City of Georgetown Texas > Georgetown Arts & Culture > Articles by: theerin

Community Painting Party – “Preserving History” Mural

On Thursday, October 24th from 9am-7pm, the Arts and Culture Board will host a community painting party for community members to come out and help paint portions of the “Preserving History” mural that honors Mary Smith Bailey, founder of the Mary Bailey Head Start Center in Georgetown.  This is a unique opportunity to engage and collaborate with local artists Devon Clarkson and Norma Clark as they create an artistic backdrop to the historic African American Shotgun House.

You must sign up for a one-hour time slot to paint.  There are 6 openings available per time slot, and all materials are provided.

To sign up for your time slot, please call or email Amanda Still, Arts & Culture Coordinator, at (512) 930-8471 or arts@georgetown.org

Location: Georgetown City Hall; 808 Martin Luther King Jr St

 

City Hall Gallery Features Artwork by Gary Anderson

The current exhibit at City Hall features local artist Gary Anderson from July 1 – September 31.

“Compelled to explore discarded, anachronistic, and misplaced items, Gary Anderson’s work endeavors to offer objects an afterlife within other forms. By performing repetitive and rhythmic artistic tasks, he creates families of related shapes and textures, resulting in the discovery of new sets, groups, and configurations. Individual reincarnated works materialize in their newly assigned place, beckoning us to contemplate and reflect.”

The Gallery Wall at City Hall will exhibit two local artists per year, an exhibition of Georgetown Independent School District Advanced Placement student artwork, and an exhibition of Southwestern University student artwork.  Local artists interested in being considered to exhibit may submit their resume and portfolio to arts@georgetown.org

Mary Ellen Butler

Mary Ellen Butler’s contributions to arts and culture in Georgetown were recognized in a mayoral proclamation at the City Council meeting on June 11, 2019.

During her 18-year tenure at The Palace, Mrs. Butler acted as Artistic Director then Executive Artistic Director. Mary Ellen led the Palace from near bankruptcy into an organization that is a bright beacon in Williamson County. She began the Palace education program and was instrumental in its growth. Her vision and attitude grew the program into the jewel of Williamson County. Mary Ellen also served as a champion for establishing new partnerships and bringing quality and affordable performing arts to Williamson County.

Mary Ellen Butler directed her first play, Our Town, at the Georgetown Palace Theatre in 2002. She served on the board of directors of the theatre and was hired as the Artistic Director in 2003. She remained in that position until her retirement in March, 2019. Mary Ellen helped establish the Palace as an anchor for the downtown which assisted Georgetown in becoming recognized as an official Cultural District by the Texas Commission on the Arts.

Georgetown Arts and Culture Grants Awarded

At the July 2019 Board meeting, the City of Georgetown Arts & Culture Board approved $10,000 in grants to local nonprofit organizations and schools. The grants will help fund local poetry, literature, visual art, music, theatre, and film events and programs in Georgetown.

The Georgetown arts and culture community is expanding and developing quickly, as evidenced by the number of arts and culture organizations that have never applied for a Georgetown Arts and Culture grant before.  In addition to the traditional art, music, theatre, and cultural heritage grant applications, it’s great to see funding requests for poetry, literature, and film.  Non-traditional musical perfomances such as pop-up, outdoor Baroque concerts and symphony performances of popular cartoon theme songs, as well as theatre arts performances such as magic shows are some examples of new genres popping up in our local arts and culture scene.

The events and programs funded in this grant cycle include:

Austin Opera for Austin Opera LIVE at the Georgetown Public Library – $661
Cinematic Symphony for Toon Tunes – Animation Concert – $1200
Elementary GISD Librarians for San Gabriel River Reader Author Presentation – $1760
Georgetown Poetry Festival for Georgetown Poetry Festival – $700
Georgetown Texas Photography for Georgetown Texas Photography Festival Co-Hosted by the Williamson Museum (Second Annual) – $772
Magic Hotline for Magic Mondays at Boys and Girls Club! – $500
New Vintage Baroque for New Vintage Baroque Pop-Up Concert Series – $1142
The Georgetown Palace Theatre for Inclusion in the Theatre – $1200
Southwestern University for Georgetown Green Film Series – $865
Writers’ League of Texas for Texas Writes: Georgetown – $1200

Funds are for events and programs taking place in Georgetown between October 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020.

“Colorful Georgetown” by Makenna Baylor, Cassidy Salyer, and Beti Wain

“Colorful Georgetown” – a collaborative piece by Makenna Baylor, Cassidy Salyer, and Beti Wain – was selected for the utility box at the corner of 2nd Street and Austin Avenue.

Several pieces of student artwork were submitted for consideration to the Arts and Culture Board by Eastview High School art instructor, Jessica Sobhani, during an open call for artwork submissions for public art in Georgetown. The art students selected and the EVHS Art Department recognize the value of public art to the community and the City of Georgetown, and the Georgetown Arts and Culture Board are honored to add “Lady of Georgetown” and “Colorful Georgetown” to the City public art collection.

“Lady of Georgetown” by Mya Stoessel

“Lady of Georgetown” by Mya Stoessel was selected by the Georgetown Arts and Culture Board for the utility box at the corner of 7th Street and Austin Avenue.

Several pieces of student artwork were submitted for consideration to the Arts and Culture Board by Eastview High School art instructor, Jessica Sobhani, during an open call for artwork submissions for public art in Georgetown. The art students selected and the EVHS Art Department recognize the value of public art to the community and the City of Georgetown, and the Georgetown Arts and Culture Board are honored to add “Lady of Georgetown” and “Colorful Georgetown” to the City public art collection.

Call for Grant Proposals Now Open!

The Georgetown Arts and Culture Board is now inviting grant proposals for art, music, theatre, dance, and cultural heritage events or projects occurring Oct. 2019-March 2020 .

Nonprofit organizations, schools, informal arts and culture organizations, and individual artists who are creating public art, arts and culture programming, or an event open to the public are eligible to apply.

The grant proposal form for events and programs occurring Oct. 2019-March 2020 will be live at 12:01 am on June 1, 2019 and will close at 11:59 pm on June 30, 2019. Click here to go to the form:

Grant Proposal Form

For more information, please visit the grant page.