The Third Thursday ArtHop on April 15 offers another evening of adventure in the arts in Fresno’s Metropolitan Area. Preplanning an ArtHop route using the FAC ArtHop brochure will allow time to venture to new sites, sounds and tastes. Plus, the First Thursday ArtHop on May 6 in Downtown Fresno and the Tower District is only three weeks away!

Horizon Awards

Mark your calendars for the Horizon Awards on May 12 at 5:30 pm at Fresno City Hall. Cory Ballis, glass artist, is designing the awards this year. He can be seen at the Bob Kliss Studio performing glass blowing shows at the first Thursday ArtHops.

Horizon Honorees are:

• Artist: Agustin Lira & Patricia Wells-Solorzano
• Artist: Edna Garabedian, California Opera Association
• Business: Jackie Doumanian, CSUFresno, Summer Arts
• Citizen: Catherine Rehart
• Educator: Dr. Corrinne Hales
• Special: Stephanie Pearl, Downtown Community Arts Collective (dcac)
• Youth: Anne Rempel, Edison High School

Grant Writing Workshops

The Fresno Arts Council, FCASH and the Fresno County Library are sponsoring the upcoming grant writing workshop presented by the Foundation Center and the James Irvine Foundation at the Fresno Art Museum on May 20 from 1-5 pm. Grant writing books will be distributed at no cost to registered attendees. To register: www.foundationcenter.org and find the link to event in Fresno. Refreshments will be provided.

Fresno Arts Council Sponsored Events

The arts and cultural organizations that were awarded the FAC 2009-2010 Community Enrichment Program (CEP) grants are providing quality performances, exhibits and events. Some organizations used their grant for capital development projects that improved their infrastructure and ability to better-serve the community. Watch for the FAC logo on all arts promotional materials to see what it supports with these funds. The 2010-2011 CEP grant application will be available next month. Please go to the Fresno Arts Council 2010 CEP Grant web page to be added to the e-mail list to receive information on the CEP grant.

Warning: Too much fun ahead! Some of the April Events

Films for Everyone! Fri-Sun., April 16-18; various times
Fresno Filmworks: 2010 Fresno Film Festival, Tower Theater; www.fresnofilmworks.org

Did you know that Fresno has a network of fashion designers? Did you know that the Visual and Performing Arts Standards in the California schools include fashion and interior design? The following are two upcoming artistic fashion events that you shouldn’t miss.

Literature exhibited through fashion. Saturday, April 17 at 6 pm
Adam Eddie Albrecht “Dreamt of Poe” fashion show.
Albrecht Farms, 12400 Adams Avenue, Del Rey.
This unique event features Edgar Allen Poe’s dreams of outer space. Call Cindy Dunn at 816-726 or Adam at 300-0000 to reserve tickets. Promoted by the Fashion Design Incubator.

Wanting more fashion and pizzazz? Thursday, April 22 at 6 p.m.
Attend Falina Marihart’s Fashion Style Lounge at the Tower Theater.

Youth and Arts Education

Arne Duncan, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, recently released his remarks from the Arts Education Partnership (AEP) National Forum, entitled “The Well Rounded Curriculum.” He acknowledges that high-quality arts and humanities instruction are almost uniquely suited to stimulate imagination, creativity, and the ability to find adaptive solutions. Creativity, as Sandra Ruppoert, AEP’s Director notes, is a “precursor to innovation and the cornerstone of entrepreneurship.” Knowledge without imagination is not good enough for students in today’s fluid job market. “Imagination is more important than knowledge because knowledge is limited whereas imagination embraces the entire world.” As the First Lady sums it up, she and the president both believe “strongly that arts education is essential for building innovative thinkers who will be our nation’s leaders for tomorrow.”

Arts in Education Model

Susan Hansen, FAC board member and Art Education Project Manager, AEMDD, Fresno Unified School District, has provided the results of the outcomes from the National Arts in Education funded Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination grantees. The study evaluated the comparison of students enrolled in Arts Education to those who are not, and their ability to reach established academic goals in Mathematics and Language Arts/Reading. The study confirmed that 12% of the students also enrolled in Arts Education exceeded the Mathematics goals, while 54% exceeded the Language Arts/Reading goals.

Current Youth Art

The Muralistics, Edison High School art students, recently unveiled their newest mural at Edison High School featuring the “bright” ideas and talents of the award winning schools students. Appreciation goes to Brian Wall, Principal, for supporting the mural project. Accolades to Ellie Honordoost and Samantha Canales for continuing the Muralistics project from Fresno High to Edison High School. The ladies that rock!

Go Green Contest

On Friday, April 16 we will be judging the Go Green Contest sponsored by Fresno County Supervisor Henry Perea and the Fresno Arts Council to promote recycling and Earth Day. Three winners will be selected from the 200 artwork entries by K-12 students from throughout the County with awards of $500, $1,000 and $1,500. This shows that there is money in recycling!