Open Hearth Arts "fanning the flames of creative community"

OHA current programs include: Institute for Cultural Reconciliation, Verse~converse Poetry Festival (http://verseconverse.org/), Taos Shortz Film Festival, Taos HS Afterschool Music Program, Taos HS Poetry Team, Seasonal Celebrations for Children.

Vision Statement: OH envisions a community in Taos and Northern New Mexico where the arts are actively functioning to maintain the health of our community in the following ways: 1. as a learning tool; 2. as a cornerstone of cultural and individual identity; 3. as a means of social dialogue; and 4. as an economic engine.

Mission Statement: Open Hearth Arts identifies needs within the Taos County arts community and seeks to fill those gaps directly or by supporting the development of emerging programs addressing unmet creativity-based needs. OH projects contribute to the arts economy, connections between artists, and building new audiences.

Verse ~ Converse Poetry Festival will hold its fourth annual poetry festival June 2 - 5, 2011. V/C brings poets and audiences together focusing on joining stage and page, young and old, professional and emerging. V/C includes the Taos Invitational Poetry Championship, youth and professional brackets, Workshops and the Main Event (past features include Bob Holman, Jimmy Santiago Baca, Luminous Animal, Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai, Jessica Helen Lopez and others). http://verseconverse.org/

Taos Shortz Film Festival, fourth annual TSFF is march 4 - 6 at the Harwood Museum. Taos Shortz is a juried festival of 50 short films from around the world.

Open Hearth Arts plans to move into its new home in the Taos Plaza Theater in 2011.

Donations toward any of our programs, general fund or toward outfitting the Taos Plaza Theater may be mailed to 118B South Plaza, Taos, NM 87571.

Volunteers are needed in the following areas: physical labor and/or trades in the theater, administration, design, programming.