Utah was
the first state in the nation to organize and support a state
arts agency. The founders of our fair state recognized the
great public value offered by music, dance, theater and visual
art. More importantly they recognized how the arts help provide
a true sense of community by “drawing” people
together to share in the uniquely
human experience of creative self expression. The Moab Arts
Council (MAC) continues this heritage in its own unique way.
First incorporated in 1987, MAC has grown and adapted to
meet the ever-growing interest in the arts in our community.
Our mission is to promote and support the arts in Southeastern
Utah. We do this with the belief and understanding that arts
activities, events and education provide for general community
well being while contributing to economic diversity. In our “big
picture” view we see the growth of the arts in all directions
as simply making Moab a better place to be for residents and
visitors alike. The MAC currently acts as an arts advocacy,
leadership and granting organization. Under our grant program
we manage and re-distribute funds that the Moab City Council
allocates for community arts projects. This past year our grant
fund was added to by the Red Rock Four Wheelers and Mr. Bill
Carson of Santa Fe. Through this program we help bring you
the Community Dance Band, the Dance Residency at HMK, Art walk,
Desert Child Music, Moab Artists Studio Tour, Moab Photography
Symposium, the Halloween Carnival at the MARC and other valued
programs. We offer “umbrella” not-for-profit 501c.3
status for groups or individuals seeking grants. We have a
volunteer board and we are looking for a few new members! We
operate an active website that serves as the one stop “shopping” place
for the arts in Moab. (www.moabartscouncil.org)
YOUR arts council is working diligently to enhance and sustain
the arts in our community. We recently hosted the 2nd Annual
Community Arts Roundtable. Community members gathered to share
their dreams, concerns, plans and actions. Our community wants
more arts education, stronger support for local artists and
arts events, and, of course, more funding! Visit our website
to review the entire summary and to add your input. The arts
play a vital role in the growth and sustainability of local
economies. New studies reveal that communities with a positive
Creative Vitality Index serve as a great incubator for current
and new business. A thriving arts community raises the quality
of life in any community and helps to attract new businesses,
which, in turn, can help raise the economic base of the entire
community.
MAC is currently engaged in two grant projects that will give
a strong boost to the arts in Moab. We recently partnered with
all of our annual arts events and MoabARTS.com to successfully
apply to the Utah Office of Tourism’s Cooperative Marketing
Program to promote Moab as an arts destination in out-of-state
markets. With matching funds from the UOT Program we’ll
be able to reach new arts-oriented markets via print and web
advertising. We want to grow the number of visitors who participate
in the arts through increased attendance and ticket sales,
art purchases, and philanthropic support.
Together with the City of Moab and the Moab Arts Festival we
have applied to the Utah Arts Council’s Creative Communities
Initiative program that focuses on strengthening the role of
arts and culture in local economic development. This project
will help Moab realize the economic potential of its rich arts
community through a series of workshops for the arts, business
and governmental community. With the Moab Arts Festival we’ve
proposed a public art project where community members will
be guided by a professional artist in the creation of a hand-made
public art mural to be displayed permanently in the city. This
annual public project will help develop public pride and ownership
in the arts. The project will also inaugurate an annual Mayor’s
Arts Awards program thereby raising the visibility of the arts.
In this Christmas season please consider the role the arts
play in your life and our community. What would Moab be like
to live in without the annual Arts Festival, Music Festival
and Folk Festival? What if KZMU, Star Hall, Moab Community
Theater, the Community Dance Band, Summer Strings, the Recorder
Choir and the many school productions fell silent? What would
a walk down Mill Creek be without the Xylophone Park, the Youth
Garden Sculptures or the walkway itself? Think of our community
landscape without the Diversity Mural, the Skate Park Mural,
Sun Court, Moonstone Gallery, the new City Hall/County Library
landscaping, or the many Nik Hougen murals inside and outside
local businesses. Take a slow walk down Main and Center streets
and close all businesses that sell fine art, crafts, literature
or any object of beauty. Take your child’s drawing off
the refrigerator, hide your grandmother’s handmade quilt,
let your own home garden and landscaping go to weeds, and paint
all your walls white. It gets pretty bleak doesn’t it?
The arts – music, theater, dance, visual, sculpture,
literature, etc. – serve to enliven a community. They
offer us the opportunity to celebrate ourselves and our diversity.
The arts are not an annual stocking stuffer, they are a permanent
part of a living Christmas tree, one that delivers gifts year-round. |