Local Arts Agencies are the arts councils (independent nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations) and arts commissions (part of municipal government) that are based our towns, serving their residents in a variety of ways, from marketing and sometimes coordinating arts events in town, to providing a central clearinghouse and sometimes a calendar of events, to hosting organizations and producing their own events, to funding resident artists and arts organizations.
NEXT MEETING
Tuesday September 26th
10am
Special Guest: Liz Shapiro, CT Office of the Arts
Please reply by adding your name and email address here: https://forms.gle/
BACKGROUND
At a convening in December 2019, 13 local arts agencies completed a survey: 6 were arts councils, 6 were commissions and 1 was a municipal advisory committee; groups were founded between 1971 and 2016; 8 were part of government and 5 not; 10 have a budget, 3 do not; 6 have staff and 7 do not; 9 have databases of between 50 and 5,000 people and 4 do not; 9 offer special events, 8 gallery exhibits, 6 presentations, 3 rent facilities, 2 offer grants and 1 a small scholarship. 8 offer mentorship/advice. In terms of what respondents thought was most effective, the range was immense: from professional development to facility rentals, events, a photography show, discounted services, networking, and mentoring.
Notable services/projects include: Norwalk, Milford and Newtown have poet laureates, Westport maintains an extensive town art collection, and Norwalk had (and Westport and Greenwich were developing) an Otocast phone app. audio tour of cultural high points of the town; Ridgefield has a project putting together schools and creatives in the community, and Greenwich also works closely with schools and the Board of Education.
Second Convening April 2019. Click on Discussion Notes Below
First Convening December 2018. Click on Final Report Below
See Overview Spreadsheet of all Arts Councils and Commissions. Click Image Below
