Public Is Invited To Vote On Sculpture at Spartanburg Marriott in Spartanburg, SC

The public is invited to vote on four select sculpture designs, one of which will be created and permanently placed on the outside patio of the Spartanburg Marriott in Spartanburg, SC. Voting ends on Apr. 9, 2012. You may vote online at (www.TheTerraceLounge.com/vote) or by paper ballot available at the hotel’s front desk.

The four designs are by local artists who are competing for a $10,000 commission. The competition required the designs to be of an outdoor sculpture that would “reflect and contribute to the creative culture of Spartanburg.” The project—A Display of Welcome—is co-sponsored by The Arts Partnership of Greater Spartanburg and the Artists’ Guild of Spartanburg.

A jury committee selected the final four designs for public vote. However, the names of the artists are not being released during the voting process. The first design is entitled “The Armillary Sphere,” and is modeled after classic celestial globes. The second design is “The Green Gazebo,” and is a gazebo made of recycled metal. The third design is “Convergence,” and has three distinct, colorful, and symbolic stacked components. The fourth design is “Eva,” which an abstract of an emerging and maturing woman.

“This has been a wonderful experience, and it will produce a work of art that all of Spartanburg can be proud of,” Akshay Bahl, the hotel’s General Manager, said. “Spartanburg Marriott is proud to have this work reside on its grounds and to share it with everyone who comes through our doors. More than anything else, we wanted to create something that would welcome people… not only to Spartanburg Marriott but the entire Spartanburg community.”

Located in downtown Spartanburg, SC, at 299 North Church Street, the 247 room Spartanburg Marriott offers the Upstate’s largest hotel and conference center with meeting facilities totaling 30,000 square feet. The hotel is owned by Greenville, SC, based Southern Hospitality Group and managed by Cincinnati, OH, based Winegardner & Hammons, Inc. For more information visit (www.spartanburgmarriott.com)

The Artist Guild of Spartanburg founded in 1957, serves as a source for creative art in the community by promoting, fostering, and cultivating knowledge of the visual arts and of local artists. It strives to provide enrichment and artistic education for its members as well as the community at large, and thus encourage a deepening appreciation, understanding, and love of art among the citizens of Spartanburg and surrounding counties. The Guild Gallery is located at the Chapman Cultural Center 200 East St. John Street, Spartanburg, SC. For more information visit (www.artistsguildofspartanburg.com).

Arts Partnership of Greater Spartanburg (SC) Awards Community Grants to Local Artists

The Arts Partnership of Greater Spartanburg in Spartanburg, SC, awarded $3,000 through its Community Grants program during the recent winter quarter to five local organizations and artists who are promoting the cultural arts in Spartanburg. Annually, a total of $12,000 is awarded to people or programs that are “actively engaged in the performing, visual, literary or folk arts.” Grants generally range from $500 to $1,000. The Grants panel is chaired by Chris Crowly and nine other local citizens.

Those who received these most recent grants are…

· Boys & Girls Clubs of the Upstate, Imagemakers Program, Visual Art, $1,000

· HubCity Writers Project, SC First Novel Prize, Literary Art, $500

· Vivianne Carey, SPACE Sculpture Installation, Visual Art, $500

· Jody Raines, Threads of Our Heritage, Visual Art, $500

· Patty Wright, The Dupree House Photo Exhibit, Visual Art, $500

The next grant deadline is Mar. 9, 2012. Grants made at that time will be for projects that must end by June 30, 2012. To apply, please visit online at (www.ChapmanCulturalCenter.org) and search under “The Arts Partnership” and “Community Grants.”

The ImageMarkers program will provide seven digital photography and photo-editing workshops to about 200 Boys & Girls Clubs members in the 4th through 8th grades. The workshops will take place January through May at 10 Boys & Girls Clubs locations throughout Spartanburg County. ImageMakers is designed to promote self-expression and communication through photography by teaching photography as a way of seeing, expressing, documenting, and storytelling. The workshops will culminate with youth exhibit at the Chapman Cultural Center, May 8-July 1.

The HubCity Writers Project will use its funds to underwrite the judging and the award of the South Carolina First Novel Prize, a developing program coordinated by a partnership that includes the SC Arts Commission, the State Library, and the SC Humanities Council. This project will include at least four Spartanburg readers—all with advance degrees in writing or literature—to do the first level of judging in this statewide project. The Spartanburg group will select six submitted novels, which will be forwarded to Charleston novelist Josephine Humphreys, who will pick the ultimate winner. The winner will receive a $1000 book advance and the opportunity to have his or novel published and marketed by Spartanburg’s Hub City Press.

Local artist Viviane Carey will use her grant to create and install a commissioned sculpture in memory of Janet White, a local woman who loved the outdoors but who died of cancer after a 10-year battle. She was also the owner of Broadway Bagels, a local eatery. In coordination with the Spartanburg Area Conversancy (SPACE), the sculpture will be at the Beechwood Drive public entrance to the Cottonwood Trail, where Ms. White often walked in prayer and meditation.

Jody Raines’s Threads of Our Heritage project will produce 15 quilts depicting historical homes, churches, and places of interest in Spartanburg County. Her focus will be on promoting the natural, historical, and manmade beauty of the county. As a fiber artists, quilter and photographer, the Spartanburg native used hand-dyed, commercial and painted fabrics, specialty textiles, threads and embellishments and free-motion thread paint by machine. She hopes to exhibit this collection throughout the region in museums, galleries, schools and other venues.

Patty Wright’s project will enable her to photograph and showcase her work on the Wallace Dupree House, one of the oldest homes in Spartanburg. In her May show with the Artists’ Guild of Spartanburg, she will display at least 20 of her photographs that depict this historic house. Two of her goals are to educate the community on the history of the house and to provide a glimpse of the past and the demise of a historic architecture when left alone.

“All of these projects are very strong in their focus and in the advancement of the cultural arts in Spartanburg,” President of the Chapman Cultural Center Jennifer Evins said. “We are very proud to offer Community Grants to artists in our community because the work they do is so very important on many different levels. They preserve, educate, honor, and find new ways to engage people in the arts. They actually produce the images, the words and the ways and means for the rest of us to enjoy some of the most important aspects of life itself.”

The Arts Partnership of Greater Spartanburg’s quarterly Community Grants program is supported in part by its donors, the County and the City of Spartanburg, and the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the John and Susan Bennett Memorial Arts Fund of the Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina.

For further information contact Steve Wong, Marketing Director, Chapman Cultural Center by calling 864/278-9698

Call for Artists to Create Sculpture for Spartanburg Marriott in Spartanburg, SC – Deadline Jan. 16, 2012

A $10,000 commission will be awarded to a local artist to create an outdoor sculpture that will “reflect and contribute to the creative culture of Spartanburg.” The finished sculpture will reside permanently on the outside patio of the Marriott Spartanburg hotel, downtown Spartanburg, SC. The application deadline is Jan. 16, 2012.

This project – A Display of Welcome – is jointly sponsored by Marriott Spartanburg, the Artists’ Guild of Spartanburg, and The Arts Partnership of Greater Spartanburg. The selection process will take several months and will include a jury committee to select the finalists and a community vote to select the final winner. The winner will be notified in late March.

The competition is open to residents of South Carolina who are 18 years old or older. In the initial application, the artists must submit three to five sketches of their concept from different perspectives, along with a list of materials, color schemes, weight and dimensions, and a timeline for construction. Media must be weather resistant. And the finished sculpture can be no larger than 8 feet wide by 10 feet tall. For complete details and the official application, please access online (TheTerraceLounge.com), or e-mail the Artists’ Guild at (artistsguildofspartanburg@gmail.com).

Completed applications should be submitted to Robin Els at the Artists’ Guild of Spartanburg, 200 East St. John Street, Spartanburg, SC 29306 or e-mailed to (artistsguildofspartanburg@gmail.com).

For more information, please contact Robin Els at 864/764-9568, e-mail at (artistsguildofspartanburg@gmail.com) or Akshay Bahl at 864/591-3102, e-mail at (akshay.bahl@marriott.com).

The Spartanburg Marriott is located in downtown Spartanburg, SC, at 299 North Church Street, the 247 room hotel offers the Upstate’s largest hotel and conference center with meeting facilities totaling 30,000 square feet. The hotel is owned by Greenville, SC based Southern Hospitality Group and managed by Cincinnati, OH, based Winegardner & Hammons, Inc. For more information visit (www.spartanburgmarriott.com).

The Artist’s Guild of Spartanburg founded in 1957, serves as a source for creative art in the community by promoting, fostering, and cultivating knowledge of the visual arts and of local artists. It strives to provide enrichment and artistic education for its members as well as the community at large, and thus encourage a deepening appreciation, understanding, and love of art among the citizens of Spartanburg and surrounding counties. The Guild Gallery is located at the Chapman Cultural Center 200 East St. John Street, Spartanburg, SC. For more information visit (www.artistsguildofspartanburg.com).

The Arts Partnership of Greater Spartanburg, SC, Presents “Art After Dark” – A Progressive Dinner through the Chapman Cultural Center – June 23, 2011

The Arts X Society, a fundraising arm of The Arts Partnership of Greater Spartanburg, in Spartanburg, SC, has announced a unique night of ballet, music, art, history and fellowship wrapped into “Art After Dark”, a progressive dinner and social gathering to be held Thursday, June 23, 2011, at the Chapman Cultural Center. The event begins at 6:30pm.

“Art After Dark” will take attendees through all three buildings of the Chapman Cultural Center beginning with a social hour in the Spartanburg Science Center and continuing through the dance studios on the first floor of the Montgomery building. There, the group will be treated to a performance by area children under the tutelage of instructors from Ballet Spartanburg.

The event moves to the Jennifer Evins Lobby which will be decorated with pieces from the Artist’s Guild of Spartanburg. Dinner will be served in a most unique location – the stage of the David Reid Theatre – amidst props from recent Spartanburg Little Theatre performances with music provided by pianist Gregg Akkerman.

All will enjoy dessert and beverages within the Spartanburg History Museum and the event concludes with an interactive look inside the Spartanburg Art Museum.

This look inside the Chapman Cultural Center and interaction with each of the seven partner organizations is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the many exciting opportunities The Arts Partnership provides the citizens of Spartanburg County!

This event is open to the public, but there is a limit to the number of attendees, so order your tickets today by calling Epsie Coleman at 864/278-9690. Tickets are $45 per person or $75 per couple and include dinner and drinks. Current Arts X Society members receive a $5 per ticket discount.

For more information on The Arts X Society log onto to our website at (www.chapmanculturalcenter.org/arts_x.php).

Arts Partnership of Greater Spartanburg in Spartanburg, SC, Calls For Grant Applications

The Arts Partnership of Greater Spartanburg in Spartanburg, SC, is now accepting applications for its quarterly grants, which support the cultural arts in the local community. The deadline is Jan. 1, 2011. The grant awards generally range from $500 to $2,500.

This grant program provides limited funding for cultural projects to nonprofit organizations and professional artists in Spartanburg County. Eligible cultural projects are those that actively engage the performing, visual, literary, or folk arts. The kinds of cultural projects eligible for funding include, but are not limited to,…

• Small or pilot cultural activities;
• New or developing programs;
• Organizational development;
• Professional development;
• Established annual events that serve special needs of Spartanburg community; and
• Special projects of high artistic quality which meet one or more of The Arts Partnership’s goals.

Applications are reviewed by staff and community leaders, and funding recommendations are made to the Board of Trustees of The Arts Partnership. Award notifications are usually made within four-six weeks of the application deadline. Funded projects should be completed within 12 months of the application date.

For full information on eligibility and how to apply, please go online to (www.ChapmanCulturalCenter.org) and search under the “The Arts Partnership” menu for “Grants.”

Personal inquiries may be made to President of The Arts Partnership of Greater Spartanburg Perry Mixter at 864/278-9669 or e-mail to (MixterHP@SpartanArts.org).