Re: (no subject)

Rose:

Here how it works in NYC, a town that has a wealth of community gardeners and working artists - in fact the two groups often overlap, which makes life interesting in terms of the sparks that fly from passionate individuals and the stunning things that happen when a trained eye meets the dirt, when actors, dancers, musicians and visual artists grow veggies and flowers.

Not to out our many performers at the Clinton Community Garden, but we have three composers, a plethora of actors, including a lady who appears in both cabaret and television, a few writers, photographers, painters, dancers, etc.  Our garden is lousy with sketchers and watercolorists and acoustical guitarists. But that's NYC for you. 

However, what's key to making art happen for you in your garden is:

1) A decent space or lawn that can be used for dance concerts, poetry recitals, a brass quintet, readings of plays, etc.

2) A means to approve these events and make sure that gardening can take place. Please feel free to go to the CCG website, and look at our events application to see how we manage usage of our public spaces -  Clinton Community Garden

3) What you offer as a garden is a performing arts venue, a place to sketch, perform, etc.  Your job is not to get funding for the artists - the garden is providing the "room" as it were.  Be open and available for reasonable ideas, but the artists have to fund themselves.  Your contribution is a lovely garden for them to showcase their work - A college near you may want a venue for arts students to show and perform - say that you're auditioning people for your "Arts in the Garden" series.  Trust me people will show and arrange press coverage for them. Outside of garbage bags and staffing of volunteers, arts events shouldn't cost you a dime.

4) Live within your means - do pot lucks, fundraisers and approach both greening funders, local politicians ( if all of your gardeners are not registered to vote - do it now) and arts groups for grants if you like. If you have a pretty garden that can hold bodies, maybe your local symphony or ballet company can do a garden party and quid pro quo a string quartet or pair to do some adagios.

Remember - go to garden people and clubs for gardening - go to arts funders for art stuff. And learn to write a grant.

Good luck!
Adam Honigman
Volunteer,
Clinton Community Garden



Subj: [cg] (no subject)
Date: 1/30/04 6:30:40 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: R*@aol.com
To: community_garden@mallorn.com
Sent from the Internet




Hi,
We're a small community garden group gardening on a county park in suburban Virginia. We're
organizing a
photography project that captures all the terrific and horrible things
that
community gardens are: Food, Culture, People, Nature, Harmony and
Discord, Colorado Potato Beetle larvae.

We are looking for funding opportunities from several angles and wanted
to
ask CGA if anyone knows of  grants that might support community garden arts
project
like this one. We are also working on native plant and tree inventories,

we're in a sensitive stream valley, and (as if that weren't enough)
we're
also planning native tree planting projects.


Thanks very much for any advice or insight you might have.

Best regards,


Rose Purple
571-594-7673


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