Arts Business Competition Seeks Proposals from UW–Madison Student Arts Entrepreneurs, Announces 2024 Judge Panel

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, October 26, 2023

Media contact: Kayla McGhee, Arts Outreach and Engagement Coordinator, kmcghee@wisc.edu 

URL: go.wisc.edu/ArtsBusinessCompetition 

Media kit: https://uwmadison.box.com/s/8jauedcton64mf7oq0erlwzdte2stokj

News article: https://artsdivision.wisc.edu/2023/10/26/abc-2024-call/ 

Arts Business Competition Seeks Proposals from UW–Madison Student Arts Entrepreneurs, Announces 2024 Judge Panel

Madison, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Arts Business Competition is currently accepting proposals through Thursday, December 21, 2023 until 11:59 p.m. CST. The competition was created in 2009 to encourage UW–Madison students to develop and present a thorough proposal for an arts event, exhibition, performance, series, commercial venture or other artistic project.

The Competition is open to students from any major, as well as projects featuring any arts disciplines. “This competition is for every student. This isn’t just for students that are committing their lives to the arts. This isn’t just for students who were raised in entrepreneurial households. This isn’t just for students that have had access and proximity to resources and encouragement. This is for any student with a cool artistic idea. We want students to feel empowered to submit a proposal, no matter what!” says Kayla McGhee, Arts Outreach and Engagement Coordinator. Entries may be from individuals or from teams of up to three. Only the team lead must be a full-time UW–Madison student; other members can be part-time students, students from other colleges or community members.

The top scored finalists advance to compete for the first-place prize of $2,000. Second place is $1,000 and third place is $500. Emerging Artist Awards for a proposal led by an undergraduate student (up to $500) is also available. Each year, a panel of judges reviews proposals for creativity, innovation, potential success and added value to the arts. Judges this year include Dr. Roxie Hentz, Founding Executive Director of CEOs of Tomorrow, Inc., booking agent and founder of Revel Talent Alliance Brandon Hughes and Associate Professor Helen Lee, Head of the Art Department Glass Lab, Faculty Director of The Studio and Impact 2030 Helen Burish Faculty Fellow.

Experts from the Bolz Center for Arts Administration offer a virtual mentorship meeting with finalists ahead of the finals event on Wednesday, February 28, 2024.Finalists will present their proposals on campus in front of the judges and an audience, and have until May 2025 to implement their ideas.

The Arts Business Competition is presented by the UW–Madison Division of the Arts in partnership with the Wisconsin School of Business Bolz Center for Arts Administration.

More details including the proposal requirements, timelines and sample proposals can be found by visiting go.wisc.edu/ArtsBusinessCompetition.

Judge Biographies

Dr. Roxie Hentz (she/her)  has over 30 years of experience in the education field, including service as a state education consultant, culturally responsive teacher leader, district-wide teacher mentor, university teacher-in-residence, adjunct professor and classroom teacher. Currently she is the Founding Executive Director of CEOs of Tomorrow, a non-profit organization offering interdisciplinary and experiential social entrepreneurship education to youth. CEOs of Tomorrow was recently awarded the 2021 Force for Positive Change Award, which recognizes leading businesses in social entrepreneurship as a model for solving social or environmental challenges in a way that is sustainable, just and generates impactful change in Wisconsin. 

She is the author of “It’s My Business: Inspiring Students’ Ideas for a Better Community” and “Youth Financial Wellness: A Resource Guide for Youth Organizations.” Among her many awards and recognitions for her dedication to urban education and community leadership are the Fulbright Distinguished Teacher Award, MOST (Madison Out-Of-School Time) Outstanding Youth Worker Award, Jammin’ 98.3 Black History Maker Award, V100 Radio’s Positively People, Wisconsin’s Economic Teacher of the Year, YWCA Madison’s Women of Distinction Award and was named one of Wisconsin’s Most Influential Black Leaders. She has been featured in “BRAVA Magazine,” “Wisconsin State Journal,” “Madison Magazine,” Madison365, “The Cap Times,” “Capital City Hues,” WisBusiness.com, WMTV– Channel 15 News and The Morning Show on Botswana Television.

Dr. Hentz earned her bachelor’s degree in education, her master’s degree in business administration and her doctorate degree in education and leadership for the advancement of learning and service.

Brandon Hughes (he/him) is a booking agent from Indianapolis and the founder of the booking agency Revel Talent Alliance. Brandon got his start in the music business as a student at Purdue University where he booked and promoted shows with Panic! at the Disco, Brad Paisley, Walk The Moon and more. After school he moved to Chicago where he spent a few years learning the agency business at Monterey International and Paradigm Talent Agencies before launching Revel Talent Alliance in 2019. With a focus on artist development, Brandon has helped musicians build sustainable and fulfilling careers in touring while booking artists on some of the biggest stages and festivals in the country including Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits. His current roster of 24 acts features an eclectic mix of artists including Nico Segal, Motherfolk, Siena Liggins and Ax and the Hatchetmen.

Helen Lee (she/they) is an artist, designer and educator. She holds an MFA in Glass from RISD and a BSAD in Architecture from MIT. Her work uses glass to explore language and identity. Recent exhibitions include: “Through a Glass Darkly” at Delaware Contemporary, “Translucency: the Tallinn Applied Art Triennial” at the Kai Art Center in Estonia and “Momentum | Intersection” at Toledo Museum of Art. Lee is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and serves as the Director of GEEX, the Glass Education Exchange.

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Wisconsin Union Theater: A Performance Fit for a Prince and Princess: 2018 Royal Wedding Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason to Perform in Madison Nov. 3

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 24, 2023 

Contact Information:
Shauna Breneman, Communications Director
Email: sbreneman@wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 262-8862

DOWNLOAD PHOTOS: https://uwmadison.box.com/s/s5ymzv5bg7eess3o21y37jjqjgvlrha7, https://www.dropbox.com/sh/x354cnvm47zoqki/AABTn9trCpTicw3T2Jo1sIdFa/Photos?dl=0&subfolder_nav_tracking=1

Note: When downloading images, you may be prompted to log in or register for an account. Your download will proceed without taking these actions.

READ RELEASE ONLINE: union.wisc.edu/about/news/sheku-kanneh-mason

A PERFORMANCE FIT FOR A PRINCE AND PRINCESS: 2018 ROYAL WEDDING CELLIST SHEKU KANNEH-MASON TO PERFORM IN MADISON NOV. 3

MADISON – Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason performed at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and, on Nov. 3 at Memorial Union in Madison, Wisconsin, audience members can experience the artistry that led to a personal phone invitation from the Duchess of Sussex to perform at her nuptials.

Playing an 18th-century cello crafted in Venice, Italy, Sheku will perform Suite for Solo Cello No. 2 in D minor by Johann Sebastian Bach, “Prayer for the Senses” by Gwilym Simcock, Suite for Solo Cello No. 1 by Benjamin Britten, Sonata for Solo Cello No. 2 by Leo Brouwer, Five Preludes for Solo Cello by Edmund Finnis, and Suite for Solo Cello by Gaspar Cassadó.

This performance is presented by the Wisconsin Union Theater (WUT) and the student-led Wisconsin Union Directorate Performing Arts Committee.

Kanneh-Mason began playing the cello at 6 years old and has gone on to be the first Black musician to win the BBC Young Musician of the Year Award and to become the youngest classical musician and the first cellist to rank in the Official U.K. Albums Chart Top 10.

“I love music,” Kanneh-Mason said. “I’ve always just been very fascinated by it.”

He has released three albums with Decca Records: “Inspiration” in 2018, “Elgar” in 2020, and “Song” in 2022, with more than 100,000 copies being sold worldwide. His albums span centuries and genres.

Less than five months after the release of his first album, he received a royal invitation from the now-Duchess of Sussex after she and the Duke of Sussex heard him play at a charity event. Almost 2 billion people watched him as he performed at the royal wedding in May 2018. 

“Any performance, no matter the audience, I guess, I still have the same mindset of communicating this piece of music that I’ve been working on and thinking about a lot,” Kanneh-Mason said about the experience in an interview with GQ.

“It’s so fortunate that Sheku’s internet fame from the royal wedding broadcast let the world know about him,” WUT Director Elizabeth Snodgrass said. “That event really catapulted him to be a household name. I’ve had multiple audience members ask me, ‘Can you get Sheku? Please bring Sheku to the classical series!’ I’m glad we could deliver on that request this year; it will be a special performance.”

His performance is part of the WUT 2023-24 Classical Series, which features chamber music stars and stars on the rise. Other WUT season events include dance, international music, jazz, and chamber music.

Patrons can save 20% on WUT season events through the brand-new build-your-own subscription options of three to five events for 15% off or six or more events for a 20% discount.

Patrons can purchase tickets to Kanneh-Mason’s performance online, at the Memorial Union Box Office, or by phone at (608) 265-2787.

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About the Wisconsin Union Theater

For more than 80 years, the Wisconsin Union Theater has served as a center for cultural activity in the heart of the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus. The Theater hosts performances in multiple locations, including Memorial Union, and has an extensive history of remarkable performances. The Wisconsin Union Theater is committed to social justice and works to create an equitable, diverse, and inclusive place for all who engage with the Theater’s programming, events, and activities. The Wisconsin Union Theater is part of the Wisconsin Union, a membership organization that blends study and leisure to create unique out-of-classroom opportunities. Learn more: union.wisc.edu/wisconsin-union-theater.

About the Wisconsin Union Directorate Performing Arts Committee

The Wisconsin Union Directorate Performing Arts Committee is part of the Wisconsin Union’s leadership development program for UW–Madison students and supports the Wisconsin Union Theater’s mission of serving students through the performing arts. By helping to program the Theater’s annual season of performing arts presentations, the students learn about program curation, relationship-building, marketing, communications, budgeting, and production. Learn more: union.wisc.edu/get-involved/wud/performing-arts.

“Muriel’s Plate”: Mentoring Positives youth learn how to cook healthy meals while making a variety of dinners for the community

“A good cause has never tasted so good,” smiles Will Green, the founder of Mentoring Positives Inc..

Starting this Tuesday, the youths from Mentoring Positives will be offering a weekly “Muriel’s Plate,” a delicious dinner that is made by young people who are being mentored by Madison-area chefs to learn core culinary concepts that they will be able to use for the rest of their lives.

Mentoring Positives is an innovative, referral-based mentoring program that works directly with kids and families in a variety of ways in the Darbo/Worthington area and beyond. Back in May, Muriel’s Place storefront, named after Green’s late mother, became a new place on Madison’s East Side where community members can dine in and eat pizza made by Mentoring Positives students.

Read more at Madison365

AwardsMall / Total Awards & Promotions, Inc.: Trophy Fundraiser Nov. 4

The Nationwide Trophy Recycling Program is having a fundraiser on Saturday, November 4, 2023. 

They will have hundreds of trophies for sale. Prices range from $3 to $125.

The funds support the operating costs of the recycling program to ensure sustainability.

The program keeps trophies from the landfills while giving them FREE to nonprofits nationwide.

A wide range of trophies from vintage to modern day and all sizes are available.

The fundraiser is from 9 AM to 1 PM at 6670 Odana Road in Market Square, Madison.

The sale will take place the first Saturday of every month.

If you are interested in recycling your trophies, watch the video here: trophyrecyclingprogram.com

Facebook Event Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/331387666129697/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

Middleton Chamber of Commerce Foundation Launches Mission: Workforce Alliance to Tackle Workforce Shortage

Kate Miller
Executive Director
Middleton Chamber of Commerce
Phone: 608.827.2752
Email: kate@middletonchamber.com

Middleton Chamber of Commerce Foundation Launches Mission: Workforce Alliance to Tackle Workforce Shortage

Middleton, WI – The Middleton Chamber of Commerce Foundation is proud to introduce “Mission: Workforce Alliance,” a groundbreaking program developed in partnership with Mission Wisconsin. This visionary initiative aims to address the ongoing workforce shortage while propelling economic growth by harnessing the incredible potential of military talent within the state of Wisconsin.

According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, each year, approximately 250,000 service members and their families transition from active duty, representing a wealth of skills and experiences. The Middleton Chamber Foundation’s, Mission: Workforce Alliance, offers its members access to this exceptional pool of individuals, presenting an unrivaled opportunity to tap into a talent pipeline overflowing with qualified and skilled candidates.

Mission: Workforce Alliance offers a range of key features that benefit both military service and veteran families as well as chamber members. The program serves as a valuable bridge between transitioning service member families and our business community. Chamber members gain access to a diverse pool of talent with varied skills and experiences. The program includes providing professional support to facilitate the seamless integration of these families into the civilian workforce.

“Mission: Workforce Alliance represents a significant step forward in addressing the workforce challenges faced by our community and businesses,” said Kate Miller, Executive Director at the Middleton Chamber of Commerce. “By connecting our members with the incredible talent pool of transitioning military families, we aim to not only fill critical workforce gaps but also honor and support those who have served our nation.”

When asked about the partnership, Steve Janke, CEO of Mission: Wisconsin expressed enthusiasm for expansion of the program. “This partnership with the Middleton Chamber of Commerce represents the first step in providing military talent attraction to a greater percentage of the business community. Leveraging the network and community that the Chamber has allows us to connect more efficiently with small to medium sized businesses while maintaining our high touch concierge services provided to the military community! We look forward to growing this type of partnership throughout the Great State of Wisconsin with the Middleton Chamber of Commerce.”

For more information about Mission: Workforce Alliance and how to participate, please visit mcocfoundation.org.

For more information about Mission Wisconsin, please visit mission-wisconsin.com.

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