HALF-MILLION GRANT FOR HAMMERSTEIN MUSEUM SIGNED IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS!
Phillips Mill Foundation for the Arts Announces An All-Women Artist Residency Council Will Select Female Fellows for The First Ten Artist Residency
Pictured above: Marilyn Minter, Deborah Berke, DeMane Davis, Leila Heller, Liesl Tommy, Marlene Barnett, Mira Nakashima, Miya Ando. Photo Credits: Contributed: Courtesy of PMFA, Winnie Au, Ryan McGinley
Phillips Mill Foundation for the Arts Announces the Launch
of the New Hope Colony Artist Residency in April 2021
An All-Women Artist Residency Council Will Select Female Fellows for The First Ten Artist Residency
The Phillips Mill Foundation for the Arts has announced the launch of its New Hope Colony Artist Residency for international artists pursuing creative and professional growth. For its inaugural residency, also known as The First Ten, the foundation formed the Artist Residency Council (ARC) composed of renowned female artists and creatives including architect Deborah Berke, visual artists Marilyn Minter and Miya Ando, furniture maker Mira Nakashima, filmmaker DeMane Davis, gallerist Leila Heller, sculptor Malene Barnett, and stage, television and film director Liesl Tommy. These ARC members will select 10 diverse, multi-disciplinary female artists to have the honor of forming the first cohort.
All Fellows are awarded stipends to offer the freedom to pursue new work without the financial pressures and limitations of daily lives, within a community of peers and among others focused on their artistic growth. Unique to this artist residency is the mentoring program whereby each Fellow will be invited to seek a mentor of their choice to provide artistic feedback and encouragement throughout the 4-week program, which will also combine career and business development coaching. This creative and professional ecosystem will offer serious artists working across a wide range of disciplines a robust, incubator-like environment. A second artist residency is slated for Summer 2021 and will include men and women candidates with additions to the ARC advisory council for nominations.
The original New Hope Colony was founded as an artist residency almost 100 years ago by famous Pennsylvania Impressionists William Lathrop, Edward Redfield and Daniel Garber. They were joined by the architect/artist Morgan Colt who built the iconic English Tudor village in New Hope, PA.
Though the first 4-week residency in April 2021 will be virtual, ultimately, the artists will reside in the restored historic English Village at Phillips Mill on the invigorating New Hope Colony’s grounds seated halfway between NYC and Philadelphia. Once a haven for artists seeking refuge, beauty, community and inspiration, the rehabilitated and modernized English village will be an ideal setting for reflection, wandering and focus.
Formed in 2018, the non-profit Phillips Mill Foundation for the Arts has initiated a $35 million fundraising campaign to restore, preserve and reinstate the New Hope Colony buildings and grounds as an international destination for artists and the public to engage, learn and grow, as the founders before them, in this magical place by the Delaware River. www.phillipsmillfoundation.org
Experience a Bucks County Trick or Treat Halloween Art Trail…October 31…Noon til Dark!
If you dare, wend your way through the colorful, leaf-strewn landscape of New Hope in Bucks County for treats, tricks, and art-filled experiences from the archival to the contemporary surreal.
A Unique Bucks County Trick or Treat Halloween Art Trail experience…October 31…Noon til Dark!
Presented by the Bucks County Arts Alliance
Raymond Farm Center for Living Arts and Design 6370 Pidcock Creek Road, New Hope, PA
Start your journey in the noon-day sun at the 90-acre Raymond Farm Center for Living Arts & Design and its Artist Residency. Instantly be transported to the 1940s and take a special curated tour of architect/designers Antonin and Noemi Raymond’s house museum and its preserved interiors. The Raymonds brought George Nakashima and his family to Bucks County to stay with them after his internment. Nakashima helped the Raymonds restore and design the Japanese-styled interiors and furnishings. The resulting house museum is a masterpiece of design.
Phillips Mill Foundation For the Arts 2606 River Road, New Hope, PA 18938
The next stop brings you to the hauntingly atmospheric Phillips Mill Foundation for the Arts, the site of the New Hope Colony and its just-launched Artist Residency. Venture through its historic English Village to experience and “Outside In/Inside Out” art activation, celebrating the birthplace of Pennsylvania Impressionism with an inside-the-windows art exhibition by its original Colony artists, and a surprising outside show by contemporary artists hung on the outer walls and ground at the Morgan Colt Forge.
Silo6776 6776 Upper York Road, New Hope, PA
Finish your art adventure at Cheryl Hazan’s Silo6776 Artists Residency and Exhibition Space where resident Scooter LaForge has a solo exhibition “Beef Jerkey” curated by Kates-Ferri Projects. Gather around the fire pits and view ghoulish outdoor sculptures and paintings of fairy tales gone amok, and enter a raffle for a chance to win a sculpture by the artist.
Costumes recommended; masks required.
RSVP TO INFO@BucksCountyArtsAlliance.com
Times and coordinates will be provided upon RSVP confirmation
NEW FEATHERS PLAYWRIGHT GETS PUBLISHED INTERNATIONALLY
Above: A mix of original launch photos of the 2017 New Feathers Productions Premiere Season - including rehearsals, playwrights, directors, producers and cast members with fans. New Feathers found its first home at the famed Raven Resort in New Hope, PA. Barry M. Putt Jr. was New Feather’s first full-length production. New Feathers grew and moved to the James A. Michener Museum in 2018 and will be announcing a newly secured and larger venue upon the lift of Covid-19 restrictions.
New Feathers Playwright Gets Published Internationally
October 1st, coincidentally, is an extraordinary day of celebration for playwright Barry M. Putt, Jr. The date represents the anniversary of the premiere of his original, full-length play Inside Out in 2017 at the famed Raven in New Hope, PA, produced by New Feathers Productions. It’s also the same date this year when Inside Out was published by Next Stage Press. A serendipitous fact for a feat that most presented playwrights naturally aim to achieve, yet seldom accomplish when having their work professionally produced in a new-works reading format.
When asking Barry about the exciting details and process regarding having this huge “added notch” in his career, he stated: “Now that Inside Out has been published, Next Stage Press will sell acting editions of the script and manage productions from a royalty standpoint. The play can have public readings and productions through them anywhere in the world and in any size venue from a classroom to a large stage. In general, my involvement in productions will be minimal. With that said, I would be glad to meet with producers and directors who produce the play to discuss the story and answer any questions they may have about it. For playwrights, publication exposes their work broadly to the theatre world so the industry knows it has been vetted and is available for production.”
When the initial producers, Mandee K. Hammerstein and Greg T. Nanni, selected Barry’s work for their reading series, several main factors were considered, aside from talent. Leading questions were: Did the show have relatability for diverse New Feathers audiences; did it truly provoke thought that additionally has relevancy in society; was the work efficient, such as casting options and portability for a NFP reading format and lastly, did the show “have the legs” to become a hopeful and fully-produced production in the future. The Playwright’s involvement in the rehearsal process is also important as it optimizes the chance for a successful public reading. Prior to the COVID-19 restrictions, New Feathers Productions was scheduled to offer live, theatrical programming during the Fall of 2020 at a new and much larger stage to accommodate growing audiences. Currently, NFP is planning a rescheduled production season in 2021, TBA.
For insight from a playwright’s perspective related to the New Feathers Productions experience, producer, Mandee K. Hammerstein, had the following Q&A with playwright, Barry M. Putt, Jr.
Q. What was it like being a part of New Feathers?
A. Working with New Feathers was a fun and rewarding experience. It gave me the opportunity to work with talented theater professionals and introduce new plays to an audience.
Q. What value, as a playwright, did being part of New Feathers provide to you and your work during the production and beyond?
A. New Feathers highlights emerging playwrights and their work. Working with them enabled me to get an audience's reaction to my new plays, which helped me to continue to hone the scripts.
Q. How does New Feathers, in your professional opinion as a playwright, stand out from other produced reading series? (continued below)
Above: New Feathers Productions at their “other nest” - the James A. Michener Art Museum - images feature promotional photos, theater-goers on site, rehearsals at Hammerstein’s Highland Farm, production nights with various cast members AND an exciting Feature Cover Story in Princeton’s Time Out by Ken Downey Jr. A new theater home and production season secured for Fall 2020, has been rescheduled to Spring 2021 - TBA.
