IMPORTANT UPDATES & OUR 2020
Hello everyone! I would like to provide you with an update on what has been happening with World Oceans Arts -- and even more importantly, what is going to happen during the rest of this year. This update is the result of many ideas, meetings, communication from our artists and audiences, and more. It is also, unavoidably, an update on where we are as a result of the virus pandemic sweeping the globe. The good news is that at WOA we are moving forward with vigor, new ideas and projects, new resources and new audiences.
For those who may be new to us or confused by all our memos and blogs and announcements: World Oceans Arts is the production company sibling to AcquaTroupe, which is a live performance ensemble. James Gibson Arts is an adjunct to both entities which links my own professional activities to both those organizations. Collectively and humorously we are known as JAW.
World Oceans Arts is currently in the recording studio and we have been for some time! We began a series of CDs of music by living composers which is moving forward rapidly. As we speak, Ellena Hogrefe and I are recording a release of new art songs; soon WOA/AcquaTroupe will be producing the first recording ever of two operas by Lawrence Moss. Our recordings projects will also include other styles of music such as rock, folk, jazz, pop and more, as well as audio books and poetry.
Our video series Exploring with Shakespeare is beginning to take shape, and by this summer we will be able to announce the release of several new episodes. One of the best and most important projects we ever did was the public service video for the American Behcets Disease Association. Because JAW is as much about helping people as it is about creating and producing art, we are now aggressively seeking and planning other video projects which will generate support for some very worthy causes.
We will also create videos for our fund called Artists at the Bottom, Friends at the Top. ABFT was created to provide financial and practical assistance to gifted artists who cannot move their careers forward because of difficult personal circumstances. For the time being, ABFT is directly linked to the worldwide virus pandemic. That means that every dollar which is donated to the fund will be used to help people in the arts who have contracted covid-19, or whose families or colleagues have been affected by the disease. Funds will also be used to help artists who are temporarily out of work because of the pandemic.
There are two important announcements regarding what we intend to do from now through the end of 2020:
---We are going to begin aggressively compiling and selling bundles of our products. These will vary in content, e.g. a collection of all our CDs, or a dvd of a movie combined with short video clips from our artists; or some of our published music and literature, along with photos of our writers and composers. Bundles may also include autographed items, props or costumes used in our productions, and on and on....the possibilities for an individualized bundle are endless.
All funds received from the sale of our bundles will be split between production costs (especially paying the artists who produced them), and the ABFT fund.
---We are going to be greatly expanding our online visibility. This will feature a new and wider presence on youtube, facebook, instagram, linkedin and numerous other social media and arts sites.
All of this is beginning to happen now. Not only will we not slow down because of the pandemic; it is inspiring us to move forward more rapidly and in more ways than before.
Our covid-19 calendar: We will continue to be very busy making recordings, getting written works and visual arts into publication, and putting together our bundles for distribution. We are also entering a film editing phase so we can re-release Sing to the Stars after some editorial upgrades; edit and release Litany; complete filming and editing of 1969 for release before the end of the year; and assist AcquaTroupe with production of its first documentary film. Finally, we are now booking events and performances throughout the USA and Europe to begin approximately June 1st.
We are now holding worldwide auditions and we are making contact with promoters and venues everywhere. We have already committed to joint appearances with AcquaTroupe in New York, Washington DC, San Francisco, Cleveland, Atlanta, North Carolina, Ann Arbor, South Dakota, Chicago, Mississippi, Louisiana, and St. Louis. In Europe, we are finalizing plans to appear with films and live performances in France, England, Austria, Slovenia, Italy, Germany and several other countries. We will announce these events as soon as dates and details are confirmed. Finally, our worldwide auditions and interviews, online for now and in person soon, will help us build a strong and diversely talented staff and roster of artists for the future.
We will adjust to whatever the world pandemic brings; we will always place health and safety and peace of mind ahead of our work and dreams. But we will not ever stop or give up because of a crisis! Thank you for your support and love and prayers. We hope you, the artists and our fans, will join us in some capacity as we move forward with strength and conviction.
--James Gibson, Artistic Director
For those who may be new to us or confused by all our memos and blogs and announcements: World Oceans Arts is the production company sibling to AcquaTroupe, which is a live performance ensemble. James Gibson Arts is an adjunct to both entities which links my own professional activities to both those organizations. Collectively and humorously we are known as JAW.
World Oceans Arts is currently in the recording studio and we have been for some time! We began a series of CDs of music by living composers which is moving forward rapidly. As we speak, Ellena Hogrefe and I are recording a release of new art songs; soon WOA/AcquaTroupe will be producing the first recording ever of two operas by Lawrence Moss. Our recordings projects will also include other styles of music such as rock, folk, jazz, pop and more, as well as audio books and poetry.
Our video series Exploring with Shakespeare is beginning to take shape, and by this summer we will be able to announce the release of several new episodes. One of the best and most important projects we ever did was the public service video for the American Behcets Disease Association. Because JAW is as much about helping people as it is about creating and producing art, we are now aggressively seeking and planning other video projects which will generate support for some very worthy causes.
We will also create videos for our fund called Artists at the Bottom, Friends at the Top. ABFT was created to provide financial and practical assistance to gifted artists who cannot move their careers forward because of difficult personal circumstances. For the time being, ABFT is directly linked to the worldwide virus pandemic. That means that every dollar which is donated to the fund will be used to help people in the arts who have contracted covid-19, or whose families or colleagues have been affected by the disease. Funds will also be used to help artists who are temporarily out of work because of the pandemic.
There are two important announcements regarding what we intend to do from now through the end of 2020:
---We are going to begin aggressively compiling and selling bundles of our products. These will vary in content, e.g. a collection of all our CDs, or a dvd of a movie combined with short video clips from our artists; or some of our published music and literature, along with photos of our writers and composers. Bundles may also include autographed items, props or costumes used in our productions, and on and on....the possibilities for an individualized bundle are endless.
All funds received from the sale of our bundles will be split between production costs (especially paying the artists who produced them), and the ABFT fund.
---We are going to be greatly expanding our online visibility. This will feature a new and wider presence on youtube, facebook, instagram, linkedin and numerous other social media and arts sites.
All of this is beginning to happen now. Not only will we not slow down because of the pandemic; it is inspiring us to move forward more rapidly and in more ways than before.
Our covid-19 calendar: We will continue to be very busy making recordings, getting written works and visual arts into publication, and putting together our bundles for distribution. We are also entering a film editing phase so we can re-release Sing to the Stars after some editorial upgrades; edit and release Litany; complete filming and editing of 1969 for release before the end of the year; and assist AcquaTroupe with production of its first documentary film. Finally, we are now booking events and performances throughout the USA and Europe to begin approximately June 1st.
We are now holding worldwide auditions and we are making contact with promoters and venues everywhere. We have already committed to joint appearances with AcquaTroupe in New York, Washington DC, San Francisco, Cleveland, Atlanta, North Carolina, Ann Arbor, South Dakota, Chicago, Mississippi, Louisiana, and St. Louis. In Europe, we are finalizing plans to appear with films and live performances in France, England, Austria, Slovenia, Italy, Germany and several other countries. We will announce these events as soon as dates and details are confirmed. Finally, our worldwide auditions and interviews, online for now and in person soon, will help us build a strong and diversely talented staff and roster of artists for the future.
We will adjust to whatever the world pandemic brings; we will always place health and safety and peace of mind ahead of our work and dreams. But we will not ever stop or give up because of a crisis! Thank you for your support and love and prayers. We hope you, the artists and our fans, will join us in some capacity as we move forward with strength and conviction.
--James Gibson, Artistic Director
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