Sharing their passion
At Point Lookout in Northport on a beautiful day in February the Maine Arts Commission provided an opportunity to hear about Maine’s most recent arts and cultural economic impact data from two studies. Speaker Randy Cohen, Vice President for Research and Policy at Americans for the Arts (AFTA) shared the national Arts and Economic Prosperity 5(AEP5). Dee Schneidman from the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) shared the highlights of The Jobs in New England’s Creative Economy and Why They Matter.
In addition, Arts EngageME was introduced, the nonprofit support and advocacy organization. The organization is building an environment that engages all sectors, public and private, across Maine to promote the awareness and value of the creative and cultural sectors, and to invest in their sustainability. We envision a state that values the impact of arts and culture on Maine’s livability, vitality, and prosperity.
We were honored to have beautiful center pieces created by students from the Art Honor Society at Belfast High School. Thanks to art teachers Caitlin Algers and Heidi O’Donnell. Music teacher David Coffey brought four musicians from his Modern Band class. The students learn to play and sing, perform, improvise and compose using the popular styles that they know (and don’t know) and love (and might come to love) including rock, pop, reggae, hip hop, country and other modern styles. Modern band utilizes guitar, bass, keyboard, drums, vocals, and technology. They were awesome. The students included Jesse Kulbe, guitar and vocals, Macartney Wyatt, keyboard and vocals, Taylor Kinney, bass, and Jesse Perry, drums. All four students are seniors at Belfast High School. Thank you all for your contributions to remind those who attended what the reports are really all about – students and the future!
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