Points of Interest by Rhyena Halpern, Executive Director
Tour Artists’ Studios September 12 & 13
Edible Art Crawl in Midtown—Eat Your Art Out!
“Chair’s View” by Dan Gorfain, Commissioner Chair
SMAC Highlight—New Sacramento Poet Laureate Selected
Community Mural Project—30 Local Artists to be Selected
SMAC in Your Community

Reaching out, making new connections, creating new opportunities—a survival 
plan for many Sacramento area arts groups. And, if you were one of thousands 
who attended the June 26th “Concerts in the Park,” you would have experienced 
this first hand. Presented in conjunction with the Downtown Sacramento 
Partnership, SMAC hosted 34 arts groups at this very popular Friday night 
event in Cesar Chavez Park. Mumbo Gumbo performed as thousands of people 
visited with local arts groups to learn more about our eclectic arts scene. 
This “friend raiser” is one example of how SMAC is working to bring greater 
awareness to the arts through public events and targeted messages. In the fall 
SMAC will participate in 3 exciting events and launch a public service 
campaign for the arts (please see the events outline below). Keep an eye out 
for our upcoming billboards, ads and more. 

In these challenging economic times, we see more openness and willingness 
regarding new partnerships and collaborations, and sharing of resources.  As 
our artists and arts organizations find creative ways to survive and thrive, 
we recognize that creativity and openness to change.  

We are ratcheting up for the September launch of our Arts Marketing Campaign 
with three exciting community events!  Please be on the lookout for our e-
blasts!

Hope you are staying cool.

Warm Regards,
Rhyena Halpern

Tour Artists’ Studios at this Annual Event, September 12 & 13, Midtown and 
Downtown Sacramento.

If you love 2nd Saturday, this is the event for you! This weekend tour is 
sponsored by the Center for Contemporary Art Studios (CCAS) with SMAC.  It 
features tours of over 80 artists’ studios located in the midtown and downtown 
areas. Please check www.sacramento365.com for more information.

Edible Art Crawl in Midtown—Eat Your Art Out!  Saturday, September 26th, 
noon to 5:00 p.m., Midtown and Downtown.

This one-of-a-kind event will take place at over 20 mid-town and downtown 
restaurants. Guests are guided on a walking tour of select restaurants where 
they will enjoy incredible food and drinks at each establishment! As an added 
bonus, Sacramento arts groups will provide entertainment at several of the 
restaurants for your enjoyment. Please check www.sacramento365.com for more 
information.

On behalf of SMAC, I would like to thank all of you who contacted your elected 
representatives in support of SMAC during the recent County budget hearings.  
Despite major budget reductions over the past year, SMAC remains a viable and 
vibrant regional body committed to furthering the arts in our community.

While our funding has been trimmed and staff downsized, we will continue our 
grant and educational programs and launch a significant Arts Marketing 
Campaign designed to increase public awareness of local artists and arts 
organizations and increased community support of them.

We are elated by the overwhelming public response to SMAC's Second Saturday 
Public Art Tours and grateful to the Sacramento Bee for the great publicity in 
the June 7th “Ticket” as we launched this new program.  Tours start at 4:00 
pm, and leave plenty of time for dinner before walking it off visiting nearby 
galleries. To make a reservation, call (916) 386-8240 or email 
dixie@dixielaws.com. The tours are limited in size, so reserve your spot early!
 
More information on Second Saturday and community wide arts events can be 
found on SMAC's website and at www.sacramento365.com

The Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission proudly announces the selection of 
Bob Stanley of the Poetry Center as the new Sacramento Poet Laureate for the 
2009 -11 term.  A passionate member of the poetry community, Bob Stanley was 
selected from a number of talented poets who vied for the opportunity to 
represent Sacramento’s literary community.  

Mr. Stanley serves as the president of the Sacramento Poetry Center as well as 
teaching Creative Writing and English at CSU Sacramento.  His poems have won a 
number of awards, including the California Focus on Writers prize in 2006 and 
have been published in numerous journals and anthologies. He recently 
published his first chapbook, Walt Whitman Orders a Cheeseburger, 
released by Rattlesnake Press in 2009.  

For more information on Mr. Stanley or the Poet Laureate program, please log 
onto www.sacmetroarts.org.  Mr. Stanley is featuring poets of Sacramento 
County in his weekly County Lines: The Poetry of Sacramento.  Take a look at 
www.sacmetroarts.com/PLcountylines.html

Sweet Fire, excerpt
By Bob Stanley

All the music rolled into one that night, Lionel Hampton
rang them bronze bells, and Chairman Mao (his musical career
having been cut short by the cultural revolution)
aired it out on a flugelhorn solo. If you’ve never heard the Dalai Lama
scat over rhythm changes, you’ve really missed something.

The Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission (SMAC) and Art in
Public Places (APP) have invited Sacramento regional artists to submit
qualifications for the Franklin Boulevard Urban Plein Air project.  Up
to 30 artists will be selected to paint 30 temporary murals on exterior walls 
along Franklin Boulevard in Sacramento during the month of September. Selected 
artists will be paid a $500.00 honorarium for participating in the project. 
Once all the murals are complete, they will be presented to the public at 2nd 
Saturday on September 12, 2009.

For more information on the project, please log onto www.sacmetroarts.org

APP Gallery Exhibition Listings—VISIT ONE TODAY!

Robert T. Matsui Art Gallery--City of Sacramento City Hall
915 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Located in the H Street lobby of the new City Hall building.

Exhibit: Robert Takeo Matsui: A Visionary Advocate for Sacramento  

Dates: Opened April 14, 2009

Black and white photographic journey of the late Congressman Matsui’s life 
from childhood to his days in Congress.


SMUD Art Gallery
Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) Customer Service Center
6301 S Street at 65th Street
Sacramento, CA 95817
Hours - Monday – Friday 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
Located in the first floor lobby.

Exhibit: En plein air: Sacramento Artists Working Out in the Open

An exhibition featuring the work of 16 Sacramento area artists
				
Dates: July 1 – September 7, 2009; 
Public reception: Thursday, August 20, 2009, 4 to 6 p.m.

Airport Gallery
Sacramento International Airport
Terminal B
6900 Airport Boulevard
Sacramento, CA 95837

Four enclosed exhibition cases are located in the public areas on the lower 
level of Terminal B. Three enclosed exhibition cases are located on each of 
the secured passenger concourses.

Current Exhibit: Timeless Sacramento

Date: Opened February 24, 2009