Why Support Local Artists?

By Daniela Mays,- eHow Contributing Writer -

Artists not only enrich your community with the beauty of their work, they also help to educate children, encourage tourism and keep local economies growing and thriving. But the arts can't survive without support. Wherever you live, there are many ways you can help keep the arts alive.

Economic Impact

1. Your support of local artists helps your local economy. According to Americans for the Arts, a non-profit arts advocacy group, the arts and culture industry generates $166.2 billion in economic activity each year . Non-profit arts organizations not only provide full-time and part-time employment for artists, they employ administrative support staff and marketing and fundraising professionals. They also contribute billions to local and state tax revenues and generate economic activity through the real estate, goods and services needed to produce their creative products. Audiences at arts events help support the local economy by patronizing nearby restaurants and paying for parking and childcare.

Art and Tourism

2. Your support of local artists can help stimulate tourism and attract tourist dollars. Tourists not only purchase works of art and local crafts, they also spend money on hotels and restaurants, purchase souvenirs, and make use of local businesses like hair salons and laundromats. A thriving arts scene can also be a big selling point for retirees, people looking for a vacation home and even large corporations seeking business property.

Arts and Education

3. Your support of local artists provides unique educational opportunities for children in your community. When artists work with local schools, they not only foster children's innate creativity, they help promote literacy and teach valuable problem-solving skills. Involvement in the arts can inspire kids to stay in school, instill a positive work ethic, build self-esteem, promote collaboration and foster an appreciation for cultural differences.

Giving Back

4. By helping to support the arts where you live, you'll give your community all the economic and social benefits of a vibrant arts scene. You can help support local artists by attending arts events and purchasing artwork at local galleries. Arts groups usually receive a large portion of their income from government and corporate grants, and from individual donors. Attend an arts fundraiser, and bring your friends. Money you contribute to a non-profit arts groups is usually tax-deductible.

Other Ways to Help

5. Even if you can't afford a monetary contribution, you can still support local artists by volunteering for a local arts organization. Because budgets are usually tight, arts organizations depend on volunteers to keep their doors open. Volunteers can help with fundraising, marketing and events. Another way to help is by talking to your friends and neighbors, and writing to elected officials to encourage their continued support for the arts.

BREAKING NEWS - The great tradition of fringe comes to Long Island, NY

2010 Long Island Fringe Festival 

Presented by The Artists Group

hosted by Tilles Center for the Performing Arts

The Science of Fringematics

Brookville – New York - Tilles Center for the Performing Arts in its’ 30th year of presenting the finest in world class entertainment on Long Island, will again open its doors and host the Second Long Island Fringe Festival September 24, 25 & 26, 2010. The Artists Group, a Hicksville based arts organization, has gathered together cutting edge dance, music, theater, performance poetry and visual artistry in a celebration of “The Science of Fringematics”

Evening performances on Tilles mainstage, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, will include dance by Dance Visions, Circle of Dance Repertory Company, Just Left of Center Collective and each evening will highlight C.W. Post Dance Faculty and Alumni. The R and B sounds of The Coolfish Band, the pop styling of DoubleSpeak, classic rockin’ Suck it Easy Band and Jessica Semins will charm the audience with music. The art of the word will also be showcased as we present “Poets with Passion” and a dramatic reading of “Sistas on Fire”. Check listing for each evening’s line up.

Saturday and Sunday will present individual daytime performances featuring:“The Letter”, a bittersweet love story, opening our theatrical presentations, which also includes a dramatic reading of “Sistas on Fire” by Marcia McNair and the Post Theater Company’s version of “Romeo and Juliet”. The Long Island International Film Expo will have two screenings per day of selected films from the 2010 Expo. Check listing for daily line ups.

There will be an Opening Reception Friday evening from 5-7pm featuring,“Fringe Underground”, a display of The Art of ZIG and the music of DJ-Pete-EG. Saturday and Sunday from noon ‘til 6pm free activities occur in the Atrium of Tilles Center and will include Hoop Dancing, spoken word, music & a LIVE interactive visual art event with Alli Berman renowned, world wide Puzzle Artist.

Individual tickets for daytime performances are $7.00. Ticket packages are available in many price levels up to the $90 All Access Pass which grants you admission to all performances of the festival.

Tickets go on sale June 4, 2010 at the Tilles Box Office, by phone at TILLESCHARGE 516-299-3100 and online at www.tillescenter.com and www.ticketmaster.com

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The goal of holding a Long Island, N.Y. Fringe Festival

The importance of a FRINGE FESTIVAL, as opposed to just "any" festival. Fringe has a 60 year history WORLD WIDE. Sure, we have all been involved in festivals before. The idea of a FRINGE is much different. There is lore involved, that conveys a unity of spirit, accomplishment in the face of adversity & pride of place.

Hoping all the folks here on Long Island "get it", because to have an opportunity, like this, come along & ignore it, would be a mistake.

We believe this will is one of the most important things to come along in a VERY long time. If we ALL join together we can make HISTORY.

Don't let this pass you by......

LONG ISLAND FRINGE FESTIVAL 2010

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Not sure if any of you out there are aware of this but there is only two months.....TWO MONTHS, left to apply for the second Long Island Fringe Festival. The applications have been coming in since the calendar turned over and it looks like this year will be better than the first. Once more Tilles Center will be the host site for this collection of poets, artists, musicians, dancers, thespians and any one else who has something creative to offer. During 2009's Experience Long Island festival, we gathered together performers of every discipline and created an event that was an entertainment extravaganza and a community of entertainers unlike anything the island had ever seen. 2010 is already shaping up with another stellar lineup of performers anticipated. The ticketing for this years festival has been simplified, and in keeping with the economic conditions we all face, ticket prices have been reduced. As an example, a full weekend pass will be available for $90! We hope anyone who has been thinking about performing at Fringe 2010 will hurry up and get that application in now because there are only 2 TWO monthe left to apply for your spot in history.

2010 Long Island Fringe Festival

Fringe festivals for 2010 - Applications are available online -

You can follow us on twitter - http://twitter.com/Pandadollbaby

facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Experience-Long-Island/92711466044

Our own website - http://www.debbydoll.com


Applications for the 2010 LI fringe festival.

Link for the info -
http://experiencelongisland.webs.com/LIFE%20Application%202010.pdf

Experience Long Island........for the FIRST time

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A Taste of Long Island and Beyond

A little tapas for the senses is poised for the picking as you are invited to Experience Long Island 2009 this fall on September 25 26 27. Just when you thought it was safe to go back to your daily routine, Experience Long Island is here at Tilles Center on the C.W.Post Campus of Long Island University. Autumn will never be the same after you Experience Long Island on the fringe. See past and present Poet Laureates from Nassau & Suffolk Counties saying what’s on their minds on “The Isle of Words”, have an interactive demonstration of pulling molten glass by Colby Glass and witness a human challenge in the person of Zafar Gill from Pakistan breaking his own Guinness World Record. Relax with an Art Walk through the “Inner Ring” Art Exhibit in Tilles Center and a sculpture “hunt” with works from festival artists and the Hillwood Art Museum. The Atrium will be transformed into the “Mall of Imagination” so you may purchase memorabilia from and vote for your favorite fringing artists.

A $5 Admission bracelet will be your entry to purchase tickets for any of these daytime performances on Saturday or Sunday. Prices range from free to $10. You may buy tickets by going to Tilles Center website: http://www.tillescenter.org or grab an order form to FAX or snail mail or call 516-299-3100 or drop by and visit the box office. We have so many ways to get tickets that you have no excuse, but if you need more convincing; each evening will culminate in a performance on Tilles mainstage.

All Tilles Center, mainstage, evening, performance tickets are $20 - $40.

Friday September 25, start at 7PM with the jazz stylings of the Steve Adelson Stick Tet & special guest Rachel Z, “A Series of Transitions” with the dance theatrics of Just Left of Center, “Ocean Dreams” is pianist Jane Leslies musical visions combined with the vocal stylings of Kara Cornell, and the solo show, “Decades Apart- Reflections of Three Gay Men” from Rick Pulos.

On Saturday September 26, starting again at 7PM we will present, “Songs Unplugged + Unrecorded” by Singer/Songwriter Eden White, “Divergence” modern dance by Circle of Dance Repertory Company, “The Neon Man and Me”. as seen on PBS, performed by Slash Coleman and the rousing Spanish dance of “Por Callejeros” from Pasion Flamenca.

Our closing performance on Sunday September 27at 3PM will feature the “Floyd Explosion” with the 12 member Suck it Easy Band,the Post Concert Dance Company featuring the choreography of company graduates Gina Allis and Christine Guglia, the uninhibited dance theater of Mad Cap Dance and the musings of renaissance man Jay Jii.

Three days of amazing entertainment for less than the price of one Broadway show.
Enjoy great emerging and professional performers for an incredible value at an
event whose time has come. Be there as we unveil the talent at your doorstep.

For more information call - Tilles Box Office 516-299-3100

Email - fringe@debbydoll.com

Contact us: http://www.debbydoll.com http://www.tillescenter.org

There can only be one first...

Just to refresh.
This is the latest update about Experience Long Island.
It is 73 days until the festival.
Tickets are on sale and selling well. I am very pleased and excited. The performers are all charged up. We were having an interesting encounter with ticketmaster, but hopefully, that is cleared up.

Tilles Center for the Performing Arts hosts “Fr _ _ g * 2009 - Experience Long Island,” a three-day event in the great tradition of the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival. Produced by The Artists Group, this is a one-of-a-kind showcase for innovative music, dance, theater and visual art that highlights the work of many of Long Island’s most creative visual and performing artists.

The festival will be held at Tilles Center and at other venues on the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University.

September 25, 26, 27, 2009.

“Fr _ _ g * 2009 - Experience Long Island” is a trip... into the world of muse. A feast for the senses, every creative discipline is presented at venues ringing the fringe of our mainstage, Tilles Center.

Grab this opportunity to taste dance, music, poetry and song, to drink in the spirit of form and space during a weekend devoted to art on the edge.

The festival opens Friday night, September 25 with a Tilles Center mainstage show featuring Steve Adelson Stick-Tet.

Highlights on Saturday, September 26 include performances at seven venues plus four mainstage shows, one featuring vocalist Eden White in 40, a new musical.

Sunday, September 27 is no less packed with artistic excitement. In addition to performances in seven venues throughout the day, the festival finale on the Tilles Center mainstage stars The Suck It Easy Band in Floyd Explosion.

Tickets are immediately available for Tilles Center mainstage.
Tickets for the other performances of “Experience Long Island”
go on sale July 31.

Tickets @ http://www.tillescenter.org

TILLESCHARGE @ 516-299-3100

For more information about FR_ _ G* 2009 - Experience Long Island go to: http://experiencelongisland.webs.com

Tell your friends.
You may copy/cut & paste this link.
I believe it works.

The NEW FAN page on facebook -
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Experience-Long-Island/92711466044

There can only be one First

Tilles Center will open its 09-10 season by hosting the first ever Long Island Fr _ _g * Festival produced by The Artists Group. A showcase for innovative music, dance, theater and visual art; definitely an event who's time has come.

The festival will be held on the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University

September 25, 26, 27, 2009.

It’s a trip... into the world of muse. A feast for the senses, every creative discipline is presented at eight venues around the fringe of our mainstage, Tilles Center. This will be an opportunity to taste dance, music, poetry and song, drink in the spirit of form and space and join us for a weekend of art on the edge.

A little information about Fringe history...

The Edinburgh International Festival was launched in 1947 as a post-war initiative to re-unite Europe through culture. The Festival proved to be so successful that it inspired more performers than there was room for, eight theater companies turned up uninvited with the aim to take advantage of the large theater crowds and showcase their own, more alternative, theater. It got its name in the following year (1948) after Robert Kemp, a Scottish playwright and journalist, wrote during the second Edinburgh International Festival:‘Round the fringe of official Festival drama, there seems to be more private enterprise than before …I am afraid some of us are not going to be at home during the evenings!’. Since this time many different versions of the Fringe Festival have proliferated around the globe and have flourished by showcasing the many styles of creative arts.

The Artists Group presents Artmosphere LIVE @ Tilles Center for the Performing Arts - Long Island, N.Y.

ARTMOSPHERE Rehearsal ACT I Scene 4 FIRE

The Artists Group presents Artmosphere LIVE @ Tilles Center for the Performing Arts - Long Island, N.Y.

ARTMOSPHERE Rehearsal ACT I Scene 3 AIR

The Artists Group presents Artmosphere LIVE @ Tilles Center for the Performing Arts - Long Island, N.Y.

ARTMOSPHERE Rehearsal ACT I Scene 2 WATER

The Artists Group presents Artmosphere LIVE @ Tilles Center for the Performing Arts - Long Island, N.Y.

Artmosphere Rehearsal ACT 1 Scene 1 EARTH

Artmosphere - The Big Bang to the 21st Century

What event in the Earth’s history sparks the imagination more than the moment of creation? An ongoing debate that has explanations in religion, science and mythology. Now we can add another point of view to that list, “Artmosphere”, the creation of the universe as interpreted by Debra Ann Kasimakis and being brought to the stage of Tilles Center by the talent that is The Artists Group. “It’s funny to think back on it all” Debra said recently,” I was asked to participate in a Designer Showcase and The Kasimakis Karmic Kontainer was born, an “old” wicker trunk that had been rescued, from places hither-to unknown.. A painting was created for the inside lid of the trunk. Parcae & the Birth of the Universe.” From this simple piece of art has developed an amazing show.

The Artists Group started after a fundraising event for the Hicksville Gregory Museum in 2004, The Art of Paleontology. This event consisted of Long Island based artists & artisans selling their wares, a performance stage with local dance companies, poets, & musicians. But, the highlight of the two day event, which was held in the three days between hurricanes Bonnie & Charlie, was the 12 visual artists recreating Paleolithic images on fiberglass boulders live on the museum grounds. The patrons of the event were amazed to see the creative process and the artists were gratified by the interaction and the immediate response from the public. This core of artists has grown into a collection of talent that includes dancers, poets, photographers, musicians and more. Under the direction of it’s founders, Hicksville natives, Debra Ann Kasimakis and Robert Goida, the group has set up many programs throughout Long Island. “History in Bloom - Gold Coast Gardens” is currently on exhibit at Cedarmere in Rosyln and the group maintains a year round rotational art program at Briarcliff College in Patchogue. “One of our biggest programs, however is “Art Under Glass”, a collaboration between The Artists Group and Tilles Center.” said Robert Goida “The rotational program fills the Atrium at Tilles each season with a new and exciting piece of sculptural art.” So far they have presented the works of Adam Brown, Laurette Kovary and Max Yawney and this upcoming season “Spirit of Movement” by Debra Ann Kasimakis will fill the space. “The way this has come together is kind of crazy.” she said recently. “The art committee at Tilles picked which pieces would be displayed and in which order three years ago, long before Artmosphere was even a thought.”

"Artmosphere” is a display, a live piece of art, a simultaneous participation of several disciplines with the involvement of the visual arts in a dynamic way. What sparked the initial thought was the idea that visual artists never get a chance to perform live. This concept then began to evolve into a collaborative show featuring music, dance and poetry as well as visual art and a performance was born. The audience will feel the air as the dancers whiz right by them, and they too will share the stage for this show. In this way, the sensory experience will surround the audience. Elliott Sroka, Executive Director of Tilles Center, and Dr. Cara Gargano. Chair of the C.W. Post Department of Theater Film and Dance, both embraced the idea for it’s unique and groundbreaking approach to theater. And from this a show was born. “I can't believe we are actually going to perform this piece of artwork, LIVE ! I have been searching for something similar to “Artmosphere” and there seems to be nothing else that combines all of these elements in one live performance.” Kasimakis said," When we first thought about doing this it was totally conceptual. But, when we actually got the go ahead, it became very real and serious indeed. We all needed to bring it to from a thought to the stage!” The list of performers in “Artmosphere” span Long Island from north to south and east to west. Artists Andrew Leipzig from Sayville, Alan Semerdjian from Huntington, Laurette Kovary from East Norwich, composers Jane Leslie of Long Beach, Jay Jii from Northport and Joe Satriani, San Francisco by way of Carle Place, demonstrate the reach of this project and its focus, Long Island creativity. “Our dancers and musicians come from Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk, even though some claim that the first two are not really Long Island, they seem to be attached on the map I have.” laughed Goida “This show is a collaboration of many talented individuals and we would like to invite you to become a part of “Artmosphere”. With only 200 seats available for each performance, this is that rare opportunity to be part of theater history.”

“Artmosphere” will have four performances at Tilles Center this September on the fourth through the seventh, all shows are at 8pm and tickets are $30.

Tickets are available at:
http://www.ticketmaster.com
http://www.tillescenter.org
or by phone at Tillescharge 516-299-3100.

For more information about Artmosphere or The Artists Group visit the website http://www.debbydoll.com

Upcoming Long Island Art Event Nassau County

NEWS RELEASE

Pandagraphics/ The Artists Group

Artmosphere...It Will Surround You

Traditional Arts Meet the 21^st Century

On September 4, 5, 6, 7, 2008, “Artmosphere” will come to the stage at Tilles Center, a live piece of art, a simultaneous participation of all disciplines with the involvement of the visual arts in a dynamic way, a performance experience such as this has rarely been seen. The dancers will be “in the face” of the patrons, the music and sights will wash over them, stimulating their senses and drawing them into the performance. This showcase of Long Island talent consists of: Debra Ann Kasimakis, founder of The Artists Group and the driving force behind “Artmosphere”, Immersion Dance Company, music director Matt Flood is Orchestra Manager of the Long Island Philharmonic, Lighting Designer Tom Pascarella is Technical Director at Tilles Center, and the show is being presented with the support of the C.W. Post Department of Theater, Film and
Dance. In addition, we are working with the unofficial Poet Laureate of Nassau County, Maxwell Corydon Wheat Jr., as our literary consultant and will have original music by Jay Jii and Jane Leslie as well as music composed by noted guitarist, and Carle Place born and raised, Joe Satriani. This exciting project involves dance, music, visual artists and performance poetry with state of the art lighting and multi media technology.

If you believe in the magic that exists in an artist’s mind,
then join with us and experience the art.


Tickets go on Sale 5/1/08

Pandagraphics

Showcasing the Fine Art of Debra Ann Kasimakis

Parent Company of DebbyDolls-The Artists Group and the presentation of “Artmosphere”

September 4-7, 2008

www.debbydoll.com 516-931-6849

Kasimakis Pine Tree WIP Third Scan

Kasimakis Pine Tree WIP Second Scan

Kasimakis Pine Tree
WIP Second Scan

Monumental Art

Monumental Art
This project is the demonstration of the proudness that artists feel as being part of CIVILIZATION. And is the hope of Anthony Mottram, of Liverpool, England.
His thoughts are as follows:
The Concept
“The concept is simple; to create a single work of art that incorporates the works of "Other" artists.”
"A Collaborative of Donations from Free Thinking & Non Commissioned Minds"
“My task is to design the "Housing around which, and in which, these works will be displayed as 1 work of art". “
“The title "MONUMENTAL Art" has been chosen by me to be clearly representative of a monument to the power of art as a dialogue ~ means of communication.”
“Monuments are a plenty in the world we live in, they surround us all the time. Monuments that depict "something" are always clearly visible as depictions of their subject matter; even tiny children grasp their meaning in their own tiny way”.
“To my knowledge there is NO monument any where in the world that is a Monument to Art and by Artists ... the creators of all art works.”
MONUMENTAL Art hopes to rectify this hole in life’s’ conscious awareness of things around it. We need to remember Art just as we do War Heroes or other famous historic importances.

MONUMENTAL ART
WIP
My submission

First Scan

An Explosion of Light

An Explosion of Light - New York Times

By MARCELLE S. FISCHLER Published: November 11, 2006
Seventy Mylar banners painted with whirls, squiggles, orbs and swimming figures wave gently from the 30-foot ceiling in the atrium of the Tilles Center on the campus of Long Island University in Brookville. Laurette Gnaegy Kovary painted some of them nearly 20 years ago. She painted the other 40-odd panels during the last two weeks of October. “All artists do that when you have a show coming up; you paint until the last second,” Ms. Kovary said. “I am one of those people who will keep painting until you take the paintbrush out of my hand.” Because space in her waterfront studio in Bayville is tight, Ms. Kovary, 48, worked horizontally when she painted the clear plastic panels, which are at least 4 feet wide and up to 16 feet long, and hang vertically. Her “Whirling in the Nebula” is the first major installation by a Long Island artist in “Art Under Glass,” a continuing series at the performing arts center. “It is a celebration of life in the universe,” Ms. Kovary said. “It is a big explosion, and all different components have to come together to make things work, like the universe.” Sunlight glistens through the banners during the day, casting quivering images on the atrium wall that look like atoms bouncing around in an impromptu laser show. The painted plastic twinkles in the evening light. The painting style, which in different panels pays homage to Van Gogh and Chagall, is typical of Ms. Kovary’s work, but the installation itself is site specific, she said. It will be in place through February.
Usually Ms. Kovary works on canvas and on walls; she has a faux finishing and mural business. She has also painted life-size fiberglass horses, doing five of them in 2003 for “Horses of a Different Color,” Nassau County’s first public art project. Robert Goida, vice president and associate director of the Artists Group, a two-year-old nonprofit group based in Hicksville and composed of musicians, artists and poets who want to bring art more directly into people’s everyday lives, approached Ms. Kovary to submit a proposal for a large-scale project for the Tilles Center atrium, where patrons gather before concerts and during intermissions. Some of the painted panels were originally used in 1989 in “Aqueous Spaces,” a display at the Broadway Windows gallery at New York University. Ms. Kovary’s interest in working on clear surfaces was sparked early in her career when she painted windows with a stained-glass effect for people who didn’t want to put up curtains. After another client commissioned her to paint a shower curtain with swimmers, Ms. Kovary looked to move to a larger format. She discovered that acrylic paint worked well on Mylar, which resembles huge sheets of Saran Wrap. Some of the opaque panels are painted on both sides. The original panels were the result of a backlash against a digital and video art show she had seen as a new fine arts graduate of the Pratt Institute at the Whitney Museum. “Art critics of the time were saying painting was dead,” Ms. Kovary recalled. She decided “to paint and paint and paint everything I could find to paint and keep doing it,” she said. Ms. Kovary later used 35 of the clear panels in 1992 in a tent-shaped installation, “Art in the Scale of Being,” at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan. “When you walked in, it gave you the feeling of being in an aquarium or a mirrored funhouse,” she said.When Ms. Kovary and her husband, Chris, an architect, moved to East Norwich from Queens in 1993, she took a hiatus from art to raise their children, Logan, now 16, and Noelle, 15. Her experience giving arts and crafts lessons as a Girl Scout leader led her to start a cottage business, the Art House Studio, where she gives private art classes. Over the years, many of the original panels Ms. Kovary painted for the N.Y.U. show were destroyed or lost with different installations. The 20-odd panels that remained intact became the basis of the Tilles Center exhibition. “The challenge was definitely integrating the older work with the new work and making it cohesive,” the artist said. A further challenge was installing the work at the Tilles. Ms. Kovary took a trip to a local tackle shop to master the knots required to attach the top of each panel to a swivel hook in the ceiling. Two staff members did the actual installation, but Ms. Kovary did have herself hoisted into the air afterward. “I was on a scissor lift removing fingerprints,” she said.

Briarcliff

We are beginning to fill spaces for monthly art exhibits at
Briarcliffe College, Patchogue

the following months are available:

October , December 06,

Jan , Feb, March, April, May 07
The exhibition space holds up to 12 pieces.

All must be framed and ready for hanging

You have the option to have a reception

you can also share the exhibition space

Just keep in mind, the space holds 12 large paintings.
Please contact Lisa L. Cangemi

Event Coordinator
Briarcliffe College, Patchogue Campus
516-295-0936 or email ccgraphics85@aol.com