NCAG Art Director, Toy J. Muller, will exhibit several new artworks at Modern Arts Midtown Gallery in Omaha, NE through the month of July, 2015. The show, titled “Pop Meets Street” is a group show of artists that defy conventional categories and definitely promise the elements of surprise, whimsy and satire.
The Opening Reception will be held at the gallery on First Friday, Jul 3, 6:00-8:00PM. The show will run July 3-July 31, 2015
More information about the exhibit may be viewed at this link:
Saturday June 6th–Mark your calendar for some hometown fun!
In conjunction with Loess Hills Harley Davidson and the 5th annual Thunder Alley Car Club Charity Show in Kimballton, Iowa, NCAG is proud to sponsor a combined motorcycle and car ride from the Loess Hills Harley Davidson parking lot to the Freedom Rocks of western Iowa, ending at the Little Mermaid Park in Kimballton. The event will feature live music by The Polka Police, beer, food, prizes, and an art show featuring veteran and local artists. Participants will also receive a t-shirt and commemorative “challenge” coin!
Don’t ride a bike or drive a hot rod car? No problem…still come to enjoy the party and the succulent roast pork!
Register for the ride by mail or online using the PayPal button on our “Events” page -or in person, the day of the ride. Ride starts at 10am, registration for the car show at 9am.
Your tax-deductible contribution will play an important role in realizing our goals. We thank you for your generosity and confidence in our mission!
In the corner of his basement, Bryon Line is hard at work. When he’s not painting a scene made by Mother Nature, he’s recreating an image from his 15(??) years in the army. “You get reminded if you ever did it, what it felt like to be one of those guys,” Line said. Like Bryon, many veterans find therapy in art. “You found energy, you felt motivation, and you felt comraderies,” Line added.
Bryon’s paintings are on display at this gallery – 75 miles away in the quaint town of Kimballton, Iowa. Line says, “I’m very much impressed with the way they’ve helped revive Kimballton, Iowa.
But the connection between Bryon Line and Kimballton is thicker than the oil based paints on his canvas. “I served in the marine corp from 70-74 and I was in the air wings,” Scott Smith, Director of the New Century Art Guild said. Like Bryon, Scott Smith is a veteran. Eight years ago he helped create the New Century Art Guild – an art organization created by Veterans for Veterans.
“One veteran in particular, I challenged to make a series of paintings about his experiences and it changed his life,” Troy Muller, art instructor and board member of the New Century Art Guild, states proudly. Through funding and workshops the Guild helps Veterans reconnect with Society and recapture the comraderies experienced in the armed services. “Like I said before, those kids (using the brush) and getting into it and forgetting all that stuff that was scaring them, it talks to you,” New Century Art Guild board member, Jim O’Keefe adds.
A movement started by a handful of guys, making a difference in veterans lives, one brush stroke at a time.
The Art Guild is undertaking a massive project. They’re planning on building a Living Liberties sculpture park that will feature up to 30 life size statues. These monuments will be dedicated to American servicemen and women who fought for our freedom. The price tag is hefty… 2.7 million dollars… and it will be funded mostly through private donations.
New Century Art Guild welcomes Troy E. Blaine, CLF, LUTCF, FSS from Omaha, NE as a financial consultant that has volunteered to advise NCAG’s Board of Directors on matters of financial growth. Troy is an experienced insurance executive and investment professional. He is an accomplished financial leader that has been recognized by the insurance industry for the teams that he has led and developed.
Troy has a warm, friendly personality and is open to new opportunities and expanding his already impressive professional network and technical expertise. Troy has a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has served on numerous boards and is a member of several business associations. NCAG’s Board of Directors has already benefited greatly from his pearls of wisdom and we look forward to a fruitful partnership!
Dr. Smith (left) with Warren Varley, President of Midwest Partnership
Congratulations to New Century Art Guilds own Executive Director, Dr. Scott Smith, upon receiving the Guy Powell Award, given to him at an awards banquet the evening of January 22, 2015. The Midwest Partnership Economic Development announced him as this year’s winner of the award at Lake Panorama Conference Center. Audubon County, Iowa, a member of Midwest Partnership for four years, has only given the Guy Powell Award once previously.
This award is based on vision, leadership, courage and impact. Under Scott’s leadership, New Century Art Guild is providing guidance, training and career development for emerging and established artists and veterans. The guild focuses on Veterans returning from combat, often diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but classes and workshops are generally open to the public. Dr. Smith gives veterans an opportunity to express themselves and provide opportunities for closure of negative war experiences.
Scott’s courage is evident in his perseverance, as he meets the obstacles and barriers of establishing new commercial ventures in a rural community. Through his vision he is broadening Kimballton, Iowa’s visibility and economic growth. NCAG is proud of his acceptance of this well deserved award!
The 2014 Juried Veteran Art Exhibit co-sponsored by NCAG and Metro Community College closed in December after a successful month-long run at Metro’s Fort Omaha campus. Fourteen veteran artists, representing four branches of service, was a popular and well-regarded exhibit in the heavily trafficked Student Services Building.
New Century Art Guild sponsored a successful Danish craft making workshop on Friday, November 28th, 2014 during Julefest. Workshop participants made charming Danish woven heart baskets. The exercise was led by Pat Crosley.
New Century Art Guild will again salute veterans at its 3rd Annual Open House and Veteran Appreciation event on Sunday, November 2nd from 2:00pm to 8:30pm in Kimballton, IA.
This year’s open house will be a carnival theme that will feature army vehicle rides, face painting, temporary tattoos, caricature artist, carnival games, and chili cook-off. Begining at 2:00p.m., two art galleries on Kimballton’s Main Street will be open to the public to offer a tasting of local wines and a chance to view veterans’ artwork, including that of US Army veteran Roberta “Bert” Leaverton.
A chili cook-off will be held at the Cottonwood Barn at 5:30pm. Chili and games may be paid for with tickets sold at the door for $1 apiece. Chili cooks will be vying for top prizes, to be determined by the most tickets they collect. Proceeds will go to fund NCAG’s student and veteran art scholarships. Entertainment will be provided by the widely popular singing-duo the “Polka Police”. Other attractions include kegs of craft beer, an old fashioned cake walk, a bonfire (weather permitting) and barn dance. This is a family-friendly event and open to the public.
Prepare your taste buds for this year’s chili-cook off!
The rural town of Kimballton, IA, located approximately midway between Omaha and Des Moines, is the headquarters of New Century Art Guild. The guild was co-founded by local residents Billy Marples and Dr. Scott Smith, both veterans, and Omaha artist Troy Muller. The guild’s mission is to promote career development of emerging and established artists with special attention to the needs of military families and of veterans seeking to make new careers in the creative arts.
For more information contact NCAG President Dr. Scott Smith at (712) 249-2184 or NCAG Art Director Troy Muller: tmuller@mccneb.edu
With help from a IWCC student, artist becomes advocate for veterans’ art
Monday, August 18, 2014 — By Casey Logan / World-Herald staff writer
Troy Muller, right, and Billy Marples work on a bronze relief on Oct. 31, 2008 –OWH
Ten years ago, Muller, an art instructor at Metropolitan Community College, met a student named Billy Marples. For class, he submitted drawings of scenes from World War II. Soon the two bonded over military history. Muller asked if Marples, a Vietnam veteran, ever drew from his own experiences at war.
He hadn’t, but Marples seemed to take the question as a challenge. He later submitted a series of charcoal drawings based on his time in Vietnam, including one called “The Incident,” depicting an especially traumatic firefight.
“He got closure to this incident,” Muller said. “He had 35 years of nightmares, and it stopped that day when he made the drawing.”
That same year, Muller and Marples discussed starting an organization to support veteran artists. The mission wouldn’t be therapeutic in nature but rather to provide guidance and training for veterans interested in pursuing careers in visual art.
A decade later, the New Century Art Guild covers three buildings and more than 4,000 square feet of gallery and studio space in Kimballton, Iowa, about an hour’s drive northeast of Omaha. It is run by a third founder, Scott Smith. Muller, who remains based in Omaha, serves as art director. Marples died in 2013.
Through August, the center is home to “Unforgetting Iraq: In Search of Recovery,” a multi-media exhibit that has become all the more timely in recent weeks.
“We were coming from a point of reconciliation,” Muller said of the exhibit’s May opening, “and now we’re on a war front again.”
The exhibit, which features work by Americans and Iraqis, is a small part of Muller’s busy life these days. He still teaches at Metro. He also tries to find time to make his own art, some of which is on display at Modern Arts Midtown, 3615 Dodge St. A painter by training, Muller finds himself moving more and more to three-dimensional art, in part because so much of what is consumed these days comes from two-dimensional screens.
But Muller draws the most meaning these days from his work with veterans. He sees in their work a worldview and selflessness uncommon in the art world, and more and more he believes his own mission is to make sure such work sees the light of day — even if it means less time spent on his art.
“With the veterans I see such a huge return on the investment of my time,” he said.
NEW CAREERS, NEW POSSIBILITIES, NEW DIRECTIONS FOR ARTISTS AND VETERANS
