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. 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. A MAJOR ACHIEVEMENT IN 2022 WAS THE PRODUCTION OF THE SERIOUS FUN ARTS FEST, A FIVE-DAY FESTIVAL CELEBRATING ART IN SHARED SPACES AND PRESENTED IN COLLABORATION WITH THE CITY OF WHITE PLAINS, THE WHITE PLAINS BID, AND ELEVEN PROPERTY OWNERS AND DEVELOPERS. THE PROJECT WAS SUPPORTED BY A MAJOR GRANT FROM THE STATE OF NY'S MARKET NY PROGRAM. MORE THAN 200 VISUAL ARTISTS PARTICIPATED WITH DYNAMIC, LARGE-SCALE WORKS OF PUBLIC ART, A POP-UP ART FAIR, AND COMPELLING INDOOR AND OUTDOOR EXHIBITIONS, AND ANOTHER DOZEN MUSICAL ACTS PERFORMED ON THE MAMARONECK AVENUE MAIN STAGE.

"THE ARTSWESTCHESTER BUILDING" WAS PURCHASED IN ORDER TO CREATE A SPACE FOR 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. 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.

"EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY" INCLUDES ARTSWESTCHESTER'S EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY SERVICES TO CHILDREN, SENIOR CITIZENS, AND OTHERS IN SCHOOLS, DAYCARE CENTERS, MENTAL HEALTH FACILITIES, AND OTHER CENTERS WHERE THE ARTS ARE A TEACHING, LEARNING, AND RECOVERY STRATEGY. CURRENTLY, WITH OVER 55 ARTIST-LED RESIDENCIES AND SERVING OVER 600 CHILDREN AND ADULTS WITH HANDS-ON, CREATIVE WORKSHOPS IN SCHOOL AND SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES, ARTSWESTCHESTER'S RETURN TO IN-PERSON PROGRAMS IS STEADILY CLIMBING WITH THE ANTICIPATION OF REACHING ITS GOAL OF IMPACTING THOUSANDS POST-PANDEMIC. TO DATE, AS A COMMUNITY-ORIENTED ORGANIZATION, ARTSWESTCHESTER PARTICIPATES IN THE WHITE PLAINS COMMUNITY RESOURCE (FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE WHITE PLAINS HOUSING AUTHORITY HOUSING TASK FORCE), A BI-WEEKLY MEETING BRINGING TOGETHER HEADS OF COMMUNITY AND SERVICE AGENCIES AND SHARING VALUABLE INFORMATION THAT WOULD BENEFIT CITY RESIDENTS.

"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. BRINGING ARTS AUDIENCES BACK TO LIVE ARTS EVENTS AND MAKING THEM AWARE OF WESTCHESTER'S DIVERSE ARTS OPPORTUNITIES WAS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT DURING 2022. A COMBINATION OF PRINT, WEB, MOBILE, RADIO AND SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES WERE UTILIZED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR IN ORDER TO DRIVE CONSUMERS TO WWW.ARTSWESTCHESTER.ORG. DURING 2022, ARTSWESTCHESTER RELAUNCHED ITS ARTSNEWS EDITORIAL CONTENT ON ITS WEBSITE WITH ARTICLES PUBLISHED AS BLOGS THAT WERE SHARED THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. THROUGH STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL, TODAY MEDIA AND THE EXAMINER NEWSPAPERS, ARTSWESTCHESTER CONTINUED TO DRIVE TRAFFIC TO ARTS AND CULTURE ARTICLES FEATURING ACTIVE HYPERLINKS LINKING READERS DIRECTLY TO ARTS GROUPS' WEBSITES. ARTSWESTCHESTER'S WEEKLY ARTS(E)NEWSLETTER CONTINUED TO BE SENT TO NEARLY 16,000 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 23K 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.