State Historical Building to host Hurricane Relief Event October 22; Iowa
arts organizations are helping Gulf Coast artists find housing, work
(DES MOINES) – The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs will host “Mardi Gras in the Museum” from 6-10 p.m., Saturday, October 22, 2005 at the State Historical Building as the premier event by the State of Iowa to raise funds for people affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Proceeds will go to Iowa’s Gulf States Relief Fund, with funds managed by the American Red Cross. Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson will welcome the public. Ten-year-old Talia Leman of Waukee will be a celebrity guest. Leman recently received national acclaim for her Halloween project "T.L.C.", Trick or Treating for the Levee Catastrophe. The Historical Building is located at 600 E. Locust Street in the heart of Des Moines’ Historic East Village. Admission at the door is $25 for adults and $10 for children 12 years old and younger and includes:
· Free Cajun-inspired food from Central Iowa restaurants
· Free beverages (wine, beer, soft drinks)
· Free music from the Party Gras Classic Jazz Band, the Heartland Youth
Choir and Calle Sur (Latin American)
· Free mask-making, face painting, piñatas and games for children
(6-8 p.m.)
· Free historical program
Among the people expected to volunteer with this event include 50 women from the Delta Delta Delta sorority at Simpson College and NAACP youth members.
“Mardi Gras in the Museum” grew out of the Department of Cultural Affairs’ desire to help raise funds for America’s gulf state’s cultural organizations, many of which were devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Through June 30, 2006, the Iowa Arts Council is making Mini Grants and EZ 1-2-3 grants available for hiring or supporting the work of artists and/or arts groups displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The IAC is working with state art agencies in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida about displaced artists who may already be in or near Iowa. More information will be announced as it becomes available.
Other relief efforts include:
· In West Liberty, Iowa, the world-renowned Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre has hired the Calliope Puppet Theatre of New Orleans to come to Iowa in November to perform. With most of Calliope’s jobs flooded out, the Eulenspiegel staff is helping the New Orleans troupe find additional work. The Calliope Puppet Theatre is listed in the Louisiana Division of the Arts’ Touring Directory. Please contact owlglass@avalon.net or call 319-627-2487 for more information. Ironically, the Calliope program topic focuses on the wetlands of southern Louisiana:
The Fisherman and His Wife - A Melodrama from the Coastal Wetlands
Through dynamic hand and rod puppets, colorful scenery, live music and sound effects,
and lots of singing and assistance from the audience, Calliope Puppets adapts
this familiar Brothers Grimm tale to a setting in the wetlands of south Louisiana.
Written in collaboration with Deborah Schultz, Formal Education Director, Barataria-Terrebonne
National Estuary Program, the show entertains while it educates about the impact
human decisions have had on this fragile ecosystem. After catching a magic Catfish,
the poor Fisherman struggles to keep his wife content, while she demands more
and more, not only of her husband, but of the natural environment surrounding
them. Audiences of all ages will understand some of the steps to take in accepting
responsibility for the future.
· In Waterloo, the Waterloo Center for the Arts is assisting nationally prominent New Orleans artist Richard Thomas and his family for the next six to 12 months as he rebuilds his home, studio and gallery, which was lost in Hurricane Katrina. The Waterloo Center for the Arts exhibited is work several years ago. Thomas painted all the murals in the New Orleans Airport—a huge commission/project. The Waterloo Center for the Arts is trying to help him find work on public art projects and/or teaching. Please visit www.visualjazzartgallery.com for images and information. Contact Cammie.Scully@waterloo-ia.org for information on the Waterloo Center for the Arts.
· From the Mississippi Valley Blues Society: Spencer Bohren, the society’s first “Blues in the Schools” performer, was displaced from his New Orleans home and needed work. The society brought him to the Quad Cities from September 26 through October 1 to present 15 workshops and performances. He is currently living in St. Louis and can be reached at 314-963-0968 or spencer@spencerbohren.com.
Following is additional contact information for people who want to help support Gulf Coast state artists and art organizations:
· Displaced Louisiana Artists – If you know of Louisiana artists who have been displaced, please help the Louisiana Division of the Arts by encouraging them to complete an Artist Relocation Information Form at www.crt.state.state.la.us/arts. The form can be returned to the Arts Division’s office via email at arts@crt.state.la.us or via fax at 225-342-8173.
· Displaced Mississippi Artists – If you know of displaced Mississippi artists, or want information about specific kinds of assistance that is both needed and being offered, visit www.carolepigott.com/help. Carole Pigott is a Mississippi artist who is working with the Mississippi Arts Commission to gather and disseminate new information on a weekly basis via her Web site.
· Americans for the Arts - Americans for the Arts has set up a bulletin board to gather and disseminate information. Submit or look up news about how arts organizations, cultural facilities, and artists are faring in the aftermath of the hurricane; initiatives to assist the arts; how arts agencies, organizations, and artists are themselves helping to ease the situation that is so desperate for so many. Please visit www.AmericansfortheArts.org or more information.
· Southern Arts Federation Emergency Relief Fund - The Southern Arts Federation has established an Emergency Relief Fund to assist arts organizations and artists residing in those Gulf Coast communities most devastated by Hurricane Katrina. All funds collected by the Southern Arts Federation will be distributed through the state arts agencies of the affected states. Please visit www.southarts.org for more information.
· Americans for the Arts Emergency Relief Fund - Americans for the Arts has established this permanent fund to provide timely financial assistance to victims of a major disaster for the purpose of helping them rebuild the arts in their community. One hundred percent of relief funds will be distributed directly to local arts agencies for the purpose of assisting with their own recovery and their provision of needed services and funding to nonprofit arts organizations and individual artists, as well as to other cultural relief efforts. Americans for the Arts is initiating this fund with a $100,000 contribution to immediately help those assisting with the recovery of their local arts agency or providing needed services and funding to local nonprofit arts groups and individual artists affected in the Gulf Coast states. Americans for the Arts has established this fund in response to the individuals and organizations who want to help local cultural organizations and artists affected by Hurricane Katrina and other disasters but do not know where to direct such donations. To make a contribution to the Emergency Relief Fund or to learn more about how to apply for financial assistance, visit www.AmericansFortheArts.org/EmergencyRelief, or call toll-free 866-471-2787 and ask for the Americans for the Arts Emergency Relief Fund.
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