NEWS CENTER
Raise Your Voice Northwest Corner!
Small arts organizations in Northwest Connecticut are about to have a stronger voice in the state. Through a $2,500 grant from the Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation, the Connecticut Arts Alliance (CAA) is implementing a program called, “Raise Your Voice Northwest Corner.” Connecticut Arts Alliance is a statewide advocacy organization inspiring support for the arts.
The pilot program is aimed at amplifying the voices of small arts organizations in the foundation’s service area of northwest Connecticut. Funding will underwrite one-year complimentary CAA memberships for smaller arts-focused organizations and individual working/teaching artists. The memberships will engage them in advocating for the arts with state legislators through opportunities to write and submit testimony, testify at public hearings and correspond with legislators in support of action. They will learn how to effectively and powerfully articulate the needs of their organizations and connect with decision makers.“This project will engage a part of the arts community that plays an important role in serving local communities but often lacks the resources and connections to advocate on its own,” said Brett Thompson, Interim Executive Director of CAA. “These complimentary memberships will give participants the advocacy tools and support to allow their voices to be heard.”
CAA is partnering with NWCT Arts Council to make sure participants are connected the arts community both locally and statewide; those who join CAA with complimentary memberships also are eligible for discounted memberships in the Arts Council. Membership in NWCT Arts Council connects them to the arts community in their area while membership in CAA connects them to a statewide network, gives them experience and expertise with advocating for their organization and adds their voice to those advocating on behalf of Connecticut’s arts community.
Eligible organizations are those that regularly incorporate the arts into their work and have an operating budget of $100,000 or less. There are also a limited number of opportunities for individuals who regularly earn income from the artwork they produce or from teaching others using the arts. Participants need to be located in the Community Foundation’s service area of Barkhamsted, Bethlehem, Canaan (Falls Village), Colebrook, Cornwall, Goshen, Hartland, Harwinton, Kent, Litchfield, Morris, New Hartford, Norfolk, North Canaan, Salisbury, Sharon, Torrington, Warren, Washington, and Winchester/Winsted.
Interested organizations and artists may visit ctartsalliance.org/raiseyourvoice/ or contact Brett Thompson, Interim Executive Director, at brett@ctartsalliance.org.
“Raise Your Voice Northwest Corner” is supported by a Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation grant made possible by the Marion Wm. & Alice Edwards fund of the Foundation in partnership with Northwest Connecticut Arts Council.
Visit ctartsalliance.org for more information on Connecticut Arts Alliance and its work.
