The Arts Council of Lincoln County is very excited to announce the addition of a 3 dimensional category for our annual Paul C. Rhyne Art Competition.

Piedmont Companies, Inc. has graciously agreed to provide funding for our additional category, allowing prizes to be given in both 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional categories.

The Paul C. Rhyne Art Competition is an annual exhibition for the ACLC, which was renamed in 2007 in honor and memory of Paul C. Rhyne, a life long resident of Lincolnton and supporter of the Arts Council. The show will run October 5 – November 5, 2010 in the galleries of the Lincoln Cultural Center.

LINCOLNTON - The Arts Council of Lincoln County cordially is extending an invitation to all Catawba Valley Region potters to submit one piece of work representative to their style to the 8th Annual Catawba Valley Pottery Exhibition.

The Arts Council is looking for both Traditional and Contemporary work for the exhibit entitled: "Catawba Valley Pottery: Then and Now". There is no charge for this exhibition and work may be priced to sell.

By Beth Saine | Lincoln Tribune

Lincolnton, NC - If you were in the downtown Lincolnton area on Tuesday, perhaps you had the good fortune of seeing the releasing of the balloons by Laurie Bostian’s summer art students. During their summer workshop, the students have been painting “Things in the Air”.

The students’ works included airplanes, birds, butterflies, balloons and other things that one might find flying in the air. Laurie Bostian, owner of the Personal Artist Studio and Gallery in Lincolnton told the Tribune: “I thought this would be a fun way to end the summer camp”.

Gloria Parker and Kayla Helms, apprentices to Bostian, assisted the students in attaching one of their pieces of artwork to a helium balloon along with an attached card which read: “The artist’s world is limitless. It can be found anywhere, far from where he lives or a few feet away. It’s always on his doorstep. – Paul Strand”.

Photos: Top, students release their balloons on the Court Square in downtown Lincolnton. Photo #2: Bostian with students and Lt. Kent Lukach of the Lincolnton Police Department. Photos by Melany Dawn Crouse for the Tribune and ImageOneNC.

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON - The Arts Council of Lincoln County announces the winners of the 2010 Amateur Photography Competition:

Best of Show:
Crab Tree Falls #1 Gerald Johnson

Category Winners:

People/Animals:
1st Deep Thought - Jessica Newton
2nd Waiting for the Jitney - John Lafferty
3rd Curiosity - Judy Broesder

'Interactive Opening' of La Boheme at 5th & Tryon to Launch
Opera Carolina's 2009/2010 Season

Oversized "Cloud" to Feature Streaming Video from Acts I & II
at Public Event on Saturday, Jan. 23, at 7:45 p.m.

CHARLOTTE - Opera Carolina, the leading professional opera company in the region, will open its 2009/2010 Season with an "Interactive Opening Night" in uptown Charlotte at the corner of 5th & Tryon.

The public will be treated to a unique experience, with scenes from Acts I & II of La Boheme projected on a 9' x 9' x 24' foot "cloud" installation designed by Wonderworld Film & Video.

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON - The Arts Council of Lincoln County cordially invites everyone to our 2010 Amateur Photography Contest’s opening reception and awards presentation sponsored by Tindall’s Professional Photography.

The reception will be held at the Lincoln Cultural Center on January 22, 2010 from 6:30-8pm.

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLN COUNTY - The Arts Council of Lincoln County is once again sponsoring its annual Amateur Photography Competition. Entries will be accepted 1pm to 4pm January 6 and January 8 at the Lincoln Cultural Center, 403 E. Main St. Lincolnton. For additional arrangements, please call (704) 735-9044. Tindalls Professional Photography is the sponsor of this event.

All entrants must be 18 years or older and must engage in photography for pleasure rather than financial benefit or professional reasons. Entrants must not hold a photographer's license or make their living at photography. Photo entries should be original photographs that have not been reproduced for public sale and have not been exhibited in any Arts Council of Lincoln County's events in the past. For a $20 entry fee, each participant may enter up to 3 photographs with a limit of two entry fees per participant.

LINCOLNTON - The Arts Council of Lincoln County will launch winter ART CLASSES for students ages young adult through adult. Up coming classes will focus on the fine art of Beading and beginning techniques of Polymer Clay.

Classes will be taught on Saturday mornings at the Lincoln Cultural Center, 403 E. Main St. Lincolnton.

Please contact the Arts Council at (704) 732-9044 to register.

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON - The Arts Council of Lincoln County is once again sponsoring its annual Amateur Photography Competition. Entries will be accepted 1pm to 4pm January 6 and January 8 at the Lincoln Cultural Center, 403 E. Main St. Lincolnton. For additional arrangements, please call (704) 735-9044. Tindalls Professional Photography is the sponsor of this event.

All entrants must be 18 years or older and must engage in photography for pleasure rather than financial benefit or professional reasons. Entrants must not hold a photographer's license or make their living at photography. Photo entries should be original photographs that have not been reproduced for public sale and have not been exhibited in any Arts Council of Lincoln County's events in the past. For a $25 entry fee, each participant may enter up to 3 photographs with a limit of two entry fees per participant.

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON - The Arts Council of Lincoln County is once again sponsoring its annual Amateur Photography Competition. Entries will be accepted 1pm to 4pm January 6th and January 8th, 2010 at the Lincoln Cultural Center, 403 E. Main St. Lincolnton. For additional arrangements, please call (704) 735-9044. Tindalls Professional Photography is the sponsor of this event.

All entrants must be 18 years or older and must engage in photography for pleasure rather than financial benefit or professional reasons. Entrants must not hold a photographer's license or make their living at photography. Photo entries should be original photographs that have not been reproduced for public sale and have not been exhibited in any Arts Council of Lincoln County's events in the past. For a $20 entry fee, each participant may enter up to 3 photographs with a limit of two entry fees per participant.

30th Annual Winter Show at Green Hill Center for NC Art December 6, 2009 - January 15, 2010

Greensboro, NC – Connecting North Carolina’s most talented and creative artists with the state’s most enthusiastic art lovers, the Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art presents its 30th annual Winter Show on December 6 through January 15. Featuring 500+ works for purchase from more than 150 artists from Penland to Pamlico, it is easily the largest and finest juried exhibition and sale of North Carolina art and crafts in the state. Paintings, sculpture, photography, jewelry, woodwork, fabric and fiber works, ceramics, are presented in an articulated installation in which hundreds of artworks in multiple mediums may be viewed in a harmonious ensemble.

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON - The Arts Council of Lincoln County will launch winter ART CLASSES for students ages young adult through adult. Up coming classes will focus on the fine art of Beading and beginning techniques of Polymer Clay. Classes will be taught on Saturday mornings at the Lincoln Cultural Center, 403 E. Main St. Lincolnton. Please contact the Arts Council at (704) 732-9044 to register.

DAVIDSON COLLEGE, DAVIDSON, NC - On Monday evenings, the walls of the Sloan Building choral room at Davidson College reverberate with sound as members of the Concert Choir rehearse for their Monday, November 23, performance of Mozart’s Requiem. But students aren’t the only voices heard. For the past two-and-a-half years, the choir has enrolled a unique blend of student, faculty, and community singers.

Never a fan of the “mystification of the arts,” Concert Choir Director and Professor of Music Ray Sprague looks forward to the November 23 concert as a chance to share a piece of classical music that much of the Davidson public might not have heard before.
The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. in Duke Family Performance Hall. General admission is $15, or $10 for seniors, and $5 for youth under 18.

By Jason Saine, Photo by Melany Dawn Crouse

LINCOLNTON - If you walk down the streets at Lincolnton at night you might be surprised to see someone in one of the shop windows working hard late into the evening.

That would be local artist, Laurie Bostian, who bills herself as "your personal artist".

Many times she is accompanied by her dog, Copper, while she paints.

STAFF REPORTS

High Point, NC - The North Carolina Shakespeare Festival’s A Christmas Carol celebrates its 32nd anniversary this December. First produced in 1977, The Festival’s premiere season, Dickens’ classic has become a holiday tradition for schools, families and groups throughout the Piedmont.

“Over 600 performances of A Christmas Carol have been given,” says Pedro Silva, NCSF’s managing and artistic director, “and over 400,000 seats have been filled. Our production has become an anticipated holiday event during Christmas; for many people, Christmas simply isn’t Christmas without attending the show.”

When The Festival first produced A Christmas Carol it had no idea it would become such a success, but the response to the production has been so positive that the company continues to produce the play each December. “I think the key to the show’s longevity is the simple, sincere approach we take to producing it,” says Silva. “We remain true to the story, using as much of Dickens’ actual dialogue as possible, and we focus principally on the acting as the key to the show’s strength. This all makes for an experience that’s heartwarming and moving for patrons – whether they’re 7 years old, or 70.”

(Photo: NCSF's A Christmas Carol, Curtain Call Photograph by NyghtFalcon.JPG NCSF's A Christmas Carol, Curtain Call Photograph by NyghtFalcon.)

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON - The Arts Council of Lincoln County is please to announce the winners of the 2009 Paul C Rhyne County-Wide Art Competition.

Gary Freeman of Cherryville received first place with “Ancient Oak”, a drawing with mixed media.

Ginny Boyd of Denver was awarded second place for her mixed media creation, “Outer Banks Morning”.

Third place was awarded to Lynn Dermott of Denver with “Same Time Next Year”, also a mixed media creation.

Charlotte, N.C., (September 29, 2009) - Opera Carolina in Mecklenburg County has been awarded $122,500 from the North Carolina Arts Council. The grant will provide general support that sustains Opera's traditional programming as well as augment funding that is directed toward arts and education, and creative workforce initiatives. Opera Carolina is the leading professional opera company in the region.

"We're grateful for the continued support of the N.C Arts Council and the N.C. General Assembly in our community, because without public support, we couldn't sustain the level of programming our audiences have come to expect," said Kay Norris, board chair, Opera Carolina.

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON - The Arts Council of Lincoln County will hold the annual Paul C. Rhyne Art Competition, October 2009 at the Lincoln Culture Center to feature the work of local regional artists. This is an annual regional exhibition, which was renamed in 2007 in honor and memory of Paul C. Rhyne, a life long resident of Lincolnton and supporter of the Arts Council. The show will run October 12 – November 13, 2009. There will be an awards presentation and opening reception for artist and the public on Friday, October 16, from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. at the Lincoln Cultural Center.

Each artist will be allowed to enter two pieces of work and should bring a brief resume and description of each piece. Entry fee for the show is $35 and entitles the artist to enter two pieces of work. All work should be delivered to the Lincoln Cultural Center gallery on October 7 & 9 from 11am - 3pm, or call 704-732-9044 for special arrangements.

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON - The Arts Council of Lincoln County will hold an opening reception celebrating the Catawba Valley Pottery Exhibit this
Friday September 11, 2009, from 6 - 8 pm at the Lincoln Cultural Center.

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON - The Lincoln Economic Development Association (LEDA) recently announced the opening of the second rotation of the LEDA Art Invitational ’09, which runs August 19th through November 16th, 2009, in the LEDA Board Room Gallery located at 502 East Main Street in historic downtown Lincolnton, North Carolina.

The exhibit entitled “Rethinking the Ordinary” highlights photographic art that captures ordinary scenes and objects but from a unique perspective. The exhibit is free and open to the public Monday through Friday from 9AM-5PM.

Selected by peer recommendations with work selected via a jury process, the professional photographers featured in the exhibit include: Joseph Brymer (of Denver), Ron McCann, Mary Whisonant, Ari Miller, Seth Mabry (all of Lincolnton), and Karen Banker (Pumpkin Center).

(Photo: Ron McCann & Mary Whisonant place some of the art on display at the LEDA office in Lincolnton.)

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON - The Arts Council of Lincoln County is accepting applications for its Grassroots Arts Program grants for the 2009-10 year. The Grassroots Arts Program is sponsored by the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, and is administered through the Arts Council of Lincoln County. Grants will be issued for cultural arts projects, events and services, which occur, from July 1, 2009 until June 30, 2010.

Funds are available to nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations, whose purpose is to promote and develop diverse cultural arts programming in Lincoln County.

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON - The Arts Council of Lincoln County is honored to sponsor a showing of David Faber's work titled “Remembering the Herds”.

David is a gifted printmaker, author and Professor of Art with Wake Forest University. The show consists of an exciting mix of etchings, lithographs, monotypes, engravings and photographs. The show will be on display in the galleries of the Lincoln Cultural Center, located in Lincolnton, North Carolina.

STAFF REPORTS

DAVIDSON - Two of north Mecklenburg’s most talented young sopranos will present a free public recital on Saturday evening, August 1. Jenny Giduz and Annie Rhodes will sing a variety of classical art songs, duets, and opera arias beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Lingle Chapel of Davidson College Presbyterian Church. Works will include songs by Purcell, Handel, Schubert, Mozart, Gounod, and Faure. They will be accompanied by pianist Theresa Woody.

NORTH CAROLINA - A prize of $500, publication in North Carolina Conversations, and a writer’s residency at Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities is given annually by the North Carolina Humanities Council for original entries of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry that draw on North Carolina connections and/or memories.

Authors do not have to be North Carolinians, and there is no entry fee.

Production being considered for Metrolina Theatre Annual Awards with nominators casting their votes in the Regional North division

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLN COUNTY, NC – The Lincoln Theatre Guild continues its quest in bringing a higher level of live theatre to Lincoln County and the surrounding area with its final performance for the 2008/2009 season. L. Frank Baum’s musical extravaganza Wizard of Oz will be presented for two weekends in late June and mid July to assure everyone in Lincoln and surrounding counties can put a date on their calendar.