Paige Sharp joins Tippecanoe Arts Federation

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Tippecanoe Arts Federation announces that Paige Sharp will take the reins of Regional Services Director beginning Friday, November 21.

Sharp is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and writing and has been involved in not-for-profit work since age 9. Her experience working for both the Art Museum of Greater Lafayette and the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, among others, over the last twenty years has enhanced her skills in grants writing, development, marketing and design.

“Paige Sharp brings with her not only experience, but leadership qualities and a genuine passion for the arts,” said TAF Executive Director, Tetia Lee. “Her enthusiasm and energetic spirit echo the direction of the organization.”

As Regional Services Director, Sharp will be charged with the administration of grant funds from both the private and public sector. In addition, she will work directly with county representatives to increase the arts throughout the region.

Call-out for inventive “Tippecanus Rex” project

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — An information session and rally for participation is being planned to spur the creative imaginations of area residents.

At 6 p.m. Oct. 16, an informational call-out meeting for the “Tippecanus Rex” project will be held at the Tippecanoe Arts Federation, 638 North St., Lafayette. The project will highlight visual, performing, musical and literary art that addresses invented natural history of the Tippecanoe County region, through imaginative interpretation and fantastic fabrication.

All interested artists, writers and performers, as well as all arts and culture organizations in the Region 4 Arts Partnership, are invited to attend, hear about the project, and brainstorm ideas for participation and collaboration.

“Tippecanus Rex” will be presented from April 1 through May 10 at the Tippecanoe Arts Federation. In conjunction with its “Urban Legends and Rural Myths” exhibition, Purdue Galleries is partnering with the Tippecanoe Arts Federation to present this community-wide celebration of the “(un)natural” history of Tippecanoe County. Residents of all 14 counties in the Indiana Region 4 Arts Partnership served by TAF will be invited to submit entries to the project.

For more information, contact Craig Martin from Purdue Galleries at cdmartin@purdue.edu or (765) 496-7899; or contact Abigail Props from the Tippecanoe Arts Federation at taf@tippecanoearts.org or (765) 423-2787. All Purdue Galleries and TAF exhibitions and events are free and open to the public.

Public forum on Oct 2 continues arts-cultural assessment effort

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Tippecanoe Cultural Planning Steering Committee will seek input from the community in a public forum at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, as an important next step for assessing the contributions as well as short- and long-term needs for Lafayette-West Lafayette’s arts and cultural community.

Marc Goldring, associate principal of Massachusetts consulting firm WolfBrown, will moderate the forum, which will take place at the Tippecanoe Arts Federation building, 638 North St., in downtown Lafayette. Leading members of the Cultural Planning Steering Committee, which is working with broad-based support from TAF and local arts and cultural groups, also will be on hand.

The format will be similar to the initial public forum held June 26 to a full house at TAF’s offices.

“This second public forum is the next important step for this discussion about the arts and local culture with the entire Lafayette-West Lafayette community,” Goldring said. “The discussion from the first session was lively and instructive. And we invite more from throughout the community to come forward to help us continue setting short- and long-term priorities for the types of events, types of facilities, and types of education and outreach programs we would place on a wish-list for the arts/cultural community.”

The Cultural Planning Steering Committee has met for several months with support from TAF, representatives of the arts and cultural organizations, the Lafayette-West Lafayette Development Corp., local government and other groups to chart what steps are needed to engage a consultant to help develop a plan to ensure local arts/cultural organizations are healthy, vibrant and sustainable for the future.

The committee is using $75,000 generated with support from the cities of Lafayette and West Lafayette, Tippecanoe County, arts and cultural organizations and the Community Foundation of Greater Lafayette to hire WolfBrown and launch the formal arts assessment process.

WolfBrown will lead, will conduct surveys, host communitywide meetings, examine funding options, and determine how the local arts venues, programs and events compare with communities similar in size to Lafayette-West Lafayette, said cultural planning committee co-chair Jim Bodenmiller.

“The arts play an important role in attracting knowledge-based businesses and industry to our community, and this assessment process through this second public forum, will help us determine our future community development,” Bodenmiller said.

Building on nearly 500 cultural events held in Lafayette-West Lafayette, the local arts community contributes more than $11 million each year to the economy, drawing visitors from throughout the region to performances and events as well as restaurants and retail outlets.

In addition, nearly 1,000 people are employed by the estimated 165 arts-related organizations and businesses in Lafayette-West Lafayette.

“Our local arts organizations are critical players in education, economic development and our quality of life,” said Sonya Margerum, co-chair of the committee and former mayor of West Lafayette. “But we need a model that’s sustainable for keeping our organizations and programs fresh and progressive.”
A total of 8,905 arts-related businesses were surveyed in Indiana last year and employed an estimated 53,924 Hoosiers, the Americans for the Arts reported. That represents an increase of 986 arts-related Indiana businesses from 2006 to 2007, and a growth of 4,650 full-time jobs during that same period.
With offices in Cambridge, Mass., San Francisco and Washington, D.C., WolfBrown has worked in the field of arts education and cultural planning for decades. Clients have included national service organizations, local coordinating agencies and individual arts education providers. Services include comprehensive research (including parent and student surveys), program design and the development of community wide systems for service provision involving scores of organizations and agencies.
A recent Money magazine ranking put Lafayette-West Lafayette as No. 2 small city in which to live in the Midwest in its annual listing of best places to live. Lafayette-West Lafayette scored highly on 37 “livability” factors such as clean water, good pubic schools and low property taxes. According to Money’s research, the area also excelled in categories such as low crime, the economy and quality of life.

The Tippecanoe Arts Federation, which was launched in 1976, is the nonprofit service and advocacy agency for more than 100 local member arts organizations.
Working from its offices in the Wells Center in downtown Lafayette, TAF also is the re-granting agency for state funds to a 14-county area (Region IV) through the Regional Partnership Initiative of the Indiana Arts Commission and regularly hosts, co-sponsors and participates in community events including its annual fundraiser, The Taste of Tippecanoe, a festival of food and fun for the arts held in downtown Lafayette.

Art on the Wabash rescheduled to Sept 21 because of expected rain

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Art on the Wabash: A Local Artists’ Fair has been re-scheduled because of expected weekend rain and will now be held on Sunday, September 21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at West Lafayette’s Tapawingo Park, along the Wabash River.

The public is invited; there is no admission charge. Free parking will be available in the Wabash Landing parking garage for those attending the fair.

About three dozen area artists will exhibit at the fair and sell paintings, pottery, sculpture, glass, wooden boxes, jewelry, photography and more, said Beverly Shaw, Art on the Wabash committee chair.

“This fair showcases the incredible talents and unique expressions of creativity by local artists,” Shaw said. “It’s a day to meet the artists themselves, enjoy browsing their works and perhaps take something home.”

The fair is presented by the City of West Lafayette, with technical assistance from Tippecanoe Arts Federation and sponsorship funding from KitchenArt, The Store for Cooks.

Tippecanoe Arts Federation awards grants, honors recipients at Bravo Breakfast

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Recipients of grants from the Tippecanoe Arts Federation and the Indiana Arts Commission will be recognized at this year’s Bravo Breakfast for the Arts. These grants are awarded annually through a competitive process administered by the Tippecanoe Arts Federation throughout the Region IV fourteen counties. Grants serve as an incentive for the strengthening and development of communities to plan and implement quality arts activities. The Tippecanoe Arts Federation is awarding $145,715 to 32 organizations in Region IV.

The Bravo Breakfast for the Arts will take place at 7:30 AM on October 7, 2008, at the University Plaza Hotel in West Lafayette. Along with the grant recipients, guests will include local and state legislators and officials from the Indiana Arts Commission, as well as representatives of local organizations and individuals involved in regional arts interests.

The recipients are from nine counties of the Region IV fourteen county region and include Book Readers and Horn Blowers, Cass County Arts Alliance, Civic Theatre of Greater Lafayette, Friends of Frankfort Public Library, IU Kokomo Art Gallery, Kokomo Park Band, Kokomo Symphonic Society, Lafayette Citizens’ Band, Lafayette Symphony Orchestra, Logansport Art Association, Prairie Arts Council, Art Museum of Greater Lafayette, Bach Chorale Singers, Indiana Fiddlers’ Gathering, Kokomo Community Concerts, Psi Iota Xi-Beta Alpha Chapter, Purdue University Galleries, Purdue University Jazz Festival, Purdue Theatre, All Saints Catholic Schools, Art League of Montgomery County, Battle Ground Elementary STPS, Carnegie Library/Crawfordsville Museum, Delphi Public Library, Flora-Monroe Township Public Library, Friends of Bob Live Music Co-op, Psi Iota Xi-Iota Xi Chapter, Kokomo Civic Theatre, Lew Wallace Study Preservation Society, McCutcheon High School Geography Club, Montgomery County Cultural Foundation, and Tipton County Pork Festival.

Activities of the Tippecanoe Arts Federation are provided, in part, with support from the Indiana Arts Commission, a state agency, with funds from the Indiana General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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