Your Local Media and the Arts: Connecting the Community
This month I begin an expansion of my column in Neighbors beyond local media programs and producers—to include new and important information for the diverse and growing arts community in our region. We all need more conscious connection and communication across the channels and the pages and the web views.
This series will continue covering the locally-based electronic media channels and programs in our region—across all distribution platforms—radio, TV, cable, print and web-based. Valuable and relevant content is out there looking for audiences of common interest and value. The expression and energy of the arts in action can provide the message for the medium….and putting thought into action first is where change and unity begins. Sharing thoughtful change by creating unity in our daily lives is how we can build community.
This month’s highlights include:
- Nominate an Arts Hero!
- Make Music Day Connecticut 2018
- Is There Room for Mansfield in UConn Nation? Growth vs Accountability/Part 5 in a Series.
- Willimantic Ride Along Series—New Video Posted!
- Listing of Local Media Program Resources
Nominate an Arts Hero—the Deadline is March 23!
The Arts Hero Awards honor Connecticut residents who are doing extraordinary things in, for or through the arts. The 2018 Arts Hero Awards theme is RESILIENCY!
Resilience is that ineffable quality that allows some people to be knocked down by life and come back stronger than ever. Rather than letting failure overcome them and drain their resolve, they find a way to rise from the ashes. Some of the factors that make someone resilient are: a positive attitude, optimism , the ability to regulate emotions, and the ability to see failure as a form of helpful feedback. Even after misfortune, resilient people are blessed with an outlook that they are able to change course and soldier on. (Psychology Today)
Do you know a special someone – a HERO – who is resilient and is doing extraordinary things in, for or through the arts in their community? If yes, please nominate them for a 2018 Arts Hero Award! You can do so by completing the nomination form . The deadline to submit a nomination is Friday, March 23, 2018.
All nominations go to the Awards Committee and one hero for each arts service region will be chosen. The 2018 Arts Hero Awards will be presented on Wednesday, April 25 on Connecticut Arts Day 2018! More information is available at www.windhamarts.org.
Make Music Day Connecticut 2018—A Statewide Solstice Music Festival on June 21!
The Solstice this year will be very special across our state as Connecticut joins the growing musical movement called Make Music Day. The Connecticut Office of the Arts is partnering with its regional service organizations (like Windham Arts) to join 71 other cities across the country on June 21, 2018—and over 800 cities in 120 different countries across the planet!
Much more information is coming on March 8 with the statewide launch of a dedicated website that will bring this great opportunity to everyone who makes or presents music in our region.
Each Make Music city is independently organized. As the designated Regional Service Organization, Windham Arts will coordinate local promotions and communicate with participants throughout its 36 town region. The website will always have the latest information available—at www.windhamarts.org.
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What ties everything together is the nonprofit Make Music Alliance. When musicians and locations join Make Music, they go to their local city’s website and register using embedded matchmaking software, provided by the Alliance to each member city.
Using these tools, any musician can sign up, describe their music, and request performance space; stores,
buildings, gardens, and other locations register to host these musicians, providing electricity, equipment, and
promotion. Like an internet dating site, musicians and venues search through the listings to find each other and
make arrangements for June 21st concerts. The software then creates an interactive map and searchable listings for each city, displayed on the local site, and on smartphone apps for iOS and Android.