10 Reasons to Support the Arts

The following 10 reasons show why an investment in artists, creative workers, and arts organizations is vital to the nation’s post-pandemic recovery.

Exhibitions: 

• Limitless | Paintings by Claire Osborn
• Run dates: January 24 – March 20
• Inside the Artist's Studio with Claire Osborn | Virtual Event
• Tuesday March 12 | 5 - 6 PM

COCA's How-to Workshop Series (3)

February 22 - March 6

• A collection of online workshops that cover how-to post events, artist profiles, classifieds, and more. Register here!

Have a classified related to the Tallahassee Bicentennial? COCA's Tallahassee Arts Guide lets you "TAG" your industry opportunities with our "Tallahassee Bicentennial" category.

COCA Connect: How-To Workshop Series - Classifieds

Event: March 6

Sign up to volunteer for just a few hours or every day – either way, join the group of dedicated volunteers who often return each year because it’s rewarding and fun! Your help will make all of the difference. Encourage your friends to sign up for the same shift so you have a buddy to share this experience. The 24th Annual Chain of Parks Art Festival will be April 20 & 21 and is North Florida’s premier outdoor fine art festival. Located in downtown Tallahassee along Park Avenue, the festival provides an opportunity for art lovers and artists to connect over the weekend.

In honor of the Tallahassee-Leon County Bicentennial, Leon County Government is offering limited edition Bicentennial-themed library cards to all eligible Leon County residents. While supplies last, receive a new or replacement Bicentennial library card at no cost from any Leon County Public Library location.

The FSU ProfessioNole Clothing Closet (https://career.fsu.edu/ClothingCloset), coordinated by the Career Center, is launching our 3rd Annual Spring Cleaning with Meaning Clothing Drive. The Closet provides a much-needed service to FSU students, providing them with business professional clothing for interviews, career fairs, internships, and more. And the Closet is 100% supported by donations - either in-kind of donated clothing or monetary donations.

Whelan Xpress in “like new” condition including the full set of new blankets. Please see photo for dimensions. This press was made to order in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It has a stationary bed, so the roller moves over the blankets and press bed is stationary when printing. This is a precision press and you can even print glass plates with it. It was previously used for printing large format etchings and monoprints mostly.

If you have experience, knowledge, and expertise working with students with disabilities pre-kindergarten through grade 12, you could become a VSA Program Site. The Kennedy Center Office of VSA and Accessibility seeks U.S. arts, education, and cultural organizations to provide accessible, arts-based education experiences to students with disabilities. U.S. organizations are invited to submit proposals to implement VSA Programs.

COCA seeks a talented part-time guest writer for our COCA Spotlight feature with a proven track record in journalism or related fields and a robust portfolio of published articles. The ideal candidate will possess exceptional writing, editing, & proofreading skills, showcasing a meticulous eye for detail and a commitment to accuracy. 

The Southern Shakespeare Company, a professional nonprofit theatre company, seeks two Assistant Carpenters to support the Festival Carpenter Mike Mock in the construction of the set for the 2024 Festival mainstage, Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, designed by Jack Jammer, as well as any additional platforms and pieces needed to support the showcase of junior acting troupe The Bardlings and other community-based performance groups.

We are presenting an informative webinar series designed for arts organizations around topics of accessibility for people with disabilities. Able SC is a consumer-controlled, community-based, cross-disability nonprofit that seeks to make South Carolina a national model of equity and inclusion for all people with disabilities.

The next webinar is Alternative Formats + Accessible Communications on March 6.

Are you looking to grow your business, upskill your staff, or develop strategies to prevent potential layoffs? If so, consider applying for the Growing Forward Business Luncheon event hosted by CareerSource Capital Region! 

In this webinar, we will discuss: critical pedagogical methods and approaches for teaching dance accessibly and inclusively, dance pedagogical approaches and practices which prioritize difference, interdependence, and collective experience, and more.

This webinar will offer a comprehensive framing of trauma-informed arts teaching that is grounded by a bottom-up approach. Participants will gain insight about the effects of trauma on student learning and engagement, while also discovering the learning supports they can offer students. Through guided reflection, participants will be invited to consider which trauma-informed tools and supports they can readily adopt in their teaching practice, and to reflect on long-term goals for applying a trauma-informed framework in the classroom.

Stop At The Station is proudly brought to you in partnership with Domi Station and COCA. Vendor tables are available to artists and arts businesses that are COCA members. Upcoming Stop at the Station events include:

• Mar 1: Women's History
• Apr 5: Literature
• May 3: History
• Jun 7: Pride

The Performing Arts Readiness (PAR) project is offering the free emergency preparedness webinars listed below that are tailored to the needs of performing arts organizations during Sept.-Dec. The better prepared an organization is, the more quickly and effectively it can respond to emergencies and crises, re-open for performances and programs, and return to normal operations.

The Professional Grant Proposal Writing Workshop, like our in-person workshops, is an intensive and detailed introduction to the process, structure, and skill of professional proposal writing. This course is characterized by its ability to act as a thorough overview, introduction, and refresher at the same time.

Leadership Tallahassee is looking for its next group of leaders for Class 42! We prepare leaders to meet & anticipate challenges in the community. Through programs for adults & high school students, participants experience information about all sectors of the community, including business, economic development, the arts, government, and more.

Behind the Scenes is a great way to get publicity for your organization or studio! First, describe your organization, upcoming events, or your studio if you submit this as a working artist. Then upload five photos that show us the process behind the magic and tell the community about them!

Your Tallahassee story begins here with the free Visitor Guide - get a copy and start planning your trip today.

Leon County Government invites residents of all ages and abilities to submit artwork for an upcoming exhibition titled “Artists and Autism: Shake the World.” Artwork will be displayed at the Leon County Main Library and in a virtual exhibit throughout the month of April in celebration of National Autism Acceptance Month. The exhibition is in partnership with the FSU Autism Institute and Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (FSU CARD) and Arts4All Florida.

NOW Art has curated a nationwide directory of artists dedicated to capturing and expressing the essence of communities across America. NOW Art is actively seeking artists nationwide to design unique and original mural compositions for community-focused programs. These high traffic public facing projects are in partnership with corporations. Each mural is delivered as digital compositions or scanned high res hand-painted artwork files.

See regional and national public art calls eligible for Florida artists at the following locations:

• Anderson, SC - SculpTOUR 2024 - Mar. 1
• Knoxville, TN – Emory Place Mural Project - Mar. 4
• Fort Pierce, Florida– Call for Muralists - Mar. 13
• Pompano Beach, FL– Artist in Residence Program - Mar. 21
• Atlanta, GA – Target HBCU Mural Challenge - Mar. 22
• St. Augustine, FL– Public Art Project - Apr. 1

COCA is proud to announce that we are partnering with The City of Tallahassee Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) to provide custom public art murals to the exterior walls of some of Tallahassee’s small businesses & commercial properties to abate and prevent vandalism. We have now opened a call for interested property owners who would like to be considered for the program! The full prospectus with eligibility requirements, details, and the full application can be found below.