 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
About Us Mission
The Mission of the Waterbury Region Arts & Culture Collaborative is to strengthen and support the arts in the Waterbury region as a central component of furthering economic and cultural development in the region. The newly formed Waterbury Region Arts and Culture Collaborative announced its official launch on Thursday, February 8, 2007. The Collaborative's Governing Council presented information on how artists, arts organizations, businesses, and individuals can become a part of this new initiative to promote the arts and culture in our region.
Meeting a Defined Need In February and April of 2006, two Arts Summits convened to review an important Arts and Cultural Assessment that was conducted in 2005 as a partnership between the Waterbury Regional Chamber, the CT Community Foundation, the CT Commission on Culture & Tourism and the Greater Waterbury Arts Roundtable. As a result, a temporary steering committee was established to select 20 regional arts and community leaders to form the initial governing council of a formal arts and culture collaborative. Hosted by the Waterbury Regional Chamber, this group intends to enlist membership, establish a web site, share marketing and promotional activities, centralize ticketing, and foster cooperation among all of the arts and culture organizations in our region. The mission of the collaborative is to strengthen and support the arts in the Waterbury Region as a central component of furthering economic and cultural development in the region.
The Governing Council Organizations represented on the original Governing Council include the Mattatuck Museum Arts & History Center, Palace Theater, Shakesperience Productions, Seven Angels Theatre, Thomaston Opera House, Waterbury Symphony Orchestra, Brass City Ballet, Greater Waterbury Youth Symphony, Waterbury Chorale, Woodbury Academy and others. With the Waterbury Chamber of Commerce Foundation acting as host and fiduciary, they lead a collaboration for the betterment of arts, culture, and quality of life for every resident of our region and beyond.
The Genesis of a Collaborative The genesis of the Waterbury Region Arts and Culture Collaborative began in 2003, when an informal working group created the Greater Waterbury Arts Roundtable to meet for monthly networking, collaborative event planning, and idea exchange. In the fall of 2004, the Greater Waterbury/Litchfield Hills Arts and Culture Assessment concluded that 76% of business members ranked financial support for the arts as "high" or "very high" in importance, citing a perceived connection between a flourishing culture and an increased ability to market the region to new business enterprises. Among suggested methods of support, the respondents favored greater financial assistance from government and business, coordination of artistic event promotion, and increased communication among the cultural community.
Goals The immediate goals of the collaborative are to:
Funding Support |
 |
 |