Dane Arts

Call for Art!!! We are excited to announce the 2025 Dane Arts Calendar & Poster Call for Art! Theme: Curious by Nature Deadline to apply: Friday, May 31st by 4 PM. Learn more and apply at danearts.com 2025 marks the 25th year of the Dane Arts Calendar, enjoyed by Dane County residents and loyal supporters nationally. The poster series was initiated in 1979 to bring quality artwork into public spaces throughout Dane County and continues to this day. Graphic design by Elle Roepsch

Purchase your Dane Arts Calendar here! www.danearts.com Calendar cover artwork by Jessica Gutierrez

Dane Arts is seeking workshop leaders to present at our 2025 Business of Art Conference IV- ARTISTS AT WORK: IN WELLNESS, IN EDUCATION www.dablmarket.com How do you use the arts as a tool in healthcare, wellness, or for self-care? What activities can you share to engage other artists within those arenas? How do healthcare professionals use the arts in their practice? How does an artist and/or educator use the arts for teaching both lifetime learners and students? What business workshop can you lead that helps working artists across disciplines MIND THEIR OWN BUSINESS? All presenters will earn a stipend. Or maybe your business wants to support the conference and be a part of the greater arts community? I am curious to hear how you can help artists help themselves and our community. The ROI is significant.

We are planning our fourth Dane Arts Business of Art Conference set for spring 2025. We want to focus on the arts in wellness and youth programming. I am interested to hear any planning ideas you might want to offer. We are partnering again with Arts & Literature Laboratory, StartingBlock Madison, and added the Hancock Center for Creative Therapies to our team.

Do employees give to employee giving programs in Dane County? Does your company match any dollars raised? What has been your experience if you give- is there any return to your investment?

This month, we highlight the May feature of the 2024 Dane Arts Calendar: GG, Orchids in Bloom, 2023, Gouache, 8” x 10” About the artist: Green Goodies (GG) is a rising portrait artist and content maker based in Madison, WI. While struggling to find relief from psychological trauma, GG turned to painting in 2021. She spent countless hours teaching herself to draw, paint, film, edit and produce high quality pieces. Her digital presence aims to inspire people to create and bring people closer together while sometimes being physically far apart through art and kindness. Visit https://lnkd.in/dF6Zy7nF to learn more about the calendar, the artists and the artwork featured in the 2024 calendar. You may also purchase the calendar online. Revenues from calendar sales help sustain programs of Dane Arts (Dane County Cultural Affairs), an agency within the Dane County government created in 1977 to encourage public participation in arts, culture, and local history activities countywide. Your calendar purchase also helps to support local artists. For more information, please visit danearts.com.

Tomorrow is going to be a huge day for Centro Hispano of Dane County!

There is no magic bullet for building and cultivating audiences for the arts in a way that also contributes to financial health. But it is possible to successfully engage both new and current audiences using a variety of strategies. Hear more from the author of a new report and some of the arts leaders who participated in Wallace’s Building Audiences for Sustainability initiative: https://bit.ly/3vL6YSz

This month, we highlight the April feature of the 2024 Dane Arts Calendar: Karen Nell McKean, Dairy Land, 2021, Oil on canvas About the Artist and the Artwork: Ever since I was a child, I have been captivated by the world's beauty and driven to recreate it through my oil paintings. My life's journey as an award-winning oil painter has been fueled by my innate passion for art, from my early days as a prodigy in Chicago to my current life in Oregon, Wisconsin. My attention to detail, use of color and commitment to authenticity are qualities that set my work apart. In my work, I am particularly drawn to mysterious and magical realist images that emerge from dreams and my imagination, but I also enjoy creating human and animal portraits, impressionistic landscapes, and even some photo-realistic depictions. As an equestrian, I take great pleasure in painting horses as well. Throughout my career, I have dedicated myself to honing my skills and technique as an oil painter. I was consistently enrolled in private art lessons during my early school years. One of my early works is on permanent display at the Boy Scout Hall of Fame in Pennsylvania. Another was a painting interpreting the story of 'The Blind Men and the Elephant’ which was commissioned as a gift to Paul Tillich, the famous theologian. Besides the private tutoring I received as a child, I studied art at @The Art Institute of Chicago, University of Illinois, and University of Wisconsin. In my adult life this dedication has led me to create artworks for various exhibitions, solo shows, private clients, and public spaces such as Epic Systems Software and Ovens of Brittany restaurant group (of which I was a founding member). One of my impressionistic landscapes has now been chosen to illustrate the 2024 month of April for the Dane Arts Calendar published in Madison, WI. I currently have 11 pieces on permanent display at Epic Systems Software. -Karen Nell McKean Visit https://lnkd.in/dF6Zy7nF to learn more about the calendar, the artists and the artwork featured in the 2024 calendar. You may also purchase the calendar online. Revenues from calendar sales help sustain programs of Dane Arts (Dane County Cultural Affairs), an agency within the Dane County government created in 1977 to encourage public participation in arts, culture, and local history activities countywide. Your calendar purchase also helps to support local artists. For more information, please visit danearts.com.

How are some of the nation's leading out-of-school (OST) programs measuring the impact of their work? This report from Child Trends shares common approaches and challenges to data collection and measurement based on feedback from 38 OST programs, offering recommendations for improvement: https://bit.ly/49pKPYq