DIVA Center News- September

DIVA gARTen Party Slide Show Fund Raising Party A Success. The second annual DIVA gARTen Party on August 27th was a success with over 50 patrons and volunteers attending this Summer-time fund raising event.
   The Brazilian-themed afternoon began at DIVA with snacks and Sangria. Then everyone boarded an Experience Oregon charter bus and were driven to the Marcella Moore's much-honored garden. Sun Bossa provided an appropriate musical background as participants enjoyed a pleasent afternoon as local wines and hors d'oeuvres were served. The bus then returned the festive group back downtown to Davis' Reaturant and Bar for dinner and dancing.
   Musical artists Shely Rudolph performed throughout the evening. Rudolph is a neo-jazz singer based in Portland who spends time in the Caribbean, which influences her musical style.
   At left is a slide presentation with 26 images of the evening's activities.

Thank You Volunteers! DIVA would like to thank all of the volunteers who made the annual gARTen Party fund raising event a special evening for all. Your dedicated efforts from planning through staging of the party is most appreciated. Without your contribution of time, energy, and enthusiasm, DIVA would not be the outstanding community art resource center it has become. Thank you!!

New Exhibit Directors At DIVA. Two candidates have hired to fill the DIVA Exhibits Director position recently vacated by Katura Reynolds. In a special job-sharing arrangement Sara Smith Spahn and Nicolas Chase have been selected to coordinate the tasks of the Center's Exhibit Director.
Spahn was the Cultural Arts Coordinator at the Springer Cultural Center in Champaign, Illinois where she oversaw exhibits, programs and events and assisted in the installation of artwork and preparation of exhibit events. She had previously been the Museum Coordinator for the Champaign Orpheum Children's Science Museum.
Nicolas Chase was most recently the School of Visual Art Gallery Coordinator at the California Institute of the Arts. He has an interdisciplinary background with a special focus on integrated media and performance. He brings a background in graphic design, publication, and event promotion to the Exhibit Directors position.

DIVA Marchers Wanted! DIVA volunteer Kristi Koons is organizing an entry for this year's Eugene Celebration parade on Saturday, September 13th, and she needs your happy feet to make it happen.
Two attending artists will mix "talent dust" and "imagination flakes" into a bubbling cauldron that will be preceded by a "DIVA Creation Station" banner. The artists will pull from the misting brew samples of art representing the diversity of talent of DIVA's artist members. Following the bubbling cauldron will be a cadre of DIVA volunteers singing a new rap song written just for this event.
To make this all happen, Kristi needs to know if you are interested in participating. She expects there will be two one-hour rehearsals after gallery closure prior to the parade. She hopes to recruit about 20 volunteers. The deadline for letting her know if you can participate is Tuesday, September 2nd. Drop her an email at <divamac.chair@gmail.com> and let her know your feet are ready for marching.

Tina Fitzgerald Selected As Volunteer Of The Month. Tina Fitzgerald has been working day and night to get DIVA's new web site up for the begining of the Fall season. DIVA appareciates all the effort she has put into programing bringing this frewsh view of DIVA to the web. Tina says of her experiences, "I was lucky to find DIVA after only a month of living in Eugene. It has provided me the opportunity to learn about the business of art, which has been my lifelong passion, while utilizing skills from my 25 year long career in Information Technology (IT). After high school I had to decide whether to pursue an art career or find another way to make a living. It took several changes of majors before I found a creative outlet in computer programming. My husband and I moved from San Diego, where I worked as an IT project manager for Qualcomm. I am in a transitional stage of life and have decided to follow my heart, take life day by day and see where that takes me."

Poet Robert Grenier to speak at DIVA. American poet Robert Grenier, a key figure of the Language poetry "school" will read his poetry and participate in a Q&A session at DIVA at 7:30 PM on September 10th. Grenier is participating in a new monthly reading series, The A-New Poetry: Experimental Writing. The participating writers have been invited by UCC and LCC instructor and series host Tim Shaner.
Grenier has taught literature and creative writing at UC Berkeley, Tufts, Franconia College, New College of California and Mills College. His works include Sentences, Series, Oakland, A Day At The Beach, Phantom Anthems and OWL/ON/BOU/GH. Admission is $0-$5 sliding scale.

West Broadway Develops With Market Addition. Greg Bryant, founder of the Weekday Market and director of the nonprofit Tango Center has facilitated the rebirth of a farmer's market at end of our block on West Broadway. On the first day of operation there were seven vendors and a couple of local farms that put out fresh vegetables. There were also coffee and espresso drinks available. The market has only started and Bryant hopes that it will continue to grow and develop helping to facilitate more daytime activity downtown on our street. The market is open 5 days a week. Read more about the Weekday Market in the Register Guard online.

Mimi Nolledo - Art Talk August 14th Art Talk. Digital artist Melissa "Mimi" Nolledo, whose works were on exhibit through August, gave a presentation on how artists can interact, collaborate, and create, via the internet. Nolledo is part of a group of cyberartists known as "Bangaan" comprised of Filipino expatriates in China, Australia, United States, and the Philippines. She demonstrated their creative process via a Powerpoint presentation.

Eugene Celebration Film Festival at DIVA. The Eugene Celebration Film Festival, September 12,13, and 14, offers a mix of short and feature films that range from the hilarious to the sublime. This year, the Film Festival will be hosted entirely by DIVA, right in the heart of the Celebration footprint. For festival information go to the Film Festival web site.

Youth Action Board's (YAB) Mural Project. Youth ages 15-24 will be working with artist Steven Lopez in a 3 week, hands-on process to create a mural on the Metropolitan Affordable Housing Building on 8th and Lincoln by the Wow Hall. The project will be from September 8-23rd. Youth interested in participating should contact Mo Young, Postive Youth Development Program Coordinator at marieke.young@co.lane.or.us

Media Arts Associate at Telluride Film Festival. Johnnie Mazzocco was accepted into the student symposium at this year's Telluride Film Festival August 29-31. She is one of 50 students from around the country who have been chosen to participate in a rigorous five days of screenings and cloistered seminars. Participants receive a special festival pass, a $200 travel stipend and special access to the likes of Tom Shadyac, George Lucas, David Lynch, Ken Burns, Ang Lee, Werner Herzog, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall. Mazzocco has been a visiting artist at DIVA and is a Media Arts associate.

Media Arts Committee Meeting Date Changed. The Center's Media Arts Committee has changed its monthly meeting date from the first Tuesday of the month to the first Thursday. Social at 6:30 with meeting at 7:00 PM. The next meeting is Thursday, September 4th. The change of day was selected to facilitate attendance by MAC members unable to participate on Tuesday evenings.

LCC and DIVA Team Up To Offer Great Directors Seminar. The History of Film: The Great Directors course is a Lane Community College class held the first Sunday of the Month from 1:30 - 9:00 PM at DIVA as an on-going exploration of the trends and innovations of the most creative film makers. This fall, instructor Thomas Blank will screen and discuss films by Godard and the New Wave on October 5th, the work of Louis Buenel on November 1st, and the films of Lubitsch in Hollywood on December 7th. Registration for the LCC Course, Number 23171 The History of Film: The Great Directors, is $10. This fee includes 3 sessions for a total of 24 hours of instruction and film screenings. Participants may register through Lane Community College's Community Education Program. You can also register at the Downtown LCC Center. For more information call (541) 463-5252. Free parking on Sundays is available in the city lots on Charnelton, both north and south of Broadway.

Join DIVA's Volunteer Cadre. DIVA is a volunteer based organization and the service provided by its cadre of volunteer assistants has made it an outstanding downtown center for the visual arts. If you have only a few hours a week or many to offer as a volunteer, DIVA would like to hear from you. The Center is looking for individuals interested in serving as Gallery Hosts to greet patrons during the Center's open hours and provide information about DIVA's many programs and opportunities. Volunteers to assist with events, receptions, and other activities are also needed. If you have an interest in film and performances there are needs for individuals to help manage events. There are also special receptions and programs at which food and beverage servers are needed. The Center is also in need of specialized services including administrative assistance and graphic design. Interested? Contact the Center's Exhibit Director for more information. You can also download and mail-in a Volunteer Assistant form.

New DIVA Board Member. Gary Ferrington, a retired University of Oregon Instructional Systems Technology Studies Coordinator, has been elected as the newest member of the DIVA Board.
Ferrington's background includes graduate studies in Art History and Cinema at the University of Southern California. He taught at the University of Oregon for over 30 years beginning in 1967 in the area of art education. He later moved to the College of Education and developed the Instructional Systems Technology Program. His research focused on visual and media literacy during his final years with the University.
Gary has been an active volunteer at DIVA for over 5 years and was the United Way Volunteer of the Month in May 2007 and subsequently nominated as Senior Volunteer of the Year. He currently edits the Center's online E-Newsletter and writes press releases for Center events. He hopes to focus on building the Center's membership and cadre of volunteer assistants as a DIVA Board member.

Art and the City Map Available. At long last an up-to-date guide to art in Eugene is available in a new map published by DIVA. The map lists 70 art venues around Eugene, including an inset for the University of Oregon.
According to Bob Keffer, Register Guard Art commentator, "The idea grew out of the city’s Cultural Policy Review Committee discussions, and DIVA’s diva, Mary Unruh, put the thing together with help from Eugene city planning mapmaker Sarah Zaleski and support from DEI and SELCO."
The art map will be located in various centers around town and of course you can pick up a copy at DIVA, 110 W. Broadway. If you'd like to download a copy you may do so by clicking here. The map is available as a PDF.

Open Studios Art Tour and Calendar Sales. DIVA began its promotion of the inaugural Open Studios Art Tour, scheduled for October 18, 19, 25 and 26, with the sale of a 15-month Visual Arts Calendar at Maude Kerns' Art and the Vineyard, July 4-6. The calendar highlights events for local arts organizations.
The calendar is illustrated with the work of 30 artists whose studios will be available on the tour. A special six-week pre-tour exhibit featuring the work of featured artists begins at DIVA on Friday, September 5th.
Included with the calendar are the Studio Tour Maps, a removable window/bumper sticker that says, "Support Local Art". The Calendar and map serve as the tour ticket providing admission to the 30 artists who are opening their studios to visitors. The calendar cost $20 and is available at DIVA, Smith Family Bookstores, and other locations to be announced. You can purchase your calendar online using PayPal. Enter payments@divanow.org as the requested e-mail address to which payments are sent.

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