Blog - 08-2020 Archive

Staff Picks: A curated list of what to look at, listen to, watch, or read from the team at EAC

Thank you to all who participated! We are still accepting submissions until August 31.

The deadline for our 2020 Fellowship applications is fast approaching! Applications must be submitted online by 11:30 pm on August 21, 2020. Learn more about Fellowships, Eligibility, and read about the experiences of our current fellows!

Please join us for Part 2 of our panel discussion and viewing on August 27th at 7:00 PM! 

From the first wave of Asian immigrants in the 1850s to modern refugee crises in a globally-connected world, an epic new film from PBS examines Asian Americans’ contributions to our country’s past, present, and future. Join us for the online screening and live panel discussion with a diverse panel from Erie’s Asian community. Presented in partnership with the Erie Asian Pacific American Association (APAA) and WQLN Public Media, Erie’s NPR and PBS affiliate station.

"Asian Americans" is a new five-hour film series from PBS that examines the lives and personal stories of what the 2010 US Census identifies as “the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the United States.”  The film delivers a bold, fresh perspective on a history that matters today, more than ever. As America becomes more diverse, and more divided, while facing unimaginable challenges, how do we move forward together? Told through intimate and personal stories, the series casts a new lens on U.S. history and the ongoing role that Asian Americans have played in shaping the nation’s identity.

Staff Picks: A curated list of what to look at, listen to, watch, or read from the team at EAC

Through Erie Gives, Erie Arts & Culture received a $125,467 total donations. Of that total, $92,000 was donated by Donna Douglass and the StARTup Incubator. This gift will be invested into a newly established sub-fund within the Erie Arts Endowment. Interest earned annually from the StARTup Fund will support in perpetuity two distinct Erie Arts & Culture programs, the CHROMA Guild and the PRO Network. The rest of the funds originated from our generous community online yesterday. It's because of YOU that we can continue to do the work and serve our sector.

What activities, amenities, or assets do you think of when it comes to the activation of Parade Street?

Perhaps you imagine more public art or a range of small businesses serving the direct needs of the community. Maybe you imagine engaging activities that represent the spectrum of diversity found within the community. Perhaps you imagine bike lines and cross walks that prioritize pedestrian usage.

Share your thoughts and input with artists our Creating With Community artists Samone and Michael Haas on August 14 at 6 PM. Please register using the Eventbrite link.

Erie Arts & Culture’s Board of Trustees would like to encourage innovation and collaboration within Erie’s dance community. To accomplish this, the agency’s Board approved allocating $12,500 from the agency’s reserves to fund the inaugural Erie Dance Film Festival.

The festival will be scheduled to tour throughout Erie County in 2021. Tauna Hunter, a member of Erie Arts & Culture’s Board of Trustees and a retired professor of dance at Mercyhurst University, is chairing a task force composed of members for Erie’s dance community. The task force will help design and launch the initiative. The film festival will highlight dance for camera, a film genre that merges performance and film aesthetics. In addition to bolstering dance in Erie County, this initiative also supports efforts to advance filmmaking in Northwestern Pennsylvania.

Erie Arts & Culture seeks visual artists of color with strong portfolios who are interested in public art opportunities. Artists must be flexible, collaborative, and reliable. The Lead Artist(s) and Assistants will work together to create a new site-specific, original, and public mural for the Whole Foods Co-op (WFC), located at 1341 W 26th St., Erie, PA 16508. This mural will be part of the WFC’s facade revitalization and community outreach efforts.

In 2019, Erie Arts & Culture formed the CHROMA Guild to advance access to resources and opportunities for creative and cultural professionals of color in Northwestern PA. In the summer of 2020, members of the guild indicated that they were interested in learning more about careers in public art. In response to this interest, Erie Arts & Culture has secured three public art opportunities for the CHROMA Guild.

Read on to learn more about the artists, locations, and goals!

Erie Arts & Culture is pleased to announce that kirie artist Hiromi Moneyhun will be in Erie from August 17 until September 10 as part of the agency’s visiting artist residency program. Hiromi is a native of Kyoto, Japan. She moved to Jacksonville, Florida in 2004. Hiromi’s work has been showcased in numerous solo exhibitions within the state of Florida. She has participated in group shows throughout the American South, including North Carolina, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Georgia. Hiromi has also exhibited her work in New York City and London.  

During her residency, Hiromi is interested in building upon her process and exploring ceramics, printmaking, and papermaking. She will be creating new works while in Erie and also working on creating an edition, which will be available for sale.