Blog - 05-2022 Archive

Erie Arts & Culture is proud to present this week's Friday Feature! Doc Proto proudly represents the Erie Hip Hop scene, with a career that spans almost two decades. Using the power of clever wordplay, rhythmic beats, and an alien mascot, Proto brings an air of other-worldly mystery to the music scape, and during our interview, I got a glimpse into his creative mind. Meet the CEO of Roswell Enterprises, Doc Proto.

As part of this initiative, Erie Arts & Culture has two active opportunities for visual artists. 

The first opportunity is for seasoned muralists who are equipped with the knowledge and skills to successfully design and create exterior murals. In addition to fully executing murals, artists involved in this initiative must be willing to engage the community to help inform their designs. Additionally, they must be willing to work with youth from the City of Erie as part of a teen summer job program, through which youth participants will learn transferable soft skills such as time and task management. 

The second opportunity is for visual artists who have an interest in mural making but have limited to no experience creating exterior murals. For those artists who are interested in expanding their skills and knowledge, we will hire artist assistants to work alongside nationally and internationally acclaimed artists. Artist assistants will be compensated at $25 per hour and will receive the opportunity to learn directly through the act of doing. 

Join us for Refugee Resettlement, Identity, and the Arts on June 22 at 6 PM.

Please join us for a PRO Network webinar presented by Beyhan Farhadi, PhD on June 22 at 6 PM on Facebook live and Zoom! This presentation describes the Canadian context of private sponsorship and discusses the benefits and challenges for families and sponsors. Specifically, she focuses on social integration and its impact on self and cultural identity. The presentation will also explore the potential of arts institutions to positively support newcomers.

Erie Arts & Culture is partnering with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts to help creative entrepreneurs and their businesses. The Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator Program (CEAP) matches eligible creative entrepreneurs with free local small business consulting services and financial resources up to $2,000. Fifty-one percent of the funds available for distribution in this program will be reserved for Black, indigenous, or persons of color (BIPOC), or individuals residing in communities identified by the Small Business Administration’s low-income communities map. 

Featured in this video is André Jones. André is a freelance graphic designer turned apparel designer. His athletic lifestyle is carefully counterbalanced by his lax demeanor. Such contrast is made evident through André’s creative process. He believes the creative process is a boundless journey, but he pursued that journey with the objective of finding a practical solution to complex challenges. André is the owner of Rabbit 3, a streetwear brand. Pieces from his collection have been worn by high-profile celebrities, including Lizzo, Young Dolph, Maliibu Miitch, Lil’ Nas X, and celebrity stylist Shelby Swain. R3’s style is a uniquely poetic and adventurous, exploring the limits between artistry, design, and activism. The brand draws from the still of nature as well as the hustle and bustle of the inner city, vibrant with color, texture, and messaging.

Erie Arts & Culture is proud to present this week's Friday Feature! As an Erie native, this Poet, Spoken Word Artist, Writer, and advocate for the voiceless has blazed her own trails with her words and powerful stance. Locally, she's made a name for herself through her courageous presentation of free thought, inspiring her listeners to deeper levels of introspection. As a member of Erie County Poetry Committee, and a 2021-2022 Erie County Poet Laureate Finalist, her artistic contributions have led many to reflect upon their own journeys. 

Erie Arts & Culture is proud to present this week's Friday Feature! Erie's film scene is about to get alot more "odd" with the introduction of Oddity Productions! Their killer style, eye for amazing design, and superb creative delivery are worth exploring. Let's get into their creative process...

We are proud of our accomplishments last quarter, and we invite you to read and share our 2022 Q1 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.

On February 5, 2022, Erie’s Tamang Buddhist Cultural center opened their doors to the public for the first time in almost two years for Lhosar, a new year celebration. Erie’s Nepali Bhutanese community is multi-ethnic and multi-religious. Pasang Tamang, the Board President of the Center stated, “We were peaceful people, but we were forced to leave Bhutan. We lived in refugee camps in Nepal until we were able to resettle in Erie. In Erie there are about 4000 resettled Nepali Bhutanese and about 500 of us are Tamang. We wanted to have a special organization to focus on our unique culture. We have been keeping our Tamang culture alive since the 16th century! We officially started the Tamang Buddhist Cultural Center in 2019 and purchased a former church in Lawrence Park.”

In March, Erie Arts & Culture was approached by ServErie and the City of Erie to discuss a collaborative initiative being led by the non-profit organization and the municipality. This summer, efforts will be made to serve residents and businesses along East Avenue and the surrounding area through community engagement and scalable beautification projects. Wanting to contribute to this initiative, Erie Arts & Culture will work with artists Steve Mik and Brian Bonner to create a mural located on East Avenue. 

As a unique approach to this project, Steve and Brian are developing a curriculum that they will teach through the Erie Center for Arts & Technology. Jude Shingle, ECAT’s Arts Program Director, will assist the artists with finalizing their curriculum, which will teach both the business and creative aspects of being an artist. In addition to helping design and create the mural, students will learn about community engagement, site selection and preparation, contract writing, mural conceptualization and design, material acquisition, painting, and more. 

In October 2021, Erie Arts & Culture commissioned a mural on the exterior of the former Wayne School, which is now home to the Erie Center for Arts and Technology, the United Way of Erie County, and several other service-based organizations. This mural, along with a trip to Flint, Michigan, where they created 200 murals in a two-year time span, encouraged Erie Arts & Culture to be more strategic in our approach to future mural initiatives. With that in mind, we approached United Way of Erie County to discuss an initiative through which we would strategically locate murals along identified Safer Walking Routes to Community Schools.

This has led to Erie Arts & Culture and the United Way to adopt a shared goal of raising funds that will support the creation of 50 new murals over two years. Using discretionary funds, financial contributions from Erie Insurance, and an ARP grant from the City of Erie, Erie Arts & Culture has secured the necessary funds to execute Phase 1 of the project. Phase 1 will commence in the summer of 2022 and will include 10 murals along the Safer Walking Route, two per each of the five community schools. 

Erie Arts & Culture is proud to present this week's Friday Feature! This Erie Playwright and Actor, Jermaine Beason, is quite the talent when it comes to painting a picture through words and expressing it on stage. I had the pleasure of chatting with him about his beginnings, recent works, and his favorite movies and actors.  

Ceasar Westbrook’s Residency at Collegiate Academy

Erie Arts & Culture recently caught up with rostered teaching artist and painter Ceasar Westbrook, who just completed a residency at Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy.  The residency engaged about a dozen high school students in creating a mural in tribute to the late dance instructor, Carla Hughes.