TALKING POINTS FOR JAZZ BRUNCH

Please take a look at the information below before the jazz brunch. It’s meant to help you be informed when talking to guests about the gallery. Also, we ask that you try to disperse yourselves evenly among the tables. We want to insure there is at least one board member at every table. Thanks!

 

WHO WE ARE

911 Gallery was founded by Mary Ann Kearns and Walter Wright in 1992. It opened in the front room of their house at 911 E Main Street in Indianapolis, IN. It gained worldwide recognition in 1994 when it became one of the first art galleries to exhibit artwork on the World Wide Web. Its exhibits have been published in print media including ARTnews, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Art New England, The Boston Globe, and Lowell SUN.

 

In 1996 911 Gallery moved to Fort Point Channel in Boston, MA, where it hosted exhibits and participated in Open Studios. In 1997 the gallery co-coordinated a digital printmaking workshop at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC , and joined the steering committee of the Boston Cyberarts Festival, for which it has produced more than a dozen exhibitions over four festivals.

 

In 1998 911 Gallery left Fort Point, and became 'virtual'. Mary Ann curated shows at Art Interactive and the Zeitgeist Gallery in Cambridge, and at The Brush Gallery, Evos Arts, and the VOIX in Lowell. Meanwhile Walter looked for space in Lowell.

 

119 Gallery, renamed for its new address at 119 Chelmsford Street, reopened in July 2005 less than a mile from the downtown Lowell, MA. The gallery is divided into a storefront cyber café and office, and main gallery. During the year the gallery hosts eight major exhibits, classes and workshops, and dozens of music, dance and video performances.

 

911 Electronic Media Arts Inc dba 119 Gallery is a 501(c)(3) educational corporation. We look forward to partnering and collaborating with local, national, and international artists and organizations.

 

WHAT WE DO

Our programs are focused in three areas: exhibition, events, and education.

 

Our exhibition program brings artists old and new to Lowell who are exploring new technologies and new ways of working Our events are varied from dance to movement to theater to live local bands to experimental jazz to film screenings and other creative explorations.  We even offer yoga classes for a reflective mind. Our education program primarily focuses on new technologies (social networking, video mixing) and working with master artists in a variety of fields from circuit building to live drawing.

 

OUR MISSION

119 Gallery promotes contemporary and new media art, innovative ideas and cutting-edge techniques with a rich and diverse program of exhibitions, performances and community-based arts services; and welcomes people of all ages, backgrounds and means to explore and experience new, innovative art.

 

119 Gallery: Where art meets innovation!

 

OUR ARTISTS

Mitchel K Ahern, Lee Aulson, Bebe Beard, Amy Boger, Gary Cadet, Ella Carlson, Ian Clyde, Jane Von Letkemann Coder, Merill Comeau, Daniel Coury, Michael Crockett, DeiX, Deb Dixon, Maxine Farkas, Charles Gallagher, Justin Gerace, Pam Goncalves, Chehalis Hegner, Adam Hosmer, Dian Hosmer, Jim Jeffers, JollyBoring, Hyun Ju Kim, Eben Kling, Erin Ko, Alyshia Lien, Jane-Sarah MacFarlane, Arena Matthis, Brendan McCauley, Hally McGehean, Noredin Morgan, Riki Moss, Jeremias Paul,Lisa Perkins, Wen Redmond, Brian Richard, Dan Rocha, Anna Isaak-Ross, Sharon Sawyer, Ruth Segaloff, Greg Sherer, Sam Smiley, Jonathan Spath, Margot Stage, SR Sopha, Emile Tobenfeld, Gay Tracy, Michal Truelsen, SR Sopha, Kellie Weeks, Ellen Wetmore, Jean Winslow, Gregory Wright are all members and artists who have exhibited at 119 Gallery.

 

THE FUTURE

We are really excited about our three years here at 119 Chelmsford Street. We have many engaged folks walking in our door. Our board provides not only leadership, but they are members and they run many of our programs. We have young people, old people, artists, those hoping to be artists, afficionados and many more connecting to us. We are excited about the future, about moving forward.

 

One of the reasons for today's Jazz Brunch is that we want more people to know about what we do and to see our artists and meet our members. We envision 119 as a space where folks can explore their creativity and share it with others.

 

For instance, next year we have a some great projects already in the works -

XFest, a weekend of experimental sound, light and movement. Nationally recognized improvisers play with local musicians, video artists and dancers.

Soundscape project will 'map' the aural landscape of Lowell. Based on the work of internationally recognized Canadian composer R Murray Shafer.

Upcoming exhibits (Mary Ann to fill in)

AstroDime Transit Authority will release two more INtransit video journals with special screenings at 119 Gallery,

Master classes will continue monthly. In January 2009 Mat Anderson is running a workshop on building contact microphones for performance.

 

Moving forward we are looking to get more folks involved. We are looking for a new audience. We are looking for board members and volunteers. We are looking for those who want to share their leadership skills and, of course, we are looking for cash. We are serious about moving forward and have set up the 119 Gallery Endowment Fund to start building towards a long-term future.

 

ENDOWMENT INFO

 

Q: Who gives to endowments?

A: Endowments are attractive to individuals, families and organizations that want to create long term annual support for the causes they care about most.

 

Q: How does an endowment fit into an overall organizational financial plan?

A: To be healthy and stable, an organization needs to meet its current operating budget without exerting 100% of its resources. In addition, an organization should have an operating reserve account, which covers somewhere between half of all of its annual expenses. Then, based on some fundamental criteria for definition of endowment donors, it is ready to consider endowment fund-raising.

 

Q: Is an endowment the same as a planned giving program?

A: Many use the terms interchangeably, but they really are two separate things. Endowment funds are grown over the long-term to provide a long-term source of annual income. Donors make long-term plans through such planned giving instruments as bequests, paid-up life insurance, charitable gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts to benefit nonprofits and their endowment funds.

 

Q: What happens to our endowment if our organization goes out of existence?

A: Community Foundations make nonprofit agency endowed funds inaccessible to creditors so the fund can continue to support other closely related nonprofit activities in the community.