A Message from the Delaware Division of the Arts

By Guest Blogger, Paul Weagraff
Paul is the Director of the Delaware Division of the Arts, as well as a talented actor! He has performed in numerous productions throughout the Delaware Valley.

Fall has arrived—and with it—school, new programs, and new schedules. This is the time of year when routines get established, or re-established as the case may be. There is no better time to look at what’s going on in the arts and work that into your schedule.

Make the arts a regular part of your routine. Whether visiting a museum, taking in a play, or exploring a new culture through one of Delaware’s many festivals, there are many ways to engage in the arts: as audience, as participant, as patron.

We all know the arts contribute to a vibrant economy, to a comprehensive education, and to strong communities…but only if people participate! October is National Arts and Humanities Month, so take part in the national celebration of arts and culture.

Visit DelawareScene.com and check out what’s happening in the arts around you!

Newark Film Festival

Perhaps it was my mood or my companion or possibly Al Mascitti’s glib introduction to In the loop, Armando Ianucci’s brilliant mockery of how the US managed to involve the UK in Iraq, but I laughed at the horror of it all and felt better for the catharsis.

Outrage, an exposé of homophobic homosexuals in Congress, left me cold – and yet, I have thought and talked about it more than any other movie and the accusations therein will influence my vote in 2012.

Sin nombre takes one from Honduras through Guatemala and Mexico on top of a train and gave a view of the life immigrants are fleeing when they come breathlessly across the border with Texas.

Hunger was an ice-cold view of the most horrific abuse of IRA prisoners --overlayed by the strained and artificially patrician overtones of Maggie Thatcher.

Valentino provided material for reminiscence of a 60s Vogue reader but the staged intimacies fell flat.

Moon was a diabolical puzzle: Sam Bell notices that his body and brain are failing just weeks before he finishes his three-year contract as a miner on the dark side of the moon.

Summer hours was a surprisingly slow and disjointed story of a mother’s death and the family she leaves behind. Many red herrings and several threads of stories that did not hold together left me happy that I could crown the evening with dinner at Saigon.

But the film which made the entire festival worthwhile was Horse Boy, a film about desperate parents of an autistic boy who decide to take him to Mongolia to be treated by Shamans. There was an effect, but the overly educated parents were slow to attribute it to the witchcraft they had sought.

Barry Schlecker deserves so much credit for the panoply of film choices, the invitation of local celebrities to introduce films, the contest for filmmakers to create 30-second commercials of the Film Fest sponsors, the organized activities in Newark, the contacts with film companies and film initiatives whose web addresses are listed below. Special recognition goes to Brian Soward of the Delaware Film Company for his tireless promotion of the initiative to bring films to Delaware. Please visit the sites listed below to support some of these filmmakers and if you love cinema, please patronize the Newark Cinema Center 3 to keep it afloat for next year’s Newark Film Festival.

You can still see Wiener takes all, Liberation, Valentino, Afghan Star, Outrage, Valentino, Cheri and Horse Boy at the Delaware Art Museum September 25 – 27 .

www.newarkfilm.com

delawarefilmcompany.com

http://www.whatsthedif.net/hub/

http://www.bringfilmtodelaware.com/

Delaware Loses an Arts "Jewel"

A few weeks ago, Delaware lost an extraordinary member of its Arts community. Artist Julie Baxendell passed away in August after a brave battle with breast cancer. This Saturday afternoon, a celebration and memorial will be held in her honor at Peninsula Gallery in Lewes (520 E. Savannah Road, Lewes).

I met Julie nearly 10 years ago, while working for The (then) Wilmington Music School. Charged with identifying regional artists to exhibit in the school's space, I began where I thought most sensible: the artist roster of the Delaware Division of the Arts. I systematically started alphabetically, but called off my search entirely when I found Baxendell's work.

To me, her use of color and texture was explosive and playful, and her paintings evoked such "feeling"---I wish I could explain better. I was an instant fan, and she remains among my favorite artists. I have been to numerous exhibits and events where her work was displayed and loved spending time with her and her work. She often painted tranquil scenes of Sussex County where she lived, but her series of Key West, Italy and Portugal are equally as striking.

Not only was she an accomplished talent (she received a 2002 Artist Fellowship from the DDOA and a 2003 Fellowship from the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation), she was an extremely joyful and generous individual, donating works for the benefit of such organziations as the Children's Beach House, The Wilmington Music School and AIDS Delaware.

I am grateful to have known her and am honored to own some of her work. I ask you to help keep her contribution to the Delaware Arts scene alive and discover all that she has given us. I know you'll not be disappointed. Thank you, Julie. You will be truly missed!

See http://www.juliebaxendell.com/.