City of Beacon Arts and Culture Committee announced

Mayor Steve Gold has activated the City of Beacon Arts and Culture Committee. This committee was provided for in the city's charter, but, as Mayor Gold says in the letter before, it's never been populated. The Committee is co-chaired by Cabot Parsons and Robert Ruttigliano and can have up to 15 members which represent the various arts and business development groups in the city as well individual citizens artists and non artists. The committee will have no operating budget but conceivably, it can act as a bridge between the efforts of the city's various groups and individuals and foster and promote this an of the city which has had a notable impact on the character of the city in recent years. Mayor Gold posted both the letter below along with pdf attachments outlining the comittee's responsibilities and an application for those interested in being considered for membership over at the Beacon Citizen Network.

To the artists, arts organizations and arts patrons of Beacon:

Beacon has many amazing resources, natural and manmade. One extremely precious resource is the creative capital of our performing and visual artists and arts-related businesses, what they give to our community and the volunteer support they receive from so many residents and arts organizations. In times such as these it behooves us to do all we can to support and grow all of our resources for the benefit of the city and its residents, and to that end I am pleased to announce the formation of the City of Beacon Mayor’s Arts and Cultural Development Committee.

This is a committee that has been provided for in our charter but unpopulated until now. For some time both individuals and groups such as The Howland Cultural Center, Beacon Business Association, Beacon Arts Community Association, Beacon Art Salon, The Rutigliano Group and others have created projects and promoted Beacon as a cultural destination in ways too numerous to count. It is time for the city to formally support the arts in Beacon - to enrich all of us who call it our home, and as a significant economic driver where art is made and sold: creating jobs, filling our storefronts, bringing countless visitors to our city.

The committee’s task is to strengthen the arts in Beacon in all its facets, to support the efforts of the arts and business community organizations, and the Beacon community in all art related manner, including: serving as an advisory group to the City government, facilitating and/or sponsoring projects, creating ordinances and procedures for public art exhibitions and performances and other art-related programs that may be developed, providing a sounding board for city residents on issues related to arts and culture, promoting an understanding of the value of artistic and cultural expression and exchange in a free society as a rich resource to all Beacon citizens, businesses and visitors and at the Mayor’s request to represent the city in a larger context throughout the mid-Hudson valley and beyond.

In a formal sense the Arts and Cultural Development Committee is not authorized by the City Charter or by the Mayor to have regulatory powers such as the Planning Board, Zoning Board, nor does it have an annual operating budget. As outlined in the Charter its members will serve at the pleasure of the Mayor. The Mayor will be advised of the projects and priorities of this committee to ensure the support and agreement of the organizations represented in the committee’s membership and the public at large. The committee will neither replace any of the existing or future arts based organizations.

I have asked Cabot Parsons and Rob Rutigliano to lead this committee. The Committee will be composed of up to fifteen members of the Mayor’s selection and will include both artists and non-artists, long term residents and newcomers, and representatives of business including but not limited to (BBA, BACA) and individual artist (BAS) organizations. The committee will also involve members of such groups as The Howland Cultural Center, Dia: Beacon and the Main Street Corridor Committee as well as individuals representing all forms of visual and performance art.

If you’d like to be considered to serve on this committee, or to perhaps be involved in specific projects involving public art, cultural tourism, industrial development, education or special audience accessibility, please send a message of interest to mayor@cityofbeacon.org

I look forward to your support of this effort as we strengthen the civic commitment to the arts in Beacon as a real economic development engine and nourishing boon to all.

Thank you,
Steve Gold, Mayor