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Erie Arts & Culture is proud to present this week's Friday Feature! Edward Kranz is a book designer, book-binder and book restorer who's work is dedicated to keeping the integrity of beautifully written words alive. Located in the historic PACA building in Erie, Edward painstakingly re-ignites the beauty of book creation one page at a time, and is quite skilled at his craft. The appreciation of literary art is not a work that goes unnoticed, which is why this interview feels more than appreciated...it feels earned. Let's learn more about Edward's work and the reason he's so dedicated to his craft.

Erie Arts & Culture is proud to present this week's Friday Feature! Rylee Prenatt, Boudoir Photographer, is masterful at capturing life through the lens of her wildly creative, bold, artistic eye. The way she infuses light, angle, and raw energy, it's safe to say that she has the special touch. Her photos evoke a sense of natural beauty mixed in with an unapologetic display of intimacy and candid expression. Check out what Rylee had to say about her journey, her goals, and ultimately what inspires her!

Celebrating the success of the first annual Maker Market!

For Artist Sunday 2021, we encourage you to check out the list of vendors and their websites. Please consider supporting regional artists today and for the duration of the holiday season!

Second Lady Gisele Barreto Fetterman recognizes the value of the arts and humanitities. She's identified a creative way to support non-profits throughout the commonwealth who have missions that align with her priorities. Since October 2020, Gisele has made five large-scale wall pieces inspired by friendship bracelets that she's donated to Pennsylvanian non-profits to auction or raffle to raise funds to support their operations.

"I loved looming friendship bracelets as a kid (and teen) and this is my grown-up version of that experience," says Gisele.

Your $5 donation per raffle ticket helps support Erie Arts & Culture and our 2nd annual Maker Market. Erie Arts & Culture's Western Pennsylvania Maker Market will be held on Nov 19 at FEED (1307 State Street) from 10 am - 3 pm.

Erie Arts & Culture is proud to present this week's Friday Feature! April Cox is committed to her beautiful, rural, artistic lifestyle which has both afforded her the opportunity to tend to her farm full of loving animals, as well as honing her artistic eye and dexterity through crotchet. A skill that was instilled in her childhood, April is now able to utilize her farm-grown fabrics to create timeless keepsakes for her fans and supporters. 

We are proud of our accomplishments last quarter, and we invite you to read and share our 2022 Q3 Impact Report! Please download the pdf to learn about our most recent programs, services, and impact on the community. We also welcome a conversation with you if you have questions about any of our programs and initiatives. You can reach our Executive Director at [email protected] if you have any questions. 

Your support helps us leverage the power of the arts and humanities to address the vital needs and interests of Erie. Together, we can make a positive impact in our community.

The Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator Program matches eligible creative entrepreneurs with existing, free, local, small business consulting services and financial resources ranging from $500 to $2,000 to help them grow their businesses, audiences, and revenue. Over two cycles, Erie Arts & Culture has provided 1:1 consulting and financial support to over 25 local entrepreneurs, empowering artists to open brick and mortar storefronts, enroll in business courses, promote their work digitally and in print, and invest in equipment to increase their efficiency. The application for next cycle of funding is available until Dec. 31, 2022.
Please visit our blog for more information and a list of past recipients.

Erie Arts and Culture received a large grant from the National Endowment for the Arts as part of the American Rescue Plan. The grants are intended to fuel the nation’s recovery from the devastating economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several New American folk artists received Recovery Grants to provide free educational programs. Mustafa Albalkhi taught Arabic songs to Syrian children to deepen their understanding of their language and culture. Afaf Kormouna and Fatima Athow provided three public henna workshops reaching 200 adults and children. 

In the summer of 2022, Erie Arts & Culture commissioned artist and art educator Christina Wolfe to create a mural through Purposeful Placemaking. This initiative calls for strategic investments to be made in public art along the routes that students use when walking between home and school. Christina was assigned a wall located at the intersection of East Lake Road and Marne Road, which falls on a walking route to Edison Elementary School. 

Christina’s mural depicts three young children, two of whom are persons of color (POC). The central figure is a small girl with brown skin. She is standing in a classic superhero pose with her hands on her hips while wearing a cape, domino mask, and floral patterned wrist cuffs. 

After its completion, a local news segment featured the mural, showing images of the completed work and interviewing the artist. The following day, Erie Arts & Culture received a moving email from a mother in the community. That mother, Cathryn Esterling, gave us permission to share her words, which are included in this blog. 

“I Was Here” - Utilizing the Arts to Increase Self-Confidence

Initials are an often-overlooked element of our daily lives, usually utilized quickly in paperwork, as a way of saying, “I’ve seen this,” or “I approve.”  Frequently, they might be employed by children in graffiti, or quick carvings into a tree or schooldesk, a shorthand for “I’ve been here.”  These are counterintuitively powerful statements–brief but meaningful ways of asserting one’s existence.

Donna Little is well aware of the power of these little pairs of characters, which is why she focused her recent residency at Pathways Adolescent Center on creating works of art that featured them prominently.  Pathways is a residential treatment facility in Oil City, PA, which specializes in supporting adolescents with behavior, mental health, and addiction challenges.  When planning the residency, William “Bumper” Woods, Pathways’ Director of Education, told Donna he hoped the program would accomplish two things:  increase the students’ self-confidence; and equip them with a sense of teamwork.

Donna, a metalsmith who has been a teaching artist with EAC for over twenty years, came up with a project that elegantly met each of these requirements.

In September of 2022, Erie Arts & Culture welcomed eight new teaching artists to its roster.  These artists will expand our roster through their diverse artistic disciplines, educational expertise, and lived experiences.

Erie Arts & Culture helps artists, culture bearers, art educators, and non-profit leaders develop and implement project, career, and organizational plans.  During these consultations,  we determine potential obstacles and constraints, identify critical resources, facilitate introductions to build beneficial relationships, and define desired objectives and outcomes. Through these efforts, we empower our stakeholders to approach their work with agency and intentionality. Below are statistics related to the number of consultations we provided this past quarter as well as a few testimonials from stakeholders we served. Visit our blog to read several testimonials.

Erie Arts & Culture is proud to present this week's Friday Feature! Amber Harmon is your local Taxidermist extraordinaire..blending the realities of life and the life-after with her talent for preservation and presentation. Erie Arts and Culture's Folklorist, Kelly Armor, provides this week's interview where we all have the opportunity to learn the importance and meaning of Taxidermy, and how Amber approaches her Art.

Erie Arts & Culture is proud to present this week's Friday Feature! Tommy Link is here to bring back the beautiful sounds and styles that were brought to us by Alternative/Indie greats. With his own swagger and authentic, emotional delivery, Tommy can be felt as a bridge between the old school and modern Alternative. I highly look forward to what the future brings for this humble, driven musician. 

Erie Arts & Culture is proud to present this week's Friday Feature! Jacob Ames puts the "multi" in the term multi-talented. This actor, videographer, and writer has found the mediums of his choice for expression, and seamlessly bounces between each discipline creating a dynamic consisting of efficiency, precision, and depth. He doesn't miss a beat, captivating your attention span with thoughtful storylines, impeccable delivery, all while still maintaining a sense of level-headedness and humility to proceed with a clear path forward.