Center Stage, Head Theatre
700 North Calvert Street
7:00 p.m.
The 3rd Annual Mayor's Cultural Town Meeting
Building on Success / Building Community
The following announcements during this event:
Panelists Introductions, Presentations, and Speeches:
Moderator: Dr. Leslie King-Hammond, Dean of Graduate Studies, MICA
Presentors:
Gin Ferrara, Director, Wide Angle Community Media - Local and Regional Attention for the Youth. Very generous to them. Numerous films and TV series. Baltimore is International City for better or for worse. What happens in our own backyards are often only heard in our own backyards. Main mission is to work with community groups to tell and hear their own stories. Teach media literacy production, partnerships with Creative Alliance and relationships Enoch Pratt Library. Works have gone to national film festivals and one of their students have received a scholarships to college at Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Future hopes are more media distribution and to expand across the city. Hope that there will be a Public Access Channel that will be showing programs in an ongoing way and that we can tell the programming schedule to tell others. Hope to make a bigger picture of Baltimore.
Donald Owens, Artistic Director, Arena Players - Future productions planned. Art is essential to life. Produce plays, have a huge youth theater, learn discipline, value life and air that they breathe. Many have gone on to higher levels and fields. Plays, original writings, Shakepeare, Boliere, to local guy around corner, with Studio 801 and adults, teaching acting, Directing, screen writing, stage managements, speaking, a meeting place for the community. Art involves the community. Improves the quality of life, thought process, evaluating, cultural exchange, teenagers to Rotterdam. There is struggles to survive.
Cheryl Goodman, Founder/Director, Dance Baltimore, Inc.- New organization. There was no dance audience, had no sustained Ballet Company for a long time. Created to identify this audience. Everybody dances in some way or time. Thirty five dance professional companies and individuals met to indentify areas of opportunities, performances, media development, audiences and to know one another. Hippodrome Foundation gave the Morris Mechanic and Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance able to provide administrative management. Can help schools and individuals. Dance Baltimore 2005 will be held at the Hippodrome Theater.
Deborah Bedwell, Executive Director, Baltimore Clayworks - Late 70s were passionate in clay and its potentials. Renovated Mt. Washington Libary and the St. Paul Cos. gave a building. Serve two communities of artists and the City in which it happens. Recruit from all over the world and the United States to enrich cultural community. Provide facilities and new building in 2005. At Mondawmin Mall there is a Clayworks satellite location to work and teach, to reach a community based access. Tour de Clay largest visual arts event in the country in Baltimore, after request National Council of the Education for the Ceramic Arts Conference will be held in Baltimore, five days in mid March of 2005, 5,000 attendees. There will be expansion 2005.
Tom Hall, Music Director, Baltimore Choral Arts Society - Contribute through inspiration, help teaches educate students force in their lives, collaborate with schools, artists, and organizations programs. Holiday sing performance at the Hippodrome, Morgan State University Choir dedicated to Dr. Nathan Carter. 10 worshops for students. 20 to community groups. Group singing great way to generate social capital. Approaching 40th Anniversary.
Mayor Martin O'Malley Comments:
- Important topic and great cause. Really making a difference. Moving and changing the image of Baltimore everyday.
- Greatest assets are are in the arts, people and culture. Humbled by your talents and creativity.
- Constant threats in our young peoples lives, violence in neighborhoods, nuisance fires in schools. Rely on arts and culture to bring up the best things.
- Trying to be a better partner to the arts, by listening.
- Bond Issue H, won, 1.875 million targeting Station North and Highlandtown, Patterson Theater.
- The Bromo Seltzer Building will begin renovation for 15 artistic space housing, gallery, retail space in Fall, 2005. A second stairway will be built.
- Get more grant dollars that can go a long ways.
- 30 S. Calvert St. Studio space by cooperative, Downtown Partnership, BDC, Planning Department. Model for other city owned stable creative space.
- Artscape 2005 will be without light rail operation due to double track construction. There will be pressure on MTA to make travel better.
- Street performance ordinance has been passed by City Council.
- Hired mural program coodinator and to expand program with 10 murals.
- Hired 127 art teachers in school, after, and summer arts programs, with workshops.
- The War Memorial Plaza open area will be changed to grass so that people can sit during events.
- Mentioned inferiority complex. Designated by Forbes Magazine as the "Bohemian Bargain", "has it's groove back".
- Need to expand our boundaries such as University of Maryland.
- Have opportunity to thrive, in light of Federal administration with cuts in funding.
Questions from audience and Answers from the Mayor and Support Representatives
Audience Questions were asked:
Q. How to increase cultural arts on the medias, further Public Access Ch. 5?
A. Metro publication will soon be available, will showcase good news. Learn about the good things, through internet, newsletters. News and media will follow eventually.
Q. Plans to bring back garment industry, fashion shows?
A. Mentioned Baltimore Sun article about Mt. Vernon fashion show, Travis Winkie with Caribbean entourage. Need fashion district. Artscape will be adding fashions.
Q. Recognize Coppin State University. Regarding nuisance fires, need technical assistance, better lighting and sound equipment that many schools don't have to budget cutbacks.
A. Met with Student Council representatives, Walbrook did not have enough art supplies for rally, play the Wiz.
Q. Community based art center. Where to start out?
A. Go to Office for Promotion and Arts. Call City Office of Neighborhoods, Izzy Potoca 410-396-3835.
Q. Great job with Jewish American Festival. Maryland School for the Arts, why not more African American are not involved there. About new Baltimore Arena?
A. Not sure of racial breakdown. Not enough news coverage. Looked like diversity of kids. At opening looked like African American kids. Baltimore Arena is old, looking at making and planning, Greater Baltimore Committee interested. Will not be negative, looking into new arena. Would like it at same place now downtown. Would mean to close it for a year or more. Ramshead will open live events at Power Plant Live! in 2005, to hold 800 people, had only Bohager's tent.
Q. What is status of Morris Mechanic Theatre?
A. Mrs. Mechanic and realestate representatives, with Frances Merrick Foundation, are continuing to consider uses of Morris Mechanic Theatre. There is thoughts that use will be for community use. City officials will also have meeting with them.
Q. What about providing further transportation links from Metro redline, and from airports, etc.
A. Planners will take a look at extending the DC Metro line to BWI Airport, so then a link to light rail, to travel to downtown city events.
Q. Mike Shea, Baltimore Grassroots Media and Baltimore Public Access TV Volunteer, asked why does Baltimore continue to back the present Comcast Cable Franchise Agreement as written, when other cities have received a better terms than Baltimore. 4 Public Access channels lost equals $750,000 revenue per year.
A. There will be changes to agreement concerning minority hiring contracts. Not aware of the Washington DC arrangement. Will tell Comcast that they are treating Baltimore "shabbily". There are decisions in where funding can be found.
[Comcast Cable Franchise Agreement for 12 years will not be ratified as originally written, per mayor and legal department, due to minority contract issues, pending Board of Estimates meeting 11/10/04 and City Council decision pending]
Q. What about extending bar, clubs and restaurant hours like in Washington D.C.?
A. There is consideration in extending late night life hours similar to Washington, D.C.
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