Seattle Symphony to play free concert at City Hall, Jan. 7

It's not every day that you can steal away on your lunch break to catch a free performance by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. Ring in the New Year to the sounds of the Seattle Symphony led by Assistant Conductor Eric Garcia and guest artist Andrew Brady, a talented young basoonist, 12 to 1 p.m., Friday, Jan. 7, in the Seattle City Hall lobby. The program will feature: Mozart's Bassoon Concerto in B-flat major, K. 191; Honegger's Pastorale d'été; and Haydn's Symphony No. 47 in G major.

This special performance is part of Seattle Symphony's ACCESS Project (Artistic and Cultural Community Engagement with Seattle Symphony), which is dedicated to bringing classical music to communities throughout the region, especially to underserved areas.

After the concert, mingle with the musicians at a post-performance reception in City Hall's Bertha Knight Landes Room.

Storefronts Seattle seeks artists, arts groups for installations

Storefronts Seattle, in partnership with the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, seeks applicants for temporary art installations, residencies and creative enterprise projects to enliven vacant storefronts in Seattle's Pioneer Square, Chinatown-International District and other to-be-announced locations. Selected artists will have the opportunity to showcase, create or sell their work to a large and diverse audience for a period of three to six months between March 2011 and January 2012.

"This innovative program is a great collaboration between our business and art communities," said Mayor Mike McGinn. "Storefronts Seattle shines a spotlight on Seattle's creative sector, brings new life to empty storefronts and enlivens our neighborhood business districts."

Storefronts Seattle is accepting applications in three program tracks: Installation (two-dimensional, three-dimensional or new-media artworks); Artist Residency (rehearsal or studio space); and Creative Enterprise (retail art gallery, theatre, museum, etc.). Artists selected for the Installation track will receive $500 per installation. Artist Residency and Creative Enterprise participants will receive the use of prime, street-level retail space at no cost for up to six months.

For application guidelines and to apply for Storefronts Seattle, go here. The application deadline is 11 p.m., Monday, Jan. 31. The call is open to artists and arts organizations located within 100 miles of Seattle.

The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs will manage the application and selection process for the Installation track, which will feature three rounds of 90-day installations. Shunpike, an arts service nonprofit, will manage the application and selection process for the Artist Residency and Creative Enterprise tracks.

Launched as a pilot in September 2010, Storefronts Seattle promotes neighborhood vitality by bringing art and creative enterprise to available storefronts. Click here to find out more about past and present Storefronts projects.

Funding available for Youth Arts programs

The application for the Youth Arts program is open. The program supports arts training opportunities for Seattle's middle and high school youth outside of school hours. Individual teaching artists, artist teams, arts and cultural organizations, and youth-service agencies with nonprofit status or fiscal sponsorship are eligible to apply. Priority is placed on serving youth or communities with limited access to arts and culture. Funding requests range up to $10,000 for projects that take place between September 2011 and September 2012.

The application deadline is 11 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 15. Learn about the Youth Arts program at an upcoming informational workshop, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 19, at the Douglass-Truth Branch of The Seattle Public Library.

Funding for community arts events extended to 2011

Due to budget constraints, the next funding application cycle for the Neighborhood & Community Arts (NCA) program will be for 2012 events. Rather than opening the funding program months later than usual to a potentially larger applicant pool, we are extending funding for 2011 (an additional year) to the 40 festivals and annual events funded by the NCA program in 2010. The NCA funding cycle for 2012 will open in fall 2011.

The NCA program provides annual awards of $1,200 to assist neighborhood arts councils and community groups to produce recurring festivals or events. With significant cuts throughout the city and in the cultural community, the choice to extend funding for an additional year will reduce process and paperwork for funded groups, many of which rely heavily on volunteers.

Community groups not currently funded through the NCA program have the option to apply to the smART ventures program. Visit the funding section of our website or call a funding project manager to ask for guidance about your options.

Seeking communications interns

The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs seeks two full-time communications interns to work closely with its communications team and provide administrative support for the department. Responsibilities include composing blog and e-newsletter content, managing social media, researching local and national media, drafting press releases, assisting with events and working on special projects.

The internship requires a six-month commitment and 40 hours of work per week. The Office will provide a monthly stipend of $1,000. Prior background in the arts is not required. Ideal candidates should be creative thinkers with strong written and verbal communication skills and organizational/research skills, as well as being self-motivated.

Send a brief letter of interest, a resume, and three work or volunteer-related references to arts.culture@seattle.gov. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m., Friday, Jan. 28, for a start date at the end of February. Click here to learn more about the internship.

Artists with disabilities show artwork at City Hall

The exhibition Seattle Inspiration will showcase the creativity and artistic expression of 20 artists with disabilities, Jan. 6 through Feb. 28 at City Hall. The nonprofit Creative Activities and VSA Washington, the state organization on arts and disability, curated the exhibition.

Seattle Inspiration includes more than 35 abstract and contemporary paintings, prints and mixed-media works. Colorful cityscapes, iconic imagery and materials found on adventures through the city illustrate how Seattle has inspired a group of artists that receive little exposure. Many of the featured artists produced their work at the Seattle Center Artist Studio of Creative Activities & VSA of Washington.

Teaching artists topic of national report, preview findings Jan. 26

Preview the findings of the Teaching Artist Research Project (TARP), the first national study exploring the profession and role of teaching artists, 7 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 26, at Seattle Art Museum.

Nick Rabkin, a senior research scientist at the University of Chicago, will present research findings and policy implications. Over the past 30 years teaching artists have played a little-recognized but growing role in connecting youth to arts in a wide range of settings—from public schools, neighborhood storefronts and jails, to symphony orchestras, museums and youth theater companies. Using data from 3,500 teaching artists and 750 program managers, TARP raises thoughtful policy questions and finds provocative reasons to be hopeful about the future of education.

The event is free, but registration is required.

The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs co-funded the study in Seattle/Tacoma, one of a dozen study sites nationwide, as part of our Arts Education Partnership Initiative. This event is part of the Art Goes to School: Building a Community of Thinkers project. Led by SAM, Building a Community of Thinkers is a professional learning community for educational leaders and direct service providers at arts, cultural and community based organizations in the Puget Sound area.

Advocate for the arts during Arts & Heritage Day, Feb. 2

Now is an important time to advocate for the arts, and Arts & Heritage Day on Feb. 2 is a great way to plug in. The governor's budget proposes eliminating the Washington State Arts Commission as an independent agency. And the use of lodging tax dollars to fund arts and heritage in King County will expire in 2012, unless the legislature approves an extension of the funding source which is managed by 4Culture.

This year, the Washington State Arts Alliance (WSAA) is partnering with the Washington Museum Association to coordinate Arts & Heritage Day, an annual gathering of arts advocates in Olympia where volunteers can meet with legislators to talk about arts and heritage issues and cultural concerns in communities and schools. For information on how to participate, go here.

Celebrate the Vietnamese Lunar New Year at Seattle Center

Celebrate and share in Vietnamese culture and traditions at the Têt Festival, Jan. 29 to 30, at Seattle Center's Center House and Fisher Pavilion. This annual Lunar New Year celebration welcomes the return of spring and chases out evil spirits with the traditional roaring lion dance and the crackle of firecrackers. In 2011 the festival showcases Vietnam's rich and colorful heritage with the theme "Splendor of Regions in Vietnam." The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs is pleased to support the Têt Festival through our Neighborhood & Community Arts program.

Presented by Têt in Seattle, the festival is part of Festál, a series of free world festivals at Seattle Center throughout the year.

Hip hop, musicals, film and more on Art Zone

From Teatro ZinZanni's El Vez to Barbara Earl Thomas, painter, writer and executive director of the Northwest African American Museum, Art Zone with Nancy Guppy spotlights the local arts scene. Watch the show on Seattle Channel at 8 p.m., Fridays, and on KCTS Channel 9 at 11 p.m., Sundays. You can also watch Art Zone on the web. Here are this month's highlights. (Art Zone will not air on Jan. 7.)

On Jan. 14, watch a profile of local hip-hop sensation Macklemore. Enjoy a duet from Seattle Musical Theatre's production of Don Giovanni: A New Musical. And watch a showcase of Teatro Zinzanni's El Vez.

On Jan. 21, Art Zone's Nancy Guppy talks with Barbara Earl Thomas. Sneak a peek at the upcoming concert featuring the rock/blues/funk sensation Red Dress, then watch the full concert on Seattle Channel 21 at 10 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 22. And watch highlights of Northwest Film Forum's annual Children's Film Festival.

On Jan. 28, meet Ben Verellen, a local musician and creator of the Verellen amplifier. And Guppy chats with renowned artist Ginny Ruffner about her newest public art project.