In September, the Southborough Cultural Arts Council put out a plea for new board members.
If no one stepped up, the Massachusetts Cultural Arts Council would have been forced to pull funding for the Southborough branch. That would have left Southborough as the only town in the state without an arts council.
The community response was overwhelming. SCAC reported an influx of 15 new board members this fall.
Reinvigorated, the council is eager to share their recent accomplishments. In December, the council granted $5,380 from the MCAC to 11 local cultural programs slated for 2014, including :
- $2,605 for Southborough Summer Concerts and Movies
- $1,000 for access to Adobe Creative Suite C56 to create art and text for layout of the Sachem Magazine at Algonquin High School
- $440 for storytelling professional at the library (July 2014)
- $300 for audio journal for the blind, visually impaired, reading impaired
- $300 for Songbirds of the Northeast at 21 Highland Street, Southborough (March 10)
- $250 for Annual Messiah Concert at Pilgrim Church (Dec. 4)
- $250 Genealogy Club’s monthly meetings at library (Sept. – June)
- $250 for Metrowest Symphony Orchestra (March 9)
- $250 for Assabet Valley Mastersingers at St. Marks (March 9)
- $175 for Northboro Area Community Chorus (May and December concerts)
- $100 for admission for Fruitlands Museum Centennial Anniversary Program (July 21)
But it’s not just their past work they want to promote. The group is reaching out to the community in an effort to improve their support of local art.
Co-chair Alexandra De Collibus explains:
We’re excited to go forward and expand the role of the council in Southborough.
Next year, we hope to receive a greater variety of local grant applicants as well as more applications focused in the visual arts. To make this happen, we plan to reach out to the community of artists in town. . .
We hope to rebuild the Southborough Arts Council by thoughtfully collecting information on the art and cultural scene, carefully choosing and planning events, and strengthening the connection between Southborough and the arts.
Some ideas they are considering:
- Help artists publicize their work by creating a local directory and by publishing profiles of local artists, musicians, and authors.
- Sponsoring an open studio event, juried art show, and placement of art in the community.
De Collibus is eager to hear from the community:
Please get in touch with me at director@SouthboroughArts.org if you have suggestions or even better, if you’d like to join our dedicated group of volunteers.
If you would like to read the full press release, click here.
