Artswestchester Inc

ARTSWESTCHESTER'S MISSION IS TO CREATE AN EQUITABLE, INCLUSIVE, VIBRANT AND SUSTAINABLE WESTCHESTER COUNTY IN WHICH THE ARTS ARE INTEGRAL TO AND INTEGRATED INTO EVERY FACET OF LIFE.

"ARTS AND CULTURE" INCORPORATE ALL ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES TO ARTISTS, ART ORGANIZATIONS AND AFFILIATED GROUPS, WHICH IN TURN SERVE THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE. THESE INCLUDE FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO THE ARTS COMMUNITY THROUGH GRANTS AND SUBCONTRACTS; OUTREACH, REVIEW, MONITORING AND EVALUATING PROGRAMS AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. THROUGH THE PANDEMIC, ARTSWESTCHESTER CONTINUED TO OFFER FUNDING TO CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS RECOGNIZING THE NEED TO BE RESPONSIVE TO CHANGING CDC GUIDELINES, REDUCED EARNED INCOME, AND AN UNCERTAIN PHILANTHROPIC LANDSCAPE. IN ADDITION TO INCREASED FLEXIBILITY IN FUNDING TO ORGANIZATIONS, ARTSWESTCHESTER RAISED PRIVATE FUNDING AND IMPLEMENTED AN EMERGENCY ARTIST RELIEF FUND, PROVIDING DIRECT GRANTS TO ARTISTS IMPACTED BY THE PANDEMIC. AFFILIATE ORGANIZATIONS WERE IMAGINATIVE WITH THEIR USE OF ONLINE PROGRAMMING, PROVIDING UNINTERRUPTED CULTURAL OPPORTUNITIES TO WESTCHESTER RESIDENTS DURING COVID. THE CATEGORY "ARTS AND CULTURE" ALSO INCLUDES EXHIBITIONS, PERFORMANCES, WORKSHOPS, THE ANNUAL JAZZFEST, PRODUCED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF WHITE PLAINS AND THE WHITE PLAINS DOWNTOWN BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT, FOLK ARTS PROGRAM PRESENTED AT ARTSWESTCHESTER AND THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY.ARTSWESTCHESTER REOPENED ITS GALLERY TO THE PUBLIC IN 2021 WITH AN EXHIBITION OF WORK CREATED DURING AND IN RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. ARTWORK WAS SOURCED FROM WESTCHESTER RESIDENTS AND PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS, WITH MORE THAN 200 PARTICIPANTS IN ALL. THE GALLERY SPACE REMAINED CLOSED THROUGH THE FALL AND WINTER WHILE CONSTRUCTION WORK WAS STARTED ON THE ALLEYWAY BEHIND THE BUILDING. DURING THE EXTENDED CLOSURE, ARTSWESTCHESTER MOVED MANY OF ITS EXHIBITIONS ONLINE AND BECAME A GOOGLE ARTS & CULTURE PARTNER GRANTING THE ORGANIZATION FREE ACCESS TO RESOURCES THAT COULD HELP EXTEND OUR REACH TO A BROADER AUDIENCE. ARTSWESTCHESTER IS A LEADING PROPONENT OF PUBLIC ART, AND IN 2021 REALIZED A MAJOR WORK OF SCULPTURE WITH GINSBURG DEVELOPMENT COMPANIES AT 50 MAIN STREET IN WHITE PLAINS. IN ADDITION, WE WORKED WITH GDC TO COMMISSION TWO MURALS FOR THE INTERIOR OF THEIR PROPERTY.

"EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY" INCLUDE ARTSWESTCHESTER'S EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY SERVICES TO CHILDREN, SENIOR CITIZENS AND OTHERS IN SCHOOLS, DAY CARE CENTERS, MENTAL HEALTH FACILITIES AND OTHER CENTERS WHERE THE ARTS ARE A TEACHING, LEARNING AND HEALING STRATEGY. EXPENSES FOR 2020 WERE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED DUE TO THE PAUSE OF CONTRACTS FOR IN-PERSON ARTIST RESIDENCIES WITH SCHOOL DISTRICTS, AS WELL AS THE MANDATED TEMPORARY CESSATION OF IN-PERSON ARTSMOBILE ACTIVITIES. HOWEVER, ARTSWESTCHESTER CONTINUED TO OFFER AN EXTRAORDINARY MENU OF EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMS THROUGH A PIVOT TO VIRTUAL. SIGNATURE PROGRAMS LIKE THE ARTSMOBILE AND TEEN TUESDAY/THURSDAY PROGRAMS WENT DIGITAL, OFFERING MORE THAN 150 PRE-RECORDED AND INTERACTIVE ZOOM WORKSHOPS. THE TEEN PROGRAM IDENTIFIES TEENAGERS THAT NEED HELP, FOR WHICH THE ORGANIZATION CONCENTRATES THEIR EFFORTS TO AID TEENAGERS WITH SCHOOL AND CAREER TRAINING. THESE WORKSHOPS UTILIZED MATERIALS THAT ARE EASILY ACCESSIBLE AT THE HOME, FOR EXAMPLE, A MURAL PAINTED WITH INSTANT COFFEE. ARTSWESTCHESTER WAS INVITED TO JOIN AND PARTICIPATED ON THE WHITE PLAINS HOUSING AUTHORITY HOUSING TASK FORCE.

"PUBLIC INFORMATION SERVICES" BRING ARTS INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC ON A REGULAR BASIS. ARTSWESTCHESTER SERVES AS A COUNTY-WIDE MARKETER OF THE ARTS PROMOTING MORE THAN 1,500 ARTS EVENTS ANNUALLY THROUGH ITS VARIOUS COMMUNICATION PROGRAMS. CENTRAL TO ARTSWESTCHESTER'S ROLE IS ITS WORK TO BUILD ARTS AUDIENCES AND EARNED INCOME FOR ARTS GROUPS THROUGH THE MARKETING AND PUBLIC INFORMATION SERVICES IT PROVIDES. KEEPING WESTCHESTER RESIDENTS CONNECTED TO THE ARTS DURING THE PANDEMIC THROUGH ARTSWESTCHESTER'S VIRTUAL PROGRAMS AND REENGAGING AND RECONNECTING ARTS AUDIENCES TO WESTCHESTER'S DIVERSE ARTS OPPORTUNITIES WAS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT DURING 2021. A COMBINATION OF PRINT, WEB, MOBILE, RADIO AND SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES ARE UTILIZED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR IN ORDER TO DRIVE CONSUMERS TO WWW.ARTSWESTCHESTER.ORG. DURING 2021, ARTSWESTCHESTER CONTINUED TO PUBLISH A MONTHLY ARTSNEWS DIGITAL PUBLICATION. THROUGH STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL AND WITH THE EXAMINER NEWSPAPERS, ARTSWESTCHESTER CONTINUED TO DISTRIBUTE ITS MONTHLY, DIGITAL NEWSPAPER, ARTSNEWS, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, REACHING APPROXIMATELY 65K READERS MONTHLY. ARTSWESTCHESTER'S PUBLICATION FEATURES ACTIVE HYPERLINKS LINKING READERS DIRECTLY TO ARTS GROUPS' WEBSITES. ARTSNEWS WAS ALSO OFFERED VIA ARTSWESTCHESTER'S WEBSITE AND DISTRIBUTED VIA A WEEKLY ARTS(E)NEWSLETTER SENT TO NEARLY 14,500 EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS TO PROMOTE THE EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS OF ARTSWESTCHESTER'S 150+ AFFILIATE ARTS GROUPS. ARTSWESTCHESTER ACTIVELY PROMOTES ARTS AND CULTURAL CONTENT AND EVENTS ON A VARIETY OF SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS INCLUDING FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, LINKEDIN AND YOU TUBE WITH A TOTAL OF MORE THAN 22.4K FOLLOWERS. WITH ANNUAL VISITS/SESSIONS OF MORE THAN 200,000, ARTSWESTCHESTER'S WEBSITE CONTINUES TO OFFER AN ONLINE CURATED CALENDAR OF ARTS EVENTS AS WELL AS ARTS NEWS AND RESOURCES FOR INDIVIDUAL RESIDENTS, ARTISTS AND ARTS ORGANIZATIONS.

"THE ARTSWESTCHESTER BUILDING" WAS PURCHASED IN ORDER TO CREATE A SPACE FOR THE ARTISTS. DURING NORMAL TIMES THE BUILDING PROVIDES AN ACTIVE, DYNAMIC CENTRAL LOCATION IN WHICH ARTISTS, EMERGING ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AND CREATIVE BUSINESSES HAVE ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE OFFICES, STUDIOS, EXHIBITION SPACE AND REHEARSAL AND PERFORMANCE VENUES. UNFORTUNATELY, BEGINNING IN MARCH 2020, ARTSWESTCHESTER HAD TO CURTAIL ACCESS TO THE BUILDING, WHICH IN TURN LIMITED THE PROGRAMMING THAT COULD OCCUR INSIDE THE BUILDING. ARTSWESTCHESTER INTRODUCED HEALTH AND SAFETY PROCEDURES AND PROTOCOLS INCLUDING A COMPLETE SANITIZATION OF THE BUILDING. ARTSWESTCHESTER RESPONDED TO TENANT NEEDS DURING THE PANDEMIC, SOME OF WHICH INCLUDED DOWNSIZING INTO SMALLER SPACES WHICH RESULTED IN DIMINISHED RENTAL REVENUE. ARTSWESTCHESTER ACQUIRED THE PEOPLE'S NATIONAL BANK BUILDING LOCATED AT 31 MAMARONECK AVENUE, WHITE PLAINS, IN DECEMBER 1998; HAD IT LISTED ON BOTH THE NATIONAL AND NEW YORK STATE REGISTERS OF HISTORIC PLACES IN 2000, RELOCATED ITS ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES THERE AND RENOVATED AND RESTORED ITS HISTORIC FEATURES IN 2005 AND CONTINUES ANNUAL INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS.