WALA Fall 2010 Newsletter

The Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts

Fall 2010 Newsletter

It’s the holiday season again and the Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts (WALA) is entering the yuletide season with a renewed energy and focus. You’ve got a new executive director in me, Mike Gipson, and several new interns and volunteers who’ve joined us in fulfilling our mission. I’m working with my team of amazing staff and volunteers to put together an exciting new calendar for 2011 with member attorneys and law firms, including two cycles of our wildly popular Creative Entrepreneurship workshop series.

We’re hosting our first major fundraising event for President’s Day Weekend on Thursday, February 17, 2011 to cap off our annual Autumn-to-Winter WALA Platinum fundraising campaign. The WALA Platinum campaign got kicked off with “Say YES to Pro Bono!” an intimate happy hour reception generously sponsored by Hunton & Williams. During the festivities, Hunton & Williams became among the first platinum law firm sponsors of the fundraising season. We invite other firms, organizations, and individual supporters to follow their example by donating to sustain WALA, a vital, thriving community resource for over 25 years.

Our campaign fundraising goal is $33,000, nearly 20% of which has already been met! With your committed support, we’ll get to 100% (or more!) by February 2011. Your dedication to our mutual cause will assist us in restoring some staff positions recently lost and come back stronger than ever in 2011. New infrastructure, more strategic community partnerships, and more innovative, inspiring educational sessions will be the foundation for even better support of the Greater Washington Metro’s creative community.

Toward those aims, we invite you to submit your workshop ideas and opportunities for WALA to better serve you in the New Year. We also invite all partner organizations to share information about your upcoming events and all member artists to submit examples of your work (i.e., photographs, writings, performance video clips, etc.) to the WALA Blog for us to consider for exhibition and sharing with fellow members and supporters through this collective space. We will use our blog and social media platforms as communal spaces to share the latest in legal thought and celebrate the awe-inspiring creative jewels our unsung local heroes produce every day.

Now more than ever it is imperative that we protect our precious institutional resources and develop fresh strategies for the sustainability of our creative community. Work with us to make 2011 a year of renewal, restoration, and revival. Let’s partner to help art do what it’s intended to do best: make us all better. Won’t you join us in that commitment?

To learn more about how you can help, just click here or make a donation here. We’ve also discovered enticing new ways to help support WALA while saving you money over this holiday shopping season. Just in time for Black Friday, shop with a purpose by becoming a WALA Champion through One Cause. Sign up with One Cause and make WALA your charity of choice, download the One Cause toolbar, and a percentage of every purchase from a partnering retailer is donated to WALA. Sit back and enjoy special discounts and offers as a One Cause member all year round while simultaneously supporting a mission you believe in.

Last, but certainly not least, we invite you to join us in commemorating WALA member organization Olu Yemisi & Co. 10^th Anniversary Celebration, an awesome afternoon of film, dance, and loads of fun. We feel co-sponsoring this free Afro-Latin dance extravaganza is a fitting cap for a truly amazing year, one that you helped make possible. Thank you!

Happy Holidays!

L. Michael Gipson

Executive Director

Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts

Did You Miss?

All quarter, WALA has been standing tall with several legal basics workshop including Copyright Basics, Trademark Basics, and Copyright Registration sessions and a full run of the Creative Entrepreneurship series at the stunning new Artisphere space in Arlington. With the support of our Events and Education Committees, we’ve also hosted several social and educational events, including:

WALA Writer's Evening on Sep 27, 2010 at International Arts & Artists Hillyer Gallery featuring DC’s top publishing agents and attorneys, including: Gail Ross, Elaine English, Jeff Kleinman, and John Mason for a richly informative evening covering everything you ever wanted to learn about the publishing industry. We appreciate all we made this standing room only event a rousing success!

An Artful Evening ~ WALA Cocktail Hour & Fashion Preview @ Industry Gallery & Conner Contemporary on Sep 30, 2010 at not one but two premiere DC galleries, a sneak fashion preview by the critically acclaimed Dana Ayanna Greaves, and the rock and soul sounds of musical artist, James Terrell. The newly minted WALA Fashion Sub-Committee brought SoHo to DC with style and plenty of panache. Kudos to all involved!

Hunton & Williams Presents: WALA "Say YES To Pro Bono!" Appreciation Happy Hour! on Nov 18, 2010 was an elegant evening of wine, spirits and appreciation. An intimate moment of WALA attorney and law firm stakeholders and supporters, this firm-sponsored evening marked the deepening of our partnership with this venerable legal institution.

Donating & Lending Your Artwork ~ An evening with Jo Laird on Oct 6, 2010 at Irvine Contemporary, legend Jo Backer Laird shared 25 years of experience in art law with a group of awe-struck WALA members. Ms. Laird delivered an amazing session on donating and lending artwork, offering her vast expertise garnered from decades of working with artists, dealers and collectors and her years with Patterson Belknap and Christie’s Inc. Thank you, Jo!

The 10^th Anniversary Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit on Oct 5, 2010 at Georgetown University WALA member attorneys Kurt R. Klaus, Esq. of Kurt Klaus Entertainment Law and Robyn Guilliams, Esq. from Fettman, Tolchin & Majors PC covered the Genius Bar at the historic event, ably assisting nervous artists with a host of pertinent art and entertainment law questions.

Don’t Miss These Forthcoming WALA Workshops, Clinics, and Events!

November 30 - 5 pm 501(c)(3) Workshop at DLA Piper

December 4 – 1:30pm-4:30pm WALA Co-Sponsors The Olu Yemisi & Co. 10th Anniv. Dance & Film Festival

December 9 (by appointment) Legal Clinic at DLA Piper

December 16 - 7 pm Trademark Basics Workshop at Finnegan

WALA Co-Sponsors Olu Yemisi & Co. 10th Anniv. Dance & Film Festival

Don’t Miss This! Celebrate 10 Years With Olu!

Olu Yemisi & Co. Entertainment Presents:

10^th Anniversary Festivities and An Afternoon of Dance on Film

A triple screening of the electric Rhythm & Body Language and Dance TV Show I & II

Saturday December 4, 2010

1:30pm-4:30pm

Martin Luther King Library

901 G St. N.W.

Publish Post

Washington, DC 20001, Room A-5

Free

RSVP (240)429-2063

http://www.DanceWithMeDC.com

WALA members should come out and enjoy a wonderful afternoon of music, film and dance!

Rhythm and Body Language

Film Synopsis: The Caribbean heat meets the stage. This documentary chronicles the first eight years of Olu Yemisi & Company Entertainment. It showcases dance and music in the stage performers lives. It includes footage from their theater performances, festivals, and cultural events. It also features an interview and personal stories from Olu Yemisi. This film shows how the performing arts enrich lives.

About Olu Yemisi

Olu Yemisi is the director of Olu Yemisi & Company Entertainment. Her films include "Street Art", "Rhythm & Body Language", Environmental, "A Tribute to Michael Jackson", "Dance TV Show I", "Dance TV Show" and "The Experience". She also produces public service announcements. In addition to film, Olu Yemisi has produced and directed performances and dance theater for over 10 years. She also created over 20 performing arts festivals and events. She has taught dance for over 11 years. Olu is the choreographer of the entire repertoire for Olu Yemisi & Company Dancers. Her dance company performs Afro Caribbean, Afro Latin, and Jazz dance. She also promotes Jazz music. Recently, Olu was chosen by Dance/USA to represent the Washington D.C. area as a cultural ambassador for the performing arts at the National Performing Arts Conference in Denver, Colorado. She also has addressed congressional staff on Capital Hill in Washington, D.C. about the arts. Olu Yemisi is available for film productions, performances, lectures, & workshops abroad.

President's Message: Thanks for Giving

With Thanksgiving just around the corner and the end of the year close at hand, it is once again time to reflect on the year's accomplishments, to give thanks and t0 count blessings.


WALA has been quite fortunate: in a year filled with economic challenges, we are still open for business. This has been no easy feat. Legal services and arts organizations alike have struggled to operate amidst significant financial shortfalls. Like our sister organizations, WALA has not gone unscathed. We face a unique challenge in making the case that an organization that is BOTH a legal services and arts organization merits financial support.

The one reason that we have kept our doors open this year: your support. I am deeply thankful for the countless hours our volunteer attorneys have given for artists and arts organizations who could not afford legal representation -- without you, many of our community's artists would be without legal assistance in a time when it is needed most. I am thankful for our committee members and long-standing supporters, who enabled WALA to continue its many educational programs, clinics and events. I am also deeply grateful for our staff, without whose dedication we would never have kept our doors open. In short, WALA's strong and supportive community has ensured its survival.


To recognize the commitment of our community that we are gathering to give thanks this evening and celebrate. We do say YES! to pro bono and I hope you will join us. While the event is free, we ask you to consider building upon your community support of WALA with a financial contribution to support our operations. I ask you to do this on behalf of WALA's dedicated staff who have worked tirelessly this year, determined to ensure each artist and arts organization in need was matched with the legal resources and education it needed.

If you cannot join us this evening, please offer your support and look for our year end letter in the weeks ahead summarizing our accomplishments and share your enthusiasm for WALA by inviting friends and family to become members and support us. We would like to ensure the future of our organization and the welfare of our creative community for years to come. We have great ideas to increase our impact in our community. To accomplish our goal, we need your support.

Much thanks to you for giving your time, your money and your support.

WALA Needs You! Fall 2010 Campaign

Dear Supporter,

Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts (WALA) has played a critical role in helping the creative community meet its legal needs for over 25 years. Now, WALA needs you.

The demand for WALA’s services is on the rise as the ongoing economic rollercoaster has uniquely challenged the creative community. Creatives, frequently working as independent contractors, have faced significant revenue declines with little or no financial net. The hard-hit media and publishing industries—the largest sectors of the DC creative community—have made dramatic cutbacks, impacting the livelihood of thousands of writers and technical artists. Likewise, many performing arts companies and other arts organizations have suffered debilitating financial setbacks with dwindling grant support and donations. According to the 2010 Creative Capital: The Creative DC Action Agenda report, arts funding experienced a 20-million dollar decline last year. Government funding is also reduced: reports indicate that the DC Commission for the Arts and Humanities budget will face a 10% reduction in FY2011—a decrease for the third consecutive year—representing a half million dollar loss in support for the creative community. Compounding the impact of these precipitous revenue decreases: DC commercial real estate is now the most expensive in the nation, meaning that affordable artist workspace and boutique business space is increasingly scarce. There is a silver lining . . . .

WALA Pro Bono Appreciation Happy Hour Event!

Thanks to the generous support of Hunton & Williams, the Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts is hosting an exclusive happy hour event, "Say YES To Pro Bono!" in honor of the attorneys and firms that make our pro bono work possible. Come by and meet the new WALA Executive Director, L. Michael Gipson. He can't wait to meet you and hear your vision for WALA 2011!

As we are in the middle of our autumn/winter fundraising season, we are humbly requesting tax-deductible donations of $50 or more for this event. With limited space available, please RSVP by securing tickets through Eventbrite. You can also get directions by clicking the image above. We look forward to your joining the libations and festivities!