It is with great excitement and indebtedness to Bobbie Spiegelman and Erica Hager, past chairs, that I have accepted the mantle of Chairperson for the Marshall Fund for the Creative Arts this year. The Marshall Fund has presented such timeless artists as the women's vocal and dance group, Libana, and the modern origami artist, Michael Lafosse. The fund originated when Bill Marshall retired as Headmaster in 2001 and with his wife, Donna Marshall, who retired as Lower School Art Teacher in 1999, decided to leave a legacy in the creative arts for the Applewild community. Faculty, parents and trustees are encouraged to sponsor an artist or artists by inquiring about daily fees and programs and then writing a proposal that will outline the artists(s) visit. Each proposal is reviewed by the Marshall Fund for the Creative Arts Committee consisting of Bill and Donna Marshall, Frank Bonanno, Jen Caldwell, Erica Hager, Clarence Rabideau, Bobbie Spiegelman, Chris Williamson and myself. After a careful selection process, our committee chooses the timeliest of the proposals and notifies each sponsor. The sponsor(s) then invites these artists to work within our residency program. Residencies have included classes within a week and those spread over several months throughout the year.
For the 2006-2007 arts season, The Marshall Fund is proud to welcome the naturalist, artist and author, Clare Walker Leslie, www.clarewalkerleslie.com, to campus on September 20, 21 & 27 and October 4, 5, 11 &12. In addition, we welcome the poet, Lyn Hoopes, on September 26 and October 3 &10. Both these talented women are sponsored by Bobbie Spiegelman. The New Year brings the puppeteer, Judith O'Hare, www.youandmepuppets.com, on January 23, 25 & 30 and again on February 1, 6, 7 & 8. This fascinating residency is brought to us by Heather Leger. I am also thrilled to announce the continued funding of Frank Bonanno's Master Classes in support of his award-winning instrumental program. We have a vibrant schedule of invaluable creative arts programming to ignite our children's passion for the arts.
What I find to be most exciting is that we will begin planning our programming for next year in celebration of Applewild's fiftieth year. And I would like to ask everyone to think about the Marshall Fund, the possibilities are endless. For further information and proposal guidelines, please contact me by email at lmontanaro@applewild.org or in the Lower School Art Studio X307. I look forward to speaking with you about future possibilities.
Lisa Montanaro
Marshall Fund for the Creative Arts Chair
Lower School Art Teacher