Coming soon: Community Arts Blog

Yesterday, I reached out to several people in the local arts community to see if I could stir up some interest in a starting a new community arts blog here on The Leader-Herald's website. The response I got was encouraging — more than a dozen folks indicated they'd like to contribute.

I'm posting this news on my blog today to extend the invitation to everyone in the local arts community. All artists — painters, poets, musicians, photographers, actors and all others, from students to amateurs to professionals — would be welcome to submit items for this new blog.

What I'm proposing is simple: Anytime you have some arts news that you'd like to publicize, or anytime you have some thoughts you'd like to share with the public — about a project you're working on, a trend you think is significant, or the role of the arts in our lives — put it in writing and send it to me for posting on the blog. I'll consider posting anything that seems to fit the mission of the blog.

I would love to see this turn into an online hub for arts-related dialog in the Fulton-Montgomery area, with a large number of contributors representing all the creative activity in our region.

A great thing about the blog format is its flexibility: A good blog post can be just a few sentences long, or it can going into great depth of detail; photos and video would be welcome as well as text.

The goal is to offer a new outlet for arts communication in addition to what The Leader-Herald already publishes in its print and online editions. The next time you want to send us a press release about an upcoming concert, exhibit, workshop or gathering, feel free to suggest that I post the same content on the new arts blog. But keep in mind that unlike a news item that must be very brief and limited to the black-and-white facts, blog posts would allow you the freedom to offer more "color commentary," analysis and personal expression.

If you're interested, drop me a line at features@leaderherald.com — and feel free to spread the word to others in our area who might want to take part.

I'll look forward to hearing from you.