The 2008 Artsquest Annual Report
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e th of CELEthe 2008BR ArtsQuestAT AnnualIO ReportN the country to offer hot glass classes to students ages 12-14 through the afterschool B-Smart program for at-risk students from Bethlehem Area School District middle schools. The Banana Factory also continues to attract dynamic local artists as residents of the 28 studios in the building. The Banana Factory Council (our volunteer leaders) e decided to celebrate the 10th Anniversary in a unique way. Photography student Estizer Smith of Easton th of requested a grant to support development of a work about Lowndes County, Alabama, where her father worked as a civil rights worker in the 1960s. The council, along with an anonymous donor, provided support for two trips to Alabama and the printing CELEBRATION of the first few books for the project. This led to the publication of the book “Back to Lowndes County” and This past year was a watershed year for ArtsQuest. In plaza (also developed in the ’60s), the Sun Inn and several speaking engagements for Ms. Smith at Lehigh celebrating 25 years of Musikfest and 10 years of the its courtyard (developed in the 1970s), the Colonial Valley schools. She had the opportunity to explore Banana Factory we had the opportunity to look back Industrial Quarter (developed in the 1770s and restored racism and the impact of the civil rights movement with at where we have been, as well as the excitement of in the 1970s) and, of course, the jewel of Bethlehem, the students for whom this is ancient history. looking forward to where we are going on our journey colonial Moravian buildings on Church Street. Musikfest “to celebrate arts and culture in the Lehigh Valley.” gave people the opportunity to explore this beautiful For the Christmas season, ArtsQuest continued its downtown in the context of a European-style festival efforts to collaborate with all of the organizations that ArtsQuest was founded in 1984, as the Bethlehem carrying food and beverage in the streets, dancing and operate holiday events to make access to these events Musikfest Association, with the purpose of developing interacting with street performers and really looking at even easier. In 2008 Historic Bethlehem Partnership a music festival that would build on Bethlehem’s the architecture as it supported musicians of all stripes. signed on to the new ArtsQuest box office system, musical heritage, expose people to the joy of diverse LehighValleyTix.org, and experienced great success in musical artists and their dynamic expressions, and The rest, as they say, is history: 25 years, more than the sales of its walking tours, bus tours and carriage invite residents and guests to see the beauty of a 20 million visitors, an annual economic impact of rides. The ChristmasCity.org website provided patrons community that has three centuries of architecture $37 million, generations of family memories and an access to more than 35 different events and activities. in one of Pennsylvania’s first historic districts. In 1984, economically viable downtown. downtowns all over Pennsylvania were struggling We thank our dedicated volunteers, our generous as they competed, unsuccessfully, with suburban While I have many memories of working hard to make sponsors and members, Bethlehem Mayor John malls. Broadcast music was controlled by a few record the festival a success, like most of our patrons, I also Callahan and his predecessors, the members of companies on a limited number of AM and FM stations, have many family memories of Musikfest. From my Bethlehem City Council, the talented visual and and Bethlehem Steel - the economic bastion of the son working in a Coke booth at the age of 6 to my performing artists, and all those who have helped us region - had gone through two successive layoffs that grandmother’s last visit to Festplatz at the age of 94, achieve our goal of providing access to the arts to the turned out to be only the beginning of the end of the Musikfest has been a family event for me as well. At its residents of the Lehigh Valley and our guests. We look company. heart, Musikfest is still a family celebration for all who forward to the next 25 years with great excitement as choose to enjoy it – and thanks to the amazing support we pursue the development of SteelStacks and the My personal term for Musikfest in 1984 was “Operation of the business community and our members, the event dynamic new arts and cultural programming that will Bootstrap,” as in the old saying “pulling yourself up by is perhaps the last major music festival in the country be made possible with this new cultural campus. your bootstraps.” It was pretty clear that if we did not with no admission fee. help ourselves, no one else was going to. The Banana Factory continues to be a place where It is a credit to the long-term leadership in Bethlehem creativity exudes from every corner. ArtsQuest that Musikfest had a great “stage” with the historic continues to offer access to visual arts through the district in downtown Bethlehem - the Victorian galleries at the Banana Factory, as well as visual arts streetscape (installed in the 1970s), the parklands courses of all varieties. This past year was the second full along the Monocacy Creek (developed in the late ’50s year of operation of GlassWorks, the region’s only hot from a junkyard), the parklands along the Lehigh Canal glass studio. In addition to hundreds of adult students, Jeff Parks (developed in the 1960s), City Hall and its expansive GlassWorks became one of a handful of glass studios in President 2 The Art of Celebration - The 2008 ArtsQuest Annual Report The Art of Celebration - The 2008 ArtsQuest Annual Report 3 “I was fortunate enough to play e the 2008 Bethlehem Musikfest in th of conjunction with an appearance at the Moravian Book Shop. We had a couple of hours each day MUSIK to wander the town and enjoy Musikfest Turns 25 other performers. Not only is the From its humble beginnings in 1984 as a small, grassroots festival featuring six stages and 118 festival fantastic, the bookstore performers, Musikfest has grown into one of the top music events in the nation, thanks to the support of the is one of the best in the country. community, hundreds of performers, dozens of local businesses and corporate partners and some 2,000 And, of course, WDIY Radio volunteers. rapidly became my favorite In 2008, Musikfest celebrated 25 years of family-friendly, an opportunity to enjoy acoustic music in an intimate quality musical entertainment by presenting a dynamic setting under the stars. Several new theme days also station. Thanks for letting lineup of more than 300 performers that included provided audiences with opportunities for in-depth Stone Temple Pilots, Lonestar & Diamond Rio, John exploration and enjoyment of music as diverse as surf me get to know you!” Fogerty, Boston, John Gorka, Citizen Cope, Christian rock, polkas, Irish music and funk. McBride and The Dixie Hummingbirds. A record 1.15 ~Janis Ian million visitors, 2,143 volunteers and 150 corporate and EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS – Hundreds of people business partners joined the celebration, helping to discovered the magic in music thanks to the “Art make the festival the most successful in the event’s 25- of Musik,” a free music education workshop series year run! at Moravian College. The series provided excellent opportunities to learn more about various styles, For ArtsQuest, Musikfest has always been much more instruments and song composition, offering insight into than simply presenting quality, free music for people the wonderful world of music. to enjoy. Our organization strives to provide enriching educational experiences featuring the amazing sounds SHARING ARTISTIC VISIONS – ArtsQuest has always created around the world. In 2008, the festival’s “Art supported unique artistic visions, providing platforms of Musik” theme invited audiences to explore the art for artists to share their creativity with the public. In behind the music through special workshops, theme 2008, Australian performing arts troupe Strange Fruit nights and new events and attractions: captivated audiences as it performed its mix of theater, dance and circus techniques, all while perched atop NEW EXPERIENCES – Lyrikplatz, Musikfest’s newest 10-foot poles. The performances were unlike any other stage, featured singer-songwriters from throughout the in the history of the festival, delighting young and old nation, including folk icon Janis Ian. The venue, located alike. in the historic district off Main Street, offered guests 4 The Art of Celebration - The 2008 ArtsQuest Annual Report The Art of Celebration - The 2008 ArtsQuest Annual Report 5 “Inspired teachers, creative e pupils and the energy and th of skills of the talented people who make the Banana CREATIVITY Factory work so well have given all of us at Bread and ArtsQuest’s Programming Roses continual inspiration.” ~ Esther Cohen Benefits the Community Founder of the national unseenamerica program At the core of ArtsQuest’s mission—celebrating arts and culture—is presenting quality arts programming that JEWELRY STUDIO – The Banana Factory opened its new enriches lives and engages the community. Each year, ArtsQuest reaches out through its festivals, special events, jewelry studio in fall of 2008, providing opportunities for activities and the classes at the Banana Factory to provide the best quality programming and art education. the public, B-smart students and artists to express their creativity by learning goldsmithing, wire wrapping and other In 2008, ArtsQuest provided concerts, gallery exhibitions classes and cultural experiences enjoyed by more than techniques for crafting beautiful jewelry. 1.2 million people. This included the more than 500 free performances at Musikfest, 17 gallery shows at the Banana Factory, dynamic after-school programs for area elementary and middle schools and reduced studio FIRST FRIDAY OPEN HOUSES – Through talking with rental frees for the Banana Factory’s 28 resident artists.