The Blue Guitar magazine and the Blue Guitar Jr. magazine are the projects of the Arizona Consortium for the Arts. Visit www.artizona.org
For all up to date news please visit www.artizona.org
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From the News Archives : 2009-2016
Annual Fall Festival of the Arts
Arizona Consortium for the Arts presents the Annual Fall Festival of
the Arts! We will celebrate our consortium's 9th
Anniversary!
Sunday October 30, 2016
12:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Arizona Heritage Center at Papago Park
1300 N. College Avenue Tempe, AZ 85281
In the beautiful outdoor courtyard!
Free Admission! Free Parking! Fun for the whole
family!
Come to see an amazing array of music and dance by local performers, exquisite
works by local artists and artisans, readings from the UNSTRUNG, booth
representations by local nonprofit and community organizations, activities for
children of all ages, live painting, jewelry making, face painting and more!
The event is in collaboration with the Arizona Historical Society Museum at
Papago Park and the Arizona Consortium for the Arts.
visit www.artizona.org
The 7th Annual Blue Guitar Festival of the Arts - A Huge
Success!
Arizona Consortium for the Arts
Charity presented its 7th Annual Blue Guitar Festival of the Arts at
the Desert Ridge Marketplace on March 29, 2015. It was a celebration of our
amazing creative community spanning all ages! The Festival featured music,
dance and readings of literary works - The
Blue Guitar arts and literary magazine. A huge thank you to all the amazing
performers and readers who shared their talents with the community and made the
festival a smash hit with attendees! Thank you to everyone who joined us and
for all your kind comments and donations to our donation stand!!! We raised
$103. A special thank you to all who promoted, attended and supported our
festival!!! A huge THANK YOU Mike
Van Loon and his team for amazing sound engineering and sound
equipment. Our gratitude to all the performers: Arizona Classical Kids; Simon Faddoul; Lisa R. Chow and Step Raptis; Jonathan Gabriel; Mike Van Loon; Promisethetruth - Luther Dawson; Spooky Kool; and the readers: Richard
Fenton Sederstrom; Paula Ashley; Ronald Auguste and David Chorlton. Our
gratitude to the festival's supporters: Gabriel Bey and Azetta
Bey; Vli
Events; Jonathan Gabriel; Warren
Chu - AZCulture.com; Desert Ridge Marketplace; Richard Dyer and
Rebecca Dyer; Sprinkles
Cupcakes Scottsdale; Dog-Eared
Pages Used Books; Fry’s Food Stores; Chompie's; Kay Salute; Papa John's Pizza for
providing Pizza for our amazing volunteer performers and volunteers helping at
the event. Thank you to everyone for helping to promote our festival. A special
THANK - YOU and recognition to Richard and Rebecca Dyer, Janna Tevan, Betty Louise, Heather Kirk, Carla Keaton, Jean Carmichael, Gabriel
Bey and his Family, Jonathan Gabriel, James Thornton, Kimberly Faddoul, Melanie
Tighe - Anna Questerly, Chet Provorse for all their
help and support during the festival. to see photos click here:
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March 2012
Rebecca Dyer, our Blue Guitar Magazine’s Editor in Chief, was one of the nominees in the "Individual" category for the Arizona Citizens for the Arts 2012 Governor's Arts Awards! Congratulations to Rebecca and all the Nominees. The honorees were announced in six categories on Tuesday, March 27, 2012 at the Herberger Theater Center, 222 E. Monroe, Phoenix For all details visit: www.governorsartsawards.org
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Thanks to all for attending The Blue Guitar Spring Festival of the Arts!
By Elena Thornton
The Fourth Annual Blue Guitar Spring Festival of the Arts was held at the Desert Ridge Marketplace on March 25, 2012. The Festival featured music, dance, a community art activity by Pebble Planet and readings of literary works. A huge thank-you to all of the amazing performers who shared their talents with the community and made the festival a smash hit with attendees! A
special thank-you to all who attended and supported our festival. THANK YOU to all of the talented performers - Arizona Classical Kids and Maestro Zhanna Tevan; Nikki and Grace Tordil; Tammy Zappier and Sarah Clinebell; Clifton L. Collins Sr.;
Laurel Lee for balloon art; Peter Tompkins; Jonathan Gabriel; Michele Lefevre; Grupo Folklorico I’Naru and Elena Mitchell, Program Director; Tosca Kerr and Lynn Briones for art activity; readers: Richard Fenton Sederstrom; David Chorlton; Cora Holley;
and The Kards Band for an amazing performance and support all day! A special THANK-YOU to Jared and Lucas of The Kards, Tim and Jessica Aikin, The Kards Band and their families for all of their support, hard work and sound equipment!
Thank you to Jim, Becca, Rick, Florentina, Jonathan, Leo, Zhanna, Tosca and Lynn for all of your help during the festival.
Editor’s note: Elena Thornton is the publisher of The Blue Guitar Magazine.
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November, 2011
An article by Michaele Lockhart
It is a comforting thought that, in this era of financial cuts to anything resembling the arts and writing in particular, our State of Arizona actually has a Consortium for the Arts. Sure, it may not be the grand-scale financing that we all might wish for, but we do have support.
The Consortium is supported in part by the Arizona Commission for the Arts with funding from the State of Arizona and the National Endowment for the Arts. All of us who support our local PBS station and NPR should rejoice. We are part of that bigger picture too.
The Blue Guitar is the Arizona Consortium for the Arts on-line literary magazine. It is free and offered up to the public as a showcase for the various talents our State is proud to sponsor. To access the magazine, please go to their website, www.theblueguitarmagazine.org , where the current Fall Issue is available for your free downloading and reading pleasure.
The Blue Guitar offers a selection of art, poetry, and a variety of writing talents.
Folks, please help spread the word that the issue is now available for free downloading by letting your family, friends, students, classmates, co-workers, and colleagues know! We should be proud to live in a state where this kind of support is available.
By the way, one of my essays, Arizona Winter Sunrise , and one of my poems, A Barrio Christmas, are featured in this Fall Issue.
Thank you so much. Enjoy and forward on if you wish.
Michaele Lockhart
www.michaelelockhart.com
Society of Southwestern Authors
Arizona Authors Association
Find my novels and short fiction at www.Amazon.com
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May, 2011
The Third Annual Blue Guitar Festival of the Arts — May 15, 2011, at Mesa Community College in the Fiesta District of Mesa, Arizona
Event a smash hit with attendees
On May 15th, the Arizona Consortium for the Arts held its Third Annual Festival of music, arts, and cultures. Additionally, the Spring 2011 edition of The Blue Guitar arts and literary magazine was celebrated at the Mesa Community College campus in Mesa.
The all-volunteer event was free and was attended by many people from the community throughout the day. They were welcomed by Rebecca Dyer, the Editor in Chief of the magazine, Elena Thornton, president of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts, and the sponsor of the event, Evonne Bowling, Program Director of Fashion Merchandising and Design at MCC.
At the daylong festival, the community was treated to a robust sampling of music, song and dance by local performers, as well as readings by Arizona writers in The Blue Guitar magazine. It was an incredible day, made possible through the planning and organizing of the Consortium’s cadre of hardworking volunteers and Mesa Community College.
The event began with musical performances by the Consortium’s talented Arizona Classical Kids under the tutelage of Maestro Zhanna Tevan. They played a variety of music from Russian to Italian to classical to Jewish folk songs. Evonne Bowling, Director of MCC’s Fashion Merchandising and Design Program, introduced the audience to the Fashion Program at MCC and shared several innovative and colorful examples of wearable art created and worn by MCC students in a fashion show. Singer and dancer Natalia Spannaus treated the audience to “I Could Have Danced All Night” from the musical “My Fair Lady,” accompanied by Maestro Zhanna Tevan on the piano.
The audience enjoyed musical favorites by guitarist and singer Jonathan Gabriel, who performed rock and folk songs of the 1960s and '70s. Guitarist, singer and luthier Michael E. Singer performed classical Brazilian music as well as his own compositions, some of which he performed on a turquoise-bedecked guitar that he fashioned. The community also was treated to a dazzling, toe-tapping, hand-clapping cultural showcase of the island tradition of Puerto Rico, with the lively music, intricate dance forms and colorful costumes of the locally based Grupo Folklorico I’naru.
Arizona writers and poets who have been published in The Blue Guitar magazine, including the Special “Healing and Hope” Spring 2011 Issue dedicated to the people of Tucson, also read their work. Rebecca Dyer, the magazine's Editor in Chief, led the introductions of the readers, who included poets Lynn Black, Kelly Nelson, Cora Holley and Jonelle Farr.
Rebecca Dyer and husband Richard H. Dyer Jr. work tirelessly and diligently to bring to the community The Blue Guitar magazine, a brilliant work of art. The pages are filled with great literature and artworks that colorfully and perfectly flow from page to page. The front cover and back cover were created by longtime local artist, painter and teacher Marjory Boyer. As production editor, Richard Dyer is responsible for the colorfully appointed and beautifully designed pages. The Special Spring 2011 Issue includes works by Arizona writers and artists Erin Armstrong, Esther Schnur-Berlot, Whitney DeVos, Flora Gamez Grateron, Naomi Miller, Lynn Black, Cathy Capozzoli, David Chorlton, Christyne Moraga-Cisterna, Jonelle Farr, John Mikal Haaheim, S.M.T. Hedger, Joshua Hunter Hensley, Cora Holley, Sean Medlin, Brian Mostoller, David Pischke, Dan Ramirez, Jeannine Savard, Richard Fenton Sederstrom, Laura Fellows, Marie Lang, Nicole Royse, Kip Sudduth and Asher Wyndham.
The community is grateful to the Dyers for this exquisite gem of a magazine, a gift they have created for our enjoyment, and we are already looking forward to the summer edition. The magazine is published online at www.theblueguitarmagazine.org. Also, to submit for the summer edition, please visit the Web site, where a call for submissions will be posted beginning June 1.
The arts-festival audience also was treated to SMUDD, a local rock and roll band; their repertoire includes tunes from the 1960s, '70s, '80s and even a current top 10 song.
We look forward to many future events by our local performers, artists and writers. A huge thank-you to local artist Renee Bau, who shared with us her exquisite artworks.
The community also is grateful to Consortium founder and leader Elena Thornton and husband Jim Thornton, without whose tireless work and unceasing vision none of this would be possible.
The Arizona Consortium for the Arts is a nonprofit, 501c3 tax-exempt organization. The Consortium's vision is to establish a multicultural arts center, including offering programs to help nurture and support underserved and underprivileged populations through the promotion of the arts. To learn more about The Arizona Consortium for the Arts, how you can join, help and to support future programs, please visit www.artizona.org or call 602-263-5373.
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We are featured on About.com as the cause of the week. To read - Click on the link http://nonprofit.about.com/u/sty/profiles/causeofweek/Building-a-Multicultural-Arts-Center-in-AZ.htm Joanne Fritz, Nonprofit Charitable Orgs Guide, says: You must take a look at the wonderful Blue Guitar Magazine. I love the intergenerational aspect of all the contributions. Wonderful reading!
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March 2010
It is with great excitement we are informing you that the Arizona Consortium for the Arts is now a 501c3 nonprofit tax-exempt organization.
A sincere thank-you to Sara Vannucci for helping our Consortium through this much-needed and crucial process!
For the past two years, we have been busy, growing, networking, learning and sharing. We have held many shows and events. We are grateful to all of the volunteers who have been organizing, participating, donating items for raffles, donating space for events, and performing at our events.
Our first project, The Blue Guitar magazine, is in its third, Spring 2010 edition. It is well-known around the state. We receive submissions from all over Arizona. Additional summer and winter editions are in the plans. Thank you to Rebecca and Rick Dyer for their tireless work. We will continue to publish the magazine online until we will be able to afford to print it and distribute it for free to hospitals, schools, senior centers, etc.
We are eternally grateful to everyone who has been helping us for the past two years. Your contributions help with our monthly credit card payments for our startup costs, hosting of the websites and printing of the informational brochures.
Please support our Arizona Consortium for the Arts! Here is a great way to show your sunny Artizona spirit.
Any gift including $5, $10, $15, or other, will really help us. You can make your tax-deductible contribution today, fast, easy and securely via PayPal. Just click on the Donate button on our Donate page on http://www.artizona.org/donate.html or send your donation to the Arizona Consortium for the Arts. The address to send donations is: Arizona Consortium for the Arts, c/o Elena Thornton 14608 N. 40th Way, Phoenix, AZ 85032. The continuation of our goals, mission, vision, projects and programs will only be possible with your contributions.
Thank you to all. May you continue to be healthy, happy and prosperous.
Sincerely,
The Board, Advisors and all the volunteers
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PRESS
Non-profit online magazine benefits local artists By Josh Louchheim - Scottsdale Chronicle Issue date: 9/22/09 Section: Entertainment
Media Credit: The Blue Guitar Magazine cover was painted by Marjory Boyer
The Blue Guitar Magazine (BGM), the recently released online publication from The Arizona Consortium for the Arts, is currently seeking new talent to showcase in its next issue. The Arizona Consortium for the Arts is a non-profit assemblage devoted to aiding and assisting Arizona's performing, literary and visual artists. "The magazine is an arm of the Consortium that we can get out into the community," says Rebecca Dyer, editor in chief of The BGM. "This is our gift to Arizona artists and writers." Local artist Marjory Boyer who has been a member of the Consortium for a year describes the Consortium as a great organization that not only promotes the arts but also gives the artists the opportunity to show their work for free. Boyer is also the winner of The BGM's cover art competition, and her painting is now the face of the magazine. The first issue was published during the spring season. Its 57 pages showcase a play, four short stories, five works of non-fiction and the words of 14 different poets, as well as four other canvases painted by Boyer. "We've envisioned it to be a lot bigger than it is now, but reality has set in," adds Dyer. "But at the same time we've also seen that there is a lot of potential and I think once we get our name out there, hopefully more people will contribute." The magazine is currently accepting submissions for its fall issue which is due to come out between the end of October and the beginning of November. The literary fields encompass poetry, plays, short stories, and non-fiction essays. "For artists it's a struggle, and I want to make it easier," says Elena Thornton, co-founder of The BGM. "We want to have people visit our site and join our cause to build up the magazine so they get the recognition." Good material keeps coming in everyday, so don't wait until the last minute send your work in, suggests Dyer. All work must be 100 percent original and produced by Arizona residents. Visual art such as paintings and sculptures can be submitted as well but won't be shown until later issues. For more information visit www.theblueguitarmagazine.org.