Art Associates Announces Juried Show

Art Associates of Lake Charles is proud to announce a call for artists for its 6^th annual Lydia & Joe Cash Juried Competition. The exhibit will hang in Art Associates Gallery at Central School October 5^th through October 25^th, 2012. The deadline for receipt of all entries, plus a $15 entry fee, is August 1^st. The theme of the exhibit is “Sweet Tooth,” and artists are encouraged to submit work that shows their interpretation of the theme. Artists may submit up to five pieces to be juried.

The exhibit’s juror will be Luz Maria Lopez who is a Honduran-born artist and a graduate of Southeastern University in Hammond. Lopez, whose work is collected and published internationally, was the recipient of the Louisiana Division of the Arts Artist Fellowship and is the author and illustrator of the 2011 book How the Gods Created the Finger People.

The first place winner will be awarded $200, and second place will receive $100. All works in traditional art media such as painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media, etc. are accepted, and the artwork must have been produced in the last five years and must not have been in a previous Art Associates juried exhibit.

The entry fee includes a year-long Art Associates membership. Art Associates of Lake Charles is dedicated to nurturing the public’s involvement in local art while providing opportunities for artists to exhibit work in the area. Guidelines and entry forms can be downloaded at www.artassociates.org. 

Catch A Concert Series Begins!

The Lake Charles Community Band is nearing the close of its 2011-2012 season with the Catch-A-Concert series every Monday in June at 7 p.m. Traditionally the concerts are held at the Civic Center Arcade Pavilion, however, due to construction in the pavilion area, this year’s series will be held on the shady front lawn of the Lake Charles Civic Center. The audience is encouraged to bring blankets or lawn chairs and a picnic dinner for a relaxing afternoon.

 This concert series leads up to the Red White Blue & You Patriotic Program during the Fourth of July Festival. In case of rain, the concerts will be held in the 2^nd floor Civic Center Mezzanine. 

The Lake Charles Community Band is supported by a partnership grant from the Arts and Humanities Council of Southwest Louisiana, the City of Lake Charles, the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury and the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors’ Bureau. For more information call 337-491-9159 or visit Facebook.com/LakeCharlesCommunityBand.

Vision/Verse to Open Saturday

Hecate by Heather Ryan Kelley

It's back! Vision/Verse returns for a fourth year to unite the literary and visual arts in a one-of-a-kind exhibition. Ten artists and ten poets are selected each fall, and what follows is a six month journey in examining the role and impact of inspiration on art.


Join us on Saturday, June 2nd, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. for the exhibit's opening reception at Art Associates Gallery at Central School. A reading of the poetry will be held in the Benjamin W. Mount Auditorium at Central School at 7 p.m. An after party will be held at the Porch Coffee House & Cafe at 8:30 p.m., and it will feature music by Paul Gonsoulin and Angie Manning who were inspired by pieces from the exhibit.

Tin Man by Karen Wink

Each artist chose one of the submitted poems as inspiration for a new piece of art; simultaneously, each poet chose one of the submitted pieces of art as the focus for a new poem. Each of the participants creates a new poem or piece of visual art for the exhibit, and at the end of the process, Yellow Flag Press creates broadsides of each poem, and the poetry and artwork are hung side by side at Art Associates Gallery.


Poets include Maya Beerbower, William Lusk Coppage, David Havird, Hillary Joubert, Clare L. Martin, Patrice Melnick, Stella Nesanovich, Philana Omorotionmwan, M. Rather, Jr., Kevin Thomason

Pollination by John Martel

Artists include Martin Castillo, Jessica Gayle, Heather Ryan Kelley, John Martel, Skyler Pham, Lee Richard, Valerie Smith, Blake Soto, Karen Wink, Sue Zimmermann

Art Associates Gallery is located at Central School Arts & Humanities Center at 809 Kirby Street in Lake Charles. For more information on Vision/Verse, call 337-304-1798.

Workshops at Gallery By the Lake

Gallery by the Lake and Associated Louisiana Artists are sponsoring Life, Figure, and Landscape Drawing with Gerry Wubben at the Creative Arts Center on Thursday evenings June 7 through July 12. Please contact the gallery at 337 436-1008 to sign up or for more information. Space is limited.

Lois Derise offers an oil painting class on Tuesday afternoons or evenings. Contact Lois at 337 477-0659 for more information.

Sue Zimmerman is offering a watercolor painting class on Tuesday mornings from 9:30-11:30. Please contact Sue at 337 478-3850 for more information.

You can also check out our website at Fine Arts America/Gallery by the Lake to keep up with all of our current activities.

Sunday Concert with Chester Daigle and Laura Dunn David

Tina Wing to Offer Summer Music and Voice Lessons

Tina Wing, located within Central School Arts & Humanities Center, will offer a series of music and voice classes this summer for a variety of ages. Tina has performed music for over 25 years, and she was self-taught before being classically trained and performing in award-winning choirs. She studied vocal education, jazz, and guitar at McNeese and has been teaching guitar since 1986.


Tina's summer music lessons include:


Fun with Music: June 4th - June 8th, 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m., for ages 5-8.


Future Pop Singers: June 4th - 7th, 3 p.m. - 4 p.m., for ages 9-13.


Hand Drum Classes: July 9th - July 12th, 3 p.m. - 4 p.m., for ages 8-12.


Students need not provide their own instruments for these classes. Call (337) 527-3509 or email songbirdish@aol.com for details. For more information on Tina Wing, visit www.tinawing.com.

Become a Member of LCA!

Your help is needed to ensure the arts have a future in Louisiana. Louisiana Citizens for the Arts is a statewide nonprofit organization devoted to acting as the voice for the arts in Baton Rouge, and it is comprised of each region's arts council and arts leaders.

The majority of LCA's activities revolve around advocacy which include attending Arts Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C., tracking the State's cultural agenda, promoting arts education, advocating for increased arts funding, and maintaining strong relationships with legislative floor leaders. Their work is essential in giving the arts a presence during legislative sessions, and the membership fees they receive cover the cost of our arts lobbyist, Kevin Hayes, who works one-on-one with senators and representatives.

Last year, Kevin was able to secure an additional $500,000 for our Decentralized Arts Funding grant program at the 11th hour. We must do our part to make sure we have enough money to keep Kevin, and you can help us achieve this by renewing or becoming a member of LCA today for as little as $25.

Each dollar counts, and without a strong lobbyist, it will be easy for the arts to lose their voice in Baton Rouge. Visit www.louisianacitizensforthearts.org to join today!