HURRICANE HARVEY Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Texas and Louisiana. May you find strength in the healing power of the arts. |
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The Department of Economic and Community Development and its Office of the Arts will be moving to 450 Columbus Boulevard in Hartford this September. The move will begin on September 15. Please note the staff’s email addresses will remain the same but telephone numbers will be changing and will be posted on our website when they become available. |
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BUDGET UPDATES |
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The Governor and members of the General Assembly continue to meet to negotiate the state budget for fiscal years 2018 – 2019. As reported in the news, the General Assembly plans to vote on a budget the week of September 11, 2017. No final decisions regarding fiscal year 2018 grants can be made until the CT Office of the Arts receives a confirmed allocation in the state budget. The following grant programs are on hold: Supporting Arts in Place, Arts Projects, Regional Initiative, Arts Learning and Artist Fellowship. On the national level, in July, the House Appropriations Committee passed a bill that funds both the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, albeit with about $5 million in cuts to each agency, at $145 million each in fiscal year 2018. The measure has not received a vote from the full House of Representatives. Please take moment to read Ted Johnson’s article, PopPolitics: Why Arts Funding is Still At Risk (Variety, August 28, 2017). |
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CONNECTICUT OFFICE OF THE ARTS INTERNSHIP PROGRAM! Recognizing the need to provide hands-on, practical work experience not typically available to students and emerging professionals in the traditional academic setting, the Connecticut Office of the Arts has established an unpaid internship program. This program may be used by qualified students to obtain academic credit from their institution, but is also open to professional-track applicants not currently enrolled in an academic institution. Connecticut Office of the Arts interns also get the opportunity to complete an Arts Workforce Entry internship project that can also be used as a capstone or research project to help fulfill the academic requirement at your school or university and/or is great to have in your professional portfolio! Connecticut Office of the Arts is currently seeking to fill the two following internship positions: ARTS EDUCATION INTERN Responsibilities: Research, organization, planning, data collection, various aspects of grant making, field development (building connections between and among schools and arts/cultural organizations), and many more exciting projects! Requirement: Must demonstrate an interest in the field of arts in education and/or arts administration. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING INTERN Responsibilities: Updates to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages, news and announcements, perform research to find articles, stories, resources and other relevant content, develop relevant content (video, photos, etc.), organize COA’s YouTube Channel, and help to increase social media interaction, presence and followers. Requirement: Must demonstrate an interest in the field of arts and/or communications. For more information about internship opportunities, please contact Adriane Jefferson. |
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THE KENNEDY CENTER’S 2017 LEADERSHIP EXCHANGE IN ARTS AND DISABILITY CONFERENCE – Austin, Texas |
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Each year the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) convenes the state and regional Accessibility Coordinators at the Kennedy Center’s Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) conference. This year the LEAD conference took place in Austin, TX with 39 state and regional coordinators and over 400 conference goers from all sectors of the arts. Connecticut was in attendance with Tamara Dimitri from the Office of the Arts participating in the NEA peer sessions and overall conference workshops. The workshops immerse conference goers in up-to-date trends in the field, introduce new ideas, and provide tips for success to ensure the arts are accessible to all abilities. Visit our website for accessibility resources or contact the state’s Accessibility Coordinator Tamara Dimitri. The Office of the Arts would like to thank the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for providing support for state representatives to attend the annual LEAD conferences. |
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CONNECTICUT ART STORIES Back in April, we did a call for Connecticut Art Stories. We wanted to hear from our constituents about how the arts have had an impact on their communities or in their personal or professional life. We were particularly interested in stories about how a publicly funded grant from the CT Office of the Arts or from the National Endowment for the Arts made difference in their life or their community. Thanks to everyone who submitted their story and a special thanks to our intern Nicholas Sharp for pulling them all together! We hope you enjoy! |
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THE ARTS WORK IN CONNECTICUT The Arts Workforce Initiative (AWI), a pilot program offered by the Connecticut Office of the Arts, is a paid 10-week internship program giving college students and emerging arts professionals on opportunity to gain hands-on and engaging work experience with creative organizations throughout the state. If you are interested in being an Art Workforce Initiative intern or a host organization, contact Adriane Jefferson. |
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