A view of the New Museum

Here is the latest exhibit at the New Museum window at 813 W. Hamilton. This window is curated by Gregory Coates. The site currently features work by Greg and Cheryl Agulnick Hochberg. See their links (at right) for more information.

Benefit Concert on Sunday Nov. 1

From Ethel Drayton-Craig:

Announcing a Jazz Benefit Concert for the Education Program of the Allentown Symphony. Sunday, November 1st, 4:00 - 6:00 PM, $15, at Allentown Symphony Hall.

This past year the Allentown Symphony served 14,000 children from age 3 - high school! 471 students were students of the Allentown School District.

With the state budget cutbacks we have sustained cuts to our education program of approximately $100,000.

Thanks to the many jazz artists that have performed at the jazz cabarets, they have organized to give back to the Symphony. On November 1st, 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM over 25 renowned regional jazz artists are volunteering their time and their talents for this JAZZ BENEFIT CONCERT. LIVE. $15 (Allentown Symphony Hall, 23 North Sixth Street, Allentown) Box Office 610-432-6715.

Come out and have a great time. Meet and Greet the Musicians. Great Food, too!
LOTS OF FUN! All proceeds benefit Educational Programming. SHARE THIS EMAIL WITH YOUR FRIENDS.

Featuring:
Co-Op Bop with guest Bobby Routsch
New Kind of Talk
P.F. & The Flyers
Skip Wilkins Trio
Mike Lorenz & Tom Kozic with guest Rob Stoneback
Dave Roth Trio
Lou Czechowski Trio
Fusion Trio
Kato
Also appearing: Marlene Gilley, Mike Ciliberti, Greg Eicher, Gary Rissmiller, Craig Kastelnik, Alan Gaumer, Neil Wetzel, Jim McGee, Mike Trach, Jim Meyers, Wayne Maura, Pete Fluck, John Sproat, Tony Gairo, Brian Bortz, Vern Mobley, June Thomas, Vicki Doney, Robin Bryan.

Special thanks to Frank Wilgruber and Alan Gaumer for creating and organizing this event!

Ethel Drayton-Craig
Chair, Jazz Committee
Allentown Symphony Association

Hava Java Cafe's Writers Group

From Yodi:

There is a Writer’s Workshop that meets at the Hava Java Café at 526 N. 19th Street in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The writers meet every Sunday for a couple of hours. They discuss all aspects of writing, including publishing, editing, grammar and style.

It is open to the hobbyist and the professionals who write poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. All writers stop by and join in, bring some of your work and enjoy a beverage and some great networking. The group begins promptly at 6pm every Sunday.

Saturday Night at the Movies in Downtown Allentown

Please join us Saturday night in the Silk Lounge of Allentown Brew Works. Matt Lewis and Sarah Fulton will be screening their most recent documentary, "On Joy & Sorrow - The Glass Prism Story."

The film tells the story of The Glass Prism, who rose out of industrial Scranton with the first concept album, “Poe Through The Glass Prism.”

The Glass Prism achieved rock ‘n roll fame in the 1960s using the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe as the lyrics to its groovin’ progressive rock tunes, but the group’s journey to stardom was quickly snuffed out like so many bands of the time.

The film chronicles the rise of the band, its ultimate demise and the journey of the remaining members, who 40 years later, decided to reunite and start rocking again.

The film is an Official 2009 Selection of the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival and the Flint Film Festival, of Flint, Michigan.

Lewis, Fulton and collaborator Bob Ross, will be in attendance to view the film with the audience and answer any questions.

There is NO admission charge. Doors open at 7 p.m. Oct. 24. The screening will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Silk Lounge, lower level of Allentown Brew Works. Come early to claim a good seat! Guests are encouraged to patronize Brew Works, which is graciously hosting the screening, and enjoy the restaurant’s delicious food and award-winning microbrews.

Art Unveiling Oct. 24 at "New Museum"

Stop by Gregory Coates' New Museum window at 813 W. Hamilton Street on Saturday to see the work of Cheryl Agulnick Hochberg and offer your support!

Here is her bio:

Cheryl Agulnick Hochberg is a Kutztown-based artist who has shown often in this region as well as nationally. In this area, her paintings have recently been seen at eDavid Gallery in Bethlehem, at the Siegel Gallery at Lehigh University, and in the Chen Arts Momentum show. In addition to her paintings, she makes 3-dimensional works with a collaborator, Andrew Brehm, and also makes found object constructions. These three dimensional works will be shown in Greg Coates' New Museum. Cheryl teaches at Kutztown University, and is head of the Studio Art department there.

Holiday Haiku Contest Seeking Poets, Writers...

This event is being coordinated by poet Marilyn Hazelton in time for the Dec. 3 Allentown Tree Lighting Ceremony. Chen Artists are invited to contribute poems. Here are the details:

The 2009 Allentown Holiday Haiku Competition!!
Elementary, middle and high school students, and adults are invited to enter the Allentown Holiday Haiku Contest!
Fifty haiku writers will receive a “Spirit of the Season Award. Their haiku will be displayed in store and restaurant windows along Hamilton Street in Center City Allentown. Five writers will be chosen to read their haiku at the Allentown Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony on Thursday, December 3.
To enter the competition, (Copy & Paste and Print at Home) fill in the form below:
Name:_____________________________________________________________
Address:___________________________________________________________
Telephone #:__________________________School________________________
Teacher:_________________________________________Grade: ___________
Signature:___________________________________________
By signing here, I declare that the attached poem is an original poem created by me, and I give my permission for it to be publicly displayed, read and reproduced by the City of Allentown.
(Students whose poems are chosen will need a parent's signature.
Student entries will be submitted to teachers.)
Please type or print neatly your haiku. Attach it to this form and send to:
Tara Craig, City Hall, 435 W. Hamilton Street, Allentown, PA 18101
Guidelines for your haiku: Celebrate family and the beauty of the season in three lines of no more than 17 syllables, but with no syllable count for each line. Look at the examples attached to this form for ideas.
The postmark deadline is November 13, 2009.
Adults may enter by email by sending their haiku to:
Tara Craig at: craigt@allentowncity.org


Examples of Haiku for Inspiration for
Allentown Holiday Haiku Competition:

winter dawn
the warmth
of your hand
Owen Bullock

Snow
falls on snow -
silence
Santoka

winter night -
the cat sitting in a drawer
filled with letters
Kenneth Tanemura

the rim is bent
the park cold, deserted -
still I play
Patrick Frank

winter solstice
sheen of the cherry’s bark
streaked with rain
Ebba Story

From the Chairman of Citizens for the Arts in PA

Since 1966 the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA), through the state budget, has been fueling the cultural life of the Commonwealth. Fortunately, for the past 18 years, a robust economic climate helped keep funding for the arts at a reasonable level.

This year, as you know, the nation's economy stumbled, affecting every aspect of our lives. Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania, as the only statewide multidisciplinary arts advocacy organization for the last 30 years, kept a steady eye on the mood of the state's governors and legislators, constantly being ready to point out the positive aspects of the arts on all phases of life, both cultural and economic.

This year, for the first time, the PCA faced the possibility of elimination. When the reality set in, citizens all over Pennsylvania began to rally, demonstrating their support of state arts funding through telephone calls, emails, and visits to legislators telling them that the arts were a valuable and essential part in all phases of our lives.

Thousands of citizens stepped up to remind the state government of the need for the arts and arts education. The work was hard and the sacrifices, in time and energy, were many. We were rewarded with a state budget that did not eliminate the PCA and included funding for arts grants at $11 million. We have to be grateful to each other, to our government officials, to leaders in the art community and to all those who realize the importance of the arts.
This is not the end, but a new beginning to recognize that "Advocacy" is not a crisis activity, but an ongoing part of being aware that the arts, and what they represent to us all, cannot be taken for granted.
Thanks to everyone,
Bob Lettieri

Robert N. Lettieri
Board Chair
rlett@usa.net

"New Museum" Downtown

From Greg Coates:

The New Museum Project

Director, Curator: Gregory Coates

Artwork by: Gregory Coates and Ralp Flemming

Statement: To Use economically depressed areas of Allentown pa. as art spaces, the idea is to expose what is absent in the community, thru the dialouge of art and culture re- invent the purpose of the city.

Interested artists can email me coatesgregory4@gmail.com

>>> Gregory Coates>>

Gregory Coates‘s career in painting and sculpture dates back to the late 1980s. Over the years his works has included large and small –scale> sculpture, paintings, assemblages, and installations. For the most part the artist has chosen to construct his work from a variety of found objects and materials.

Note: The New Museum is located at 813 W. Hamilton, across from Brew Works.

Bike Ride to the Allentown Art Museum

BikeAllentown is organizing a group bike ride to the Allentown Art Museum on Sunday, Oct. 18. The group will tour the latest exhibit, A Force for Change - African American Art and The Julius Rosenwald Fund.

Here are the details from the BikeAllentown website:

We will be biking to the Allentown Art Museum.Ride will start at Covered Bridge Park in South Whitehall at 12:00 heading to Muhlenberg Colleges Seeger's Union (2400 W. Chew St. Allentown)by 1:00 and then proceed to the Art Museum.

(You may meet up to ride at either location or, ride in from Bethlehem with CAT e-mail CAT for info.)

We will be viewing the exhibit of"A Force for Change: African American Art And the Julius Rosenwald Fund"We will start our tour at 2:00.The cost for admission for this exhibit is $7.00 per person and afterwards we will be stopping by Hava Java for some coffee and social time. We hope you can join us! For more info email: bikeallentown@gmail.com

Note: Please bring a helmet and a lock. BikeAllentown follows all rules of the road, this means signaling turns, riding to the right in the right-hand lane of traffic, and stopping at all stop signs and red lights.

Update from PA Citizens for the Arts:

Dear Fellow Arts Advocates,
Just a brief update...
Tonight (10/7/09) the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed their version of the FY09-10 Pennsylvania State Budget by a vote of 107-93. HB 1416 as amended includes $11 million for arts grants through the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) and $992,000 for administration of the council. These figures match the what was included in Senate Bill 1085 for the PCA. HB 1416 now goes to the Senate for review and a vote. Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi has indicated that the Senate will review the document tomorrow and will take a vote after the review. While this represents a step closer to the end of this 2009 Budget Impasse, the House bill must be approved by the PA Senate and then signed into law by Governor Edward G. Rendell. We will keep you posted as we monitor the Senate's review of HB 1416.
Stay tuned,
Jenny

Jenny L. Hershour
Managing Director
Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania

Arts Funding Update

From the PA Council for the Arts:

Dear Fellow Arts Advocates,

Just a brief update...

This morning (10/6/09), the Pennsylvania Senate passed Senate Bill 1085, a new general fund appropriations bill, by a vote of 43-6. This bill includes $11 million for arts grants through the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and $992,000 for administration of the arts council. The bill now goes to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for further consideration.

The Senate also passed an amended version of the tax code bill sent to them by the House last week. This amended version does NOT include a tax on tickets to arts and cultural events.

We will be watching the House proceedings and will report back to you as the situation unfolds.

Stay tuned,
Jenny

Jenny L. Hershour
Managing Director
Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania

Grant Funds Received for Group Project

Hi everyone,

Earlier this year I decided to try for a Project Stream Grant through the PA Council on the Arts so we could do a group project with funding...and as it turns out, the application was approved!

The Lehigh Valley Arts Council held a grant awards ceremony Oct. 1 at America on Wheels where dozens of creative, worthwhile projects were announced to receive funding.

I'll be receiving $1,196 to conduct a group project this spring and I'm recruiting Chen Artists to participate.

Here are the plans: Each artist (figure to be determined) will receive a 2' plexi-glass cube to design in the theme of re-urbanization. Artists can run wild with their cubes, using any media and techniques they please. Artists are encourage to gain sponsorship for their time spent creating this project.

The cubes will then be brought together in an event at the Allentown Arts Park (across from the art museum on N. 5th Street) where they will be displayed for the public in June.

Of course, the public and multiple organizations within the city will be invited to view the display and meet the artists. We're hoping to tap into a small sum of Arts Park programming funds to make the one-day event even nicer.

It's very exciting to receive funds to purchase materials for this project. Thank you LVAC and PA Council on the Arts for your support!

Sarah