Monday, November 07, 2005 (page 1)
New seARTS director hopes to
revitalize arts on Cape Ann
By Jason Simpson
Staff writer
Gloucester's connection with the art world has slipp d over the years, according to Susan Erony, new y appointed executive director of the Society for t e Encouragement of the Arts (seARTS), who spoke at t e organization's annual meeting on Oct. 1
"Gloucester has had a pretty grim image in the art world outside of Cape Ann, unlike the image for about 100 years, when it was a place people looked to for interesting contemporary art," Erony said. "I believe that the current separation between contemporary art and society is incredibly unhealthy, and I see community cultural education a priority for seARTS ... artists can act as mirrors of society back to itself and help us understand ourselves."
If the community wants to once again attract visitors interested in serious contemporary art, Erony and seARTS say the art community and businesses must work together.
Erony, who has worked for seARTS for four months, said the group's job is to think of the cultural community and the entire community, rather than one group or another. She suggested the society provides a way to approach social issues via cultural action.
The organization is seeking funding to start several programs in order to revive Gloucester's connection to the arts.
One of these programs, the Gloucester New Arts Festival, debuted in August and showcased genre bending, experimental work by more than 40 artists residing both in Cape Ann and outside the area. Erony said, "Gloucester residents responded with delight to see art spilling out onto the street or being incorporated into their daily lives." Erony said seARTS is looking for business partners for the 2006 festival.
Partner with an Artist is another program the organization has started in order to rejuvenate the arts in town. Erony said the goals of this project are to:
* Create innovative, nontraditional arts events that showcase high-quality, alternative work, which will help establish Gloucester as a new site for contemporary art;
* Facilitate opportunities for artists and businesses to engage in collaborations that lead to the creation of new artwork, and marketing and economic opportunities for artists and businesses;
* Introduce businesses to the benefits of cultural economic development and create an environment that is ripe for future collaborations and partnership growth.
With new funding, Erony said the organization hopes to expand this program by bringing in more artists and have much more programming involved.
The Rocky Neck Artist Residency, a residency program that hosts 50 audience members and four visual artists, was also created by seARTS in order to revitalize Rocky Neck as an economically viable location for artists.
Erony said she will also offer a contemporary art lecture series in March at the Gloucester Lyceum to aid new audiences in understanding new forms of art. She said the three lectures scheduled are an expansion of the community education effort of the organization. This will rebuild the bond between the arts community and the public, which has "broken down a lot, in general, in the last 50 years," she said.
The nonprofit organization is three years old, according to Aria McElhenny, seART's secretary and communications officer for New England Foundation for the Arts, and seeks to renew the awareness of the arts on Cape Ann.
The organization was founded, she said, through a variety of grants given to seARTS over those years from people interested in boosting art appreciation in the area. The arts, McElhenny said, are very important to the economy.
According to seART's Web site, it involves artists as well as individuals and organizations that support the arts. Members build community and economic ties to strengthen the cultural economy of Gloucester and Cape Ann.
McElhenny said seARTS helps form partnerships between artists and businesses and sponsors "Artists on Artists" lectures as a way for the public to have a dialogue with the artists to better understand their work.
The organization acts as a liaison between the arts community and the public, she said.
The Massachusetts Cultural Council awarded seARTS with an Adams Grant, funding to support projects that the council thinks will spur economic activity. Partner with an Artist was funded in this manner.
In addition to Erony and McElhenny, seARTS also appointed a new president, Jacqueline Ganim-DeFalco; a new vice president, Tom Kiely; treasurer, Mort Rubin; and new board members, Felice Kachinsky, Peter Anastas, Susan Frey, Ruth Mordecai, Anna Vojtech and Carla Hollett.
Anastas said one of the reasons he is happy to be a board member is because he hoped for a long time that Cape Ann would have an organization that brought all kinds of creative people together to support the cultural life of the area.
He said seARTS provides an opportunity to foster cooperation in the community. This could help the art community economically.
"For some people, art is the frosting on the cake of life, but art has had an enormous role in Cape Ann's history... to make it an exciting place to live," Anastas said. "Art's fun and beautiful, but it's also a way to bring money into the community."
The new members will join current board members Judy Cox, Susan White-Shaffer, Sarah Young, Kathleen Valentine and Suzanne Silveira.
New board members of seARTS
Jacqueline Michelle Ganim-DeFalco, president
Education: BA, Emory University; MBA (international business/marketing), Stern (NYU); International Management Program, University of International Business and Economics, Bejing, China.
Work experience: business growth specialist, NYNEX and GTE; business adviser, focusing on opportunities for companies to grow through the development of new markets, products, distribution channels and marketing programs; board of Cape Ann YMCA.
Tom Kiely, vice president
Education: BA (English literature), University of Rochester.
Work experience: marketing professional, McKinsey and Co.; senior communications adviser to McKinsey's practice line leaders, focusing on helping consulting practices develop multichannel communication strategies based on distinctive new ideas; editor, Harvard Business Review.
Susan Erony, executive director
Education: BFA, Massachusetts College of Art; MA (psychology), Lesley University; PhD candidate (all but dissertation), University for Humanistic Studies, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Work experience: Associate curator for exhibitions, Cape Ann Historical Museum, Gloucester; artist.
Mort Rubin, treasurer
Work experience: systems work, consultant, Filene's; treasurer, Vilna Center for Jewish Heritage, Boston.
Aria McElhenny, secretary
Education: bachelor's degree in painting and printmaking, University of California, Santa Cruz; master's degree in art education, Harvard University.
Work experience: oversees communications and public information aspects, New England Foundation for the Arts' grant making and research programs: works with NEFA's research and learning team on cultural economic development research and creative economy-related projects and partnerships; worked in arts curriculum development for Boston public schools and as a special event producer for AIDS Action Committee.
Susan J. Frey
Education: Tufts University; St. Vincent Hospital School of Nursing; Assumption College; BFA, Virginia Commonwealth University; BAC; Yestermorrow School of Design-Build; PhD (natural health sciences), Clayton College of Natural Health.
Work experience: retired; founder, Avalon Health Associates; professional speaker, presenting enriched environment workshops at major health care and educational conferences; founding member of the CARITAS Project, an international foundation for architects and designers; lay volunteer, VNA Hospice of North Shore; U.S. Navy Nurse Corps, Vietnam (1968-70).
Felice Kachinsky Koslen
Education: BA (philosophy and world religions), Boston University; master of arts, University of Virginia's College of Graduate Studies.
Work experience: fifth-grade teacher, Marblehead Community Charter Public School; awarded Founding Teacher Award of Excellence (2001).
Peter Anastas
Education: Bowdoin College, Tufts University.
Work experience: writer.
Anna Vojtech
Education: School of Applied Arts, Academy of Applied Arts, Prague; Royal Academy, Antwerp, Belgium; Academy of Fine Arts, Hamburg, Germany.
Work experience: painter.
Carla Hollett
Education: recent graduate of art school.
Work experience: painter; nominated as Junior Board member.