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Behind the Scenes events will take
place on Jan. 11, Feb. 8 and April 5 at the North Greens Golf Course
in Atlanta. Beginning at 6:30 p.m. artists will speak about their
lives and careers, share stories about their experiences on a
national and international stage, give insights into the people they
have met, and talk about what it means to be an artist. A reception
with the artist will follow each event.
Behind the Scenes is sponsored by the
Atlanta National Bank and the city of Atlanta.
___
Heather Hitchens
This week the Behind the Scenes
program will feature special guest Heather Hitchens, executive
director of the American Theatre Wing and producer of the Tony
Awards.
Hitchens joins the series on Friday
at 6:30 p.m. at the North Greens Golf Course Community Room in
Atlanta. The event kicks off with a reception with the artist
followed by her presentation at 7 p.m.
Hitchens began her tenure at the
American Theatre Wing in July 2011. As the chief executive officer,
she is charged with maintaining its brand of excellence in the Tony
Awards as well as overseeing and shaping its other vital
grant-making, professional development, educational and media
programs.
She came to the Wing after a
four-year term as executive director of the New York State Council
on the Arts, the largest state arts agency in the country. Prior to
her leadership there, she served as president of the renowned
national arts service organization Meet the Composer.
A percussionist since the age of 6
and a lifelong lover of the performing arts, she holds a master's
degree in arts administration from Drexel University in
Philadelphia, Pa., and a bachelor's degree in percussion and music
business from DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind.
___
Casey Childs, Feb. 8
For the Feb. 8 program, the speaker
will be Casey Childs, a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University with
a bachelor's degree in acting and a master's degree in directing. He
has acted and directed all over the United States and Great Britain
and has taught and lectured on the subjects of television and
theater at leading theater schools throughout the country. He has
made three trips to Russia as a guest of the Federation of Russian
Theatre Workers. Since founding Primary Stages in 1984, he has
produced over 100 new plays, many of them world premieres.
Childs also has produced and
directed television for over 25 years, working on such shows as "As
the World Turns" for CBS; "Another World" for NBC; and "The City,"
"Loving," "One Life to Live," "All My Children" and segments of
"Spin City" for ABC. He also directed "The Catlins" for Turner
Broadcasting, "Our Group" for Lifetime and "Hollywood Heights" for
Sony's "Nick at Nite." Childs has won two Emmy Awards for his
television directing and countless nominations for both producing
and directing in television.
___
Mikhail Istomin, April 5
Born and educated in Russia,
Mikhail "Misha" Istomin holds a master's degree in music from the
St. Petersburg Conservatory. While still in school, he became
principal cellist of the State Hermitage Orchestra and later joined
the orchestra of the Kirov Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre.
In 1987, he became the cellist of
the Leningrad Conservatory String Quartet, and in 1989 the group won
the grand prize in the National Soviet Union Competition of String
Quartets. Later that same year, Misha defected during the quartet's
U.S. tour and was granted political asylum in the United States.
Immediately following these events, he joined the Richmond Symphony
and became a faculty member of both Virginia State University and
the Governor's School for the Performing Arts at the University of
Richmond.
Misha was appointed principal
cellist of the Pittsburgh Opera and Pittsburgh Ballet Theater
orchestras in 1991, and the following year he joined the Pittsburgh
Symphony Orchestra. In July 1998, he returned to St. Petersburg to
perform in the Second World Cello Congress under the direction of
Mstislav Rostropovich.
Misha is a founding member of the
Pittsburgh Piano Trio, which has released three CDs on the Minstrel
label to resounding critical acclaim.
___
Tickets for Behind the Scenes are
available in advance at the Atlanta Public Library, as well as at
the door on the evening of each event. Seating is limited and
advance purchase is recommended. Individual event tickets are $12.50
for adults and $7 for students under age 21 and under. Discounted
series tickets for all four events are also available for $40 for
adults and $25 for students. There are group rates as well for
groups over 10 people. Email
apldinformation@gmail.com
to arrange tickets for your group.
Visit the library's website at
http://www.apldinfo.org/ to
learn more about all the library's programs in 2012-13.
 Seasonal
weight limits on Logan County highways begin Jan. 20
During the winter months, soils will freeze
and thaw repeatedly. This can cause problems for local roadways that are not
designed to support heavy traffic. Heavy loads during these freeze-thaw
cycles can cause significant damage. Beginning Jan. 20, the seasonal weight limits will be in effect on
all Logan County highways. These roads are marked with five-sided
blue signs and are posted with weight limit signs. Any vehicle in
excess of the weight limits needs to have a permit issued by the
Logan County Highway Department.
Permits are available by visiting
www.co.logan.il.us/highwaydept, by calling the highway
department office at 217-732-3059 or by visiting the office at 529
S. McLean St. in Lincoln. There is no charge for the permits.
Permits will be valid only on certain days when conditions are
suitable.
Hauling on township roads in Logan County during this time period
will need to be coordinated with the respective township road
commissioner.
Again this year, the highway department is asking for cooperation
to help keep our roads in good condition.
United
Way of Logan County to hold annual meeting Jan. 9
The United Way of Logan County will have its
annual meeting Wednesday, Jan. 9, at 5:30 p.m. Board members will elect new
officers, and new members of the board will be approved.
The public is invited to attend, but
to allow for space accommodations, please contact the office,
217-735-4499, by 4:30 p.m. Jan. 9.
The regular monthly meeting will
follow the annual business activity.
[to top of second
column] |
"Predictions":
Local artists' expressions of a future world
The art exhibit "Predictions" opened on a
snowy and blustery evening to a steady stream of gallery visitors.
"Predictions" is the premiere event for the Logan County Art Association.
The show began Dec. 20 and runs until Jan. 12 at the Lincoln Art Institute.
"Predictions" was selected as the
theme for the show to coincide with the end-of-world predictions
mainly represented by the end of the Mayan Long Count calendar on
the winter solstice. Nine artists from Logan County contributed to
the exhibit, crafting their art to address their personal views on
the future, whether the world ends or, if not, how we as a species
move into and create the future.
Christopher Tice, professor of art
at Lincoln College, created a multi-layered piece he calls
"Utility," essentially his view of what the world would resemble
after a fire consumed the planet. The piece is an amalgam of
ordinary objects he placed on a container and finished off in his
backyard forge. While the melted objects retain their shapes and
seem random, Tice has created symmetry on the surface. He then
mounted a video projector above the piece that shows a subtle
movement, a cycle to time, in his words. "I am trying to create a
visual effect on a physical surface," Tice explained.
For the exhibit, Lincoln High
School teacher Jason Hoffman submitted three pieces that explore his
current focus on the link between a museum exhibit and one for an
art gallery. "My pieces explore a survival aspect, whether it is the
end of the world or a new beginning, and how we as individuals
respond to mortality," he said. To Hoffman, art is something he
thinks about every day -- how what he sees can be translated into
something that speaks about the issues we face in everyday life.
Moses Pinkerton, the host for the exhibit, also contributed
several pieces. "If a piece of my art turns out right, people should
be able to look at one of my works and tell what it is saying," he
said. He is not a big fan of the abstract movement. His piece
"Ripe," a hand holding an Earth burgeoning with possibilities, is a
personal view about the potential available to all of the occupants
of our planet.
Bonnie Mayo's two paintings strongly express her optimism, with
themes showing the sun rising on a landscape still occupied and
changed by people. For her, art is "a process of thinking about a
subject for several weeks and then getting to a point where it is
time to put paint on canvas," she said. "I wake up one day and know
the time is right to create the actual painting." She is also
careful to use a frame that accentuates the focus and colors of her
art.
While the photos accompanying this article give a sense of what
the artists want to convey, the exhibit definitely needs to be seen
in person to appreciate the creativity.
The show "Predictions" is open at the Lincoln Art Institute, 112
S. McLean, until Jan.12. Pinkerton may be reached there at
217-651-8355 for more information.
[By CURT FOX]
City
Christmas tree pickup program starts Jan. 7
The street department in Lincoln will pick up
Christmas trees starting Jan. 7 for Ward 1, Jan. 8 for Ward 2, Jan. 9 for
Ward 3, Jan. 10 for Ward 4 and Jan. 11 for Ward 5. Trees must be by the curb
by 7 a.m. on the day of the scheduled pickup.
Trees must be free of all decorations and not
in a bag. Wreathes will be picked up if they are free of wiring.
HSLC
board election Jan. 30
A general membership meeting of the Humane Society of Logan
County will be on Jan. 30 in the Steinfort Room at Abraham Lincoln
Memorial Hospital, 200 Stahlhut Drive.
The annual election for three seats on the board of directors of
the Humane Society of Logan County will be at this meeting.
Anyone who is current with their dues and has been a member for
at least three months prior to the election may declare their intent
to seek election to the board of directors. If you are interested in
serving on the board, you may send a letter of intent to the board
secretary, Wanda Stevens, at
wstevens@ccaonline.com.
Atlanta
Betterment Fund board introduces 'Rt. 66 Reinterpreted' Art Project
ATLANTA -- In celebration of Route 66 and all it stands for,
Atlanta -- located on the Mother Road, midway between Chicago and
St. Louis -- announces its first "Rt. 66 Reinterpreted" Art Project.
Modeled on Chicago's "Cows on Parade" exhibit, the Rt. 66
Reinterpreted project presents artists the opportunity to create
their own take on one of the 20th century's most iconic and
recognizable symbols: the U.S. Route 66 highway shield.
Participating artists will be provided a blank, 2-foot-by-2-foot
wooden cutout of the Route 66 sign, painted white, which will then
become their personal canvas. The only requirement in creating a
reinterpreted shield is to incorporate the text "Illinois U.S. 66"
somewhere on the face of the shield, in whatever size, shape or
color the artist desires. Everything else about the design, style,
background and color of the reinterpreted shield is left to each
artist's imagination and creativity.
The project is open to anyone 16 years old and above. Up to 50
entries will be accepted in this year's project, as determined by
the date applications are received. All 50 entries will be displayed
outside along Route 66 in downtown Atlanta from May 1 to Aug. 31,
2013.
The board of directors of the Atlanta Betterment Fund will select
10 shields out of the 50 entries as finalists. Shields selected as
finalists will be judged on originality of design, overall concept
and quality of execution.
Voting will then take place May 1-Aug. 31 to select the top five
shield designs as winners of the 2012 project. Anyone, anywhere may
vote, either in person at selected Route 66 attractions in Atlanta
or online via Atlanta's website at
www.atlantaillinois.org.
The top five vote-getters will be the winners of the year's Rt. 66
Reinterpreted project.
At the conclusion of the project, the five winning shields, along
with the names of the artists who created them, will be displayed on
a permanent basis in the Atlanta Route 66 Park. Entries selected as
one of the top five winning designs will also be showcased at the
International Mother Road Festival in Springfield Sept. 27-29, 2013.
Artists wishing to enter the Rt. 66 Reinterpreted Art Project
must submit a completed application form, along with a $25 entry
fee. Completed applications are due on or before Feb. 1.
Applications received after Feb. 1 will not be accepted.
Completed Rt. 66 Reinterpreted shields should be carefully
packaged and returned to: The Atlanta Betterment Fund, 114 SW Arch
St., Atlanta, IL 61723. Shields should be submitted between March 1
and April 5, 2013. Shields received after April 5 will not be
accepted.
The Atlanta Betterment Fund sponsors the Rt. 66 Reinterpreted Art
Project.
All decisions regarding judging are final. Entries selected as
finalists will be notified by April 30, 2013. Entries selected as
one of the top five winning designs will be notified by Sept. 1,
2013.
Click on the "Route 66 Art Project"
logo at
www.atlantaillinois.org for more information, including project
guidelines and an application form to enter the Rt. 66 Reinterpreted
Art Project. Or contact:
William Thomas
Atlanta Betterment Fund
114 SW Arch St.
Atlanta, IL 61723
wthomas@teleologic.net
217-648-5077
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