Maryland Arts Day 2011

So today our Executive Director at Class Acts Arts invited me to accompany her to Maryland Arts Day 2011. If you're on twitter, just do a search for #MAD2011.

The day was organized by Maryland Citizens for the Arts and attended by a variety of artists, arts administrators, and arts supporters.

My only previous experience with Arts Advocacy had been with the national arts advocacy day organized by Americans for the Arts. I technically served for a brief term on the Steering Committee of the DC Advocates for the Arts, but I don't count that for various reasons which I won't delve into now.

Suffice it to say, it was interesting to see arts advocacy working on a state level.  And while I am not a MD resident, the work I do with CAA serves the constituents of MD representatives, so my presence felt justified.

Arts Advocates with
Representative Lee, District 16

And it was great seeing the MD arts organization I'd been involved with or just recently come across represented in such force.

My long-time mentor, Michael Bobbitt (Artistic Director of Adventure Theatre) was there. Suzan Jenkins of the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County was present. She had been my instructor for a class on Art, Community & Diversity, while in AU's Arts Management program.

And other individuals I've had somewhat more fleeting encounters with, but hope to talk with more in the future, were there. These individuals included Kelly Prestei with the American Alliance for Theatre & Education, whom I met during a training session for #MAD2011 recently, and Angella Foster who is Artistic Director of Alight Dance Theater, whom I performed with 2 1/2 years ago in a David Dorfman piece at UMD's Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. I had received my BA from the Dance program in '06, and she was working on her MFA. (actually, if you go to the BA link, I'm in the clip that's playing...).

Anyway, I digress. It was a pretty neat day.

- J Street Jr



And if you'd like to follow any of the organizations I mentioned above on Facebook or Twitter, here is a link to their respective pages:

Adventure Theatre - Facebook | Twitter
Alight Dance Theater - Facebook | Twitter
American Alliance for Theatre & Education - Facebook | Twitter
Americans for the Arts - Facebook | Twitter
Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County - Facebook | Twitter
DC Advocates for the Arts - Facebook
Maryland Citizens for the Arts - Facebook | Twitter