Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 26, 1992 TAG: 9203260194
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KAREN BROWN SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Although music, theater and visual arts programs at Virginia Tech and Radford University were well-advertised, local artists' performances and shows often were not.
"Trying to find out when things happened in the community was hit or miss," Schwartz said. His frustration led him to Barbara Capps, a Christiansburg artist and art teacher who had been struggling for years to promote local art.
Together they helped form the New River Arts Council, a non-profit corporation that supports and promotes the arts.
The council's most impressive achievement to date is its magazine, ArtBeat. Although large cities often have community arts event calendars or newsletters, the magazine format of ArtBeat is unique, especially for this area.
"It was a big risk," Schwartz said, "but we wanted to get to as many people as possible to get inspired to become part of the arts community."
ArtBeat, published quarterly, is supported by advertising and distributed free throughout the New River Valley.
The glossy cover of its second issue, coming out Monday, shows actors Dean Ratt and Sarah Ripard in the 1991 Virginia Tech production of "Midsummer Night's Dream."
The theme this quarter is community theater groups, and there are feature articles on five of them, including Radford's "The Long Way Home."
ArtBeat's first issue in January concentrated on art and five galleries in the valley.
The magazine's central focus is its promotion of community art through ArtNews and a calendar of events. "A lot of things are going on that can increase the quality of people's life, the quality of the area," Schwartz said.
The magazine's diverse focus reflects that philosophy. The calendar of events, for example, summarizes events in visual arts, dance, theater, music and literature in and beyond the New River Valley.
Events in this quarter's calendar include the Huckleberry Trail Festival in Christiansburg and Blacksburg, the Brush Mountain Arts and Crafts fair and Appalachian Awareness Week in Pulaski. The calendar's range includes the more modest events such as those at coffeehouses.
The calendar is extensive, but Schwartz still is frustrated that pockets of the valley's art community remain unknown to the Arts Council. The council would like to break down that isolation to form a unified "regional arts attitude."
The second issue of ArtBeat is available at all of chambers of commerce as well as many art galleries and music shops.
Its publisher is Page One Media Services, with visual work by Up All Night Graphics. The first issue's publisher, AdVantage Advertising, is no longer in business.
Through ArtBeat and other council activities, such as planning a community production of "The Music Man" and publishing an arts directory for the New River Valley, Schwartz hopes the council will serve as "a catalyst for new things" and "keep cultivating the artistic nature of the New River Valley by sowing new seeds and seeing new things grow."
Capps thinks the magazine and other council activities have made a difference. "The interest is here; we just need the support."
The council welcomes suggestions about ArtBeat, and it encourages community organizations and individuals to join the New River Arts Council.
ArtBeat contains further information about what the council is doing and how those interested can join. Call 381-1430.
by CNB