Metro Arts Institute Nurtures Young Artists

Posted on 3/30/12 by J. Seth Anderson » No Comments

Art is a process of self-discovery, and that path, when followed by a population of artists, can play an important role in creating the character of a city.

The identity of Phoenix is made stronger by our arts community, from the small business owners who occupy gallery space, to the evolution and success of First Fridays. The city benefits from the inspiration and new ideas discovered through a creative process, but “if you don’t provide for your artists, they leave.”

So says Matt Baker, founder of Metropolitan Arts Institute.

Believing arts education is one way to provide for young artists, Baker in 1998 founded Metro Arts as a tuition-free, college preparatory visual and performing arts school for grades 7-12. The charter school is modeled after California art schools like Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences in Santa Monica and Idyllwild Arts Academy in Idyllwild-Pine Cove.

“Phoenix is an adolescent city. We need more people to found organizations that get others thinking about our identity and who we are,” said Baker, the current Head of School. “One advantage to living in an adolescent city is anyone can do that. After grad school I wasn’t planning on staying in Phoenix, but the opportunity to start this school came up, and I’m still here.”

In public high schools, art and music programs always seem to be on the chopping block, while a heavy emphasis is placed on athletic programs. For students serious about sports, traditional high schools provide fields, weight rooms, pools, and dedicated coaches.

Talented athletes have more opportunities to be seen by scouts or receive scholarships than do talented artists who may not even have a chance to take an art elective until their junior year of high school. By then, too much time has passed to create a well-rounded portfolio.

“Students come to Metro Arts in 7th and 8th grade, explore different art forms, then come into their freshmen year prepared. Like playing a sport, it’s best to start young,” said Baker.

280 students are enrolled this year with 60-100 on a waiting list. Prospective students must be in good academic standing with at least a C average, have passed the AIMS test, and had no serious disciplinary action on their student record.

“Being an artist doesn’t mean you get to be lazy. It means you are creative. You have to produce,” said Baker. At Metro Arts, students have the guidance, encouragement, and opportunity to do just that.

Part of the vision of Metro Arts is to create a pre-professional environment that exposes students to the realities of life in the art world. Two big art shows are held each school year in which students compete to get in by submitting their best work, which is juried, just as in the professional world. Students have other opportunities to show their work at the Phoenix Art Museum, the ASU Art Museum and the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.

 An Artist Grows in Phoenix

Last year as a freshmen, Bela Elvin painted a self-portrait; won second place at the Arizona Student Film Festival for a public service announcement she collaborated on about healthy eating titled “A Series of Unhealthy Events;” starred in a play; and wrote her own for the 5 Minute Play Festival titled “Dr. Khatte Tells his Tail,” a one act play about an intellectually suppressed cat.

Now a sophomore, she is gaining valuable hands-on experience and building an impressive portfolio while also completing the required high school academic courses in biology, geometry and humanities.

Bela’s mother, Katie Elvin, a poet and artist herself, was renting a room at 11 East Ashland, a former art gallery in Phoenix, when Bela was born.

“She came into the world surrounded by art. When she was a little girl I knew I wanted her to attend an art school,” said Elvin. “Artists think differently and may not flourish in a traditional school. I wanted to help her build skill sets to do the things she wants to do in the future.”

Bela speaks about her school and education with the maturity of a sophomore in college, not a sophomore in high school. Her passion for her work and excitement about the training she receives at Metro Arts brightens the room like houselights in a theater.

“If you just want to breeze through classes and do the bare minimum required to pass, you can do that just like you can anywhere. But if you want to make the most of your arts education, you can. The teachers have experience and vast knowledge of what they do. The academic teachers are just as passionate about their subjects as the arts teachers.” She says her math teacher considers the subject an art form. “I was terrible at math until I took his algebra class.”

All the arts teachers are also working artists from the Phoenix arts community. The Assistant Head of School, Lisa Starry, is the Artistic Director of Scorpius Dance Theater. Bela’s Mixed Media teacher is Sue Chenoweth, a painter whose most recent solo exhibition, “Spyhopping” opened at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in 2010. Chenoweth’s work has also been shown in New York and other galleries in Phoenix. Bela says she is excited to study under such an accomplished artist this year.

After she graduates from Metro Arts Bela plans to attend McGill University in Montreal, Canada to pursue a degree in psychology and theater, but for now she is focused on making the most of her sophomore year. She wrote another play that has been accepted into the 5 Minute Play Festival and she has kept busy by working on that production.

Her favorite memory of the last school year was when Alan Arkin visited Metro Arts and spoke to the student body.

“He told us that when someone asks us what we do, not to say, ‘I’m an actress’ but instead to say ‘I’m a person who acts.’ He told us to put ourselves being a human before our work. I liked his message because he was teaching us not to define ourselves simply by our work because that doesn’t say who we are as people, ” said Bela.

Perhaps our city can be defined by people like her.

Tags: Bela Elvin, charter school, college prep, Encanto-Palmcroft, high school, Lisa Starry, Matt Baker, Metro Arts Institute, Metropolitan Arts Institute, Scorpius Dance Theatre, Sue Chenoweth
Posted in A & E, Business, Culture, Districts, Education, Encanto-Palmcroft, Families / Kids, News & Events, Top 5 |

Photo Gallery: Girls Have IT Day

Posted on 3/22/12 by DPJ Staff » No Comments

Xavier College Preparatory partnered with the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University to host its fourth annual “Girls Have IT Day” last Friday. The event, originally developed by Xavier students in conjunction with faculty, promotes young women’s involvement in science, information technology (IT), engineering, art and math (STEAM).

More than 500 middle school girls from around the Phoenix metropolitan area participated in the day’s events, along with over 100 Xavier students who mentored the younger students throughout the day. Hands-on activities had the students making customized lip gloss to floating concrete. Check out the gallery below – and thanks to Xavier College Preparatory for sharing photos!

Tags: downtown phoenix events, Girls Have IT Day, photo gallery, Uptown Phoenix, Xavier College Preparatory
Posted in A & E, Districts, Education, Families / Kids, News & Events, Top 5, Uptown |

A Temporary Future for Empty Lots?

Posted on 2/22/12 by Jill Bernstein » No Comments

A community conversation was held this morning at the Ro2 Lot, on the northeast corner of 2nd and Roosevelt Streets, to discuss temporary use projects for empty lots in Downtown Phoenix.

Over one hundred people showed up to hear Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton and William McDonough (international sustainability expert and the author of Cradle to Cradle) discuss urban sustainability efforts both locally and internationally, with a particular emphasis on ways in which the City of Phoenix can create incentives for private property owners to participate in temporary lot activation projects.

Stanton noted that as the economy begins to improve, we have “a unique moment in time” to rethink development, to “do it right” and not go back to “the same old same old.” As one way of “doing it right,” he proposed using empty city lots as demonstration projects to show what can be done. Appropriate temporary use projects could include gardens, arts spaces, pocket parks and more.

Mayor Stanton was quick to point out that there is nothing anti-private property about encouraging these projects and that a savvy developer can develop a great deal of good will in the community by allowing appropriate temporary use. He hinted that he will be making an announcement within the next thirty days involving “a big empty lot project.” The where and what remains unknown for now.

Beyond the issue of temporary activation of vacant lots, Stanton addressed the next evolution of transportation in a regional environment and pointed out that all transportation systems need to be supportive of our aging population, and that development along the light rail and walkability are important quality of life factors as we grow older.

He also addressed the role of historic preservation in overall sustainability efforts, mentioning the A.E. England building as a “great demonstration project” of how an historic building can be adapted to new uses, and applauding Michael Levine’s work in restoring the historic warehouses just south of Downtown.

The Lot – What Should Go Here? is a “Phoenix-based community project to help creatively activate and transform one vacant lot at a time into temporary spaces the community can enjoy until they are later developed.” Community partners in this initiative include Roosevelt Row CDC, the ASU Global Institute for Sustainability, Urban Initiatives, Continental Shift, Edge Industries/The Funk Lab, monOrchid , Champion PR + Consulting, and Envirogreen.

 

Tags: Community, empty lots, Mayor Greg Stanton, Sustainability, temporary use projects
Posted in Business, Commercial, Districts, Education, Evans Churchill, News, News & Events, Nonprofits, Real Estate, Top 5 |

Op Ed | Kimber Lanning on the Amazon Effect

Posted on 2/15/12 by Kimber Lanning » 17 Comments

We are surrounded by small businesses in Downtown Phoenix, and we know much of Downtown’s success rests on the shoulders of these business owners. As we survey the current economic climate, it is critical to understand the impact a national retailer can have on the health of our local economy. Kimber Lanning, founder and executive director of Local First Arizona, provides insight on the ramifications of the current sales tax impasse between the State of Arizona and Amazon.

Last week at the Arizona State Senate subcommittee hearing Don Isaacson, the lead attorney for Amazon, took the podium to make the case that economies change over time. “We all remember the days of mom and pops,” he said, “and then there were the days of the big box retailers….” I surmise this to be a very honest glimpse into the world vision Amazon holds, but what does it mean for Arizona?

For the moment, let’s forget the fact that there are over 40,000 independent businesses operating in Arizona today, with a payroll of around 21 billion per year, and let’s focus on our state’s economy and what would be left of it if Amazon’s vision becomes reality.

Let’s say Amazon is successful in eliminating 20% of the independent businesses in Arizona. Most people understand the immediate job loss and can easily process the thought of, say, 5,000 people losing their jobs because businesses closed. “Amazon is hiring,” some people will say, and that’s true. So let’s be fair and say Amazon will create 1,000 more jobs over the next couple of years, leaving a net job loss of 4,000. But now, let’s move on to calculate the secondary jobs that were supported by the 20% of now defunct independent businesses. For every book store or hardware store that closes, one more accountant loses a job, one more web developer loses a client, one more graphic designer loses a project. Soon these supporting businesses will close down, because, well, Amazon isn’t hiring them for their services.

Now let’s measure the impact on real estate. How could we put a number or real value on the blight caused by over 8,000 closed up businesses littering our state? With no new start ups looking to rent commercial space, how many building owners would be forced into bankruptcy? What exactly would the world look like if we all decided to buy everything from Amazon? Where would we all work and how would we earn enough money to keep shopping on Amazon?

Given this bleak picture of the world, which may or may not come true, it’s unfathomable that Amazon has convinced so many people that they should not have to collect sales taxes as every other business has in the history of this country. Sales taxes, or transaction taxes, are collected to pay for services we all enjoy like police and fire protection, libraries, neighborhood services, parks, transportation, and additionally, a small percent of sales taxes are dedicated to education. Anyone interested in improving education in Arizona should be screaming for consistent sales tax collection.

The word TAX has become such a political lightening rod that people are not thinking clearly about which tax we are talking about. This is not a corporate tax that causes companies to have to reach into their profits to pay, nor is this a NEW tax. This is the tax that consumers have always paid on their purchases in order to be able to enjoy the services I outlined above. We could revisit our founding fathers’ logic and decide that we all want to opt out of fire protection or any other services provided by the city, county, or state, but it’s a safe bet that most people are not ready to fight their own house fires with garden hoses.

Recently the Arizona Department of Revenue handed Amazon a bill for $53 million to cover part of the taxes they failed to collect between 2006 and 2010, and there was some public outcry about this being “unfair” to Amazon. Think of this bill as a simple fine for breaking the law. With four distribution centers located here in Arizona totaling over 4 million square feet of space, Amazon is and has been refusing to collect transaction taxes on sales conducted to the people of Arizona.

Every other retailer operating in this state collects these taxes, whether they are on-line or bricks-and-mortar businesses. Order from Walmart on-line and you will pay AZ transaction taxes. Order from Land’s End and you will pay the same taxes because their parent company, Sears, has stores here in Arizona, even though Land’s End does not. They are law-abiding companies doing business here and enjoying a comfortable profit.

I have heard many Amazon defenders claiming that forcing their company to collect sales tax flies in the face of free markets. In reality, allowing one company to be exempt from a law requiring all transactions to include a tax for municipal services is absolutely anti-free markets. I don’t know a single independent business that wants a government hand-out. In fact, most are happy to compete as long as the playing field is level.

Amazon will most definitely take Arizona to court over their $53 million bill, not because they feel they have a case, but just to drag the battle on longer. Meanwhile they continue to ignore the tax, which gives them a 9.3% advantage over all other businesses. They may offer the Arizona Department of Revenue a bargain and agree to collect the taxes starting in 2014, which is what they did in California, but in the duration how many other Arizona businesses will be lost?

Arizonan’s are currently the 7^th LEAST taxed people in the union. If we fail to pay sales taxes our services will decay rapidly. Already it is estimated that Amazon has failed to collect upwards of $750 million in sales taxes, so let’s not be surprised when we get our next property tax bill and it’s double what we expected. The taxes have to come from somewhere. It’s in our best interest to stick to the agreement we have and pay our sales taxes and to require businesses operating here to collect the exact same taxes.

Senate Bill 1338 is currently moving through our legislature and will close Amazon’s last loophole by specifically requiring businesses with warehouse space OR retail space to collect the same amount of sales tax. This initiative, which supports the very fundamentals that makes capitalism work in this country, is nothing short of the only solution to save jobs in Arizona.

About the author

Kimber Lanning is an entrepreneur, economic specialist, and community activist who works to cultivate vibrant, sustainable communities and inspire a higher quality of life throughout Arizona. Lanning is actively involved in fostering cultural diversity, economic self-reliance, regional planning, and responsible growth in the greater Phoenix area. She is the founder and Executive Director of Local First Arizona, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising public awareness of the positive economic and environmental impacts of supporting locally owned businesses.

Tags: Amazon, Economic development, Kimber Lanning, Local First Arizona, sales taxes, small business
Posted in Business, Commercial, Districts, Education, News, News & Events, Real Estate, Top 5 |

RetroPHX.com – An Idea and Design Competition for Phoenix

Posted on 2/14/12 by Alexandra Flamini » No Comments

The Phoenix Urban Research Laboratory is extending an invitation to help brainstorm new solutions for a better Phoenix.

RetroPHX, a play on the word retrofit, is an ideas and design competition site sponsored by the Phoenix Urban Research Laboratory (PURL), an extension of Arizona State University’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. According to Aaron Kimberlin, Assistant Director of PURL, “RetroPHX focuses on new and innovative concrete ideas that can be made at the parcel, block and regional level.”

Anyone from students to professionals and from visitors to residents can submit their design ideas at RetroPHX.com. The site, which is simple to understand and use, features a map of Phoenix and a list of idea categories.

To submit an idea, participants complete an online form with information such as proposed location, summary of the idea and various categories to file it under. Ideas can be submitted through May 1.

“We are looking for thought-out ideas that can make Phoenix unique, interconnected and sustainable,” said Kimberlin.

Those ideas include creating high speed transit trains on existing freeway systems, better insulating house to save electricity, and transforming garages to mini-businesses.

RetroPHX was inspired by New York’s “By the City For the City” design and ideas competition. “By the City For the City” offers cash prizes and features a similar user interface.

To ensure that RetroPHX doesn’t just become a graveyard of ideas, PURL will engage practicing professionals and students across the nation to respond to these ideas in the second phase of RetroPHX.

Eventually all of the ideas, proposals and designs will be consolidated into a book.

PURL’s goal is to “generate innovative solutions that have true impact on the quality of our urban environment.” The organization does this through research, coursework and public programming.

Kimberlin hinted that RetroPHX will play a bigger role in April, with the first ever Phoenix Urban Design Week. More details are to follow.

Tags: Aaron Kimberlin, ASU Herberger Insititute of Design and the Arts, Phoenix Urban Design Week, Phoenix Urban Research Lab
Posted in A & E, Business, Culture, Downtown District, Education, News, News & Events, Top 5 |