A Message from Rebecca Bridges Rice, Board President
Dear Members,
Two weekends ago, we celebrated the 1st Spring Art Fair by the Bay at the Fulton Convention Center. The event was presented by Salemi’s Ace Hardware. By most accounts, the weekend tourism and economic development event was a tremendous success. The Board of Directors is very proud that the staff created a totally new experience and executed it to perfection.
All numbers are not yet in, but attendance for the three day event exceeded 1,000 participants. With a strong marketing and advertising campaign, tourists visited from all parts of Texas. The Art Fair celebrated the work of our local artists with 30 participating in the event. Although not all artist sales have been reported, today they stand at $75,000. Most importantly, artists made contact with new collectors which allowed them to sell directly to them and book commissions.
Last week Executive Director Luis Purón, announced that the event will take a place again next year during the last weekend in March, so mark your calendars now for what is sure to be the most exciting event of the Spring season. Never afraid of innovation, the staff promise to deliver an improved format in 2022.
Having been a participating artist in the Art Fair, this got me thinking about the important role the Art Center plays in our community by directly impacting artists’ economies. Last year artists experienced limited sales and exposure due to the pandemic. The Art Center impacted artists through The New Normal Grants totaling $150,000 (thanks to the generosity of Fine Line Diversified). As President I get to see financials, and I am impressed by the strong sales the Galleries and Gift Shop report on a monthly basis. In November of last year a special one-day sales event took place that grossed $35,000, putting 80% of that directly into artists’ pockets. If you walk into the gallery today you’ll see the walls littered with red dots, which means “sold.”
We are building a new campus dedicated to the Arts at the intersection of South Austin Street and North Street. The intersection might as well be called Where Art Meets Commerce. The Art Colony in a once sleepy fishing village has graduated into a plucky and Thriving Arts Community, and we have the Art Center and its patrons to thank for that.
Yours truly,
Rebecca Bridges Rice
President