November 2019
Left: Isabel Naranjo; Right: Etenesh Zeleke
River Crossing: I Want to Communicate With You

The cities of Sacramento and West Sacramento are proud to announce that two names have been selected for an art project that renames two important spots along the Sacramento waterfront. The project by British artist Joshua Sofaer is called "River Crossing: I want to communicate with you" and asked residents in summer to nominate people they would like to have commemorated. Over 650 nominations were received and a panel of judges selected two names: Isabel S. Naranjo for the new name of a dock in Old Sacramento and Etenesh Zeleke for a dock to be built in West Sacramento. Along with the selected two names for the docks, a total of 33 nominees, their photos, and the submitted stories are available on the project website: www.rivercrossing.name . As a final part to the art project, glowing lightboxes will spell the names of Naranjo and Zeleke in colorful maritime signals at their respective locations along the Sacramento river. The installation will occur in early 2020.

For more information, click here .
Bruceville Box Wraps: Artist Selected

Janine Mapurunga has been selected as the artist to complete the Bruceville Box Wraps, a creative placemaking project on Bruceville Road. The project consists of 15 utility boxes, which will focus on the theme of "Health and Wellness," and is a partnership between the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD).

For more on Janine Mapurunga, please visit her website .
Sacramento Mural Conversations: Speaker Series at City College
Discussing murals and mural policy with the City of Sacramento

Event #1 – Jim Prigoff “History of Murals”

With the success of recent mural festivals and local mural projects in and around Sacramento, the City of Sacramento in partnership with Sacramento City College wants to engage artists, community members, and city government in a discussion regarding a long-term plan for murals in our city. Should the city have a mural policy? Should murals be registered throughout the city? These questions and others will be discussed over a series of three speaker sessions designed to educate and excite us about the possibilities for our growing mural collection in Sacramento. Please come be part of the dialogue. This is a free event open to the public and light refreshments will be served. 

This speaker series is an opportunity to begin the conversation through educating ourselves in the larger history of murals both inside and outside of Sacramento. This first speaker series event is with photographer and author Jim Prigoff who lives in Sacramento and has documented for over 40 years murals and graffiti art around the world. Jim is the co-author of three books on murals and graffiti art: Spraycan Art, Painting the Towns – Murals of California, and Walls of Heritage – Walls of Pride – African American Murals . 

After Jim’s presentation on murals from around the world, we will engage the audience with questions regarding the presentation and more specifically about the larger vision for Sacramento’s growing urban gallery of mural art. This event is sponsored by Sacramento City College and Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission

Location: Sacramento City College, Room TBA
Date: Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Time: 6:00pm – 7:30pm
Register : This event is free and open to the public. Please register on Eventbrite by clicking here .
Contact: Donald Gensler, [email protected] or 916-808-8493

Image Credit: Brett Cook, Jim , spray paint on board
Sacramento is Looking for its Next Poet Laureate and Youth Poet Laureate

The City of Sacramento Poet Laureate 2020- 2022
Applications open October 7 for poets residing in Sacramento County to submit for the position of Sacramento Poet Laureate. The Sacramento Poet Laureate program brings the power and beauty of poetry to the Sacramento community while increasing awareness of the literary arts through community engagement and outreach. The Poet Laureate title is an honorary one, awarded through a competitive process to a person who writes poetry of high artistic quality, has an established presence in Sacramento, a demonstrated commitment to and a passion for poetry, and embraces the opportunity to engage in civic discourse. The ideal candidate enjoys inspiring audiences and the community through readings of his/her work and the works of others and mentoring the next generation of poets. 

A poet is honored with the title of Poet Laureate to distinguish a career in writing exemplary poetry and for the role they have played in sharing poetry with the broader community. The Poet Laureate will act as an ambassador of the literary arts by reading poems and giving talks at public schools, City Council and County Board meetings and other community organizations. The Poet Laureate will serve as a mentor to the Youth Poet Laureate, who is selected annually in partnership with Sacramento Area Youth Speaks (SAYS).

To learn more about the Sacramento Poet Laureate program, please visit our website .

The deadline to apply for Sacramento’s Poet Laureate 2020-2022 is November 8, 2019.

For full guidelines and application, please visit https://sacmetroarts.submittable.com/submit .

Sacramento Youth Poet Laureate 2020
The Sacramento Area Youth Speaks (SAYS) Youth Poet Laureate (YPL) Program provides a platform that promotes youth voice, civic engagement, political literacy and community building. Through this endeavor, we aim to push the literary arts and poetry aesthetic to include young people's voices, ideas, beliefs and their values that are significantly under-represented and marginalized. 
 
The deadline to apply for The Sacramento Youth Poet Laureate 2020 is November 8, 2019. Youth must be between the ages of 14-19 and reside within the county of Sacramento. To apply, youth must have five original poems, a video link of a poetry performance, a resume and/or cv, and possess the leadership skills needed to be the youth poetic representative of Sacramento. Applications can be found here: https://forms.gle/yRckkCAwG7at4C2y7

To learn more about the Youth Poet Laureate program, please visit our website .

Please direct any questions for the Youth Poet Laureate to Patrice Hill at [email protected]
Residencies, Artist Calls & Opportunities

RFQ - Public Art for Concourse B at Portland International Airport (Portland, OR)
Deadline: November 6, 2019
The Regional Arts & Culture Council and the Port of Portland invite artists/teams living in the U.S. or Canada to submit qualifications for a series of permanent artworks for Concourse B at Portland International Airport. The art budget is $650,000.


RFP - Public Art Sculpture for Crown Valley Community Center (Laguna Niguel, CA)
Deadline: November 18, 2019
This opportunity is a competition for the selection of an artist and/or team (comprised of multiple artists or artists and non-artists) to propose the design of a permanent exterior public art sculpture and oversee the fabrication and installation of the public art sculpture.


Interstate Projects Studio Program (Brooklyn, NY)
Deadline: November 22, 2019
Interstate Projects' studio residency program grants one artist a free 300 square foot studio space for a 4 month period on site at the gallery. This is an open submission residency that will be selected by a juried panel.


Residency at the Lucid Art Foundation (Inverness, CA)
Deadline: November 27, 2019
The Lucid Art Foundation's Residency Program just for 2020 will focus on climate change. The program directs artists towards alternative ways of raising awareness of our climate crisis. Artists working in the visual arts, video/new media, music composition, writing, poetry, dance or performance choreography will be considered.


Call to Artists - Elk Grove Fine Arts Center (Elk Grove, CA)
Deadline: December 6, 2019
The Elk Grove Fine Arts Center has a call to artists for their competition show, "Alternative Views, " from January 4 - 24, 2020.


Call for Entries - San Francisco Botanical Garden (San Francisco, CA)
Deadline: December 13, 2019
San Francisco Botanical Garden is pleased to share a call for entries for a special art exhibition, "From Sand Dunes to Forest: Canopy Trees of Golden Gate Park." The exhibit will be held in the Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture.


Residency at Atlantic Center for the Arts (New Smyrna Beach, FL)
Deadline: Varied
Atlantic Center for the Arts is accepting submissions for the Master Artist-in-Residence program. The 3 week residency brings together three "Master Artists" from different disciplines and determines requirements and basic structure of their program.


For more calls, residencies, and listings, please check our website , which will be updated regularly with more opportunities.
Articles of Interest

New Scrutiny of Museum Boards Takes Aim at World of Wealth and Status
"'We need to define trusteeship beyond people of financial wealth,' said Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, which supports and advises nonprofits. 'Expand the number of board members and bring in people with other assets besides money that the museum needs. What’s interesting to me is the lack of energy, focus and creativity to figure this out.'"


Minor Offenders Can Substitute Jail Time for an Art Class at the Brooklyn Museum
“'It’s about holding people accountable, but doing it in ways that promote human dignity,' said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez at a press conference at the Brooklyn Museum on October 21. 'It requires individuals to view and discuss a piece of art with people they don’t know,' he added. 'They’re asked to create their own art, to think and find meaning in that art.'"