Mr. Lawrence Brad Anderson

Equipping Artists to be Community Leaders

Posted by Mr. Lawrence Brad Anderson, Oct 11, 2018


Mr. Lawrence Brad Anderson

I joined our new staff member in a meeting last week with a prospective grant applicant. We were discussing his interest and desire to get a new keyboard for his work as a musician. This young man humbly presented himself as he shared his professional and educational background that more than qualified him to apply for the developing artist grant we administer. Our new staff member did an excellent job reviewing the grant guidelines and preparing him for the process, but as the meeting was wrapping up, I saw that something was still missing.

“May I share an observation with you before you go?” I asked. “Sure,” the artist quietly replied.

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Ms. Margaret Weisbrod Morris

Rehearsing “Madeleine”: A Personal Story of Hope

Posted by Ms. Margaret Weisbrod Morris, Nov 28, 2018


Ms. Margaret Weisbrod Morris

A few weeks ago, a Lawrence Arts Center School of Dance staff member popped into my office to say hello. A few minutes into it, I realized her real reason for stopping in: they needed someone to be a walk-on in the fall production of Madeleine put on by our pre-professional company, Lawrence Ballet Theatre. That first rehearsal? Let’s just say this: I felt like I was losing a real-life game of Frogger. With ballerinas instead of cars. Unprepared, I stumbled, quite literally, upon what comes from commitment and practice. These young dancers spend 5-6 days a week in class, in concentrated training for years, to make an extremely difficult art form look not just beautiful, but completely natural. They make dance look effortless, like anyone could do it. At this point, I couldn’t match their training, but I certainly could find it within myself to try to match their commitment. With this humbling realization, I promised to stick with it. The next evening, I sheepishly slipped into our next rehearsal full of apologies: to the ballerina I almost hamstrung, to the junior stage techs that had to reset the stage twice for me, and the duet whose sequence I stumbled into the middle of. Expecting to be met with frustration and annoyance, I found exactly the opposite.

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Ms. Patricia Walsh


Kimberly O’Keeffe

The Importance and Impact of Planning for Public Art

Posted by Ms. Patricia Walsh, Kimberly O’Keeffe, Dec 18, 2018


Ms. Patricia Walsh


Kimberly O’Keeffe

There is a growing interest in public art from across the country. In the Public Art Programs Fiscal Year 2001 report, Americans for the Arts estimated 350 public art programs across the U.S. The 2017 Survey of Public Art Programs identified more than twice as many. With this growth it is important to understand the various ways public art is planned for and implemented in different communities. In this post, we provide an overview of three papers published by Americans for the Arts that speak to the diverse needs of public art programs across the country, and how local institutions are approaching the topic in innovative ways. With a focus on planning for public art from a municipal perspective, growing public art programs in small to mid-sized cities, and recognizing grassroots and folk art in rural communities, these papers show that successful public art values local context and the public art programs are as unique as each community.

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Ms. Margaret Weisbrod Morris

Notes from the Field

Posted by Ms. Margaret Weisbrod Morris, Apr 28, 2016


Ms. Margaret Weisbrod Morris

I am in the field. Literally. A wheat field in McPherson County, Kansas to be exact. There’s no cell service and no other human being in sight, so I feel seriously out of place. I am far outside of my comfort zone. Other than the hundred head of cattle expectantly staring at me over a wire fence behind me, my only companion is Stretch, the Chinberg’s farm dog. Used to the solitude, he keeps eagerly bringing me junk – a stick, discarded flip-flop with teeth marks, a chewed rabbit foot – canine enticements to friendship. There is a hot, skin-stripping wind blowing chaff onto my cheeks, getting stuck in my hair that falls into the palette I have set out. The starkness of this scene inspired my courage to capture the power of this hot, solitary land. I am here because of, and in spite of, the wind. It drives my thoughts.

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Ms. Abby Lynch

Do your part for public art—check out the #KRISArtofGiving campaign

Posted by Ms. Abby Lynch, Sep 19, 2016


Ms. Abby Lynch

KRIS Wines has partnered with Americans for the Arts to celebrate the value of public art in American communities, and reward the artists who create it. They’re giving away $25,000 in prizes to artists who have recently completed projects in the United States, and your votes—up to once per day at kriswine.com/giving—will determine the winners.

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Ms. Margaret Weisbrod Morris

Catching STEAM

Posted by Ms. Margaret Weisbrod Morris, Dec 07, 2016


Ms. Margaret Weisbrod Morris

If you haven’t heard about the movement to place art within STEM curriculum, or STEAM, you’ve been missing one of the steamiest topics to hit the arts in decades. Essentially a catchy acronym for arts integration targeted at math and science, STEAM has ignited the imaginations of scientists, artists, and educators nationwide. Those on the outside of art and education may wonder: what does a STEAM program look like? Why do it? This blog offers a quick look into one such program steaming forward in the center of the Midwest.

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