Modeled somewhat after last year’s 40+40 event and part of the Commonwealth’s “Minds Wide Open” program that celebrates women in the arts, the Arts Council has put its own twist on the proceedings. “Rising Stars – a new constellation of arts & culture,” will run from March through June, spotlighting the contributions of southwest Virginia female artists — creative types of every stripe.
The Arts Council of the Blue Ridge kicked off the program with an informational event at Jefferson Center last Friday (March 5). Hip Hop poet Toni Blackman spoke briefly and lent her support to the effort before she took to the stage at Shaftman Performance Hall for a concert. A complete calendar of events can be found at RisingStarsInTheArts.com.
Blackman noted how Roanoke has grown culturally over the past few years; she comes back almost annually for concerts and to work with local school children. “Without the arts a lot of this growth wouldn’t be in place,” she said during her brief remarks. “I look forward to coming back next year.”
Painters, writers, and musicians are some of those represented; many events were already scheduled but have now been tied together by the series. Arts Council of the Blue Ridge executive director Laura Rawlings said she wanted to take the Commonwealth’s web-based Minds Wide Open program that celebrated women in the arts and make it more tangible. Besides those found in Roanoke, other events are scheduled for Floyd, Martinsville, Blacksburg and Lynchburg.
Roanoke artist Katherine Devine, who often heads up workshops at the Taubman Museum of Art, likes the idea of showcasing women artists. “I’m so excited. It’s one of the things I learned after graduate school, how many women were active throughout the centuries in the arts. They didn’t get [the recognition].” Devine will conduct a workshop that will focus on local women artists.
Keith Martin chairs the state’s Minds Wide Open: Virginia Celebrates Women in the Arts 2010 program. He came down from Richmond for the opening reception. “This is a massive statewide [effort].” The Women in the Arts is “the most accessible theme,” said Martin; every other year Minds Wide Open will return with a focus on some other area of the arts.
In all about 4,500 performances and exhibitions will be held during Minds Wide Open, with more than 200 organizations involved. He called the Arts Council’s Rising Stars program “a role model for us all across the state.”
Rawlings said Rising Stars takes Minds Wide Open “up a notch,” in her estimation. It’s not just visual arts either – there are female composers, poets and others in the mix, showcasing the “roles women [artists] have every day.” Rawlings hopes that women of all ages are inspired by Rising Stars – whether they are artists or just art lovers.
By Gene Marrano [email protected]