The Arts Show & Tell Premiers on Arlington Independent Media

By Rebecca Mills
May/June 2005

The Arts Show & Tell, an innovative program of the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington, premiered on Tuesday, April 5 at 7:00pm on Arlington Independent Media (AIM). The program showcases the Greater Washington DC Metropolitan regions' offerings in music, theatre, dance and the visual arts. Over fifty representatives from the arts and business community gathered at AIM to view the first program featuring Kathy Harty Gray Dance Theatre and Washington Bach Consort.

The program is the result of a joint partnership that was formed by the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington with Arlington Independent Media and Double R Productions. Double R Productions is providing participating arts and cultural organizations with experienced, pro-bono producers and production staff to create segments that showcase their work. "Community television is a great way for arts organizations to reach a wider audience," said Eileen Rappoport, deputy director of the Cultural Alliance and developer of the show. "The challenge, until now, was finding experienced personnel to produce, tape and edit their performances."

Arlington Independent Media (AIM) has a viewership accessible to 85,200 households in Arlington County. AIM’s creative staff and state-of-the-art equipment were crucial to ensuring a highly professional production. "The Arts Show & Tell is an extension of Arlington Independent Media's commitment to helping local arts organizations increase their profile in the community," said Lynda Slye, marketing director of AIM. "Public access television is a valuable resource that a lot of arts organizations have yet to tap into."

"This wonderful program is one more way the Cultural Alliance advocates for their members through exposure to the television audience,” said Susan Landess, executive director of Kathy Harty Gray Dance Theatre. “We also made connections with up-and-coming video producers and directors and got a dynamite product that showcases our organization."

"This is a win-win for everyone,” said Rosemary Reed, president of Double R Productions. “Cheryl Ryan, a producer-in-training on our staff, gets great experience as do our interns and of course the arts groups get a great product that they can use to market their organizations."

The second episode of The Arts Show & Tell featured Jane Franklin Dance and the Textile Museum. "In our segment, we focused on a conservation program of ours," said Cyndi Spain, the Textile Museum's public information assistant. "The program encourages community involvement, and we know The Arts Show & Tell will help to spread the word about it."

The Arts Show & Tell airs regularly on Arlington Independent Media each Thursday at 10pm and Tuesday at 7:30pm.