Arts councils meet to exchange ideas

MIDDLETOWN - - The Monmouth County Arts Council (MCAC) held the first in a planned series of Local Arts Councils Roundtable meetings April 26 at the new Middletown Cultural Arts Center.

Local arts groups represented at the meeting included Atlantic Highlands Arts Council, Belmar Arts Council, Arts Council of Keansburg, Middletown Arts Council, and Millstone Township Performing Arts Council.

The MCAC has 12 member arts councils, some well established and others newly formed and tenuous.

According to Terri Thomas, community arts director for the Red Bank-based MCAC, the purpose of bringing the groups together is to provide a networking/sharing event among the councils, distribute useful resource materials and address any questions/concerns.

"I also want to make sure that each council is aware and connecting well with the local arts groups/artists in their area," she said in an e-mail last week.

The meetings are also a way for MCAC to get to know the needs of the local groups and assess how it can help them.

"This meeting is for all of us to get to know each other, where you are going, what are the challenges you're encountering," said Mary Eileen Fouratt, executive director of the county arts council.

"This is a great opportunity. As arts organizations we don't often get to know each other," said Maggie O'Brien of the Middletown Cultural Arts Council, which hosted the inaugural roundtable at its recently dedicated Middletown Arts Center on Church Street.

O'Brien, the center's director, said the council runs programming for the new facility so this is a transitional year for the group, founded five years ago. She said getting to know each other better could give rise to collaborations among the arts councils.

"We are trying to find a balance," said Toni Rinella, president of the Middletown council "between moving forward too fast and taking baby steps."

She added that the Middletown council has decided to rent space in the new arts center to outside groups and is working out details like pricing.

"This is a great example of cooperation between the town and the nonprofit," noted Fouratt. "This is an example of a group that doesn't have to separate from the town because they are getting the support they need."

Barbara Schulze, of the Millstone Township Performing Arts Council, said that council operates under the purview of the board of education and its venue is a 1,200-seat performing arts center that is part of the town's new middle school. The council is working on programming for the new facility, she said.

Paul Gallagher, artistic director of the Arts Council of Keansburg, said the group was formed a year ago and is struggling.

"We're trying to find who we are, what we're doing this first year," he said, adding that there are no performing arts facilities in town and few venues.

The Atlantic Highlands Arts Council is just finding its way, having been formed in January, Janice Kollar, chairwoman, told the group.

That council has already sponsored a few successful events and is in the process of attaining non-profit status. Kollar said to pull the events together, she used barter to trade for services such as printing.

"We each have to figure out the creativity in town and how to tap that," offered Julie Gartenberg, also of the Atlantic Highlands council.

Four members of the Belmar Arts Council discussed the experiences gained in the three years since the council was formed with the support of the mayor. Although the council has run a number of successful events, plans for a permanent home at the elementary school have not yet materialized, she said.

"We have done a huge number of grass roots activities in town - workshops, an artwalk, juried art shows, field trips and community participation events, two so far, that are quite unique," said Jack Leonard.

"Another perfect example," said Fouratt. "Like Middletown, Belmar figured out what was best for your town."

Pat Hutchinson of the Belmar council showed a pie graph that the council adapted as an organizational model.

"We went from trying to impose a structure, i.e., committees, and now are based on people's interests like event planning, fundraising," she said. "The idea is the arts are collaborative, not hierarchical."

The meeting appeared to have achieved its goal as council reps traded information on many topics including soliciting corporate donations, tapping local craft unions for volunteer help, the importance of having a diverse board and membership base, different organizational models, forming partnerships with other arts groups, seeking out grant funds on the Web.

"With so many organizations struggling to maintain their boards and volunteer base, how can we find a creative solution so we can all survive?" asked Thomas. "Among the answers is collaboration."

Following the meeting, Thomas said the roundtables would likely be held quarterly.

"The idea is introducing local arts councils to each other and targeting topics pertinent to their issues," she explained. "This evening was for a sounding board and letting them connect."

"It's hard getting started," said Fouratt. "It really makes a difference if you have the support of the town. It's very different from groups that are isolated. In Belmar, Middletown there's the town support, but without stifling or dictating artistic direction, the organization has its own voice."

- - Gloria Stravelli