Arts & Cultural Council of Bucks County

Join us on Tuesday, September 13th for our Annual Members Reception at the Michener Museum. Network with fellow arts and culture practitioners while enjoying music by the Steve Parker Trio and the Museum's collections and special exhibitions Unguarded, Untold, Iconic: Afghanistan through the Lens of Steve McCurry and Oh Panama! Jonas Lie Paints the Panama Canal. All included in your membership.

Stop by our booth (#15 between Hamilton & Clinton streets) anytime this weekend or during the artists presentations below.

Saturday: 10-12 ~ Pattie Bradeis, Portrait painter 12-2 ~ Mary Shafer, Author. introducing her latest book "Metal Detecting for beginners:101" and a demo of how to use one. 2-4 ~ Kirby Fredendall, Painter. Displaying her current work.

Annual Arts & Culture Council of Bucks County Member Reception

Join us on September 13th, 5-7pm, for our Annual Members Reception at the Michener Museum. Network with fellow arts and culture practitioners and aficionados while enjoying music by the Steve Parker Trio and the Museum's collections and special exhibitions Unguarded, Untold, Iconic: Afghanistan through the Lens of Steve McCurry and Oh Panama! Jonas Lie Paints the Panama Canal. All included in your membership.

Stop by the Arts & Culture Council booth at the Doylestown Art Festival, September 10 & 11 10am-5pm, anytime or during the artists presentations below.

Saturday: 10-12 ~ Pattie Bradeis, Portrait painter 12-2 ~ Mary Shafer, Author. introducing her latest book "Metal Detecting for beginners:101" and a demo of how to use one. 2-4 ~ Kirby Fredendall, Painter. Displaying her current work.

The Arts and Cultural Council of Bucks County, a consortium of organizations and individuals devoted to promoting the region as a cultural magnet, has selected Bucks County Community College as its Member of the Year.

The award, which will be presented at the council’s annual members reception in September, recognizes the college’s work in the education, promotion and support of the arts in Bucks County.

“We are pleased to acknowledge Bucks County Community College’s long-term role in both educating the public and serving as a venue for arts and cultural events,” said council president Anna-Lena Bromberg. “We are fortunate to have such a highly regarded teaching institution as a member of our council, a member that is consistently supportive and inclusive of our rich arts and cultural community.”  

Founded in 1964, the public, two-year college offers nearly 80 programs of study that lead to an associate degree or certificate. It’s one of the few community colleges in the country accredited by both the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and the National Association of Schools of Music.

“The college values its longstanding partnership with the Arts and Cultural Council of Bucks County through our shared vision of promoting the arts throughout the region,” said Dr. Stephanie Shanblatt, president of Bucks County Community College. “We are honored to be recognized by the council and look forward to future collaborations.”

Recently, the college partnered with several organizations to cohost the first annual Plein Air Festival which featured fifty artists from Bucks County and all over the United States. It hosts numerous cultural events throughout the year, most of which are free, at venues like the Hicks Art Center Gallery in Newtown, The Gallery at the Lower Bucks Campus in Bristol, and a picturesque outdoor amphitheater at the Upper Bucks Campus in Perkasie. The Zlock Performing Arts Center at Newtown is also host to musical and theatrical events, while the Language and Literature Department sponsors the Bucks County Poet Laureate contest and Wordsmiths Reading Series, attracting bards and literature lovers from across the region.

Join the Arts and Cultural Council at our fundraiser, The Bristol Stroll, on Saturday, May 14, 2016. Tickets are only $30.00 and include a tour of Historic Bristol, continental breakfast, food and beverages at the King George Inn and dessert. Proceeds go directly to the Arts & Cultural Council of Bucks County to support the arts in our county! 

Info: http://www.bucksarts.org/events/council-events/item/571-bristol-stroll

Dear Friend of the Arts, Looking for an opportunity to bring visibility to your business while supporting Bucks County's rich artistic and cultural offerings?

On May 14, 2016, the Bristol Stroll will bring individuals from throughout the region to discover Bristol's exciting sites: the new Centre for the Arts, the iconic Bristol Riverside Theater, the Grundy Library and Grundy Museum, the King George Inn and the Gallery at Lower Bucks Campus at Bucks County Community College.

Place an ad in the souvenir program book that will be distributed to all attendees! A business card-sized ad is $25, a half-page ad is $50, and a full-page ad is $100.

Tour site sponsors receive not only a full-page program ad, but also 2 tickets for the Bristol Stroll event, a sign featuring their business's name at one of the stops on the tour, and acknowledgement on the Arts & Cultural Council of Bucks County's web page, all for $300.

To learn more about the Bristol Stroll, to reserve your place in the program book, or to pledge your sponsorship support, contact Jim Sell at [email protected].

Big news! After 14 years of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the beginning of a new era is at hand. Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a final conference report ushering in the beginning of a new acronym, ESSA, the Every Student Succeeds Act as the new federal K-12 education law.

The vote was 359-64.

Next stop is a vote in the U.S. Senate and the President's desk by year-end.

Take two minutes now to help us to get the bill over the finish line by contacting your Senators with our customizable alert. Ask them to support the conference report. A vote is anticipated next week (the week of December 7th).

This bill has been years in the making. Americans for the Arts and about 87 other arts and arts education organizations have met yearly to publish a set of policy briefs to address arts education legislative objectives and share with arts advocates across the country every year for Arts Advocacy Day, now in its 29th year!

Most recently, we developed a national petition to the members of Congress serving on the conference committee to voice support for retaining 13 arts-friendly provisions within the bill. Combined, over 20,000individuals signed the petition. Happily, many of these provisions made it into the final bill.

Today we are publishing a blog outlining and reviewing these many provisions in the final bill. We hope you will share it, comment on it, and send us your questions.

Among a dozen important pro-arts provisions, the bill will: Retain dedicated funding for arts education with a new Assistance for Arts Education program; Define a well-rounded education, including the arts; Allow integration of the arts to increase participation in STEM courses and to improve attainment of STEM-related skills (STEAM); Continue authorization of the popular 21st Century Community Learning Centers, that support the arts in afterschool, out-of-school, and expanded learning time in schools. THANK YOU for your many, many efforts to ensure that arts education is supported in our nation's new education law. Take this last step to help get the bill through the U.S. Senate.

With more responsibility for education policy shifting to the states, your action will continue to be critical, especially as federal reauthorization transitions to state implementation.

Museums, historical sites, theaters, zoos and educational programs aren’t commodities--they’re valuable cultural experiences that are important to children, families, and communities across the state. This 11th hour move to limit access to these institutions places the burden on schools and other audiences to shoulder the budget stalemate made by Pennsylvania lawmakers.

On Tuesday December 1, 2015, The Arts and Cultural Council of Bucks County is participating in Giving Tuesday Bucks.

As we continue our mission to foster, strengthen and promote Bucks County's diverse arts and culture, I ask that you consider joining our Board of Directors in supporting the Art Council during the Giving Tuesday campaign!

It is easy to find us by clicking on the link www.givingtuesdaybucks.org. Look for our logo, click on it and then find the tag "payment plans", scroll down and chose "make a donation". Pay by pay pal or check.  It is as easy as that! And your donation is tax deductible!

With your help, we will be able to expand on the support we provide to all that  Bucks County has to offer in the various disciplines of Arts and Culture.  

Thank you and best wishes for a pleasant and peaceful holiday season to all!  

Anna-Lena Bromberg President, Board of Directors

This month, Congress is heading into final negotiations over the education reform bill and we need your help to make sure Congress knows the importance of retaining arts education provisions and ensuring that all students have access to a well-rounded education that includes the arts.

This week, we are putting out a last call. We've developed a national petition to the members of Congress serving on the conference committee to voice support for retaining arts-friendly provisions within the bill. By Sunday, November 15th, we hope you will join over 15,000 arts advocates in signing the petition! Once you've signed, encourage 5 of your friends and colleagues to do the same.

In the next several weeks, a select congressional conference committee is working to reconcile the Every Child Achieves Act (S.1177) and the Student Success Act (H.R. 5) into a final piece of legislation that President Obama will sign.

If successful, it will be the first time in 14 years that federal K-12 education policy has advanced. This is a big deal for a whole generation of students. It is looking that a final vote may likely occur prior to year-end.

This week marked the beginning of National Arts & Humanities Month! President Obama once again commemorated the occasion with a Presidential Proclamation, stating that "this month, we recognize the ways the arts and humanities have forever changed our country, and we recommit to ensuring every American has the opportunity and the freedom to question, discover, and create."

As we head into National Arts & Humanities Month, we want to update you on the state of arts education in Congress and let you know how you can make your voice heard in Washington. Earlier this year, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate each approved legislation to replace the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

This fall, a select congressional conference committee is working to reconcile the Every Child Achieves Act (S.1177) and the Student Success Act (H.R. 5) into a final piece of legislation that President Obama will sign.

If successful, it will be the first time in 14 years that federal K-12 education policy has advanced. This is a big deal for a whole generation of students. Combined, the two bills contain 13 arts-friendly provisions, including retaining the arts as a core academic subject which is a key legislative priority.