 You're Invited to the Fall Arts Equinox!
Thursday, September 20 - 6 - 8 pm
Join us to learn about what’s happening with the Arts in Renton at the FREE Fall Arts Equinox event! This is the third equinox event, which the Renton Municipal Arts Commission (RMAC) is hosting in partnership with Allied Arts of Renton. Each equinox has a theme, and this time the theme is ‘Reflections’.
See how the theme is interpreted in presentations by Gretchen Weller Mertes (Luther’s Table), Mitch Sheperd (local filmmaker) and Susanna Williams (Renton Technical College). Sample local artists with a music performed by Lisa Mitts and dance performance by Amira's Dancers.
Discover local arts businesses and programs and contribute to a collaborative documentary about the Arts in Renton. Here is your chance to meet and greet and network with other arts enthusiasts!
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Call for Lighting Artist
The Renton Municipal Arts Commission seeks to commission a
lighting artist to generate concept proposals to create galvanizing art
lighting. The first phase budget is $5,000 - $7,500 with total budget of
$75,000. The Request for Qualifications for the Lighting Renton project as
well as the Lighting Renton powerpoint that provides some background about the
process are available on the Arts Commission's webpage.
Proposals
must be received by 4:00
p.m., Friday, October 12, 2012. Questions should be
directed to Jennifer Davis Hayes at jdavishayes@rentonwa.gov or
425-430-6589.
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Filmmakers: Registration deadline is October 1!
Film lovers: Attend the FilmFrenzy V Screening at Renton Civic Theatre on October 22, 7 pm and the Curvee Awards Gala at Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center on October 23, 7 pm
The Renton FilmFrenzy is an annual 50-hour filmmaking competition. Filmmakers will have from 5 p.m. Friday, October 5, through 7 p.m., Sunday, October 7, to write, shoot, edit and turn in a film up to 4 minutes in length. All films must be shot completely in Renton. All genres are welcome, although films must be appropriate for all audiences. Filmmakers will be given CurveBall challenges at the beginning of the competition. Judges in the past have included representatives from SIFF, local film schools, the media and the Renton Municipal Arts Commission. There will be two categories of prizes: Student Division (high school and below) and, an Open Division. There is a $50 entry fee for the Open Division and $25 entry fee for student competitors. Top films receive “Curvees” and cash prizes. For more information, visit the webpage. |
Carco Artist Applications Available for 2013 Exhibit Season
The Renton Municipal Arts Commission invites professional or amateur artists working in two dimensional media to apply for consideration for the 2013 Carco Theatre Lobby Art Display. Local artists’ exhibits are scheduled for five week periods. Review of applications will begin on October 15, although applications are accepted throughout the year. Interested artists can download an application at ArtsCommission.rentonwa.gov or request an application at arts@rentonwa.gov or 425-430-6580. The 2012 Carco Artist Exhibit Season is not over yet and you still have the opportunity to see the exhibits of two local artists, crafter Mary Clymer (August 30 – October 12) and glass mosaic artist Debbie McLaughlin (October 15 – November 30) To see the roster of artists we have hosted in the past, visit the Carco Theatre Artist Display webpage.
 Art in Public Places
Members of the Renton Municipal Arts Commission are responsible for maintaining public art. Renton has an exceptional number of high-quality art pieces on display throughout the community. Here are two examples of public art and more information about the artist.
UNTITLED Sculpture by Haiying Wu. Haiying Wu is an internationally recognized Chinese American sculptor well known for his firefighter memorials. A native of China, Wu received his degree in sculpture from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. He worked primarily in public art and in the "socialist realist" genre. Haiying Wu graduated from the University of Washington School of Art with a Master of Fine Arts degree. For his master's thesis, he designed a memorial to 19th-century Chinese American railroad workers which was later installed in a park in Tacoma, Washington. The sculpture is located at Renton Fire Station # 14 at 1900 Lind Ave SW.
CHIEF SEALTH by James A. Wehn. A bronze-finished drinking fountain located just north of the Renton History Museum. The piece was donated to the City by volunteer firefighters in 1910. James A. Wehn was a very prolific and recognized artist in the Northwest from the early 1900s until his death in 1973 at age 90. At age 24, he won the commission to produce the first known piece of municipal art for the City of Seattle. Between 1905 and 1915, he produced four bronze busts of Chief Sealth, as studies for the full length statue commissioned by the City of Seattle. The four busts are now located in Renton, Seattle’s Pioneer Square, Seattle University, and Yakima at the Washington Historical Society museum. The full length statue is in Tillicum Place Park.
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Renton River Days
Our city’s creative spirit was in full swing at Renton River Days. Whimsical ducks were everywhere, as were booths with the homemade crafts of local artisans. The Renton Municipal Arts Commission booth featured a table where children each decorated a mask to take home. There was also a tic-tac-toe bag toss game for prizes and registered visitors were entered into a drawing for theatre tickets and other performance events.
Allied Arts of Renton held their annual Chalk Art Contest on Saturday, August 28. There were plenty of colorful hands full of chalk dust, happy smiles and a flurry of creative drawings on the tennis court! The artistry was quite amazing, and like ice sculpture, sadly doomed to be temporary. Prizes were awarded for the different age groups and for the professional contenders as well.
Festival goers also enjoyed music, the Renton Annual Art Show, Art Market and other fun.
Downtown Renton Art & Antique Walk
The 7th annual Downtown Renton Art and Antique Walk was held on August 25 from Burnett Ave S to Main along S 3rd St. The event was hosted by the Arts Unlimited and sponsored by the Renton Municipal Arts Commission, with the goal of supporting and boosting the local businesses and artists. There were more than sixty artists representing different categories such as photography, drawing, fiber arts, silk painting, Japanese ink painting, greeting cards and jewelry making, clothing designs, pet products, Iris paper folding and book illustrations. The new participant this year was the Kids Arts and Craft Activities, where the Renton Moms Group provided free activities for children.
This event is also an opportunity for local artists to introduce their talents and be discovered in the community. The next Downtown Renton Art and Antique Walk will be held on Saturday, August 24, 2013. For those who will be interested to participate, contact artsunlimitedrenton@gmail.com.
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Do you know about the Renton Arts & Culture Master Plan?
The Arts Commission is responsible to collaborate with community members to implement activities around the five strategies indentified during the Master Plan process adopted by Renton City Council in August 2010.
The first strategy is to BUILD AWARENESS. Part of building awareness includes creating a common events calendar, providing more content and information about arts and culture to our local media, and building relationships with other organizations that care about the quality of life in Renton.
The second strategy is to ADVOCATE FOR THE ARTS. This includes researching grants and other funding resources, building partnerships with other arts organizations in the region, advocating for more opportunities to support the arts in our city, and working more closely with the City to take full advantage of the 1% for Arts ordinance.
The third strategy is to SUPPORT PERFORMING ARTS. Renton is home to quite a variety of performance groups and venues that could be developed into a theatre district, including coordinated marketing and performance seasons.
The fourth strategy is CREATE A GALVANIZING ART PROJECT. This project will capture Renton's imagination, create outside interest in our region, pull in tourism dollars, and provide another point of civic pride.
The last strategy is to CREATE AN ART CENTER. Wouldn’t you like to see a place where all sorts of arts and cultural classes can be taught, where the community can have more exhibit space, and where all the amazing diversity of Renton can come and learn from one another about their artistic craft and traditions?
If any of these strategies interest you, and you would like to volunteer your skills and experience towards our goals, please contact arts@rentonwa.gov. Volunteers are needed to research and write grants, write articles, plan and manage events, design flyers and posters and making presentations to showcase the efforts.
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A Volunteer's Perspective by Juliet Santos-Babasanta
As one of the grantees of the Renton Municipal Arts Commission for a small art project for children with special needs, last September 2011, the opportunity allowed me to unleash my passion in coordinating and developing an art activity for children. The art activity was hosted by a painter who introduced, discussed, taught, helped and guided the children with special needs in using new materials in painting like canvas, brushes, palettes, water color, oil pastel, oil, pencil colors and acrylic paint, instead of the traditional crayons. The feedback from parents was overwhelming; this is the only time they saw their children so focused on what they were doing. The project was funded by the Commission with $250.00 covering all expenses from advertisement, refreshments and free supplies for the participating children.
These volunteering opportunities also allowed me to meet and be part of different organizations as Bridge Disability Ministries, Hearing Speech and Deafness Center, Washington Division of Development and the Special Education of Renton School District.
For more volunteering opportunities in the community, contact arts@rentonwa.gov or contact 425-430-6589. |
