On Page 2 we saw how a steering committee of volunteers from the All Arts Council, the St Albans Artists' Guild, and St. Albans for the Future, as well as members of the Bishop Street Artists and other interested groups, a newspaper reporter, and other individuals has begun planning the functions an Arts and Cultural Center needed to fulfill.
The steering committee first defined an Arts and Cultural Center as a place but discovered that listing the actual functions the center would perform allowed a broader focus on arts and community needs.
In a series of weekly meetings, the steering committee has "fleshed out" the function list. Two meetings served to add specific functions to the list of general functions reported on last week. Here is the first half of the list.
MAKE ACCESSIBLE--The center must be inclusive, encourage intelligent discourse, be open creatively (multi-discipline), be financially open to the public and artists alike, and meet physical accessibility standards.
BUSINESS SERVICES--Back/Front Office Services were extensively discussed. The center should offer fee-based entrepreneurial incubator space, business of art seminars, box office services, publicity and marketing.
CREATE DEMAND--This function includes developing attraction(s) and appeal, making the center inclusive to all, having popular individual and public programs, and marketing.
EDUCATE and FACILITATE--Offer arts education for artists in art and business, for the community, running outreach programming including exhibits, performances, and workshops, having artists in residence programs, facilitating or providing public awareness.
The "Facilitating" function put a spotlight on the sub-functions of on-site v. off-site programming and transportation needs.
ENTERTAIN--Hold public performances, run or facilitate a cafe, create an artist registry.
It took two meetings to add specific functions to the list of general functions expected of an Art and Cultural Center. On page 4, we will report on how the steering committee built the second half of the list.
Dick Harper, Chair
P.O. Box 1
Highgate Springs, VT 05460
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