Spring is Definitely on the Way!
Shorts and t-shirts one day and jackets and jeans the next? Spring is definitely on the way!
The weather isn’t the only thing changing around here. WiVLA’s spring schedule has lots of opportunities and deadlines and events to inspire you.
Ever since our sold-out Social Media workshop two years ago, you’ve been asking for more, so don’t miss our 2020 Creative Vision Social Media Workshop on Saturday, March 14th. To be bigger and better, we’re co-hosting with sister art organization ClayHouston. We’ll get you started, hands-on, that very day with the media platforms you’ll choose for your creative business. Register now using the link in this newsletter and you’ll soon be sharing your wonderful work with the world. Don’t sweat it-- You can do this!
Next, we are excited to welcome Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, former Houston poet laureate, to our Tuesday, March 17th member meeting. Deborah is a charismatic and evocative spoken word artist so if you’ve ever wanted to show off WiVLA to your sophisticated hip friends, this is the meeting to bring them.
If you’re participating in our Compassion collaboration exhibition this summer, you’ve got the deadline coming up on March 14th to turn in your visual and literary works for the show catalog. You will be reminded by email but prepare your submissions now! Contact visual@wivla.org with questions.
Finally, what’s hotter than getting $1000 for free? If you’ve been a WiVLA member for two calendar years, and haven’t won before, you can apply for a 2020 ECO Fund Grant! We award two $1000 grants each April by drawing one visual entry and one literary entry from all the submitted entries. The drawings will be at our Tuesday, April 21st meeting but the ECO Fund application can be downloaded now from wivla.org. This could be your year!
Warmed up yet? You may need a cool tee for Spring. Treat yourself to a bright blue WiVLA logo t-shirt. Contact visual@wivla.org to check size availability.
Lee Steiner, President
 
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Monthly Member Meeting with Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton
March 17th, Socialize from 5:45 pm - 6:00 pm.
Speaker will start at 6:30 pm
Archway Gallery, 2305 Dunlavy
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Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton is an internationally known poet, educator, activist, Poet Laureate Emeritus of Houston, Texas, and author of Newsworthy (Bloomsday Literary). Formerly ranked the #2 Best Female Poet in the World, she was the founder of the longest-running poetry slam venue in Houston, Texas (Houston VIP Slam). Her work has appeared in Houston Noir by Akashic Press (2019), Black Girl Magic by Haymarket Books (2019), Fjords Journal, Crab Orchard Review, and on such platforms as NPR, BBC, ABC, Blavity, Upworthy, and TedX.
A fellow with The Writer's Hotel and The Poetry Foundation's Poetry Incubator, D.E.E.P.’s collaborations with The Houston Ballet, The Houston Rockets, and the Houston Grand Opera have opened new doors for performance poetry. As a finalist for Texas State Poet Laureate, a Kennedy Center Citizen fellowship, and the prestigious Breadloaf Retreat, her work has been highlighted and studied in Canada, England, New Zealand, and Germany.
As the Executive Director of VIP Arts Houston, she seeks to build more bridges that amplify the voices of artists in and around the nation. Her love for community transcends the classroom and the stage making her a mentor to many and a notable force to be felt. To Learn more about D.E.E.P. please visit her website.
Join WiVLA on Tuesday, March 17th for Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton as she discusses truth, media, and the need for women's voices in the arts.
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WiVLA will be celebrating National Poetry Month with a member reading at the La Porte Community Library on Saturday, April 18th. If you are interested in reading please be sure to watch your inbox for an email on March 1st from signupgenius.com. For further information please contact Ellen Seaton, our literary chair, at literary@wivla.org.
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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 are available now. To complete an online form, click here.
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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ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Denise Bossarte will be leading a creative workshop exploring the teachings of Charles Filmore titled,12 Powers Pour Painting Class, at Unity of Houston on March 14th, 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm. The cost to attend is $30.00. For further information or to register please visit Unity of Houston's website.
- Denise Bossarte's latest title, Readings, is available for pre-order on Amazon. It is the third book of her series, Grace Bishop's Paranorm World. Readings will be available on March 12, 2020, in both Kindle and paperback format. To reserve your copy click here.
- Denise Bossarte's dark urban fantasy novel, GLAMOROUS, is a Finalist in The Wishing Shelf Independent Book Awards contest in the Adult Fiction Category! Winners will be announced on April 1st!
- Debbie Blumberg has shared two new articles that were published in February. In her first article written for ZocDoc's, The Paper Gown, she explores the necessity of knowing one's family medical history. There are some very good tips on how to go about collecting this information. To read the article, click here.
In her piece written for Folks, she explores how the use of Zines provides a necessary outlet and support network for transgender cancer patients as they navigate the healthcare industry. To read this article, click here.
- Amanda Wegner was selected to participate in the 2020 Artist Inc program offered through Fresh Arts. She has also launched her professional website. To learn more about Amanda click here.
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EVENTS
- March 5 & 6, 7:00 pm. Support our March presenter, Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, as she performs at the Houston Grand Opera in Marian's Song. For ticket information click here.
- March 11 12:00 pm - 7:00 pm. Have you visited Sawyer Yards during their Second Saturday events yet? Six 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), Maggie Baldwin (#316), Rona Lesser 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!
- March 15, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm. Houston Sisters in Crime will host nationally known poison expert Luci Zahray, also known as "The Poison Lady,". Zahray will discuss what makes a good poison when it comes to killing off your characters. She'll also bust some poison-related myths along the way. Houston Sisters in Crime meets on the 3rd Sunday of each month at Murder by the Book. For more information on this organization click here.
- March 21, 2:00 pm - 7:00 pm. Support our February presenters, Stacy & María-Elisa, of Zine Fest Houston as they orchestrate Uncle Bob's Photo Zine Market. For more information click here.
- Spectrum Writers Guild in conjunction with Max Regan of Hollowdeck Press will host several events over the weekend of March 20-22. For further information or to register for their events please contact Rosa Glenn-Reilly.
- March 20, 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm. Breaking Open the Book: Exploring the Novel Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Cost to attend $45: 2 registered together, $35 each.
- March 21, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm. LifeSourcing: How to Use Stories from Your Life to Create Essays, Memoirs, Novels, and Stories. Cost to attend $125 or 2 classes for $220.
- March 22, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm. Making a Scene in this workshop examine what elements make a great scene, including dialogue, movement, gesture, sound, weather, setting, and conflict. The cost to attend is $125 or 2 classes for $220.
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OPPORTUNITIES (Outside of WiVLA)
- March 1 Deadline (Houston, TX) Seismique (seis • mick) is looking for artists to submit proposals for unique design elements to fill out up to 40 different galaxies (areas) spread across 40,000 square feet of permanent art museum space on Houston’s west side. Twelve spots will be reserved for Houston based artists. For more information click here.
- March 15 Deadline. (Webster, TX) In observance and celebration of Earth Day’s 50th Anniversary on April 22nd, the Visual Arts Ministry at Webster Presbyterian Church is calling for works in ALL Media (including found materials). For further information please click here.
In future newsletters, this content will be moved to WiVLA's website.
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Next date: April 7th, 2020
The Arts Legal Line is back for 2020. Once a quarter TALA will be answering legal questions from around the State via phone.
Participants can call from anywhere in Texas between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. to get arts-related legal questions answered by a TALA volunteer attorney.
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WiVLA has different membership levels that you may want to consider if you have still not renewed for our 2020 season. To join click here.
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Sponsor membership $200 - In addition to the regular membership perks, Sponsors will be listed on a special page on the website and will be entitled to cite a link to their websites. WiVLA members will be encouraged to support "their" (our) sponsors.
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Lifetime membership $500 - One-time payment. In addition to the regular membership perks, annual dues will be waived for Lifetime members.
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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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