June/July 2008
a monthly e-newsletter

 

Greetings ~

Dear Friends,

Last Monday was an incredible day.

Environmental artist Bryant Holsenbeck hosted a group of art administration students from South Carolina’s Winthrop University for a day-long visit to Durham, including a bookmaking workshop at The Scrap Exchange, a presentation about nonprofit arts management and how it works in relation to our organization, and a trip to the Center for Documentary Studies to hear the fabulous Courtney Reid-Eaton speak.

It was a pleasure to talk to a group of people who actively listened and asked questions about the fascinating topics of budgets, funding, staffing, community support, social enterprise, and the relationship between art and economic development ... and their eyes did not glaze over!

The day that started off with Bryant and the Winthrop students ended more than 10 hours later with the latest installment of the “Stewardship and Sustainability” series sponsored by Good Work.

More than 35 social entrepreneurs interested in the triple bottom line — People, Planet, Profits — were literally tripping over each other in our workshop room. It was fabulous! (Well, not the tripping part ... but no worries, no one got hurt.)

Green jobs, sustainable workshops, creating community ... It made me feel like I was in the right spot.

And it was a nice change from the past couple of weeks, when I’ve had that not-so-fresh feeling about Durham.

Between the lack of support from Durham County (we applied for a grant to support our collections service and were recommended for $0 out of the $927,000 they have available to support County nonprofits), and the City of Durham (our Non City Agency grant was cut by 28%, down $5000 in two years), coupled with the City’s inability or unwillingness to give us the data on which their funding recommendations are based (so we could try to understand how a nearby organization with a much smaller scope of services than ours was recommended for $12,000 more than we were), I’ve been a little frustrated lately.

We love Durham and we’d love to be here forever, but it’s hard to feel good about a city that can find millions of dollars to fund things like a giant a performing arts center while leaving its on-the-ground artists and arts organizations to fend for themselves.

But enough with the soapbox.

We have lots of cool things going on, and we hope you’ll stop by and join in.

All the best,

Ann May Woodward
Executive Director
The Scrap Exchange

P.S. ~ For all our complaining about the City, we’d be remiss in not thanking them for their support in sponsoring our upcoming Third Friday Swap-O-Rama Rama ~ July 18 on the CCB Plaza. Thank you Durham Department of Parks & Rec! Scroll on down for details...

 

Store News

Here are some fresh items just in...

1. THOUSANDS of buttons ~ okay, we haven’t actually counted, but that’s what the donor said
2. NEW! Wayne Webb metal sculpture ~ come get yourself a Krazy Kritter for your yard!
3. Super new lab glass
4. Tons of greeting cards ~ in the Mongo Room
5. Safety glasses
6. Great old windows
7. Scented watercolor markers ~ buy ’em by the barrel
8. Seashells
9. Pocket knives and mini-flashlights ~ perfect for camping
10. Lots of groovy new items in our barrels ~ take a look around and see what you can find...

And Check Out the Pix!
Have y’all seen the great photos of our store posted on the photo sharing site Flickr? If you search for “scrap exchange,” you’ll find a bunch of cool stuff, including a great collection of shots of the store and the warehouse posted by our collections coordinator Daniel Bagnall. Thanks, Daniel! Check it out at http://www.flickr.com/photos/9536600@N08/

 

Outreach Events

Do you need a fun, hands-on activity for your upcoming fair, festival, company or school event, conference, or party? Call The Scrap Exchange’s “Events by the Truckload” program! We provide a vanload of fascinating materials and trained staff who set everything up, help facilitate the creativity, and clean it all up afterwards. There’s nothing else like it.

Here’s a look at where we’ll be...

6/21 American Dance Festival Community Day, 1 - 4:30, Durham open to the public!
6/21 Weaver St. Market 20th Anniversary, 11 - 1:30, Carrboro open to the public!
6/23 Hope Valley Camp, 12 - 2:30, Durham
6/24 Carolina Kids Camp, 9 - 11:30, Chapel Hill
6/26 St. Philips Episcopal church, 9 - 12, Durham
6/26 APS of Durham Summer Camp, 10 - 12, Durham
7/1 Urban Outfitters, 7 - 9, Southpoint Mall, Durham open to the public!
7/1 Kids Kountry Fun Day, 10 - 12, Durham
7/2 Holly Springs Learning Center , 9 - 12, Holly Springs
7/4 Carrboro Fourth of July, 11 - 3, Carrboro open to the public!
7/4 Durham Central Park Fourth of July Parade, 10 - 11, Durham open to the public!
7/7 4-H Camp, 10 - 12, Oxford
7/9 Knowledge Beginnings, 10 - 12, Cary
7/9 Lakewood YMCA Camp, 10 - 12, Durham

If you’d like to book an event or get more information, call Shannon Morrow at 919-682-2751 (program office number) or email her at .

FYI: The events coordinator position is partially funded by a Non-City Agency grant from the City of Durham. Thank you City of Durham!

 

In the Gallery

The Scrap Exchange has an art gallery dedicated to showcasing artists who are using repurposed materials in their work. Gallery openings feature beverages and snacks and free art-making in our open studio room. Openings are held on the third Friday of the month, from 6 to 9pm, in conjunction with Downtown Durham’s Third Friday gallery walk events.

This Month’s Show
Take Time for Art

June 20 – July 14

Karima Abdusamad and her Saturday morning studio students present a show of the work they’ve produced under Karima’s awesome tutelage during their Saturday morning sessions.

Opening reception June 20 from 6-9.

We also welcome the Glendales playing live music throughout the evening! The Glendales are a musical duo who play electronic woodwinds and gongs ~ they play their own compositions as well as the music of James Tenney and Rocky Erickson. Come check out the show...

 

Next Month’s Show
$20 show

July 18 – August 12

Call for Artists: Are you an artist looking some quick cash? Make something cool out of reclaimed, reused, or reusable materials and put it in our July show! All artwork will be for sale for $20 per item.

You can come in and hang the work yourself July 16th (11am – 5pm), 17th (11am – 6pm) and 18th (11am – 5pm). Call us if you’d like more details: 688-6960.

 

More Scrap Exchange Events!

Swap-O-Rama Rama!
at the CCB Plaza, July 18, 6 – 9pm

Featuring The Scrap Exchange, the Scene of the Crime Rovers, and the Triangle Sound Painting Orchestra....

The Scrap Exchange will produce an outdoor Swap-O-Rama Rama including a giant clothing swap and DIY stations for altering clothes. We’ll also provide a hands-on Make-N-Take with materials for participants to make fun stuff.

Bring a bag of unwanted clothes and swap, swap, swap away!

The Scene of the Crime Rovers, Durham’s one and only punk marching band, will provide live entertainment beginning around 7pm.

At dusk, there will be live music and a mixed-media audio/visual collaboration by the Triangle Sound Painting Orchestra and Jim Kellough. This performance will begin as the sun starts to set and will continue until around 9:30pm.

Sponsored by the City of Durham Department of Parks and Recreation.

 

Group Workshops and Classes

Are you interested in teaching a class at The Scrap Exchange? In July, The Scrap Exchange will begin offering art/reuse classes for group sign-ups ~ corporate, social groups, church groups, etc.

If you have an idea for a creative reuse class you’d like to offer, please contact events coordinator Shannon Morrow at 919-682-2751, or email her at events@scrapexchange.org.

 

Yoga in the Park
Now in its 5th year!
in Durham Central Park, on the hill above the Farmer’s Market Pavilion

Come enjoy free yoga for the people, by the people!

Join us in a beautiful outdoor setting...
Learn more about the ancient tradition of yoga...
Explore flexibility, balance, and strength...
Create a practice of inner peace...
Help create a sustainable, healthy community.

when: Saturday mornings, May 24 through August 31, 9 - 10:30ish

where: above the hill from the Durham Farmer’s Market Pavilion, across Roney Street and under the trees (same spot as the past four years).

who: this class is taught by local teachers, volunteering their time. This means you’ll have a different yoga experience each week!

please bring: a towel or blanket and some water to drink

sponsored by: The Scrap Exchange, stone circles, Cozy, the Resource Center for Women in Ministry in the South (RCWMS), and Durham Central Park, Inc.

 

Afternoon Arts at The Scrap Exchange
Monday thru Friday, 3 - 4:30

Did you know we keep our Make-N-Take room open weekdays from 3:00-4:30 for anyone who wants to come and be creative? The cost is $5 per participant and you can make whatever you want out of the materials in the room, and take home whatever you make!