AG #6 Calls for Submissions by Individual Artists or Creatives

Art Gumbo is now accepting applications from individual artists or creatives. Applications for Art Gumbo mini grants for the Winter funding cycle are available now through Thursday, December 22, 2011. 7 eligible applications received by 11:59 p.m. on December 22 will qualify to compete for funding.

The next Art Gumbo Dinner is scheduled for Thursday, December 29, 6-8 p.m., location TBA, featuring soup & bread by Trusted Earth Farm & Forage CSA & Catering.

ELIGIBILTY: Individual artists or creatives whose innovative idea will impact the Dubuque community.

HOW IT WORKS: Individual artists or creatives submit a brief proposal of their project. Submitted projects will be combined into a packet. The public attends the Art Gumbo Soup Dinner, they pay $10 to get in, and this money goes into the Art Gumbo Fund for the night. The attendees enjoy the soup, review the packet of proposals, and vote for their favorite. The proposal with the most votes will be awarded the Art Gumbo Fund proceeds for that night. If the money collected exceeds $750, a runner-up will be awarded the remaining collected funds.

FINAL REPORT: The winner(s) will be invited to the next Art Gumbo Soup Dinner to present a progress (or final) report. Volunteer support is expected by the winner(s) at the subsequent event.

REVIEW the FAQs section of this blog before you apply. 
We've made some changes to the AG RULES. Read them here.

 

Putting the "Be" in Belief

Art Gumbo was awarded a $2500 Mediacom Arts & Culture Grant last week for the AG Bowls Project. With the help of our neighbor & partner, the Dubuque Rescue Mission, (DRM served as fiscal sponsor by sharing their 501 C 3) we wrote a grant & scored some dough, yo. The awards luncheon was hosted by Kathy McMullen of Mediacom & the Mediacom Arts & Culture Commission and was held in the River Room of The Grand River Center in the Port of Dubuque. 

Megan Starr (AG Co-Founder) & Rick Mihm (Director  of Dubuque Rescue Mission) with $2500 check from Mediacom.

With the funding AG will commission local potters to create bowls that will be sold at the quarterly soup dinners. Patrons will bring their bowls back to subsequent dinners to establish a "bring your own table service" program, move toward a zero-waste event, and eliminate the cost of renting or purchasing table service. All proceeds from sales of the bowls will be used to continue to commission more bowls and create an ongoing revenue stream for the AG project. Our goal is to make AG a more sustainable event by moving toward zero waste, provide economic opportunities for local artists and potters, promote local art, and sustain the AG project. 

Musical guest Feast of Mutton, Shawn Healey & Eric Balayti.

AG allows community members the unique opportunity to not only consume art but also help fund its creation. This reciprocal process gives artists access to potential funding and a captive audience and in return community members are empowered to directly fund a local artist and contribute as patrons. Art Gumbo is transforming the way our community accesses art. Art Gumbo empowers constituents to consider and promote the kinds of artistic production they would like to see enhance their city and strengthen their arts community.

The AG Bowl project will help ensure that this unique artist/patron relationship exists in Dubuque. The addition of handcrafted bowls at AG enhances both the Art Gumbo experience and its mission of supporting local art while instituting project ownership/membership and commitment to the AG funding initiative.

Paula Neuhaus & Megan Starr (AG Co-Founders) livin' the dream.

So, Darling GumbHeads...consider purchasing an AG Bowl at the March AG Soup Dinner & bring it with you to each event. We plan to host a farm-to-table 4-course dinner this Spring to unveil the bowls & do a little fundraising for the project. 

Thank YOU, Mediacom for believing in our efforts & our undying gratitude to Rick Mihm & Dubuque Rescue Mission for continuing to partner with AG. YOU have responded to our efforts, Dubuque & we are thrilled. Spread the word & share the belief.


FYI: Since our launch in September 2010, ART GUMBO has funded 6 proposals raising a total of $4,350 for Dubuque art projects. 


FYI: Mediacom awarded more than $33,000 in funding to 16 Dubuque Arts & Culture projects in 2011.

AG #5 A Dining Table Fit for a...[fill in the blank]

ART GUMBO #5 = B-Day #1 = Biggest dining table in the Tri-States! 

AG #5's big-assed table at Voices Gallery boasted yellow daisies, crayon bundles, butcher block paper, multi-colored bowls, baskets of whole wheat oatmeal bread, and seating for 90. We wished big and Gene Tully & Ali Levasseur of the Voices Team made our b-day wish come true: Big-Assed Table for 90! 

Big-Assed Dining Table

Popcorn Cake! Happy B-Day, AG!

82 patron votes and $850 sent two winning projects out the door with funding for their "what's next?" to impact the arts in Dubuque. This funding cycle was open to creative groups/arts orgs & 5 diverse projects competed for funding including The Medicine Band, Dubuque365, Julien International Film Festival, Hempstead HS Art Dept., and Ruix Zine. Perhaps the most all-arts-encompassing funding round yet, the proposals covered music, exhibition, film, a community-based art club, and a literary zine. 

Dean Wellman, The Medicine Band, "Blackhawk (Maka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak) A Rock Opera" 

Michael Coty, Julien International Film Festival, Screening of SIXTEEN FORTY-NINE

Ryan Werner, Ruix Zine: Sustaining Local Music, Art, & Literature

Mike Ironside, Dubuque365, Exhibition of Ashanti Collection, from the estate of Ruth & Russ Nash

Brad Manternach, Hempstead HS Afterschool Community-based Art Club & "The Pottery Super Bowl"

And the winners are... 
Runner Up, Julien International Film Festival was awarded $100 toward screening the documentary film SIXTEEN FORTY-NINE in Dubuque in 2011-2012 as part of their mission to bring great film to our City. 

AG #5 Runner Up Winner Michael Coty of JIFFD accepts $100 from AG Co-Founder Paula Neuhaus

 The patron's favorite  and winner of $750 was Brad Manternach of Hempstead HS with his proposal to launch an Afterschool Community-Based Art Club and "The Super Pottery Bowl" project.  Manternach plans to use the funds to begin an after-school art program that uses community-based art projects as a method of teaching high school students how art can promote social change. "Through the program students will be able to experience art beyond just process or a letter grade, but experience making art that builds community," Manternach said, "Our first project will be “The Super Pottery Bowl" which will require the students to develop a set of bowls, cups, and other pieces of dinnerware that focus on the issue of homelessness and poverty here in Dubuque." The AG funds will help purchase supplies for the Art Club's first project.

AG #5 Winner Brad Manternach accepts $750 in cash from AG June Winner, artist Katie Duffy

AG is never complete without a final report from the winner of the previous funding cycle. AG June Winner Artist Katie Duffy had the unique luxury of having her installation in the room with us for her gallery talk. (As an extra perk, Duff helped us create the popcorn b-day cake!)

"Pop Quiz" by Katie Duffy, exhibiting at Voices Gallery through October 7

Katie Duffy gives AG some props!

 

AG# 5 would not have been possible without dedicated patrons (aka: GumboHeads), Voices Gallery, Green Dubuque, Trusted Earth Farm & Forage, Dubuque Rescue Mission, Loras College Food Service, Inside Decor, Welu Printing, musical guests Bob Bucko JR & David Morrison, Katie Duffy, Fran & Ellen Henkels, Helynn Starr, Gene & Jane Tully, our Loras College Interns, and, of course, no one looks better than when Sindi Mueller of Luxe Photography is in the house!  

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread & Cherry Tomatoes by Trusted Earth Farm & Forage

 

What we learned? ALWAYS have crayons on the table.

                                                                                                                        
Mark your calendars for Thursday, December 29, 6-8 p.m. as ART GUMBO embraces winter with our new permanent venue (TBC). The evening will feature Soup & Bread by Trusted Earth Farm & Forage CSA and Catering, craft brews by the Dubuque Area Society of Brewers, glamorous photo ops by Luxe Photography, a special musical guest, an update by Sept winner Brad Manternach, and the next innovative individual artist's/creative's projects to rock Dubuque. Check it.
 
FYI: Since our launch in September 2010, ART GUMBO has funded 6 proposals raising a total of $4,350 for Dubuque art projects. 

AG #5 Trust the Harvest by Sowing the Seeds

Gumbo Patrons unite to reap the bounty of the harvest and to sow the seeds for growing creativity in our community. Join us to break bread, eat soup, and fund art!

Mark your calendars for Art Gumbo #5

Happy #1 Birthday to AG!

Check it: Thursday, September 29, 6-8 p.m.

Venue: Voices Warehouse Gallery, 10th & Jackson Streets in Dubuque

Yum: Potato Kale Soup and Greek Bean & Carrot Soup by Green Dubuque, Beer Bread by Trusted Earth Farm & Forage CSA & Catering

B-Day: Grandma Skoko Starr's famous popcorn cake

Special Guests: AG June Winner Katie Duffy will offer a gallery talk about her installation at Voices (you will be in the gallery that her work is exhibiting in!)

Musical Guest: Bob Bucko JR & David Morrison

On TAP: Potosi Brewing Company's "Good Old Potosi" lager

Proposals by: The Medicine Band, Dubuque365, Julien International Film Festival, Hempstead HS Art Dept., and Ruix Zine.

Your hosts: Paula Neuhaus & Megan Starr 

YOU: Grab your tenners & your homies & git yer art on!

TWEAK: to make tiny adjustments in or to; fine-tune

B-Day:

Art Gumbo turns 1 this September. With this b-day, we have indulged in self-reflection, evaluation, and the need to tweak the AG project to employ the same sustainable tactics that it preaches. Fancy way of saying: "We changed some shit, so read up, yo:"

• You must be present to win.
• You must attend the dinner to vote.
• All votes will be cast AFTER all presentations. No early voting allowed.
• Application Narrative has been reduced to 500 words (approx. 1 page).
• Applicants will offer an enhanced verbal pitch of their proposal at the dinner.
• *Applicants will pay a small fee to submit their application: sliding scale of $5-$20. 
• If the proceeds from the door exceed $750, a Runner Up will be awarded the remaining funds.

*Application fee goes toward sustaining the AG project: printing copies, posters, handbills, etc. 
Upcoming in 2011-12:
AG is seeking funding to commission potters to create AG Soup Bowls that will be sold at the Soup Dinners. Patrons are encouraged to purchase a bowl & bring it with you every time you attend AG.This "bring-your-own-place-setting" concept reduces waste, volunteer time, employs local potters, and creates a revenue source for AG. 

Happy B-Day to us!


FYI: Since our launch in September 2010, ART GUMBO has funded 4 proposals raising a total of $3,500 for Dubuque art projects.    

AG Dubuque included in PHONEBOOK 3 Publication

Art Gumbo Dubuque has been included in the upcoming publication PHONEBOOK 3, a directory of independent art spaces, programming, and projects throughout the United States and a collection of essays written by the people who run them. PHONEBOOK 3 includes artist-run spaces, public programming, unconventional residencies, alternative schools, and community resources; all of the projects that form and support art ecologies across the nation, as well as historical documents marking their past.

PHONEBOOK 3 is an essential guide for artists and arts administrators looking to connect with others in this ever-changing realm of independent artist-run culture, including everything from nonprofit and community institutions to flexible and self-organized art spaces. Art Gumbo Dubuque is included as a general listing, culled from hundreds of projects across the nation.   

Check out/purchase PHONEBOOK 3 here. As FEAST Brooklyn co-founder David Michael says, "Show some love."

Hells yeah. The hits keep comin'.

AG #4 A tutorial on atmospheric moisture including the properties of water, changes in physical state of water, latent heat, & humidty.

4 artist proposals, 99 patron votes, $1,010 dollars, 103 turkey brats, 83 degree weather, 3 homebrewers, 4 photographers, several cute babies, stifling humidity, a toward-zero waste event, and quote of the night by winning artist Katie Duffy; "Holy shit! Thanks, everyone!"

Winner Katie Duffy

Full of brats & beer, 99 patrons survived the heat to raise a toast to artist Katie Duffy who was awarded funding for her “Generation Y" project that combines three mediums: painting, sculptural installation, and film. “Generation Y" will be a part of Dubuque's acclaimed annual Voices From The Warehouse District exhibit in September.  Duffy claimed, as an emerging artist, one of the greatest challenges has been, "Borrowing equipment from other artists, which has seriously curbed my potential, particularly as a film maker. Art Gumbo funding will help me not only purchase the equipment needed for the Voices exhibit, it will assist me tremendously in my artistic growth far beyond Voices." Duffy, who is active in & inspired by, the local art scene says, "The issues that I will be tackling in “Generation Y" are ones that permeate our international society in ways that most of us may not even recognize. These issues will reshape the future and redefine what it is to be American."   The Voices exhibit opens on  September 10. voicesgallery.org

AG #4 was held at Eagle Point Park overlooking the Mississippi River with the EmCee stylings of local hero and sustainable neighborhood grocer Jeff Cremer. 4 artists competed for the summer funding cycle including Michele Chillook, Katie Duffy, Samantha Jones, and David Young. 

David Young

Michele Chillook

Samantha Jones

Katie Duffy

March AG winners, Connie Twining & Stormy Mochal of Outside The Lines Art Gallery presented updates on their upcoming Gumbo-funded project "The Great Draw" scheduled for September 2011. Stay informed by visiting otlag.com

AG# 4 would not have been possible without Jeff Cremer & all of the GumboHeads who donated food, sound equipment, home brew, coolers, composting bins, salad tongs (oh, so many tongs!), documentation (Sindi & Steve Mueller of Luxe Photography!), painted signs, carried ice, spread the word, and sweated on each other 'til the sun went down. (The homebrewers were still deep in it when we left).                                                                                                                                                                                                          Mark your calendars for Thursday, September 29, 6-8 p.m. as ART GUMBO celebrates its' first birthday. We return to Voices Warehouse Gallery and our hosts the Dubuque County Fine Arts Society. The evening will feature craft brews by Potosi Brewing Company, Farmers Market Soup by Green Dubuque, a killer birthday cake by a local sweet-treat-master (we have a list of faves), a special musical guest, and the next innovative art projects to rock Dubuque. Check it.     FYI: Since our launch in September 2010, ART GUMBO has funded 4 proposals raising a total of $3,500 for Dubuque art projects.