Getting there from Las Vegas/Henderson is easy:

1. Take the 95 North towards Reno.
2. At the junction of 95 and Main Street in Beatty (approximately 110 miles), turn left on Highway 374 towards Death Valley.
3. Go exactly four miles until you reach the turn off for Rhyolite, the big ‘ol Beatty billboard and the metal mine buildings.  TURN RIGHT on this road.
4. Take the first paved road left (CEMETARY ROAD) to reach the Red Barn Art Center (you can’t miss it!).
5. If you reach the sculpture park or ghost town, you have gone too far, turn around and go back to take the paved road right to the Red Barn.

TARANTELLA TIPS:

We are serving a light Hawaiian supper beginning at 6 p.m., included in your ticket price. There will be a veggie option.

Beer and Mai Tais (both alcoholic and non) will be available, donations appreciated.  Bring your own water!

The weather is always unpredictable, first year was WINDY and COLD, last two years beautiful and mild.  Plan for both.

We have approximately 20 wonderful pieces of art in our silent auction.  Bids begin at 50% of stated value and continue in increments of $5.  We take Visa/MC and AMEX.

Watch your speed in Beatty, follow all posted signs.

Performances begin at 7 p.m.

For tickets, visit http://www.goldwellmuseum.org/events

For hotel info, visit http://www.goldwellmuseum.org/visiting

Greeting Friends of Goldwell!

We are writing to you today asking for your collective support. As you well know, the economy is in the proverbial tank, which has resulted in drastic funding cuts to arts organizations from state and federal agencies. Everyone’s support from the Nevada Arts Council–from whom Goldwell has received steadily increasing grants and kudos over the past ten years—has been slashed by more than 53%.

Tourist traffic has also been way down this past couple of years, so your favorite desert art oasis is also taking a bit of a roughing up on the earned income side. The economy has definitely affected our visitor numbers, despite the fact that the visitor center is open 5-6 days a week and staffed with knowledgeable volunteers (BIG shout-out to Suzy and Riley McCoy!) And the visitors that have stopped by just aren’t dropping the bucks into the donation jar and/ or buying t-shirts and videos as they used to.

As a result, our programming was greatly curtailed in the last fiscal year. As most of you know, Albert’s Tarantella and the Goldwell Gathering were not offered in 2010. Also, where in prior years we hosted nine to ten artist residencies, this past year we only hosted two–but they were both wonderful!

In February, Joyce Yu-Jean Lee created a monumental new “projection painting” with students from Beatty High School (based on Leonardo’s Last Supper fresco, with perhaps a bit of Albert Szukalski’s Last Supper, Goldwell’s signature piece, thrown in) that was premiered at The Hamiltonian in Washington D.C. and SCOPE, the New York Art Fair. You can view it here: http://www.vimeo.com/21412886. And Jean Gumpper offered a great workshop on reduction woodcut printmaking in April at the Red Barn Art Center, during her residency.

We have a pending request to the National Endowment for the Arts, which would enable us to get back to a year-round schedule of residencies in FY 2012.  Although we were encouraged by their response to our proposal last year, federal funding is never a given, and their budget has been reduced as well.

In addition to needs on the programming side, the roof of the Red Barn also needs fixing, the visitor center building needs shoring up, and several sculptures are also in need of some TLC. With an operating budget of just under $60,000, we just can’t get to all the capital needs of our facilities without increased support from our friends!

Our Residency Manager, David Lancaster, speculates that if all the friends and fans of Goldwell were to donate just $10, we would be able to meet our operating costs for the fiscal year, award residencies to a few more deserving artists, and tend to the much needed maintenance.  You can donate online at http://goldwellmuseum.org/support-goldwell or send a check to P.O. Box 405, Beatty, NV 89003.

Please also consider supporting our upcoming annual fundraiser, Albert’s Tarantella IV, on Oct 1, 2011 at the Red Barn Art Center. This year we are presenting a Death Valley Luau, featuring award-winning Hawaiian slack key guitarist, Gary Haleamau, hula dancers, a limbo contest, our fabulous art auction and Hawaiian cuisine!

Many, many thanks for your consideration of our humble request and you have our heartfelt thanks in advance. We hope to see a bunch of you at the Tarantella Oct 1!

Sincerely,

Charles Morgan
President

Thanks for being a friend of Goldwell’s…here’s to our next 25 years!