwood's residents like seeing art in public places, according to their responses to a community arts survey conducted by the city's Arts Commission. Citizens also expressed high interest in more public art. Respondents-78.4 of them-rated the arts as "important to me."

The survey covered a variety of arts-related topics, including marketing issues.

Willows Cabaret Scheduled for Grand Opening in May

Conversion of a building housing a former auto dealership and parts store into a theater is progressing in Martinez.

The Campbell Theater, Home of the Willows Cabaret, is scheduled for a grand opening on May 12, 2007 with performances of the 25th anniversary production of "Nunsense," the first show in the popular series. Over time, all Nunsense shows will be presented in the Cabaret, located at 636 Ward Street near the civic plaza in downtown Martinez.

In addition to the Cabaret, the Willows will continue to operate its theater in the Willows Shopping Center in Concord.

9 p.m. on Monday, December 18

CCTV is Comcast Channel 27. Astound customers in Walnut Creek and Concord may view the program on Channel 32.

AC5 ‘s ‘Friends' Continues to Accept Donations In
Memory of Commissioner Roberta Seabury

Friends of AC5, the nonprofit support group for the Arts and Culture Commission of Contra Costa County, continues to accept donations to its memorial fund for the late commissioner Roberta Seabury, who had served as chair until illness forced her to retired earlier this year. She died on October 10.

Once all donations are compiled, Friends of AC5 plans to provide the money in the form of scholarships to talented underprivileged young people who are pursing careers in the arts. A similar fund was organized two years ago in memory of Karen Ciraulo, former AC5 managing director.

Donations may be sent to:

Friends of AC5
1236 Escobar Street
Martinez, CA 94553
Phone (925) 646-2078