A Letter from the Director, April 2015

Dear Friends,
 
This is one of those moments that I can’t bite my tongue. We talk a lot about building a vibrant community through the Arts.  I sometimes wonder; how large is the community we are talking about? 
 
This past weekend we held our annual Open Studios and we had an awesome turn out; a record number of regulars and newcomers came out to see our artists. While this is a relatively local event, we had visitors from Boston and Worcester. It is clear that our community is bigger than Concord!
 
Last week, several of us participated in Arts Matter Advocacy Day on the Hill. Close to 300 arts advocates from Boston, the Cape, Western Massachusetts, and everywhere in between marched from the Citi Wang Center to Beacon Hill to tell our stories to our legislators. Our community is at least state wide!
 
And now I can’t stop thinking about Indiana. A week ago, I would have said I was thinking about Indiana in terms of who would make it to the NCAA final four, which is scheduled to begin this coming weekend in Indianapolis. Today, all I can think about is the new legislation, signed by the Indiana governor that could have a huge effect on the Arts community. Our community. 
 
It is hard to imagine that this discriminatory legislation could ever pass in 2015 America. If we don’t make our voices heard, anything is possible. Please share your ideas about how to respond to the actions of the Indiana legislature in the comments section. Then share this post with your friends and seek their responses. The Umbrella community can only stay vibrant if our state and national communities are strong and vibrant as well.
 
Looking forward to seeing you under The Umbrella,

Jerry Wedge
Executive Director