The Foundation for MetroWest, which serves the 33 cities and towns of MetroWest, announced it has awarded grants totaling $150,000 to nine arts and culture nonprofits serving the region.

Among the recipients is The Umbrella Arts Center, which is receiving $20,000.

The grant is to support The Umbrella Arts & Environment program’s public art initiatives through the coming winter, spring and summer exhibition seasons.

As 2020 winds down, and in preparation for our annual meeting this month, The Umbrella staff was humbled and amazed to look back at how very far we traveled since delivering our last Annual Report.

Our last fiscal year carried us from soaring highs and grand openings, through twists and turns and growth, to heartbreaking closures and losses, and ultimately to determined pivots and exciting new innovations.

By Margie Weeks

One of The Umbrella’s two current Artcubator artists is Julia Cseko, a Brazilian/American Visual Artist. Julia endeavors to engage viewers ranging from art enthusiasts to those who have never been exposed to contemporary art.  

New Board Members Introduced, Annual Report Published

In something of a silver lining for this COVID-impacted time, The Umbrella Arts Center hosted its largest-ever gathering for its annual meeting on the evening of December 15.  The event – normally held at 40 Stow Street – was conducted for the first-time entirely via Zoom, allowing a wider level of participation by distant, at-home, and traveling community members, donors, artists, and cultural organizations.

This holiday season, the Garry Marshall Theater is hosting Holidaze Harmony, a virtual concert directed by friend of The Umbrella, Joseph Leo Bwarie! A must for music-lovers, Holidaze Harmony is a celebration of friendship and music starring Broadway veterans Terron Brooks (Phil Collins world tour) and Kamilah Marshall (Bette Midler world tour).

The arts world of Boston has been hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic, with theaters taking an especially hard blow. In light of this, the Greater Boston Stage Company, with the help of StageSource and the Creatives Who Care Initiative, has teamed up with 53 other local theater companies (including The Umbrella Stage Company!) for limited-edition "Boston Plays Wicked Hard" T-shirts.

Bring your notebooks, sketchbooks, and pencils, because The Umbrella Arts & Environment program is hosting two new workshops in November! These outdoor workshops will encourage students and families to explore and interact with nature in a creative way.

Are your kids all Zoomed out from online classes? Do they want to learn new skills and express themselves creatively without a preset schedule? If so, then The Claymation Lab (@Home) from The Umbrella Arts Center will be the perfect opportunity for your child to learn and create at home.

CONCORD, MA – Sponsored by the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library, the 28th annual Concord Festival of Authors (CFA) goes LIVE online to celebrate the written and spoken word with a global audience. CFA events will take place via Zoom from October 16 to October 31, 2020 after months of collaborative planning with organizations in and beyond Concord. Event information and registration links can be found at www.concordfestivalofauthors.org.