Stone Canoe Poetry Reading this Saturday

Poets featured in the inaugural issue of Stone Canoe, a Journal of Arts and Ideas from Upstate New York will read from their works on Saturday, March 31, at 2 p.m. Delavan Art Gallery is currently exhibiting the works of 28 artists from Stone Canoe, which includes poetry, fiction, essays and visual arts from 71 artists and writers with connections to Upstate New York.

Michael Burkard, Wendy Gonyea, Charles Martin, Chris Kennedy, and Sarah Harwell will read their poems this Saturday starting at 2 p.m. Michael Burkard is an acclaimed poet and professor at SU with several books in print, and the poetry editor of Stone Canoe. Wendy Gonyea is a journalist, poet and fiction writer who edits the Onondaga Nation News. Charles Martin is a well-known poet, authoritative translator of Latin Poets, and three-time nominee for the Pulitzer Prize, currently teaching at Syracuse University. Chris Kennedy, chair of the Syracuse University Creative Writing Program, has a fourth volume of poems due out this year from BOA Press. Finally, Sara Harwell is a graduate of the SU Masters of Fine Arts program and a teacher/administrator at SU. She is one of the poets included in the new volume Three New Poets from Sheep Meadow Press.

Robert Colley, editor of Stone Canoe, will be present at Delavan Art Gallery to discuss the entire Stone Canoe arts project and its significance in the community.

The Stone Canoe was published by University College of Syracuse University. For more information about the Stone Canoe, visit the website: http://www.stonecanoejournal.org
or click here: Stone Canoe Art Journal

Copies are available at Delavan Art Gallery.

There was also a poetry reading this past Saturday by other poets from Stone Canoe. To hear about this and other events, visit www.DelavanArtGallery.com and sign up for our email list.

A Visit by NY "First Lady" Silda Wall Spitzer

About 100 people crowded into Delavan Art Gallery last Wednesday, March 21 for the announcement of 40 Below's 2007 summit on June 1. New York first lady Silda Wall Spitzer, wife of Gov. Eliot Spitzer, announced the summit, praising its efforts.

Bill and Terry Delavan couldn't have been more ecstatic to have Silda Spitzer here in the gallery. Furthermore, it turns out Silda is truly an arts fan! She did have a few minutes to walk around the gallery after the press conference to see the exhibit and talk with one of our artists, Nives Marzocchi, but it wasn't enough. The first lady came back later to spend some quality time with the art. To me, this shows a sign of respect to the art work. We have several regulars who come to our openings to socialize, then come back when they can look at the art in a quiet, less chaotic atmosphere.


Featured Artist Nives Marzocchi speaking with Silda Spitzer about her work


This is the second prominent lady in two weeks to have visited Delavan Art Gallery. Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor was also here recently for the launch of the journal "Stone Canoe." This is the second time she has come to visit and we couldn't be happier!

-Courtney Rile
Gallery Coordinator, Delavan Art Gallery



From Left to Right:
Bill Delavan (Delavan Art Gallery), Robert Colley (Editor of Stone Canoe) , Silda Wall Spitzer (NY First Lady), Terry Delavan (Delavan Center), Nives Marzocchi (artist)


From Left to Right:
Silda Wall Spitzer, Courtney Rile (Delavan Art Gallery), Nives Marzocchi

Comments on last night's meeting on Public Art

We are both exhilarated and concerned about the arguments and discussions held at last night’s panel of “What Makes Public Art?” at The Warehouse. Although even our opinions differ slightly, we do agree on several matters.

Our goal here is dialogue and progress.

There were at least two opposing sides at the meeting last night. On one side there was an “educated” idea of what makes great public art and the valuable perspective that we in Syracuse have the opportunity to do something great. On the other side, there was with a newfound sense of urgency to act quickly while the momentum to support art is building in a city administration that hasn’t funded the arts since 1993.

Essentially, public art has never been discussed here in such an intense dialogue before. Bill and others have seen many ideas come and go in Syracuse only to die as a consequence of opposition. This panel could be perceived as opposition. Was the goal of the panel to pull back the reigns on what 40 Below's Syracuse Public Arts is doing? Why was Kate Clark or another representative of Syracuse Public Arts not included in the panel?

The fear that if something is not done quickly it will not be done at all is very prevalent in those who have shared these experiences. Therefore, we understand Syracuse Public Arts’s need to act and to do so in a publicly visible manner. Does this make sense?

On the other side, the academic perspective holds a valid point that Syracuse essentially has a mostly blank canvas to start an amazing program, which has the potential to draw attention and prestige worldwide. That would be good, right? Syracuse has such a low self-esteem in many cases that a little fame might go a long way to restoring this city’s pride.

In the end, it is the community that is most important and the results that speak most loudly. Across the street from Delavan Art Gallery going to the White Warehouse along West Fayette Street is a strip of green space that someone has generously given permission to 40 Below's Syracuse Public Arts to turn into a sculpture park. In front of us we have a very real question of what to put there. Do we go forward and put up sculpture that may not be ideal just to prove there is movement and commitment, or do we take more time and develop a more prestigious system? It’s the age-old question of: Is it better to wait and do something right or to just do it?

This is how we feel: It is very important to act while there is momentum. However, first there must be a process put in place if “public art” is indeed going to be successful. There must be an agreed upon way in which to go about putting art in a public sphere such as West Fayette Street. In the mean time, one way to illustrate progress while leaving time for planning is to place signs at the site announcing the coming of public art. A little bit of love for the space in cleaning it up can also go a long way to show a visible progression and begin to get people into involved in a community project. Everyone understands what it means to plant a seed and care for a plant as it grows up. That can be a metaphorical starting point for bringing public art to West Fayette Street.

There are the beginnings of process being put into place. What are these and how can people get involved?

There are many questions to be answered. The most important thing to us is that we continue to move forward in a visible progress. For a moment disregard whatever you have been taught or learned through experience and think for a moment if and what relationship you have to West Fayette Street.

If public art is going to progress in a healthy inclusive manner, what happens next?

Please leave your comments.

Sincerely,

Bill Delavan and Courtney Rile

Press Release for "What Makes Public Art Discussion" on Friday, March 9, 2007

VPA, Stone Quarry Hill Art Park host ‘What Makes
Public Art?’ discussion at The Warehouse March 9

The College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) at Syracuse University and Stone Quarry Hill Art Park in Cazenovia will co-host “What Makes Public Art? ”—the second installment of the “Talk Serious” discussion series—Friday, March 9, at 6:30 p.m. in the main auditorium of The Warehouse, 350 W. Fayette St. The event is free and open to the public. Parking is available in areas adjacent to The Warehouse.

“What Makes Public Art?” will focus on public art, space and community. A panel will engage the audience on a variety of issues, including the challenges and benefits of public art, what constitutes a successful public art project, the importance of public art to individuals and communities, and the arts as an engine for economic development and urban renewal. The panelists are not public art experts, but rather local professionals engaged in promoting public art as an essential component of a great city.

“A background in the arts is not required for participation in our discussion,” says Daniela Mosko-Wozniak, executive director of community art programs for VPA. “We encourage lively interaction between the audience and the panelists, so we hope to attract people who enjoy talking about public art and how it can enhance our community.”

Mosko-Wozniak will moderate the panel with Natalia Mount, executive director of Stone Quarry Hill Art Park. Panelists scheduled to participate include:


Lori A. Brown, architect, artist and faculty member in the SU School of Architecture. Her work employs collage, mapping and speculative design, through which she explores issues of domestic and public spaces and their construction through gender. Many of her projects are community-based collaborations that bring design to those who otherwise might not have access to it. She is a member of CoAct, a collaborative artists’ group that creates projects that encourage dialogue.

Brian E. Moore, program director for foundation initiatives at the Gifford Foundation, a philanthropic organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life of people living in Central New York. Leading proactive charitable efforts at Gifford, Moore is currently focusing on a major neighborhood revitalization initiative being conducted by the foundation. He was previously a program officer at the Central New York Community Foundation.

Joanna Spitzner, artist and faculty member in VPA’s School of Art and Design and member of CoAct. Her work often takes the form of real-life performances and alternative organizations. She is currently working on The Joanna Spitzner Foundation, which raises funding for artists through wor king wage jobs.

Ben Walsh, economic development coordinator for the Metropolitan Development Association of Syracuse and Central New York (MDA), the region’s business leadership and planning organization. Walsh focuses his efforts on the attraction and retention of youth in the community, increasing university-industry collaboration, and the revitalization of the region’s urban cores.

“Talk Serious” is an ongoing arts discussion series sponsored by VPA and Stone Quarry Hill Art Park. The first installment was held in November 2006 and addressed “What is Art?” For more information, contact Mosko-Wozniak at (315) 443-0296 or dmoskowo@syr.edu.

From Our Intern

This post is from our intern Krysten. Don't worry, we didn't twist her arm!

My experience so far interning with the gallery has been not only a great learning experience but has also given me an insight in the art community here in Central New York. I have been exposed to many different types of art and artists and have been able really examine what artists today in this area are doing. It was definitly a great choice in my opinion to take my education further from the classroom and get first hand experience of the art world. I am also learning quickly the areas of the gallery that I am the most interested in, including designing and organizing projects for the gallery and curating and hanging shows. I am extremely pleased with how involved the gallery has gotten me with their projects and the work that they are doing. Being able to have this kind of experience will definitly benefit me in that I have more confidence in being able to work in the art world and I have had a hands on experience that most interns would only dream of.

-Krysten