seARTS 3rd Annual Meeting presents new Leadership, commitment to Cultural Economy on Cape Ann

October 20, 2005. Gloucester, Massachusetts. In the spirit of collaboration, the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts (seARTS) held its third annual meeting last evening, in the lofty, picturesque Allan Penn Photography Studio. Looking out over the Harbor and directly at City Hall, a group of 50 artists, public servants, and art patrons discussed the future of the cultural economy on Cape Ann and elected a new Board and leadership.

Outgoing President Jo-Ann Castano laid the foundation for seARTS over seven years. This past year, seARTS achieved hard-earned milestones including the award of a Massachusetts Cultural Council Adams Grant, which funded the “Partner with an Artist” program, and the Rocky Neck Association Residency Program. seARTS also achieved non-profit, 5013-C status retroactive for the last three years. The Adams Grant was particularly significant because it produced funds to hire a part-time Executive Director and development director. Among other accomplishments, seARTS was thus able to support the Gloucester New Arts Festival and the Rocky Neck Art Colony, award three Partner with an Artist Grants to individual artists, and produce local arts events. Guest speaker, Jack Clarke Director of Public Policy and Government Relations for the Massachusetts Audubon Society and candidate for Gloucester Councilor-at- Large noted that the place of Arts in Gloucester should continue to grow and that there is also an opportunity to rally for more support from the state if we can put some bodies at the table.

After an intensive search for Executive Director, Susan Erony, an established artist and former Associate Curator for Exhibitions at the Cape Ann Historical Museum, was appointed to the position. Susan has been in Cape Ann just ten years, but has contributed her expertise from over twenty years of organizing exhibitions, consulting, writing, teaching and lecturing on art, and exhibiting internationally. Erony was the first American artist to show in Leipzig, Germany since 1933 and is a guest member of the Berlin Society for Women Artists. For the past ten years, she has collaborated with a German-born artist on a project addressing the Jewish Holocaust, work that led to her going to Bosnia to facilitate dialogue between Muslims and Serbs. Jo Ann passionately describes Susan as “the people’s choice” for her lifetime commitment to the arts and her belief that contemporary artists “mirror” society in their work. Lara Lepionka, the Development Director brings considerable experience in “community art” and holds an MFA from the Art Institute of Chicago. Lara recently returned to Cape Ann after making her mark in Chicago.

The newly appointed Board includes a balance of artisans, art advocates, and local business professionals. The new President, Jacqueline Ganim-DeFalco brings over twenty years of experience in marketing, international business, and business development to her position. Jacqueline spent seventeen years working in telecommunications (NYNEX and GTE) expanding the business from its core into new lines of business. She currently acts as a business advisor to hi-tech companies through her consulting practice, Marketing Recon and several years ago launched a design business, Cape Ann Designs to design and market sea glass accessories. Her counterpart in this endeavor is Vice President, Tom Kiely. Tom brings a diverse and substantial background to the organization. A former editor at the Harvard Business Review, he transitioned into various executive marketing positions and presently is a communications leader at McKinsey and Company, a global general management consulting firm. Mort Rubin, a retired financial executive from the retail industry is the new Treasurer and Aria McElhenny, Communications and Knowledge Officer for New England Foundation for the Arts is the Secretary. New Board members also include Felice Kachinsky of the White Rainbow; Peter Anastas, Writer and Member of the Charles Olsen Society; Susan Frey, retired physician and architect; Ruth Mordecai, Artist and member of the Rocky Neck Art Colorny; Anna Vojtech, an illustrator of children’s books, and a Junior Board member, local “reggae artist” Carla Hollett. They will join Judy Cox, Susan White-Shaffer, Sarah Young (Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce), Kathleen Valentine, and Suzanne Silveira (City of Gloucester) the current Board, in growing seARTS membership, funding, and impact – some of the key goals for the incoming Board.

A major goal of seARTS is to enhance its name recognition and positioning in and outside of Cape Ann. The new logo and website design (www.searts.org) speaks to the greater purpose of the organization. In short, seARTS members build community and economic ties to strengthen the cultural economy of Gloucester and Cape Ann at large. seARTS represents a collaborative effort among artists, arts organizations, the city, the business community, and art lovers. Together, with these groups, seARTS’ vision is to create strong networks for artists, advocate for the arts, attract patrons of the arts to Cape Ann, and maintain a virtual “place” for all art forms on Cape Ann to be shared and enjoyed.