Go Pink!

We are partnering with Altrusa International, Inc. of Ruidoso to present Shades of Pink, a small works of art show. We are calling for artists across New Mexico (full time residents) to participate in the show, exhibiting at the RRCA Gallery and open to the public through the month of October. There is a $25 entry fee for one piece, $40 for two. Submissions must not exceed dimensions of 11” x 14” (call for details on fiber arts) and may include oil, pastel, acrylic, watercolor, pottery, jewelry, sculpture and fiber arts. A portion of the entry fees and sales commissions will be given to Altrusa. Altrusa is an organization international in scope, and local in focus. Service projects include annual low cost mammograms, Head Start books, domestic abuse shelter and Lincoln County Food Bank.

Entry Form (40kb PDF file)

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Questions? Contact RRCA!

The sisters (producers/directors) run Off Center Media, a production company that produces documentaries exposing injustice in the criminal justice system. The interview covers such questions as…

What were your goals for this film? How can film carry on the legacy of social change that was crucial to your father’s life? As filmmakers and daughters, when did you decide you were ready to tackle such a personal story on film?

The sister touch on the power of art to bring social change…definitely an interesting read. Thought-provoking.

Read the interview HERE.

(RRCA isn’t endorsing any particular view represented in this article…just presenting good stories and resources to benefit the membership.)

Where: Alto Lakes Golf and Country Club, Pavilion

When: Saturday, April 17^th, at 8 p.m.

Admission: $10

Tickets: May be purchased (or reserved) by contacting the RRCA.

Goal: To raise awareness to stop violence against women and girls and funds for our beneficiaries – COPE Inc.; NM OATH;      LCCHC – DVSART and Luna Project for Girls.

Sponsored by: ENMU-Ruidoso, Dance Gallery, RRCA

“The topic was weighty: how music can save the world.

The talk ranged across the role of conservatories, the definition of art and music’s capacity to heal.

The World Economic Forum convened a panel discussion at Carnegie Hall Thursday on arts leadership. The focus? “The role and responsibilities of cultural leaders and institutions in the collaborative process of development solutions to a number of challenges affecting the world.” Hmmm.

The session plunged immediately into the esoteric, with the moderator, Erwann Michel-Kerjan, a Wharton School professor at the University of Pennsylvania, asking what the difference was between art and entertainment.

“Art is a necessity and entertainment is a luxury,” Deborah Borda answered succinctly.

…

Art can be life-changing, but entertainment “need not be,” said Hilda Ochoa-Brillembourg, chief executive of Strategic Investment Group and chairman of the Youth Orchestra of the Americas. But music that does not move you is “dead art,” she said.

Matthew Bishop, The Economist’s New York bureau chief, had a more pragmatic definition: People pay for entertainment. Art is subsidized.

…

They all wanted to make the case for why music is important. When all is lost in a natural disaster, say, all that is left is the spirit, Ms. Ochoa-Brillembourg said. “The arts nurture the spirit,” she said. Conversely, dictators try to suppress and control the arts, pointed out Klaus Schwab, the forum’s founder.

In a brief question-and-answer period, Robert Sirota, the composer and president of the Manhattan School of Music, asked how conservatories should change. “Get your students to read books!” Ms. Borda said, arguing that the world needs more rounded musicians. Manhattan and many other conservatories are making such efforts, to varying degrees of success.”

A Hispanic male nurse called my name every hour to draw blood. Along with light blue scrubs, he wore a black yarmulke bordered by silver stars of David, and cobalt blue Hebrew tattoos were etched onto his forearm. I was utterly intrigued – people-watching up close and personal – and we chatted while I looked away from the needle. When I looked back, I noticed he had scratches on his face. He winced at one, laughed, and said, “I got these on Hanukkah, can you believe that? It started out well, but it didn’t end so well.” The writerly side of my brain was madly screaming, “What IS his story? He’s a story to be written!”

I love photographs of people for the same reason. I pore over photographs on Flickr almost daily, and within that community I discovered a beautiful book that captures the essence of friendly people-watching: The Day-to-Day Life of Albert Hastings. The photographer, KayLynn Deveney, and her husband noticed Albert as they walked to and from their basement flat and the city center in southern Wales every day. The old man often leaned against his building, his quiet yet lively presence contrasting the architecture’s decay. He watered the gardens to sustain life. Others might have overlooked this lonely man, but KayLynn was attentive to a light in Albert’s face that made her want to know him.

…

KayLynn documented Albert’s day-to-day life with creative tenderness. They collaborated to create both friendship and art. It inspires me to ponder the possibilities of our interactions with strangers outside of our social comfort zone. We could start by befriending and serving them, then really see our neighbors through art – perhaps by photography, recording or writing their stories, or making a short documentary film. Or we could simply talk with them, know who they are. Our society tragically tends to ignore the lonely, poor, and elderly…”

(Read the full article HERE)

Just three blocks from Lincoln Center, they arrived at the concert on Thursday night by shelter bus, not taxi or limousine. They took their seats around scarred, round folding tables. The menu was chicken curry and rice served on paper plates. These concertgoers were eight tired, homeless men who had been taken to the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church shelter for the night. They listened to the latest performance by Kelly Hall-Tompkins, a professional violinist who has been playing in shelters for five years under the banner of Music Kitchen. Ms. Hall-Tompkins is not the only do-gooder in the classical music world. Orchestras nationwide took part in a food drive this fall, and Classical Action raises money for AIDS programs through concerts and other activities. Hospital Audiences brings musicians and other performers into wards. But most classical music institutions — orchestras, opera houses and conservatories — pour their philanthropic efforts into large-scale music education for children, supported by hefty fund-raising and marketing machines. They organize youth orchestras; play concerts in poor, urban schools; and provide lessons. Music Kitchen has a catchy motto (“Food for the Soul”), T-shirts with a logo and a pool of donors. But the operation is essentially Ms. Hall-Tompkins, 38, an ambitious New York freelancer who plays in the New Jersey Symphony and has a midlevel solo and chamber music career. “I like sharing music with people, and they have zero access to it,” Ms. Hall-Tompkins said of her homeless audiences. “It’s very moving to me that I can find people in a place perhaps when they have a greater need for, and a heightened sensitivity to, beauty.”

. . .

For the performers, it can also be bittersweet. “When I have people to play for, it means they are having really hard times,” Ms. Hall-Tompkins said. But the benefit is mutual. “The artists, I find, are just as moved as the people we’re supposedly trying to help.”

(Read the full article HERE)

(Watch a related video HERE)

The View From the Wall

The RRCA is receiving donations for auction at the event…consider this a strong and clear request Donations may be dropped off at Josie’s Framery during business hours.

Potters began the Empty Bowls Event in the 70′s as a way to bring awareness to hunger and other social issues. Judy Pekelsma, Resource Faculty in ENMU’s Fine Arts Department, selected the Nest as the charity to benefit from this community fundraiser.

Empty Bowls is a student community service event organized by the Fine Arts Department’s Ceramics Club and the Culinary Arts Department. At the Event, each guest will enjoy a delicious soup lunch prepared by students in the Culinary Arts Program and choose a handmade bowl made by students and artists throughout the region to take home as a gift.

The cost is $15 and includes one ceramic bowl, soup, bread and a drink. Tickets go on sale September 16 until October 21. They will be available at the door and at the following locations; ENMU Bookstore, Josie’s Framery, Ruidoso Valley Chamber of Commerce, The Nest Domestic Violence Shelter, Southwest Securities and Oso Gallery in Capitan.

There are limited ceramic bowls available so get your tickets early!

Students and the public are welcome to participate in making the bowls for the Event on Saturday September 19 and 26 from 2-5pm at ENMU. The bowls will be glazed on Saturday October 3 from 2-5 pm. There is no cost to make the bowls and all materials will be provided by ENMU.

There will also be a silent auction at the Event, with pottery and art donated by local artists.

Thomas Radcliffe, an accomplished finger-style guitarist, singer and songwriter, will be playing his unique music during this event. His recent CD, “I Believe in Love”, will also be available for purchase, with the proceeds being donated to the shelter.

The Nest Domestic Violence Shelter is operated by Help End Abuse for Life, a local not-for-profit organization. For further information about the free and confidential services of the shelter, please call 378-6378 or toll-free at 1-866-378-6378.