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President's Message -- Leap Into February with WiVLA
We’ve all been so busy kicking off 2020 that we may not have noticed something special happening in February: Leap Year Day! A Leap Day, February 29, is added to the calendar year every four years to align it with the solar year. This extra day makes the year 366 days long – not 365 days. Who doesn’t love having an extra day?
Here at WiVLA Central, we are abuzz with activity. So many fresh opportunities for our members to take advantage of. Keep your eyes on our website, your email, and this newsletter so you don’t miss a thing. In case you are wondering what to do with February’s extra 24 hours, might I suggest that you renew your WiVLA membership online.
Membership has its privileges! As a member, you can grab a partner and sign up for our “Compassion” collaboration at the Holocaust Museum. As a member, you can apply for an ECO Fund Grant and get a $1000 windfall. As a member, you can share a poem at one of our April Poetry Month Readings. As a member, you can save $15 when you register for our 2020 Social Media Workshop to boost your creative business. Y’all know me, I could go on and on about all the benefits of being a WiVLA member. Longer than it takes you to jump on the website and join us.
I bet even if you take all my suggestions for making the most of WiVLA, you’ll still have an extra day in February to sit back and savor your new-found creative connections.
See you on Tuesday, February 18th!
Lee Steiner, President
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Monthly Member Meeting with Zine Fest Houston
February 18th, 5:45 pm
Archway Gallery, 2305 Dunlavy
María-Elisa Heg and Anastasia Kirages will give a presentation on Zine Fest Houston, the region's oldest DIY self-publishing festival and the history of Zines. Zines, short for "magazines," are tracts created and distributed by individual creators. Unlike commercial magazines, zine-making does not rely on publishers to reach audiences, and there is no limit on content or length. From Martin Luther's 1517 Ninety-Five Theses to Dada art zines of the early 20th century, to the fanzines popularized by sci-fi writers in the 1950s, zines have been a part of our shared culture for hundreds of years. Today, zines enjoy ongoing popularity as new generations discover and embrace zines in their artistic practice. They remain a powerful tool to spread ideas and elevate the voices of marginalized communities. They will also make available to our audience zines produced by their organization and from their collections.
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ClayHouston and WiVLA are pleased to present our workshop, 2020 CREATIVE VISION: Social Media for your Creative Business. Join us from 8:30 am – 2:30 pm on March 14, 2020, at the Mendenhall Community Center, 1414 Wirt Road, Houston, Texas 77055. Our five social media experts will present on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and MailChimp and then lead two afternoon break-out sessions for hands-on learning and Q&A. Learn the ins and outs of these social media platforms and how they can benefit your creative business and art practice. We hope you’ll join us! Register at www.clayhouston.org or www.wivla.org. WiVLA or CH member price: $85, Non-member price: $100.
Registration will be available on our website, Feb. 2. |
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This could be your year!
Each year, WiVLA awards $1,000 grants, to one writer and one artist. These grants afford our members professional and educational development opportunities. At last year’s April meeting, we drew names for four WiVLA members to receive the ECO fund grants to commemorate our 25th anniversary. You’ll hear what they’ve done with their $1000 windfalls at the April 21st meeting. This year, we will return to awarding two ECO Fund Grants.
To be eligible for this unique opportunity:
- You are a member in good standing for the past 2 calendar years (2018 & 2019).
To verify your eligibility please contact our membership co-chairs at membership@wivla.org.
- Paid your 2020 membership dues before April 10, 2020. Do you need to renew? If so click here.
- You have never received an ECO Grant. If you are a prior recipient, you are not eligible.
- Your completed application must be sent electronically by Friday, April 10th or postmarked by Wednesday, April 8th.
For further details about the ECO Fund Grant opportunity please see the WiVLA website. Application forms will be available starting February 7th.
Since the beginning of the ECO Fund Grant awards, WiVLA has given $42,000 to our members. Perhaps this really could be your year!
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Each year WiVLA creates an exhibition opportunity for its literary and visual members to collaborate in a themed exhibition. This year we are excited to announce the opportunity to show at Holocaust Museum Houston. The theme for this show is "Compassion".
There are still spots available for this collaboration. To sign up for this show (both partners must sign up on the same form), click here.
All materials must be completed by March 14th for inclusion in the exhibition anthology.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Debbie Blumberg has had her first op-ed published in the Houston Chronicle. To read her piece, click here.
- Debbie Blumberg will be teaching a Freelance Writing Workshop with Inprint Houston on May 16-17 from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. For more information click here.
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EVENTS
- Feb 8, 12:00pm - 5:00pm. Have you visited Sawyer Yards during their Second Saturday events yet? Five of our WiVLA artists have studios there, and usually have their studio doors open every Second Saturday of the month. Go see Melody Locke (#132-upstairs), Rona Lessor and Josena Arquieta (both in #313) at the Silos, and Marie Casamayor-Harvey and Gretchen McDaniel (#19B-upstairs) at Winter St Studios. They'd love to see you there!
- Feb 13, 6:30pm. Archway Readers will be hosting an Anti-Valentines Reading at Archway Gallery: The good...the bad... the indifferent. For more information contact Donna Perkins or Archway Gallery.
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OPPORTUNITIES (Outside of WiVLA)
- Feb 15 Deadline. (San Antonio) Mega Corazon a hybrid live/online spoken word marathon held during National Poetry Month has an open call for poets. For more information visit their website.
- Feb 17 Deadline. (Austin) Ao5 Gallery is now accepting submissions for an upcoming group exhibition to be held this spring, during the 2020 WEST Austin Studio Tour! For more information visit their website.
- March 1 Deadline. Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts is accepting submissions. For more information visit their website.
In future newsletters, this content will be moved to WiVLA's website.
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Have you forgotten to renew your WiVLA membership? Renew now, so you can continue to have access to the WiVLA community. Visit our website to renew or join, WiVLA.
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There are a few T-shirts left to purchase from our ECO Grant Fundraiser. If you are interested in purchasing one please contact, Gretchen McDaniel at visual@wivla.org.
The following sizes are available: 2 - Small, 2 - Medium, 3 - XL, 2 - XXL, & 1 - XXXL. |
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Are you looking for other ways to help support WiVLA? Designate WiVLA as the charitable organization you support when shopping at Amazon Smile. For more information on how to do this please visit Amazon Smile.
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Do you have an item to be included in an upcoming newsletter? Please send pertinent information (Name, Event Title, Brief Description, Date, Time, Address, etc.) to newsletter@wivla.org . All submissions must be received no later than the 20th of each month to be included in the following month's newsletter. |
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