A Message from Luis Purón, Executive Director

Dear Members and Patrons of the Arts, 

Despite the pandemic, 2020 was a banner year for Membership.  Revenue in that category exceeded budget by 6%.  To show any growth at all in an economic downturn is very rewarding.  Last year, we reached out to you more than ever through Broad Strokes, your monthly newsletter, and you stayed connected to us.  Here are some statistics- 

Number of active members:                619
Local Members - Rockport-Fulton:     337 (54%)
Non - Local Members in Texas:          168 (27%)
Out of State:                                         114 (19%) 

The Newsletter idea is something 2020 President of the Board Mary Hime championed at the start of her term.  We have had fun coordinating the theme of our monthly columns.  What it did is to help us think about the words “mission centric.”  From her leadership down to the staff, it helped craft a direction to make everything we set out to do about you, our members.

So how did we do? We have always prided ourselves in our connection to working artists.  Numbers don’t lie.  Sales in the galleries and the gift shop exceeded budget by a whopping 25%.  We will work very hard to recreate the magic we built at Estelle Stair and aim to exceed expectation in this rubric in 2021.  Our grand re-opening is tomorrow at our new location across the street (Baker Law Building 401 S. Austin St.)  Stop by and visit with Gift Shop Manager, Kim Ivey, who is offering a 25% sale in Art Center inventory through January 31st.

On the Fundraising side, our end of year appeal was simple and focused on our service to the community through youth art education.  At the end of November we launched a campaign to raise $48,000 to support programs such as ArtSpace Summer Art Camp and Free Family Saturdays.  Both programs lost funding last year, as foundations and corporations were leaned on to address basic human needs.  To date we have raised $19,000, or 39% of our goal! Donations are still pouring in.  This funding will help us bring college interns from the Southwest School of Art to help us execute an ambitious summer program.

I am excited to report that Juleanna Fuller will be the lead instructor for Free Family Saturdays this year.  An announcement of when that kicks-off is forthcoming.  On December 12th, Juleanna graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Texas A&M Corpus Christi. We look forward to some exciting lesson plans from her. 

I look forward to working with local artist, Rebecca Bridges Rice, who has been elected as President this year.  The aim of her tenure is a Refocus on Programs.  Rebecca has a specific interest in continuing to nurture the skills of the many working artists that are part of the Art Center family.  The staff and I look forward to executing her vision. 

I’d like to personally thank Mary Hime for her strong leadership and a team builder.  No challenge is too great for her to address. She is a hands-on leader, and we could not have been successful without her.  Happy New Year!

Luis Purón
Executive Director