Artist Residencies at Centrum

"Awesome" Cistern Music at Sundance

I was recently talking with Centrum Resident David Mitsuo Nixon of  "Awesome". Described as a "theater - comedy - art collective", "Awesome" is a group of seven guys wearing suits and playing a unique mix of instruments... guitar, bass, drums, trumpet, accordian, mandolin, banjo, theremin, typewriter, kitchen utensils... pretty much anything within reach. While in residency back in March, "Awesome"  recorded in the Cistern, and David tells me that an extended improv session will be part of the soundtrack to a movie "Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle", which has been accepted into the Sundance Film Festival. Nice going guys, and thanks for sending us the recording and a little view of the space. David will be back at Centrum in February.

Practice This! Marc Fendel on Jamming

Marc Fendel of the Seattle Drum School talks about Jam Sessions, how to prepare for them, and why it's important to participate in them. As a Centrum resident, Marc and his band have done some recording in the Cistern... which he promises to share when ready.

NYFA Current News

I just got my subscription email from the New York Foundation for the Arts. Here's an excerpt to their December 23rd online newsletter NYFA Current:

"Over the past year, NYFA Current has been committed to documenting the art-making process and its relation to present-day politics, particularly the economic downturn and issues in our environment. We’ve published three special issues—on New Orleans and art after the storm; a green issue featuring innovative social-art projects; and an issue on unregulated public artworks in rural and urban spaces. In the coming year, NYFA Current subscribers can expect continuing up-to-date coverage on the economy and how artists, foundations, and galleries are being affected. We’re also producing a special issue themed on money, spotlighting the financial crisis and, among other things, what artists can do to protect themselves." Timely, interesting, and helpful information well worth the subscription.

I read several great little pieces on New Works by artists all over the country, and particularly enjoyed a sneak peek at the latest edition of New American Paintings - juried exhibitions in print.

Centrum Residency as "Hurrication"?

We get all kinds of proposals from artists and writers interested in Centrum Residencies. Frederick Mead's recent proposal is as unique as you'd expect from the writer/director of the San Francisco production "The Kung Fu Evangelist". Frederick is a Centrum alumni with a great solution to hurricane season in his hometown of New Orleans... he has arranged his next residency for August and September of 2009. He has even gone so far as to reach out to other writers around the country, and is forming a collaborative residency that promises to be a real treat. Frederick talks about his 2008 residency in his always entertaining blog.

"We Are Golden" Releases Debut EP

Sarah Rudinoff and Gretta Harley are "We Are Golden", fronting a seven member band that's been wowing Seattle audiences since the release of their five song debut album.

Sarah sent us this link to "I'll Meet You There", written during their June 2008 residency at Centrum. You can hear and buy the full EP album on their website. Thanks for the update ladies!

Baroque Meets Grunge - an Interview with Morten Skovgaard Danielsen

Danish composer Morten Skovgaard Danielsen used his month long residency at Centrum to work on his latest project, a commissioned opera. In an interview with "Basically Modern", he talks about the opera, his early work, and the influences on his music.  

NEA Supports Artistic Residencies

 

Outgoing NEA Chairman Dana Gioia recently announced the creation of a new funding category for artists’ communities - those organizations whose primary purpose is to promote and provide artistic residency programs. Mario Garcia Durham, NEA’s Director of Presenting, will oversee “Artists’ Communities” at the NEA. Here’s an excerpt from Chairman Gioia’s letter to the Alliance of Artist Communities…

 

"I have always understood the critical role that Artist Communities play
in American Culture. You are a unique field whose main focus is on the
individual artist. You play an irreplaceable role in this nation’s
artistic creativity and vision.

It is for these reasons that on October 31st the NEA’s National Council
on the Arts approved the creation of a new field designation for Artist
Communities. This is the first NEA new field designation in over a
decade.

 

Beginning this January, standing proudly along the fields of Music,
Dance, Theater, Opera, Visual Arts, and Literature will be the new, and
distinct, designation of Artist Communities."

Stephen Cohen and the Tree People at Centrum

Stephen Cohen recently completed a Centrum Creative Residency. He sent us an email about his experience.

The Tree People, Stephen, Jeff, and Rich, participated in a Creative Residency at Centrum for a week in September of 2008. These Centrum Creative Artist Residencies, which attract artists from all over the world, are perfect for artists to create in a quiet, inspirational setting. Nothing is required or expected from the artists at these residencies, so artists have the opportunity to concentrate on nothing else but their art.

We stayed in a wonderful 3 bedroom house on the beautiful Olympic Peninsula and did nothing but play music all week. After 4 days of rehearsing, refining, and arranging new pieces, we went into Synergy Studio, a studio on the Centrum grounds, with engineer Neville Pearsall, for two days and recorded a good part (8 pieces) of the music that will be on our our third and new Tree People album. (We will record a few more pieces of music and mix the final results at Dead Aunt Thelma's Studio in Portland later this year, and then send the completed product to Guerssen Records of Spain, who will release it later in 2009). On the last night of our residency we went into Port Townsend and did an evening performance for a nice listening audience at the Upstage, a really nice venue.

We would like to thank Lisa and the rest of the staff at Centrum for helping to make this fantastic residency possible.

The residency provided the 3 of us with time and space to create, think, rehearse and record. We were inspired and energized by this residency and it had lasting value. This residency will always be remembered by our Tree People trio!

You can see my new post, with photos, about the experience on my Tree People blog:

http://treepeoplechronicles.blogspot.com

Artist Trust Announces Centrum Residency Recipients

Artist Trust announced today the five recipients of artist residencies in Port Townsend. For the second year, Artist Trust is partnering with Centrum to provide a month-long residency for five artists from Washington State. Each artist will have private accommodations and access to studio resources plus a stipend for travel, living expenses and supplies.

Artist Trust is a not-for-profit organization whose sole mission is to support and encourage individual artists working in all disciplines in order to enrich community life throughout Washington State. Find out more at www.artisttrust.org.

CENTRUM RESIDENCY RECIPIENTS

• Kevin Bernstein, Visual Arts  – King County
• Britta Johnson, Media Arts – King County 
• Robert Campbell, Emerging & Cross-Disciplinary Arts – King County 
• Miho Takekawa, Performance Arts – King County 
• Debra Carlson, Literary Arts – King County

This year’s residency recipients can be viewed at http://www.artisttrust.org/grants/residencies/centrum.

Marc Fendel's Cistern Residency

Musician and Centrum Creative Resident Marc Fendel just completed a residency using the Dan Harpole Cistern here at Fort Worden (and its 44 second reverberation) as a recording and musical instrument.

Marc sent us a link to a brief video clip of Kevin Nortness playing banjo in the Cistern during the residency. Marc tells us that they also recorded in HD. We can't wait to see that.

[Video of Kevin Nortness playing banjo.]