The newly elected President of the Troy Arts Alliance, Steve Kiefer, predicts an eventful 2014 for the Troy arts scene. The Troy Arts Alliance, as well as the Hayner Cultural Center, Troy Main Street, The City of Troy, the Lincoln Art House, Country Artists Workshop and Artists Against Hunger are all planning art related events and activities this year, some independent of each other, some together. Kiefer anticipates several opportunities for artists to display their work and the residents of the area to understand just how  Troy can become  to become more of a gallery in and of itself.

With 2014 being the bicentennial for Troy, many events are planned for throughout the year. One that the Alliance is very excited about is the ‘200 Pieces, 200 Years’ adjudicated art exhibit. It’s expected to be one of the biggest art shows to ever hit the area. There will be a junior division (open to high school aged students) and a senior division(age 18 and above) division and four categories in each; two dimensional art, three dimensional art, photography and poetry. The 200 pieces of art will be exhibited at several venues within walking distance of each other in the Mayflower Arts Center, the Hayner Cultural Center, the Troy-Miami County Library and other downtown locations. Each category will have two winners, a Best in Show and a People’s Choice, and grand prizes for the two divisions. Junior division category winners will receive scholarships and senior divisions winners will receive cash prizes, with the total prize money expected to be more than $15,000. The deadline for entry is June 20 and is open to all residents of Miami and surrounding counties.

The Alliance will also be hosting monthly education seminars for eight months out of the year, where a guest artist will teach their craft. The workshops will be held at various locations around Troy. In addition, the TAA will partner with Troy Main Street to assist with their annual event, on June 27, called ‘Troy Steets Alive!’  “Troy is going to be really alive this year,” said Kiefer.

Another goal of the Alliance is to enliven the community through art. Art has the power to bring customers to town and into businesses. They also want to increase the awareness and interest of art. Due to budget cuts, a trend over the last few decades is fewer and fewer resources have been available for schools to put into art education, which negatively impacts students and the community. “Studies show that students  who are involved with the arts have an average of a whole grade higher than those who do not,” said Kiefer.

Kiefer is excited for the opportunity to build upon the progress made by the past leaderships of the Troy Arts Alliance. “People like Diana Brower, Richard Paldino, Terrilynn Meece, Dan Drodge, Maury Wykoff, Mary and Bryan Bower, Parker Behm, and many, many others have helped laid the groundwork for the TAA. Now it’s our job to take it into the next phase.” In addition to Kiefer, current members of the board include, Mayumi Kiefer, Lisa Bauer, Jennifer Noren, Melonie Mottice, and Carlotta Richmond. “One of my goals,” he said, “is for the Troy Arts Alliance to become a business partner to our artists’ so our artist can concentrate on art.”

For more information on the Troy Arts Alliance, go to TroyArtsAlliance.com.