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AHA! Night celebrates city’s young artists, $60,000
grant
By Jennifer Lade
Standard-Times staff writer
 NEW
BEDFORD — Mosaics made of construction paper, chalk
drawings and watercolor paintings were among the
abundance of art on display around the city Thursday
night, showing the promise of New Bedford’s youngest
artists
.
Children raced through the library, Artworks!, The
Standard-Times’ lobby and other venues downtown. With
parents in tow, they excitedly pointed out their
artwork.
“Emergence,” the theme for Thursday’s AHA! Night,
celebrated budding artists, from children in the New
Bedford public schools to UMass Dartmouth art students.
It also was a celebration of another year of funding
from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. The project
received a $60,000 Adams Grant to continue its work to
provide the public with free access to art, history and
architecture through downtown cultural nights on the
second Thursday of each month.
“There are communities all over the commonwealth that
want to have an AHA! just like you’re having,”
Massachusetts Cultural Council Executive Director Anita
Walker said at a press conference Thursday evening.
She recognized state Sen. Mark C.W. Montigny, D-New
Bedford, and Mayor Scott W. Lang, who both attended,
saying leadership at the state and city levels has
helped make New Bedford’s cultural nights successful.
Sen. Montigny said New Bedford’s downtown, full of
cultural attractions and businesses, was achieved by
committed people who believe that the arts will help the
economy, and private business owners who saw the
economic potential of opening in the city.
“We all in our own way have some love or talent for the
arts,” he said
.
The Massachusetts Cultural Council awarded $1.3 million
to 36 projects in 2008 through the Adams Grants, which
look to stimulate the state’s creative economy.
AHA! Nights have been funded through the Adams Grant
every year since 2000, except for 2004, according to
MCC’s Web site.
AHA! program director Lee Heald also announced that
Thursday’s AHA! Night was a stop on the Creative Minds
tour, which highlights statewide cultural events that
emphasize the importance of arts education and creative
learning for young people.
Kerri Quinlan-Zhou, director of fine arts for the New
Bedford public schools, wrapped up the press conference
by speaking about the importance of having arts in the
school curriculum.
“There’s an increasing body of knowledge that supports
the critical role that arts play,” she said, citing
increased student engagement, achievement and
marketability in the working world.
She said she is grateful the community recognizes that
“art can open doors, but, more importantly, it can open
minds.”
Contact Jennifer Lade at jlade@s-t.com
April 11, 2008
Source URL:
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080411/NEWS/80411006/1011/TOWN10 |
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