Call for artists for November exhibit: “Hope in Artistry”

The Ashtabula County Suicide Prevention Coalition and the Ashtabula County LOSS Team, in collaboration with the Ashtabula Arts Center, are seeking art submissions for the fourth annual suicide awareness and prevention show, “Hope in Artistry,” which will be on display in our gallery in November. This is a great opportunity for artists in Ashtabula County and Northeast Ohio to show your work, support survivors of suicide, reduce stigma, and raise awareness to help prevent suicide.

Find details and submission instructions in the application: Hope in Artistry 2020 artist application

KeyBank virtual learning scholarships available

We are very excited about this news! Thanks to a $5000 sponsorship from KeyBank Ashtabula supporting virtual learning, we are now able to offer scholarships for our virtual classes. This includes our current virtual offerings, and those that will be coming in our fall schedule (and possibly beyond). This sponsorship allows us to help those in our community who want to take part in virtual arts learning, but have faced financial difficulty during the COVID pandemic.

Aanyone registering for virtual classes can take advantage of this scholarship program. When you visit our website to sign up for a virtual class, you’ll see two options at checkout: “Tuition Cost” and “KeyBank Sponsored Scholarship.” If you are able to support us by paying the regular tuition cost, we’re very appreciative. If the scholarship option will help your family out, just select it at checkout, and the cost of the class or workshop will be covered. That’s all there is to it — no application, no process to qualify. If you need it, use it. We’ll make this option available for virtual classes as long as there are scholarship funds remaining. You can find our virtual classes here. This list will be expanded when our fall schedule of classes is set; those classes will be posted online in early August.

Many thanks to KeyBank for this sponsorship!

The Arts Center will partially reopen on July 6!

We are very happy to announce that the Arts Center will partially reopen on Monday, July 6, for in-person classes and some private music lessons. Our temporary operating hours will be Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Payments for classes and lessons should be made through our website, by phone, or by mailed check before the student’s start date — not in person. Our front desk will only be intermittently staffed.

We require anyone entering the building to wear a mask the entire time they’re inside, and to check in at the front desk. The kitchenette in the front of the building will be used only as a handwashing station (no food prep permitted — dancers, please note); we ask that everyone wash hands upon entry. Parents of students: unless your child requires assistance, please do not accompany them into the building for their class/lesson. If you or anyone in your household is sick/running a fever, please do not enter the building.

Class capacity will be lowered to allow for social distancing, and private music lessons will be held in large, alternate spaces rather than the music rooms, to maintain necessary space between students and teachers. We ask that all students arrive no earlier than 5 minutes before their lesson/class. At this time, voice lessons will remain virtual, as will string lessons with Carol Linsenmeier. Teaching spaces (pianos/benches/chairs/barres/tables) will be sanitized after each class/lesson. Spaces will be marked out to maintain distance.

Dancers: please wear a mask and bring a spare in case your first gets wet. Please arrive dressed for class, and bring a full water bottle marked with your name — the water fountains are shut off. Any snacks that you bring need to be ready-to-eat (granola bars, veggies, etc.) — the kitchen will be locked and the front microwave/fridge will not be in use. No hands-on correction will be given, and class will not include contact between dancers.

Straw Hat 2020 productions cancelled due to gathering restrictions

In a decision we know is going to be as disappointing to our supporters as it was for us, the Ashtabula Arts Center is officially cancelling our scheduled Straw Hat Theatre 2020 productions: Tuck Everlasting, Matilda, and The Secret Garden. Restrictions on gatherings necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic have made holding auditions and rehearsing shows impossible for the time being, and it’s still uncertain when it will be safe for theaters to reopen to audiences.

However, while producing and staging our usual theater shows may not be possible right now, we are looking into alternative programming for this summer. We’ll be posting updates on what will be happening here at the AAC this summer as that programming develops. In the meantime, we hope you’ll check out our schedule of remote classes and consider registering for one or two of them (or more, should the creativity bug bite you).

Should the situation change, and the opportunity arise for us to produce any of our summer shows, we will announce it, along with updated information on audition and production dates.
We are eagerly awaiting the day we can have our actors back on stage, our crews bustling in the wings, and our audiences in their seats. Be safe, friends. We miss you.

Art from “Women’s Rights” exhibit available for purchase

Many of the pieces from our “Women’s Rights” exhibit are available for purchase.
To order online, use the link provided for each piece. Email Nancy Nelson-Brotz at visualarts@ashtabulaartscenter.org to arrange pickup or delivery (NE Ohio only).
To order and arrange pickup/delivery by phone, call (440) 964-3396.
Pieces here are available through May 30, 2020.

 


“Harriet”
by Katey Hudson
acrylic
8″ x 10″
$25
purchase


“The Fight for Women”
by Katey Hudson
acrylic
16″ x 20″
$30
purchase


“I Am Woman”
by Bev O’Reilly
mixed media
28″ x 22.5″, framed w/glass
$650
purchase


“Around”
by Diane Fleisch-Hughes
ink on yupo
14″ x 20″, framed w/glass
$150
purchase


“Split”
by Diane Fleisch-Hughes
ink on yupo
14″ x 20″, framed w/glass
$150
purchase


Untitled
by Sydney Manis
ink
12″ x 18″, framed w/glass
$20
purchase


“Courage”
by Emily Glink
mixed media
12″ x 15″, framed w/glass
$90
purchase


“Title IX”
by Tracy Zakraysek
digital (giclee print)
18.5″ x 22.5″, framed w/glass
$95
purchase


“Frida Kahlo”
by Tangerine Tirado
acrylic
16″ x 20″
$200
purchase


“No More Stolen Sisters”
by Nancy Nelson-Brotz
oil pastel
22″ x 26″, framed w/glass
$95
purchase


“RBG’s Dissent Collar”
by Belinda J. Rogers
acrylic
14″ x 14″
$150
purchase


“RBG’s Majority Jabot”
by Belinda J. Rogers
acrylic
14″ x 14″
$150
purchase


“Moving on Up!”
by Judy Campbell
acrylic on wood panel
24″ x 48″
$850
purchase


“Shirtwaist Liberties: Triangle Fire, 1911″
by Susan Phillips
acrylic
18″ x 24”
$100
purchase


“Women’s Prayer Flags”
by Valerie Rose Gale
mixed media on muslin cloth
approx. 120″ x 7″
$500
purchase


“Fight Like a Girl”
by Elizabeth Ginn
oil
22″ x 28″
$200
purchase

 

Theater group takes storytelling into their own hands during COVID shutdown

Looking for a good story? Check out Quarantine Radio 19, created by a crew of actors and production staff (Jordan Malin, Kimberly Weston, Stephanie Figer, Benjamin Gates, Sadie Portman, Anneli Curnock) – most of whom met at the AAC!


Production crew of Radio Quarantine 19

“I had posted on Facebook asking if anyone in senior living facilities, or just those living alone, would want to be entertained,” says Jordan Malin, the group’s organizer. “I honestly had no idea so many of my theater friends — past and present — would want to be involved. Since so many of us involved in the arts are out of work right now, we are also getting an opportunity to create, express. It gives us time to escape for a while, and we hope it does the same for those listening.”

Quarantine Radio 19’s Facebook page can be found here.

Thank you to our recent donors!

The board and staff of the Ashtabula Arts Center would like to thank our recent donors for their contributions to our annual fund drive. Some are people who have chosen this time to renew their gift, some are new donors, and some are those who have chosen to give an additional gift this year to help the Arts Center weather this difficult financial period.

During these uncertain times, these gifts are especially valuable.  Right now, the Ashtabula Arts Center is officially closed to the public and the core staff are working from home. There will come a time when we can safely reopen but we will most certainly face funding challenges in the coming months.  Our donors will help us preserve this wonderful organization and assist us as we navigate these difficult times.

If you would like to donate to the Arts Center, you can do so here.

Donors who have given since March 16:
Ashtabula Carpet Workroom
Paige Beach
Alan Block
Perry Boal
Paul & Toni Bodnar
John Breznai
Robert & Linda Callahan
Donna Cooper
Heather Denning
John & Candace Doherty
Paul & Catherine Findlay
Brant Gebhart
Bob & Lauren Godfrey
Nick Jammal & Lisa DeCato
Mary Howe
Stephen Kerekes
Linda Koob
Jean Lowery
Shawn Metzler
Judy Mudd
Marybeth Nassief
Pat & Sandy O’Brien
Anthony Platano
Dave, Lyn & Meadow Pontius
Linda Profant
Stephen Rhodes
Barbara & Gus Saikaly
Caitlin Santill
Harry Schwentker
Mardi Snyder
Cherie Stebner
Maryann Stevenson
Kathleen & Jeffrey Studer
Sandy & Ed Taylor
David Uthe
Christine Banks VanAllen
Samantha & Ryan VanBuren

A request for our supporters

We have to take a moment to make a request of our AAC supporters, whether you’re audience members, artists, students, or volunteers. With all of our programming shut down, the Arts Center is struggling financially right now.  We know this is a scary time for many people, and we absolutely understand that not all of our supporters are in a financial position to make donations. We are grateful for all the ways you show your love for the arts, and the Arts Center. If, however, you are someone who is able to donate to the Arts Center, at any level, it would be a tremendous help. You can donate online here.