Fine arts
TOTAL REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL Quite a few artists asked what an RFP was while I was encouraging them to submit proposals last month to run the promotion of the Chico Arts Commission’s Artoberfest. When I stopped using the acronym and said request for proposal, they understood; they just didn’t submit. I submitted a proposal, as did Friends of the Arts and LearningChange, but it seems no one else wanted to throw their hat in the ring. It makes sense considering that the RFP was so tightly written that only a handful of organizations could have met the criteria for selection. I know I didn’t meet them, but I tried anyway.
AND THE WINNER IS … Congratulations to Friends of the Arts and local design firm LearningChange for winning the bid to put on Artoberfest this year. LearningChange is a local company that provides design and business consulting services to commercial, nonprofit, government and educational organizations. It does some great work, and the quality of the promotions should be outstanding.
WHAT E-MAIL? Chico city policy, dictated by the city attorney, is to not back up or digitally archive any e-mails received by city employees, due to limited disc space and the large amount of spam that enters the system. That means that unless the receiving individual printed a hard copy for future reference, you and your letter never existed. If you’ve ever contacted the city about public-art-related topics, now’s the time to contact it again. Two Chico arts commissioners, Kathy Barrett and Gregg Payne, are doing a public-arts survey of how artists and the community feel about the public-arts process and projects. If you’ve ever wanted to say anything good or bad about our local arts, here’s your chance to speak your mind. Send e-mails to greggpayne@mac.com.
LOCALS ONLY Be sure to check out the upcoming Crux Artist Collective gallery show featuring the works of Steven Beebe. The reception is March 31, 8-10 p.m. More examples of Beebe’s urban art can be seen on water towers and dilapidated trailers alongside Highway 99 in the Pentz Road scrap yard. For more info, go to www.cruxarts.com.
CN&R STUDENT ARTS I’d be remiss if I didn’t use this column every so often for a little self-congratulatory pat on the back. We have some amazingly talented students in our design and art programs at Butte College, where I just happen to be an instructor. One challenge with being a student and having talent is that few people get to see this talent. Enter CN&R. If you haven’t seen it yet, check this issue’s Butte College Student Visions page. Major kudos to CN&R for donating a full page each week to our Butte College students.
SURF THESE Don’t let the name discourage you; the digital artist who runs the Eat Poo site (pictured) does some fantastic work: www.eatpoo.com. And if you’re in for some Photoshop battle or digital collaboration, try www.allstarr.de.
CONTACT ME I realized that my e-mail has been wrong for three issues. It’s correct now. Try it.
