Tommy Sands – Northern Ireland’s Songman coming to Lehigh

Our campus has been truly lucky in having some amazing speakers: Michelle Norris, Noam Chomsky, Madeleine Albright. We also have an impressive number of faculty whose research interest lies in political violence and its cultural manifestations in a number of countries around the world and throughout history.

Next Tuesday, March 5th at 4:15 in Sinclair Auditorium – through the incredible support of a few campus programs and a partnership with two community organizations, we will have an opportunity to hear from a world renown songwriter and social activist from Northern Ireland, Tommy Sands.

Tommy Sands has achieved something akin to legendary status in his own lifetime. From the pioneering tours with the highly influential Sands Family, playing Carnegie Hall to Moscow’s Olympic Stadium, he has become one of Ireland’s most powerful songwriters and enchanting performers. He enjoys celebrity status in many parts of the world, tempered by artistic integrity and the sorrow of personal tragedy in his war torn homeland.

Walking the road between two cultures (Catholic and Protestant), he dreams of an Ireland without conflict. Indeed, his songs speak to all that Ireland is, from its troubled past to its indomitable spirit and a vision of “a land of dreaming”. And his work around the globe speaks to our common heritage, using music to bridge cultural differences. In this way he shares a vision with songwriters instigating social change such as Phil Ochs, Joan Baez, and close friend Pete Seeger.

Building peace is not something that happens quickly. It takes time, patience and lots of understanding. While the Troubles in Northern Ireland happened more than four decades ago, the Peace Process is still working in Northern Ireland’s government and society. Here is a resource from the University of Ulster that provides more information about ‘the Troubles’ and current politics.

Tommy Sands visit to Lehigh University and Bethlehem, PA was made possible through the generous support of Lehigh University’s Global Union, South Side Initiative, Office of Community and Regional Affairs, the Department of Political Science, the Celtic Cultural Alliance, and Godfrey Daniels.

Tommy will also perform at Godfrey Daniels on Friday, March 8th at 8pm. $5 of the ticket price will go to the Northern Ireland Peace Education program, “Art’s a Wonder.” Advance purchase is strongly encouraged.

The Goblet: A new Lehigh alternative publication

Last semester, a fellow journalism student, Laura Casale ’15 and I (who had both been editors for the Brown and White) were thinking about our future. Whilst doing that, we kept thinking that our careers didn’t necessarily lie in working for a newspaper. I imagined myself writing for a magazine about outdoor activities or music, traveling and photographing. Laura and I were both interested in film as well, taking a class on the subject. From that thought, we came up with the idea to create an outlet where Lehigh students can share and publish articles, photographs, art, videos, and creative writing; The Goblet, a new online magazine that will be created and maintained by the students of Lehigh University. We also thought The Goblet would be the perfect opportunity for journalism majors and communication minors to get work published if they’re interested in working for any type of publication. However, we didn’t want to limit involvement with The Goblet to just journalism students–you just have to have a passion for sharing what you know. Lehigh students are involved in such a wide range of academic pursuits and activities, and the Goblet is the perfect place to bring these interests. The Goblet will be working off submissions each semester, so students can submit as much as they want for a single issue. Our first issue will be released March 2nd, 2013, and pieces can be submitted until February 26th, 2013. The publication will happen once a month, and we’re hoping to get all types of submissions. If you are interested in working with us to start this new Lehigh publication as an editor or designer, or interested in submitting your work, send us an email at thegobletmagazine@gmail.com Written by Meghan Barwick ’15, Co-founder of The Goblet

Walking Tours could support classroom learning

While this was a hot news item a couple of weeks ago when it hit the press, we thought we’d share information as these tools may support class research for local issues; if only by providing tools to help navigate the rich history of South Bethlehem.

Many courses at Lehigh University mention places and history of South Bethlehem. These walking tours can help provide context for local issues; current and historic. Learning may have more meaning when one has actually seen and felt the places of history and community. The tours can offer students not only tangible history, but could also be a great way to explore the city so near to campus.

Not only do these mobile tours provide contextual and location history for three separate walking tours of South Bethlehem, it is also a new way to support the South Bethlehem Historical Society. One can view details of the tours before venturing by exploring this website:

http://www.gpsmycity.com/gps-tour-guides/bethlehem-5686.html

Here are the three tours available now:

South Bethlehem Greenway. Sites include: Bethlehem Skateplaza, Sands Casino, Minsi Trail Bridge, Sands Hotel, Steel workers’ houses, Bethlehem Steel Corporation complex, SteelStacks, Bethlehem Steel Corporation headquarters, St. John’s Windish Evangelical Lutheran Church, Bethlehem Steel Corporation entrance gate, The Lodge Cafe, Neighborhood Gardens, Touchstone Theatre, Holy Infancy Church, Chinese Pavilion, Native Blue Heron sculpture, South Bethlehem Library, Lehigh Valley Cold Storage Company, Goodman’s Furniture Company, New Street. Details here.

Churches of  South Bethlehem. Sites include Grace Evangelical and Reformed Church, Our Lady of Pompeii Church, St. Joseph’s Chapel, St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Holy Infancy Church, First Reformed Church, St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church, St. John’s African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Packer Memorial Chapel, Saints Cyril and Methodius Church, Fritz Memorial United Methodist Church, University Parish of Holy Ghost, St. John Capistrano Roman Catholic Church, St. Stanislaus Polish Church, St. John’s Windish Evangelical Lutheran Church, St. John’s Slovak Lutheran Church, Cathedral Church of the Nativity. Details here.

Lunch in South Bethlehem. Sites include Starters Riverport Restaurant, Sal’s Old World Italian Restaurant, Manchu Picchu Peruvian Restaurant, Borinquen Restaurant, Jenny’s Kuali, Nawab Indian Restaurant, Alexandra’s Bistro, Taqueria La Lupita, Blue Sky Cafe, Goosey Gander Deli, Deja Brew Coffeehouse & Deli, Horns, Tulum, Olive Branch Cafe & Restaurant, Twenty Four East Asian Bistro & Sushi Bar, Looper’s Grille, Molinari’s, The Steel Pub, Emeril’s Burgers and More at Sands Casino, Carnegie Deli at Sands Casino, Colbalt Cafe at Sands Casino, Emeril’s Italian Table at Sands Casino, Mike & Ike Bistro at ArtsQuest Center. Details include hours, wi-fi, some menu items and payment options for each restaurant listed.

All three tours were authored by local historian Karen Samuels. The author is looking for new concepts for tours. She can be contact by email for any ideas or questions: karensamuels@verizon.net

Tonight on WDIY’s Art Salon – Professor Stephanie Powell-Watts

Tune in tonight, (MONDAY, February 18th) from 6:00 – 6:30pm: Lehigh Valley Art Salon

Host Bathsheba Monk welcomes author Stephanie Powell Watts to the program to talk about her new book of short stories.

Either on 88.1fm radio, or streaming on the web (link here) 

Thought for the day

It may be hard to believe that we’re already five weeks into the Spring semester. But with the middle of February, our routine is pretty set; except for the occasional weather interruption. In addition to our “regular” lives filled with academic responsibilities and the general busy-ness of life, there are times when art comes suddenly and without warning. Of course art is all around us in the predictable ways of planned research and productions. Students studying the arts, the faculty who lead them and the staff who support them live, eat and breath “art” in every moment. But what makes art a sudden surprise? Perhaps it’s in the way we observe the world and each other. Have your senses ever taken you by surprise?

Bill Watterson

Have you ever noticed how the smell of sauteed onions and garlic in the UC makes people seem a little calmer?

Have Thin Mint girl scout cookies created a flashback memory of childhood?

Have you ever noticed a bird song along Packer Avenue and stopped to find out which tree it’s perched in?

How about when one sees freshly fallen snow make the world seem clean again?

Have you ever felt a little better from a simple stretch?

It is our senses that awaken our curiosity about the world. Art is a way for us to explore it, understand it and share it.

Even Aristotle once said, “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance. What will you notice today?

Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission – 2013 Grant Program

APPLICATION INFORMATION 2013

The Arts Grants Committee of the Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission (BFAC) invites arts organizations to apply to it for funds to support their activities that take place in Bethlehem between June 1, 2013, and May 31, 2014.  This grant program supports the mission of the Fine Arts Commission, which is to provide leadership in the arts through advocacy, education, and celebration.  The grants are offered to encourage new works of art, educational programs, exhibits, presentations, and other arts-related activities.

DEADLINE

Submit two copies of proposals for funding to the Small Grants Committee, Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission, P.O. Box 1851, Bethlehem, PA, 18106, postmarked no later than Friday, April 12, 2013.   Proposals postmarked after that date cannot be considered.

ELIGIBILITY OF ORGANIZATIONS AND PROJECTS

Eligibility is limited to

• Projects that are to take place or be presented in Bethlehem.  They may have  other nearby venues as well.
• Registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations
• Organizations that are arts-related or that propose a project that is arts-related in fulfillment of their mission
• One proposal from an organization per funding cycle
• Proposals to fund specific arts activities, presentations, events, programs, or works.  Proposals to fund capital campaigns, cover annual operating expenses, pay for the purchase of buildings, or reduce the organization’s acquired debt are not eligible.
• Proposals for $3,000 or less, the total pool of money for awards.  An awardee may be granted all or part of the money it applies for.  In 2012 the total award pool was divided among four projects.

Furthermore, awardees of previous BFAC Small Grants within the last three years are eligible to apply if they submitted their required final project report.

 REQUIRED PROPOSAL CONTENTS

• Name, address, phone number, e-mail address of the organization
• The organization’s contact person and, if different from the organization’s, that person’s contact information
• The organization’s mission statement
• Documentation of the organization’s 501(c)(3) status
• The organization’s primary locality of activity
• Names, addresses, and occupations of the members of the organization’s Board of Directors (as an Attachment)
• A description of who will benefit from the proposed program, work, or presentation
• The goal or objective of the proposed activity/work and how it relates to the organization’s mission
• The dates and duration of the proposed activity/work
• A description of how the project will be carried out
• A description of how the organization will acknowledge, wherever practical, the BFAC’s support in project fliers, posters, announcements, exhibits, and presentations
• A complete budget for the project, including other sources of revenue supporting the project being proposed  (as an Attachment)
• The financial statement for the organization’s most recently completed fiscal year (as an Attachment)

AWARDS CRITERIA

The Grants Program Committee will review all proposals that are submitted in time and make formal recommendations for awards to the Fine Arts Commission at its regular meeting in the first week of May.  In its review of grant proposals the Committee will use the following criteria:

• Eligibility:  do the applying organization and proposed project meet the stated standards for eligibility?
• Purpose of the project:  how well does the proposed project reflect the objectives of the Fine Arts Commission?
• Information provided:  how completely and clearly are the Required Proposal Contents provided?
• Funding requested:  how closely does it match the likely costs to be covered?

ANNOUNCEMENT OF AWARDS

Applicants and the press will be notified of the BFAC’s decisions by letter following its May meeting and the money will be provided to the awardees then.  Awards to successful applicants will be publicly presented by the Chair of the BFAC Grants Committee at the Tribute to the Arts Celebration. (Date and location to be announced)

FINAL REPORT

An awardee agrees to return the grant funds to the BFAC promptly if it cancels or otherwise does not execute the funded project.

The recipient of a BFAC grant agrees to submit two copies of a written final report within 90 days of project completion that includes

• a brief narrative on the process and outcomes of the project, including how BFAC’s sponsorship was publicly acknowledged
• a brief financial report stating the full costs of the project
• an account of how the Commission’s funds were used.

Submit final reports to:  BFAC Grants Committee, Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission, P.O. Box 1851, Bethlehem, PA, 18016.

Please direct any questions about this program and process to Donald Spieth at dspieth7@ptd.net

For a list of past recipients, please see the Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission website.

Soft Launching #ZLive tonight at Madeleine Albright lecture

Two weeks ago, we featured a blog post about live-tweeting arts events. It was part of a national twitter conversation, led by the National Endowment for the Arts following this report from PBS Newshour “ArtBeat program, “How Art Arts Organizations Using Digital Media?”  The issue surrounds use of Twitter on mobile devices during an event for audience engagement; a practice that some venues and arts organizations have been experimenting with for a short time.

The University Musical Society in Ann Arbor Michigan has initiated a practice for their programs. The Detroit Symphony uses a live twitter feed to supplement  webcast concerts. What may be the next evolution of technology enhancing the art form (think super titles running during a foreign language film or Italian opera), arts organizations are looking at new ways to deepen the engagement with audiences.

Yet some artists are opposed to the idea of floating faces illuminated by blue screens that have their focus elsewhere. Artists want a direct connection with the audience; Twitter may impede that.

Perhaps there are some activities when live-tweeting from the venue can deepen the experience for those in attendance, and for those who cannot. Tonight, Zoellner Arts Center will soft launch an experiment in live-tweeting for the Kenner Lecture: Madeline Albright. There will be invited Twitter users to sit in seats that are on the back wall of the Grand Tier. We hope that by designating this area for twitter users, even with dimmed screens, the glow will not disturb other patrons. If you are not able to come to the Zoellner Arts Center to hear Madame Albright’s lecture, sign onto Twitter at 7:45pm and follow the hashtag, #ZLiveAlbright. We’ll start the conversation with introductions from those who are Tweeting from the hall, and those in the community.

As Director of Arts Engagement and Community Cultural Affairs for Lehigh University, Silagh White offers this thought.

If we don’t take risks in the arts; we’re not really being artistic. While that could be taken as a rather bold statement, I believe that we can’t learn something about ourselves and how we might evolve as a community without a little experimentation. We’ll try this out a few times, gather data and comments, and see how it goes.

Any questions about #ZLive can be directed to Silagh White via email: siw205@lehigh.edu or Twitter: @silagh

Director’s Note – February 6, 2013

Academic Poster Session in Zoellner lobby before Motionhouse:

This Sunday at 6pm, Zoellner Arts Center will feature posters that share information about various academic projects and research with a water theme.

The intention of the activity is to connect the topic of the Dance company’s piece of art with the various disciplines on campus that also address the multiple issues of water in our lives. In addition to the posters, representatives from the Nurture Nature Center in Easton, PA will also be on hand to share information about their organization and efforts to educate people in our community about the local impact of flooding and water conservation.

Great thanks to Jeanette Brinker, Amira Sa’abana and Shelley Drozd for the help in organizing the activity.

******

Two major Arts Philanthropists in the Lehigh Valley have died this week. Priscilla Payne Hurd and Marlene “Linney” Fowler. Their generosity in the Bethlehem community is not only evident by the number of buildings and community assets bearing their names, but also by the outpouring of grief at the loss of our community leaders. Both extraordinary women received honorary degrees from Lehigh on the same day in 2003. Bill White, a columnist at the Morning Call, offers his thoughts. If you decide to read his column, please also read the many comments from his readers.

Our friends at ArtsQuest prepared this video tribute for Mrs. Fowler. We share this with our readers who, if are still relatively new to the Bethlehem community, might understand the generosity of Mrs. Fowler was not only financial, but a love for all people in our community.