Dear ArtSeed Friends,
Another big “hearty” THANK YOU! and Happy Valentine’s Day!
Looking back on ArtSeed’s year just finished, we are more than grateful for our unqualified successes, not to mention the happy prospects for our lively future. This past summer’s fine arts intensive, field trips, and exhibition were largely made possible by a grant from the Walter & Elise Haas Fund. In addition, we have delightedly expanded our services from three to six schools!
Allie Light, Oscar and Emmy Award winning documentary filmmaker , invited ArtSeed’s Youth Council to her home in December. As these photos show, it was a pretty amazing experience!
And, great news, we reached our fundraising goals for 2014 while keeping our total expenses low. Hundreds of generous donors helped make 2014 our most successful year since our founding.
This is an exciting time for our children, teachers, and parents, and we have gotten off to a busy start. Here are just a few details: In January, ArtSeed’s Youth Council kicked off 2015 by initiating a field trip (view link for photos) to see Ai Weiwei’s exhibit @Large on Alcatraz Island. What a trip!
Jan Van Buyten, ArtSeed’s current Cottage Artist-in-Residence is leading animation projects in ArtSeed’s school workshops and we are excited to welcome classical guitarist Craig Perry as our new Program Coordinator! Following a recent San Francisco Symphony concert (see photo below) Craig, Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas, and composer Charles Boone examined a score together of a piece that had been performed that evening. To read and hear more about Craig and his work, you can visit his website at www.craigperryguitar.com.
ArtSeed’s Studio Practice Cottage Artist-in-Residence Program provides an affordable living space for an artist or educator to be centrally involved in directing educational projects for children in the schools we serve while honing skills and broadening horizons for us all. This unique, live-in Residency Program makes it possible to attract distinguished professionals as key staff and reaching out to families they would not otherwise encounter. Former Cottage Artist-In-Resident Shiri Mordechay detailed some of her experience in a letter of thanks to ArtSeed that can be read below. Meet the resident artist and see how you can help Jan make a difference in the life of a child with art almost any Sunday during our Open Studio at the Cottage on 654 28th Street (between Diamond and Douglass) from noon – 6 P.M. For details call Josefa Vaughan at 415-656-9849 or go to www.artseed.org.
We are happy to announce renewed support from the California Arts Council Artists in Schools Program, and the Sam Mazza Foundation! Also, for the first time, we have won an in-kind grant of pro-bono consultations from the Northern California Community Loan Fund Nonprofit Displacement Program that will help us develop long-range plans to serve even more children. These awards to expand ArtSeed services would not come our way without the credibility that comes from ArtSeed’s broad base of community support made up of generous individuals like you. We simply cannot say THANK YOU enough!
With Heartfelt Gratitude,
Josefa Vaughan, Founding Artistic and Executive Director, ArtSeed
A message to you from Shiri Mordechay,
ArtSeed Cottage Artist-in-Residence, February-October 2014:
“Dear ArtSeed Community,
I don’t know how to begin to thank you for choosing me to be a Cottage Artist-in-Residence for eight months in 2014. Gifting me and welcoming me to your program, ArtSeed has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. It allowed me to work on my pop-out book and have a successful show with my gallery. None of this would have been possible (especially those late nights at the gallery) without being a part of ArtSeed’s Cottage Residency Program.
It was a pleasure to be introduced to the cottage neighbors. Feeling apart of such a special community of caring individuals was wonderful. On many occasion the neighbors came to help with the garden, help resolve Internet issues, or just say hello and introduce themselves.
Thank you to volunteers who helped with the pop-out book project and assisted me in installing the work for my final opening at Alter Space. Thank you all for coming to all my art openings and for always including me in your events. I’d like to also to thank the Sunday drop-in guests. You were very sweet and it was a pleasure to make art at the cottage together, exchanging ideas about art and life. It was great to meet your family and friends. Also, it was wonderful connecting with all those who supported my project, and documented my work. I want thank all the kids for sending me their charming thank you letters – it really made my day!
ArtSeed is a family. Its values are clear from both its mission and its anti-capitalistic emphasis on sharing and volunteering. The vision permeates the organization.
I will cherish this experience forever in my heart and will for sure keep in touch. I am confident that we can collaborate on art projects in the future. I feel sad that I’m going to be away, but I also know I will always look back at my time with ArtSeed fondly. Thank you!”
If you missed ArtSeed’s outgoing Cottage Resident Artist Shiri Mordechay’s Alter Space exhibition, check out these photos by Trey Houston.
To volunteer, make a tax deductible contribution, or find out more about ArtSeed’s upcoming Art-a-thon, Fine Arts Summer Intensive, or Schools Program, please click their links provided or visit: www.artseed.org