Newsletter: Another Incredible Year Planned for 2015!

With the start of a new season, it is time for our annual newsletter!

A few weeks ago we held our AGM and had a very productive brain storming session with those in attendance. Finding that member participation can often be low, we have decided to make amendments to our membership structure by creating an active and inactive membership status. 

We will be working on the structure over the next few month, but some ideas of how this would work are that everyone would be required to attend at least 3 meetings per year and volunteer a certain amount of hours during events to maintain an active membership. Artists who build up hours will benefit from certain perks like being awarded free rental of our workspace at the museum to conduct workshops, lessons or provide lectures. Other benefits would include free ad space on our websites and discounts with various art supply stores. Anyone interested in providing input on this new structure and how to increase member participation, please feel free to join us at our next board meeting.

Our meetings take place the 4th Wednesday of the month at 7pm. In an attempt to make our meetings more accessible we have decided to hold them in the upper studio of the Bread Gallery (7778 Highway 14 in Brooklyn). Going forward members will receive monthly reminders with a copy of the agenda. Members are welcome to submit items for discussion under "New Business" on the agenda.

Since many of us still haven't had the opportunity to meet, let alone get to know each other, a discussion began about the idea of using some of our open studio time at the Bread Gallery to host a "Meet the Members" series. Each week a different member of the council would have the opportunity to share their own personal history in the arts. In the cozy setting of the studio we can sit together and chat freely, learning about each others backgrounds and artistic practices.

We've maintained such a great momentum over the last few years and we hope to see our membership continue to grow and become more involved as we approach our 10th anniversary.

In the meanwhile we have another incredible year planned for 2015! The latest edition of our Arts Digest is being distributed throughout the Annapolis and Avon Valley as I type - and another 2000 copies will be making their way to HRM and beyond next week! Look for advance copies in this week's issue of the Grapevine.

This year's directory is full of important dates and info on all of our 2015 activities, like...

The 17th annual Great Little Art Show

Organized by the Hants County Arts Council, the Great Little Art Show is a major attraction in our community and is a significant fundraiser for the Avon River Heritage Museum and Avon Spirit Shipyard. For 2015 we have extended the length of the show from 3 days to every weekend throughout the month of May.

The opening will take place Friday, May 8th, from 7pm to 9pm with a keynote address from impasto painter Kelly Mitchelmore. During the  reception we will open the silent auction for a rug hooking created by local artists Rose Marie MacDonald and Tacha Reed. Proceeds from the auction of the framed hooking, which depicts the “Old Stone House” in Poplar Grove that was built in 1699 by the early French settlers, will go towards supplies and programming for the arts council’s Artists Landing Gallery. Auction closes May 31st at 5pm.


Artist Landing Studio & Gallery

Last spring we began a collaboration with the ARHS Museum in Newport Landing, which saw them graciously donating to us the use of the majority of the upper area of the museum. We now have an open workspace for our members to gather. In what has become nicknamed the lounge, we are slowly building a collection of art supplies and reference books. Members are welcome to book the space for a low fee to host their own workshops or lectures.

We have also taken over half of the open space, which hosts the Great Little Art Show each May. Here we operate the Artists Landing Gallery June through September, which features artwork by our members.

If you are interested in showing your artwork, contact us at hcacinfo@gmail.com before May 15th, 2015.

 

 Open Studio Days at the Bread Gallery

We are happy to announce the re-launch of our weekly open studio drop-in sessions, a collaboration made possible through support from the ArtsVest program.

Taking place in the upper studio of The Bread Gallery every Tuesday and Thursday between 10am and 2pm, these sessions are open to the public and there is no fee to participate. 

Follow us on Facebook for updates!




Artisans in Action

Our annual summer series Artisans in Action takes place the first Sunday of the Month, June trough October at the Avon River Heritage museum. These live demonstrations provide a great opportunity for local artisans who work in historical trades, crafts, and art forms done in both traditional and contemporary manners, to introduce themselves and their craft to a wider audience.

This year we kick-off our Artisans in Action series with a special showcase at the Art & Craft in Agriculture Festival taking place May 23rd & 24th at the O’Brien building, Hants County Exhibition Park in Windsor. In honour of Canada’s first agricultural fair held May 21, 1765, the Art & Craft in Agriculture Festival will feature a market, workshops and activities relating to art, craft and agriculture.  A painting by Susan Sweet to commemorate the 250th anniversary will be unveiled at a reception Saturday May 23rd. For more information visit www.hantscountyex.com

 

Paint Avondale

Part of our Artisans in Action series, our 2nd annual Paint Avondale will see visual artists set-up throughout the historic hamlet of Avondale, creating live on-site. Starting at noon on September 6th, 2015,  visitors can begin their tour at the Avon Spirit Shipyard in Newport Landing, located along the scenic shores of the Avon River on the site where Planter sloops, The Lydia and Sally, landed in 1760.

The Avon River area became one of the great square-rigged wooden shipbuilding centers in Nova Scotia in the 19th Century. Where the Avon River Heritage Museum now sits in Newport Landing was once the location of the Harvie and Mosher shipyards. Between them, they built and launched 165 sailing ships during the “Golden Age of Sail”.  Artist locations include many of the original ship builders homes built in the 1860’s.

Artists interested in participating in Paint Avondale should contact us by July 25th, 2015. Open to all visual artists, register online at www.hantscountyartscouncil.com



Annual End of Winter Show

This past winter the Bread Gallery in Brooklyn, Hants County, hosted our 4th annual End of Winter Showcase. Our first ever juried show featured a selection of recent works by members of the Hants County Arts Council, which included a variety of paintings, sculpture, fibre art, carvings and folk art.

Artists interested in participating in our 5th annual End of Winter group showcase should contact us by October 30th, 2015. Register at hantscountyartscouncil.com

 

Festival of Art

Next year will mark the 10th anniversary of our Festival of Art. In these past 10 years our council has evolved a great deal. We have formed many long lasting bonds with other arts and culture groups in the community, which has allowed us to increase our activities and  grow from a membership of just 28 artists to 54 and counting in the past 5 years!

To celebrate our achievements we have decided to take the Festival of Art back to the drawing board. We want to make it a true festival that celebrates local artists working in all mediums. We want to incorporate performances, demonstrations and hands-on workshops. To make this a true success we need your help.

A planning committee for the 10th annual Festival of Art will be formed during our monthly board meeting, taking place at 7pm on Wednesday May 20th in the Upper Studio of the Bread Gallery in Brooklyn. Anyone who is interested in volunteering, performing or organizing a workshop is welcome to join us.


For more information on our regular activities, or to become a member, please visit www.hantscountyartscouncil.com or email us at hcacinfo@gmail.com. You can also reach us by snail mail at P.O. Box 905, Windsor, Hants County, NS, B0N 2T0

Save the Date - 2015 Calendar of Events!

In case you missed it, here is our 2015 schedule of events! The call to artists has already gone out for our first show of the year, Feb 7th through to March 29th, at the Bread Gallery in Brooklyn, NS. You can find more info on that show here. Next month we will be opening up registration for the 17th annual Great Little Art Show and our summer series Artisans in Action. Be sure to follow us on Facebook for updates.

In the meanwhile here is our schedule of events for 2015, be sure to add all of your favourites to your calendar so that you don't miss out!


Feb 7th - March 29th, 2015
HCAC Annual Group Showcase
Bread Gallery, 7778 Highway 14, Brooklyn.

April 29, 7pm-9pm, 2015
Hants County Arts Council's AGM
Community Room, Windsor Superstore, 11 Cole Drive, Windsor

May 8th - 10th, 2015
17th Annual Great Little Art Show
Avon River Heritage Society Museum, 17 Belmont Road, Newport Landing

Sunday, June 7th, 2015
Artisans in Action : Wood/Leather/Stone
Avon River Heritage Society Museum, 17 Belmont Road, Newport Landing

Sunday, July 5th, 2015
Artisans in Action : Metal/Glass/Jewellery
Avon River Heritage Society Museum, 17 Belmont Road, Newport Landing

Sunday, August 2nd, 2015
Artisans in Action : Fibre/Pottery/Textiles
Avon River Heritage Society Museum, 17 Belmont Road, Newport Landing

Sunday, September 6th, 2015
Artisans in Action : Paint Avondale
Avon River Heritage Society Museum, 17 Belmont Road, Newport Landing

Sunday, October 4th, 2015
Artisans in Action : Traditional Nova Scotian Crafts and Techniques (Mi’kmaq, Acadian and Planters)
Avon River Heritage Society Museum, 17 Belmont Road, Newport Landing




The Avon River Heritage Society Museum,
now home to the Hants County Arts Council
and our Artist's Landing Studio and Gallery.

Join our Creative Team!

Calling all fellow Artists and HCAC Members!

Our annual general meeting will be held on April 24th, 7pm in the Community Room of the Windsor Market Superstore. 


We fully realize that it's a tradition at most organizations for the membership and other members of the community to skip the AGM, but before you stop reading, let us give you a few reasons why you might attend this one:


Since it was formed nearly seven years ago, the HCAC has managed to keep up quite the momentum, hosting regular lectures, organizing annual art shows (now two each year!) and producing Arts Digests to promote your work. Our board of directors would like to keep this momentum going but we are going to need your help to do so.

Volunteering for a arts-based organization can be very rewarding and it doesn't have to be especially time consuming if there are several of us coming together to share our time and skills. We'd love to have a few more board members, but if you feel that you can't do more than volunteer for the occasional project we can use your help too! 


We have several opportunities opening up to do more shows, more promotion, and more education. You'll hear some of the details at the AGM, and trust us, they're really exciting. But, to do it, we need you. Ideally, we need a team of at least a dozen people - board members and volunteers - with a wide variety of skills.
We are looking for people with experience running a small business, teaching, doing fund-raising, graphic design (that should be easy to find in an Arts Council!) and those who are interested or experienced in marketing, promotion and social media.


We're also looking for:
* A secretary. This is a board position and involves taking the minutes at meetings and sending the occasional bit of correspondence.
* A treasurer. Karen has done a great job over the past few years, but is ready to step aside to let someone else have a turn. Some book-keeping experience would be helpful.
* Website help. This could be on a volunteer basis rather than a board position. Our website is currently being maintained by someone who knows how to write code, but nothing about visual style. If you know CSS and can supply the V in MVC, then we can collaborate to pull together a great website.


So, what will you get out of it? Well... The fun of working with a team of creative types (definitely more fun than the average 9-5 job experience!) New opportunities to network and develop your skill set. There is also the satisfaction that comes with knowing that you're pulling your share of the weight in an organization that's thriving. You can take pride in knowing that you are helping to sustain Nova Scotia's culture and that the time and effort you contribute is greatly appreciated by your fellow members.



AGM Agenda

Minutes
Treasury Report
Membership
Website/Social Media
Shows/Events
Collaborations; ARHS & HARC
Arts Digest
Funding Development/Programming
Election of New Board of Directors 


For more information please visit www.hantscountyartscouncil.ca or email us at hcacartsdigest@gmail.com

Mark your Calendar!

The countdown to the next AGM is on and we whole-heartedly invite you to join us in shaping the next year for the Hants County Arts Council. Scheduled for Thursday April 28th at 7pm at Inspire Art School on Stannus Street, Windsor, just a few doors down from Pharmasave; we hope you will come out and offer your input and support.

One item up for discussion during the evening will be the planning of this year’s Festival of Art occurring in the fall during Culture Days. We will be putting a call out for volunteers to head the organization and execution of the event. With a little time and effort this year's festival could really be something special!

We are currently working on a grant application to produce an updated Arts Digest for 2012 and we are looking to assemble a team to aid in its production over the next few months. We will be looking for volunteers with talents in design, layout and marketing to help put together a publication people are really going to want to pick up and share.

There are several positions opening up on the board of directors such as President, Vice President, Membership and Secretary. We are also looking for someone to take on the role of composing our newsletter, as well we are planning to collectively define a few new specific roles; we invite you to step forward and share your particular skills and help contribute to the growth of our local Arts community.

Perhaps you’re a communication junkie and just can’t get enough of the ever-advancing social network – well then we’d love for you to join on perhaps as our Public Relations representative. Or maybe you have a great knack for documentary photography and would like to wear the hat of the HCAC resident paparazzo? Always fancied yourself a fair and honest Art critic? Dare to put pen to paper… or rather, finger to the key? Well if so – congratulations, we have a job for you reviewing local cultural events! Maybe you’re an amazing chef and would like to share your scrumptious goodies at openings… really the list could go on and on! So bring what you know and love and we’ll find a job for you!

In order for the HCAC to grow we need your support, realizing that the majority of our membership resides in Windsor and it’s nearby surrounding communities we recently relocated our monthly meeting site. As of March the Inspire Art School became our new home; hopefully making the meetings more accessible to members will encourage future participation.

Also relocating over the spring is our member’s gallery. We are very grateful to Jeff Redden and Home Furniture for the opportunity to share the work of our many talented artists, however the limited response from membership made us wonder if perhaps we should find a more suitable venue that is more directly focused towards the arts? This is a question that we hope will entice you to come out on the 28th and play a role in mapping out the rest of 2011 and 2012 for the Hants County Arts Council.

Just in case you can’t wait until the 28th to share your ideas on how you can give back to the local Arts community, well then we invite you to join us this evening for the first in a series of public lectures at the Spitfire Pub in Windsor. Tonight’s topic will be marketing your art with guest speaker Evan Maxwell http://www.evanmaxwell.ca/

As I see it, my purpose as an artist is a simple one: to take any ability I have been given and use it, and then share what I've gained with others. Art can open our eyes & ears and hopefully our hearts to the world around us. It provokes, stimulates, inspires; it's the child that stands and says, "Look at me, see what I can do!"    Evan Maxwell

Program:

6:30 - 7:00 Arrive at the Spitfire and make your way upstairs. A server will be on hand, or you may want to buy a beverage on your way in.

7:00 - 8:00 (give or take 15 minutes) - Evan Maxwell

8:00 - ?:00 Questions and discussion.

Hope to see you there!