Sunday, May 5, 2013
Featured today, the late poet Dionis Coffin Riggs, an Island native who spent all her 98 years on Martha's Vineyard and continues to be an influence long after her death.
Dionis Coffin Riggs was a poet, author, newspaper columnist and civic leader who was born on Martha's Vineyard and who died here at the age of 98 in 1997. Many on the Island were, and continue to be, influenced and inspired by her writings and teachings. Circa 1989, here is a video of Dionis Coffin Riggs, reading some of her poetry relating to her grandfather's sea voyage in the Pacific Ocean. And below, a poem written by Ms. Riggs in the 1960s: Tisbury Great Pond They must have known We had no gun They could have seen us Crawling through the brush, Crushing young buds Of the bayberry With our knees, Pushing aside the dead Wood-grass with our gloved hands, To se the black ducks Blue-bills, red-heads, Widgeon, geese, in hundreds, Swimming …
Friday, April 5, 2013
One of the nation's 12 best small towns for art and artists is right here on Martha's Vineyard, according to the ArtPlaceAmerica.org website.
Word is getting out that there's a lot more to Vineyard Haven than the Steamship Authority and the Black Dog. The community was named this week to a list of 12 "America's Top Small Town ArtPlaces 2013." According to the ArtPlaceAmerica.org website, "The twelve communities had the highest concentrations of arts non-profits, core arts-oriented businesses, and workers in creative occupations among smaller towns in the United States, according to data analyzed by Impresa, Inc., a Portland-based firm specializing in the study of regional economies." The other 11 communities named to the list of top small towns for art and artists, alphabetically by state, are: The awards were announced by ArtPlace, which describes itself as "a collaboration of…
41.45521
-70.60284
Night Heron Gallery
58 Main St, Vineyard Haven, MA
/articles/vineyard-haven-named-to-top-12-small-town-art-places-in-u-s
1984268
/locations/9171096
Monday, March 4, 2013
Artists and artisans of Martha's Vineyard and beyond have until March 15 to submit their applications to take part in this year's festivals, which begin Memorial Day weekend and continue into the winter holiday season.
The Vineyard Artisans Festivals is accepting applications from artists and artisans interested in taking part in a series of 2013 festivals on Martha's Vineyard. According to the organization's website, vineyardartisans.com, the deadline for applications is March 15 for the following events: Non-refundable application fees range from $25 for a single show to $40 for multiple shows: Find the application form here. Are your Martha's Vineyard events posted in our calendar? Don't miss the chance to reach thousands of readers on our home page and through our daily newsletter: List your events for free at marthasvineyard.patch.com/events/new. You can even login via Facebook. Stay Patched in! Follow Martha's Vineyard Patch on Twitter | Like …
41.379966
-70.674739
Grange Hall
1067 State Rd, Vineyard Haven, MA
/articles/deadline-nears-for-vineyard-artisan-festivals-2013-season
1913913
/locations/8940670
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Could Vineyard Haven become the state's 15th community to establish a cultural district? Find out more at an Arts Martha's Vineyard meeting March 7.
- ARTS
-
Wednesday, February 27
An announcement from Arts Martha's Vineyard: Arts Martha's Vineyard, the Island's arts and culture collaborative, announces an organizational meeting to introduce plans to establish a Vineyard Haven Cultural District. The organizational meeting will be at the Vineyard Haven Library on Thursday, March 7, 2013 from 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. The meeting is open to Tisbury businesses and organizations as well as members of the public. Establishing a Vineyard Haven Cultural District is an opportunity for our Island community to support and promote the local Creative Economy. The Massachusetts legislature created the Cultural Districts Initiative in 2010 and is administered by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Since the Cultural Districts Initiative's …
41.45944
-70.6035
Vineyard Haven Public Library
200 Main St, Vineyard Haven, MA
/articles/vineyard-haven-eyes-cutural-district
1015851
/locations/8897932
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Decadence in the Halls of Featherstone this weekend
When you think of chocolate, art doesn’t necessarily come to mind. Things like indulgence and late-night cravings are more like it. But after one visit to the Art of Chocolate Festival at Featherstone Center for the Arts, and you’ll be sure to add art to your list of chocolate definitions. The festival kicks into high gear on Saturday and Sunday with two tastes for $5 and five tastes for $10. These “tastes” are samples of some of the Island’s greatest chocolate sensations. The likes of chocolate bread pudding from The Newes from America, the Scottish Bakehouse’s gluten free chocolate macaroons, Orange Peel Bakery’s chocolate snails, Chesca's dark chocolate sauce, chocolate mousse by Slice of Life’s chef/owner Peter Smyth – simply to name a…
41.42476
-70.597793
Featherstone Center for the Arts
30 Featherstone Ln, Oak Bluffs, MA
/articles/the-art-of-chocolate
1882325
/locations/7971608
Thursday, September 27, 2012
First session takes place on Tuesday, October 2nd with Clare O’Connor from the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce
- ARTS
-
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Arts Martha's Vineyard is very pleased to announce an important Creative Economy Speaker Series with several key statewide and local representatives who, through their hard work, expand and clarify the value of creative people and initiatives throughout the state of Massachusetts. Every Tuesday in October, at the Harbor View Hotel, you will hear and learn about the value of creative economy and what we can do to focus and expand our "creative industries" here on Martha's Vineyard. The first session takes place on October 2nd from 11:30 am – 1 pm and features Clare O’Connor, Director of Economic Initiatives, Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce. The Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce and Coastal Community Capital, partnering with the Nantucket Island and…
Thursday, July 26, 2012
The Martha's Vineyard Museum will present a screening of 1960s production of Shakespeare's Othello featuring an all African American cast on August 2nd
The Martha's Vineyard Museum recently opened their "Showtime" exhibit that chronicles 100 years of theater on Martha's Vineyard. One of the groups featured is the Shearer Summer Theater group – a group started by Liz White, who began her career in 1932 with the Broadway production of Brown Sugar and who went on to work in the WPA Federal Negro Theater. In the 1950s, White started the Shearer Company, in the Shearer estate in Oak Bluffs that she inherited from her grandfather, a former slave who bought the estate following the Civil War. The Shearer Summer Theater program began performing versions of Othello in the early 1960s. Between 1962 and 1966 the production of a film-version took place on Martha's Vineyard and New Jersey. What's …
Monday, July 9, 2012
The Vineyard Artisans Festivals is up and running for its 15th year
The Vineyard Artisans Festival showcases full-time Islanders and their crafts. A variety of jewelery, painting, woodcrafts, aromatherapy, books and glass are set up at booths both inside and out at the Grange Hall in West Tisbury. The event is a way of connecting the Martha's Vineyard community to the arts as all the products are made on the Island by year-round residents of Martha's Vineyard. The Vineyard Artisans Festival take place at Grange Hall in West Tisbury Sundays from 10 am - 2 pm until September 30 and Thursdays 10 am - 2 pm until August 30. Food and beverages are also available.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
First time book illustrator Sabrina Kuchta celebrates this milestone at a book launch party at Featherstone on Sunday
Twenty-two year old Sabrina Kuchta spent her summers studying art at Featherstone Center for the Arts. Sunday afternoon she returns to Featherstone to celebrate the completion of her first book illustration, "Where Horses Fly" at a book launch party in the Pebble Gallery. A recent graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Sabrina Kuchta is already experiencing success. After majoring in Illustration for Children's Books, Kuchta was approached by Vineyard Stories publisher Jan Pogue and author, Jacqui Boulter about illustrating "Where Horses Fly." The children's book is about a girl who visits her grandparents in Martha's Vineyard and takes a magical ride on the Flying Horses carousel. "I think the story is so inspiring so it was fun …
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Featherstone's show of Copley Society artists is up through June 18th
The Copley Society of Art is a non-profit organization which supports contemporary and traditional artists. According to their website, the society was formed by the first graduation class of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in 1879. The intent of the organization was to "supplement the academic training of the Museum School, to assist their members in their artistic careers, to cultivate a spirit of fraternity among artists, and to promote the interest of art in the city of Boston." The Copley Society of Art is the oldest organization of its kind. Executive Director of Featherstone, Ann Smith, explains that it is very rare that the Copley Society holds a gallery show outside of their own space. "Normally people don't like to hold …
Michael West
2:54 pm on Friday, April 5, 2013
Ok, I'm rooting for you... more ›