AHA! awarded ‘A Community Thrives’ grant from Standard-Times’ parent company
READ MORE
AHA! Receives $35,000 From Mass Office of Travel and Tourism
Program Credits Advocacy of Rep. Antonio F.D. Cabral – READ MORE
25 Best Things To Do In MA – AHA! made the list!
Here are the best things to do in Massachusetts. – READ MORE
The Best Cities For Young Artists: If You Live Here, You Don’t Have To Starve
New Bedford (& AHA!) made this list along with some other really cool cities! The Best Cities For Young Artists – READ MORE
The 10 Most Artisitc Towns In America – New Bedford Made the list!
The towns on this list have stood out on the American landscape for decades, and continue to reinvent their artistic communities each year. These are places where old army bases are converted into galleries, abandoned strips malls into studios, and boarded-up homes into art residencies. In each place, inspiration is easily available, and a laid-back lifestyle gives you time to act on it. – READ MORE
The Other Renaissance City
The arts are alive and well in New Bedford
Trendy galleries, artist co-ops, live music venues, an urban winery and even a restaurant that turns into a disco. Would you believe that all of this big city action goes down in nearby New Bedford? Let’s face it: the city has had its share of problems over the years. While the historic Whaling City has gotten a bad rap, truth be told it’s a vibrant arts and entertainment hub that’s well worth a visit.
Where to Begin
There are plenty of great guides and colorful maps that you can pick up either at the waterfront Visitor Center on Fisherman’s Wharf (Old City Pier #3, 800-508-5353) or at many of the galleries located throughout the city. Buy Art Buy NB is a pamphlet that contains the addresses and hours of 13 galleries plus an easy-to-use walking map and information on parking. Downtown New Bedford Inc. is a free guidebook that includes not only gallery information but also listings of restaurants, museums, antique stores and more. Pick up either to navigate the streets with confidence.
Another method by which to get acquainted with the New Bedford arts scene is to attend an AHA! Night. This free arts and culture event takes place on the second Thursday of every monthfrom 5-9pm downtown. Over 60 mu- seums, galleries, artists, arts organiza- tions, merchants, restaurants, churches and schools band together to present creative programming to the community. Each month brings a different theme. Come out to enjoy art exhibits, live music, theatre skits and lectures. It’s the perfect way to dip your toe into the pool. READ MORE
New Bedford celebrates fiber-based arts
By Lauren Daley
Contributing writer
March 06, 2014 12:06 PM
March is Fiber Month in New Bedford, and no, it has nothing to do with eating more whole grains.
From yarn-bombings to children’s books illustrated with embroidery to fashion shows, downtown New Bedford’s art community is celebrating fiber-based art. Fiber Month ties in — no pun intended — with the March 13 AHA! Night, when the theme is “All Sewn Up.” And it’s especially fitting in a city that once was a textile powerhouse.
“I love fiber arts. I think it’s one medium that most people can identify with at some level,” said Noelle Foye, director of the New Bedford Art Museum/ArtWorks!
“People understand knitting, crochet, quilting, weaving and the other techniques for working in fiber. Plus it’s tactile — people love to feel and touch fibers,” Foye said. New Bedford has so many artists working in so many different fiber mediums — felting, dyeing, quilting, weaving, paper-making and book-making, knitting — the list is almost endless.” READ MORE
The Spirit of Poe Amongst Cobblestone Streets
by Anna Gallo
On February 13, Artworks! and the New Bedford Art Museum, together with the program The Big Read, presented Edgar Allen Poe at AHA! Night in New Bedford. The event celebrated the city’s partnership with The Big Read- a National Endowment for the Arts that strives to “encourage reading by all ages,” said Mayor Mitchel.
Mayor Mitchel kicked off the night at City Hall, where locals gathered dressed in Poe-inspired costumes. Throughout the city, local businesses hosted free, public events, from reenactments of Poe’s classic works by the New Bedford Public High School at the New Bedford Whaling Museum- to an artist trading card event at Gallery X.
One of the main contributors to AHA! Night was the recently merged New Bedford Art Museum/ Artworks, which hosted two gallery exhibitions. “The Muse Is Poe,” featured in the main gallery, was a national juried exhibition, which featured paintings, sculpture, photography, and mixed media. The second show, “Dreamland”, featured works of art by local teenagers that were inspired by Poe’s classic poems. “Our hope is to be a stronger voice for the arts in our community and to have an even greater impact through our merging and our collaborations with other organizations in our community,” said executive director of New Bedford Art Museum/Artworks! Noelle Foye.
A few blocks down from the gallery, five students from the New Bedford Public High School presented their own adaptation of Poe’s most haunting works, with a performance at the Whaling Museum’s theater room. The skit revealed a tale that followed the ghost of a murdered woman, seeking revenge on her husband. Other acts of the night included Conrad Pomerleau’s performance of “The Tell Tale Heart” at Bristol Community College, with an after-show discussion led by Margot Green, an American Literature Professor at BCC.
For nearly 15 years, AHA! Night has hosted events open to the public to support cultural growth. “It is a community partnership that builds a platform each month for people to celebrate, share, and connect with the community,” says Candace Lee Heald, program director of AHA!. The city’s partnership with The Big Read will be an ongoing effort throughout this month to revive literature in society. “Once you get ‘em hooked, they’ll read for a lifetime,” said Mayor Mitchel.
New Bedford is still inspired by the sea
By Diane Bair and Pamela Wright | GLOBE CORRESPONDENTS NOVEMBER 12, 2013
Required to read “Moby-Dick’’ over a school holiday break, a memory that still haunts us, we weren’t keen to visit New Bedford. Herman Melville, of course, shipped out from here in 1841, and his experience inspired the classic. Seafaring life is still a major part of New Bedford’s identity, but this Southeastern Massachusetts city, with the strong influence of its Portuguese and Cape Verdean communities, has other tales to tell. It was an important stop on the Underground Railroad and home to abolitionist Frederick Douglass for five years. Artists such as Albert Bierstadt and William Bradford helped forge its commitment to the visual arts. New Bedford has a texture and vibrancy that might surprise. Young families are especially smitten, thanks to attractions like the Ocean Explorium and Buttonwood Zoo. READ MORE
AHA! I have a new idea.”
By CRAIG LINDELL
Craig Lindell lives in Dartmouth.
November 05, 2013 12:00 AM
There was a Wishing Well on Union Street in New Bedford during the October AHA! Night. Several hundred citizens paused and many contributed wishes, hopes and dreams.
The Wishing Well is a simple idea: Set out a collection point on AHA! Night and invite citizens to name things that they would like to see in the city’s future.
Ideas ranged from “unicorns” to new “museums.” People also wished for jobs and love and world peace on a sustainable planet. Some folks wished for more wishing wells, and some folks wished for more visibility in the city. One citizen smiled and said “How cool “¦ filling empty store fronts with fresh ideas.” READ MORE
AHA! Hidden Gems: The Centre Street Sessions
If it wasn’t for Mother Nature’s mean and nasty side, most AHA! events would probably take place outdoors all year long, but eventually it will be rainy and/or cold here in New England, and things either shut down for a while or move inside.
The Centre Street Sessions, which are held outdoors on a downtown loading dock from June through September, is one of those season-specific events. This Thursday’s performance by Boston saxophonist Benny Sharoni and friends will be the last outdoor installment to be held on the historic downtown cobblestones of Centre Street until spring rolls back around.
Neal Weiss of Whaling City Sounds (a record label based out of New Bedford) said that the Sessions, which take place at the old Kaller Beef Building, started a number of years ago after he was approached by AHA!’s directors. Weiss still owns the building and runs his businesses (he also runs a high-tech business) out of it, and as a purveyor and fan of music in general, the merger with AHA! was a perfect fit.
Weiss said that Grace Potter of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, who is from Waitsfield, Vermont and who has more recently risen to national prominence (they opened for the Allman Brothers at the Comcast Center in Mansfield last week), performed at the first Centre Street Session(s), and from there, it’s continued on with a combination of mostly jazz performers, though they’re open to other forms of music. READ MORE
AHA! Celebrates 14 Years of Artful Service
Staff, Steering Committee Members and other friends of AHA! (Art History Architecture) Night gathered on Thursday, June 14th at the New Bedford Art Museum for the 14th Annual Meeting of AHA!, a long-standing, successful project of the Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts.
The purpose of the meeting was to welcome new members, announce newly-elected officers, and discuss past successes as well as plans for the future. Mayor Jon Mitchell and State Representative Tony Cabral spoke briefly to confirm their support of the AHA! project.
The following were newly-elected as volunteer members of the Steering Committee; their posts reflect an important commitment to the region’s arts, culture and economic growth:
~ Jill Horton-Simms, current President of the Friends of the New Bedford Public Library, New Bedford Art Museum Board Member and interior designer
~ Linda Rodriguez, Branch Manager and Assistant Treasurer of the downtown New Bedford
BayCoast Bank Branch
~ Jay Lanagan, co-owner of Cork Wine & Tapas, Pizan’s Pizzeria, Rose Alley Ale House located in Downtown New Bedford; as well as Kordia Provisions & Catering and the soon-to-be-opened Sail Loft, both located in Padanaram Village
~ Noelle Foye, new director of ArtWorks! in downtown New Bedford
In addition to welcoming new members during the Annual Meeting, new officers were announced. Tracy Furtado and Stacie Charbonneau Hess will Co-Chair AHA! for a one-year term. Dana Rebeiro will serve as Secretary and Nelson Hockert-Lotz as Treasurer.
History of AHA!:
AHA! night began in 1999 as the collaborative vision of cultural institutions in the downtown area who wished to highlight the artistic activity in the region. Along with space and support from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth Center for Performing and Visual Arts, the first AHA! Night took place in July of 1999 with just 14 partners and an audience of 200.
Well over a decade later, AHA! now has close to 70 area partners and generous financial support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Island Foundation, National Park Service, UMASS CVPA, Member/Partners, local businesses and individuals, as well as an active and engaged volunteer Steering Committee. AHA! Night now attracts nearly 2,000 citizens per month, with that number rising considerably during the summer months.
AHA! is a built-in audience for new galleries, area musicians, youth performance groups, and just about every cultural activity to be found in and around New Bedford. The purpose of AHA! has always been to make arts and culture accessible to all, regardless of income. Honoring this mission, AHA! has always strived to remain free of charge, and encourage partnering institutions to remain. In this time of fiscal uncertainty, AHA! welcomes new sponsors such as: Joseph Abboud, HallKeen Management, BayCoast Bank, and many other businesses who have shown a proven commitment to the continuation of arts and culture in the region.
Plans for the Future:
Co-Chair Tracy Furtado, also the Executive Director of Dream Out Loud, wrapped up last year’s successes, such as welcoming several new downtown businesses as Member/Partners of AHA! Those businesses are: UGLY Gallery at 246 Union Street, Paradise McFee Gallery at 106 Williams Street, MUSE at 516 Pleasant Street, 767 Exchange at 767 Purchase Street, For Veda Boutique at 763 Purchase Street, Braza Rotisserie at 566 Pleasant Street and Boutique Fitness at 496 Pleasant Street.
The existing Steering Committee, which includes Lee Blake and Lasse Antonsen of UMASS Dartmouth, Hank Mastey of the Local Cultural Council and Jill MacLean of the City of New Bedford, continues to seek out new opportunities to expand cultural awareness and opportunity for artists to perform in the Greater New Bedford region.
AHA! is also planning a fundraiser on August 11th, which will include a three hour sunset tour on the Cuttyhunk Ferry Company vessel, with a cruise around Padanaram Harbor. Ample hors d’oeuvres are included in the ticket price, with a cash bar. Limited tickets are available at for $25 each; to purchase, please call Lee Heald in the Community Foundation office at (508) 996-8253, extension 205.
AHA! Model for Arts Program in Fall River
The Community Foundation and its AHA! program have been meeting with a group of engaged citizens in Fall River who want to use the AHA! model of community collaboration with arts and cultural programming to enliven the downtown area of Fall River.
Arts and culture programming is one in a portfolio of strategies that builds a sense of vibrancy and diversity in communities, and can attract tourists and other visitors to your community. It helps in the process of building and revitalizing communities; and creates a network of positive thinkers who want to commit resources and energy to building the creative economy.
After several meetings with community leaders, the plan emerging in Fall River is to host signature events throughout the seasons clustered in different geographic locations, rather than a monthly program in a central downtown footprint, which has been the character of the New Bedford AHA! program since it started in July 1999.
Created and funded by the City of New Bedford, the Island Foundation, the Mass. Cultural Council and local business, sponsorships and donors, AHA! – or Art, History, Architecture – takes place on the second Thursday of each month, promoting the work of local artisans with open studios, gallery shows, musical and dramatic performances and has been a signature project of the CFSEMA, which also serves Greater Fall River.
“AHA! has been a very successful asset to New Bedford’s creative economy,” said CFSEMA President Craig J. Dutra. “The Community Foundation is a regional resource, and we are excited about helping Fall River develop an arts program of its own working with us and the AHA! model.”
“We are looking to build on the success of AHA! New Bedford in providing the framework to jump start an arts program here in Fall River,” said Fall River City Councilor David Dennis, whose wife, Sandy, heads Arts United, a Fall River nonprofit that uses volunteers to promote and support Fall River artists. “It is important to take a regional approach with these projects because it fosters greater collaboration and creates important partnerships between communities.”
“The AHA! arts and culture partnership is happy to collaborate, and share our experiences and expertise,” said AHA! Director Lee Heald. “AHA! has added vitality to downtown New Bedford, and Fall River is another Gateway City that we believe has the same potential.”
AHA! has proven to be a successful approach and thus a successful brand for urban revitalization, and has been used as a template for other work by the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Adams program elsewhere in the Commonwealth.
New Bedford police show another side of the badge
By Curt Brown / cbrown@s-t.com
May 04, 2012
NEW BEDFORD — Some city police officers are quick on the draw and it has nothing to do with the weapons they carry.
They are bona fide artists whose work will be showcased as part of next week’s AHA! Night, when paintings, drawings or poems by four city police officers will be displayed at the downtown station.
The officers, Lt. Scott Carola and Officers Luis Sud-Martinez, Elvin Ramos and Charles Perry Jr., are also planning to attend Thursday’s event to meet the public and answer questions about their work.
All four said they are self-taught and began drawing, painting or writing in their youth. Some said they refined their skills through the years by watching videos and tutorials on the Web.
Now, they said, they write, draw and paint because they enjoy it and to relieve the stress of being a police officer.
They have also all had success as authors or illustrators of self-published books.
The exhibit is the idea of Capt. Joseph Cordeiro, the station commander, who wants to show the public that police are also people. READ MORE
Downtown welcomes two new businesses
By Brian Boyd / bboyd@s-t.com
May 11, 2012
NEW BEDFORD — Mayor Jon Mitchell joined business leaders in marking the grand opening of two new downtown businesses Thursday.
Mitchell spoke at ribbon-cutting ceremonies for the new clothing store 767 Exchange and Braza Rotisserie restaurant, holding them up as examples of the expanding retail choices downtown.
One of the downtown’s best features is the diversity of stores, offering people a range of unique businesses, he said.
“There is a lot of stuff going on, and every shop you walk by, there is something new to see,” Mitchell said outside 767 Exchange, which opened this week in the former storefront of Elaine’s T-Shirts on Purchase Street.
Representatives of the New Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce and Downtown New Bedford Inc. also attended the two business openings, which were held back to back during the city’s monthly AHA! night. READ MORE
New Bedford shows off its cultural revival!
By Steve Urbon
NEW BEDFORD — City leaders exercised their bragging rights Friday as the Massachusetts Cultural Council came to town along with guests from “Gateway Cities” across the state.
They came to the former Star Store — now UMass Dartmouth’s primary arts campus — to see how New Bedford took all of the talk about building a cultural economy downtown and actually did it.
Sen. Mark C.W. Montigny, D-New Bedford, asserted that the effort required a considerable investment by the city and especially by the state, but it worked. Putting UMass into that building, he said, cost twice as much as a new building on the Dartmouth campus Ring Road would have. But the downtown was flat on its back and needed a big economic boost, and UMass promised to be it.
“We put millions of dollars into the downtown, and we created a critical mass” for cultural economic development, he said.
The downtown went from a blight of empty or struggling storefronts, a place where nobody lived or wanted to live, to a place so vibrant that “it’s hard to find parking, and sometimes it’s hard to sleep at night” because of the restaurants and clubs and AHA! nights, Montigny said.
Many of those restaurants were represented in the event’s lunch buffet.
The event was sponsored by the Mass. Cultural Council and by MassINC, the nonpartisan think tank that has been advancing the concept of Gateway Cities, old mill cities that had their heyday and are looking for ways to generate new opportunities. MCC announced a grant of $32,000 to support the AHA! (art, history, architecture) Nights year-round, another powerful economic development tool.
Participants — many of whom were representatives of groups that participate in the downtown scene — were given copies of a UMass Center for Policy Analysis survey completed late last year. It calculated the economic value of the city’s major cultural events, such as AHA!, Summerfest and the Working Waterfront Festival.
Following guest speakers, the meeting adjourned to a panel discussion to discuss specific elements of the mix in more detail, such as the Portuguese component and the national park. Guests then took tours of the downtown.
One of the out-of-town participants was Brockton’s newly elected mayor, Linda Balzotti. She told The Standard-Times it has been years since she last visited New Bedford.
“As the new mayor I want to look at best past practices,” she said. “And New Bedford is clearly ahead of the curve.”
Steve Urbon is senior correspondent of The Standard-Times
AHA! Director Accepts New Position
Margie Butler, who has been the Project Director of AHA! for the past 4 1⁄2 years, has resigned to accept the position as Marketing and PR Manager at FirstWorksProv in Providence, Rhode Island. FirstWorksProv is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development of the strong arts community in downtown Providence.During Ms. Butler’s tenure, the AHA! Project has received three prestigious and very competitive Adams Grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. The AHA! Project has also supported the growth of the New Bedford Open Studios events; initiated a marketing partnership with NewBedford360.com; hosted a monthly cable access TV show with the City of New Bedford; and developed an enhanced program and corporate sponsorship for AHA! Thursday nights. During Ms. Butler’s tenure, the AHA! project has grown to over 40 partners. AHA! is a fiscal agent fund of the Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts (CFSEMA).Ms. Butler first came to New Bedford as an Artist-in-Residence within a program jointly sponsored by Artworks! and UMASS Dartmouth. She later pursued an MFA from the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University graduating in June of 2006. Ms. Butler said that her first exposure to New Bedford was actually on the December 2002 AHA! night. She felt welcomed by the community and stayed to make her own unique contributions. Margie has brought tremendous enthusiasm to the AHA! Project and provided leadership for the arts community during a critical period of growth,” said Lee Heald, Co-Chair of AHA!, We will miss her creative energy, but wish her well as she explores new professional horizons.”A transition team has been formed to lead a search for her successor. Serving on it will be Craig Dutra, CMSEM President, Irene Buck of Artworks!, Karrie Vincent of the New Bedford Art Museum, Anne Louro from the planning office of the City of New Bedford Planning Office, and Rob Gould from Cape Arpeggio. Lasse Antonsen, Director of the University Gallery, UMASS Dartmouth, will Chair the Steering Committee in the transition period with Lee Heald stepping off the Steering Committee to serve as the Interim Director.The AHA! Project was formed in 1999 by a dedicated circle of cultural leaders, institutions, downtown businesses and individual artists. Since July of that year, the project has continuously presented its 2nd Thursday events. What originally included 14 venues now numbers over 40 and spans eight galleries, three museums, the National Historical Park, City Hall and The Library, many of the downtown’s unique stores, restaurants and cafes, as well as individual artist studios, a meditation center, several churches, The Bristol Building, The New Bedford Preservation Society and The UMass Dartmouth CVPA Star Store. AHA!’s mission is to collectively promote downtown culture and work towards greater sustainability of the downtown cultural scene and partner organizations.
AHA! Night Observations by Jena Holt
This past Thursday night during AHA! I had a rare opportunity to get out of the Tatlock Gallery and walk up the hill to the corner of William and Purchase Streets. What a beautiful evening it was! Even better than the fantastic weather was the large numbers of people along the streets. There were families with children in strollers, young couples and groups of friends, meeting one another and standing in groups, conversing and “catching up” as they enjoyed the various entertainments spilling out onto the streets around them.
Without a doubt, one of the more creative and fun-to-watch events was that produced by Alda Roderiques and Mary Beth Vargas of White Knight Gallery and their resident artists, Arianna Swink and Jenny Newman, better known as Tenacious Lilly Jewelers. Arianna and Jenny are both Umass Dartmouth graduates who have remained after graduation to live and work in the emerging art community that is rapidly expanding in New Bedford.
With the help of friends like Bridget Lajoie and Susan Mogan from Studio Six on the second floor of the Cummings Building, they created a series of “live windows”, featuring a changing roster of models in a variety of outfits. The window scene changed every fifteen minutes and during each vignette, the models, who looked astonishingly mannequin-like, would change poses when least expected. Many of the younger viewers would exclaim to their parents “Mom, she’s alive!”
During the intermissions, which gave the models time to change for each
scene, high schoolers Jen Vargas, Danielle Wunschel and Zoe Ryan kept
passers-by entertained with impromptu mime skits in the windows.
Larissa McLaughlin, owner of the newly opened Blush Beauty Bar on Centre Street, did the models’ makeup, including one theatrically inspired “mask” design for Jenny Newman.
All the models wore jewelry created by Tenacious Lilly and their clothing came from a variety of sources, including their neighbor, The Artificial Marketplace and Celia’s Boutique, located around the corner on Purchase Street. Other pieces came from Blue Alvarez who is an independent designer from Foxboro and the fabulous fabric handbags were all from Maruca Design, carried exclusively in New Bedford by White Knight Gallery.
Rhonda Fazio, whose business is called Dyer Maker, provided them with
beautiful scarves dyed with natural botanicals such as onion skins and
indigo. Rhonda, also a graduate of UMass Dartmouth, has established a
studio in the Cummings Building, which also houses White Knight Gallery, Artificial Marketplace, Simmons Brothers Motion Picture Company, Solstice, No Problemo and Joe Piper.
Adding to the air of excitement was the music provided by the Celtic
musicians playing in and outside at Joe Mone’s new music store, aptly named “Joe Piper”. Joe gives lessons on the various Celtic instruments, most notably the bagpipes, sells instruments and plays with various musicians around the area.
Returning to the gallery, I rounded the corner of the Whaling Museum onto Water Street and saw Jarad Nunes and his group from the Youth Repertory doing the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet out of the second floor window of the Tatlock Gallery.
Once again I was struck by the enormous amount of creative talent and vibrant energy in this city. So I feel compelled to say–if you haven’t been downtown lately, what are you waiting for?
Ideas, Insights, Reality and Vision from Four AHA! Entrepreneurs
At the core of AHA! Night’s mission is the topic of Cultural Economic Development.
In addition to the nonprofit museums and galleries in New Bedford, we recognize the great contribution small businesses make towards having a vibrant cityscape. During May’s “Changing Facade” AHA! held an entrepreneur panel discussion. The panel involved four downtown entrepreneurs: Stasia Powers/Artful Sinksboutique and up/stair/fine/art; Rob Gould/Cafe Arpeggio; and Celia Britto/Celia’s boutique. The audience was small, but did include a few accomplished and budding entrepreneurs.
Several ideas surfaced and fruitful connections between individuals were made. The importance of weekend business hours (Saturdays in particular) and consistency was discussed. For instance Cafe Arpeggio and Celia’s stay open late every Thursday and understand that traffic builds over time. The situation is somewhat different for Stasia Powers and Artful Sinks. She notes that her customers often come from a distance and so Saturday is when they shop. Yet, her customers generally find her on the web or through the home design world. Once they get to her she encourages them to walk around and experience the downtown. Stasia shared that her customers are delighted with what they find here. So, Artful sinks is actually drawing new faces to our downtown on weekends.
Another important topic that bubbled up was that of cross promotion — all the entrepreneurs present quickly began to talk about what they could do together. There were thoughts voiced about how increased downtown foot traffic does not always translating to sales. Still, these entrepreneurs are committed to finding ways to make their business work and decided that cross promoting their businesses would help. Perhaps the most synergistic element was that each entrepreneur’s vision for their store centered around service and offering a “specialty” product. This thread of offering unique products and atmosphere, whether it is on the menu or on the clothing rack, seems to be an important marketable point of difference for New Bedford’s downtown. The emerging fashions at Calico, the personal touch of Celia’s customer relations, the custom hand painted Artful Sinks and the homemade soups and bakery items as well as personality-filled Open Mic of Cafe Arpeggio, are all highly distinctive. You generally will not find these kinds of products and attention to detail in the Mall. And this holds true beyond the four entrepreneurs who took part in this discussion. Just look at The “New-B” International Market that is preparing to open in The Bristol Building. This market is going to be a neighborhood grocery featuring specialty items that reflect the diversity of our city’s population – highly unique! And the personal touch of the owners, Jose and Maria Andrade really comes through when you walk in the door.Between this specialty focus, the committed individuals and growing willingness to work together, this panel provided a glimpse at the potential which is now taking root downtown.
| March 7, 2006 Contacts: Margie Butler, AHA! Program Director 508-264-8859 | Meri Jenkins, |
Mass. Cultural Council Awards Adams Grant to New Bedford
State cultural economic development program fuels further growth of AHA!, the city’s ART, HISTORY, ARCHITECTURE Project.
The Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) awarded New Bedford’s AHA! Project $50,000 in 2006 for new initiatives and ongoing expansion of the city’s Second Thursday free arts and culture nights. AHA!, a nonprofit project of Downtown New Bedford, Inc., is now in its seventh year of existence and involves over 35 partner museums, galleries, cultural organizations, merchants and restaurants in the downtown. This is AHA!’s second consecutive grant from the MCC’s John and Abigail Adams Arts Program for Cultural Economic Development. AHA!’s proposal was ranked 7th out of 34 proposals that the MCC funded in early February when the state agency released $1.35 million in grants for cultural economic development.
The Adams Program is the most far-reaching and ambitious program of its kind in the nation. Its intent is to stimulate income and foster fruitful partnerships between arts institutions, businesses, and local governments. Arts and culture can contribute significantly to successful economic development efforts,” says Mary Kelley, MCC Executive Director. “These grants allow us to work in partnership with community leaders, cultural organizations, and businesses to create jobs, attract new investment, and expand cultural opportunities for the people of Massachusetts.”
This year the Adams program will support dozens of communities in every region of Massachusetts. In addition to New Bedford, 2006 funding will help boost the theatre and performing arts scenes in Boston; expand cultural tourism on the North Shore, South Shore, Cape Cod, and the Pioneer Valley; and employ artists to help revitalize urban centers in Lynn, Worcester, Fall River, and Pittsfield. An independent review panel recommended this year’s projects for funding from among 48 proposals.
With this MCC funding, AHA! will pilot new cultural economic development initiatives as well as enhance marketing and infrastructure associated with its Second Thursday events. This year six of the project’s AHA! Nights will benefit from new media partnerships and expanded programming. AHA! Program Director Margie Butler comments, While the project will operate at an expanded level, the formula for success remains the same — to build collaborative programs and marketing around city assets and bring a fun, creative twist to the downtown’s on-going cultural renaissance.”
The cultural economic development initiatives pursued with the Adams Grant in 2006 entail a series of working roundtables that assemble business, city and cultural leaders around pivotal topics. These AHA! Roundtables will work on Saturday visitation to the downtown; a second annual City-Wide Open Studios event; the short and long-term revitalization of Wings Court as a place to convene; and further data gathering to present the city’s Cultural Sector to investors and newcomers. These topics were chosen by the AHA! Steering Committee and derived in large part from discussions amongst leaders of the city’s cultural nonprofits and venues at an October 2005 Cultural Symposium.
AHA!’s Adams Grant will be matched through a combination of City, corporate, and foundation funding. A dollar for dollar match that includes in-kind contributions is required by the MCC and is one way in which the award generates new public and private investment. Furthermore, all of the Adams initiatives are designed to increase awareness and participation in the city’s blossoming cultural community.
AHA! has received significant MCC support in its early years and worked closely with the agency on setting the project’s initial goals. With the return of MCC Cultural Economic Development funding in recent years, AHA! has become a prime model for revitalizing cities across the state. Meri Jenkins, the MCC’s Adams Program Manager, offers these thoughts on the project’s accomplishments. “The AHA! Project has consistently proved that cultural activities can and do play an important part in a community’s economic future. The project has helped to attract businesses, development and people into a downtown that was largely dormant seven years ago in the evening hours and is a model for other communities thinking about adopting cultural economic development as a development strategy.”
About the Massachusetts Cultural Council
The MCC is a state agency committed to building a central place for arts and culture in the everyday lives of communities across the Commonwealth. It pursues this mission through a combination of grants, services, and advocacy for cultural organizations, schools, communities, and artists. MCC receives an annual appropriation from the state Legislature and funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and other sources. Find out more about the MCC at www.massculturalcouncil.org
About the AHA! Project
AHA! (Art-History-Architecture) was formed in July 1999 as a collaborative non-profit partnership to establish Downtown New Bedford as the regional hub for arts and culture. Drawing on the city’s diverse cultural resources, AHA! provides monthly Second Thursday Night downtown celebrations, and pilots cultural economic development initiatives through private and public partnerships. The project operates as a committee of Downtown New Bedford, Inc. with a volunteer Steering Committee and in-kind programming provided its 35 downtown partner venues.
Mass. Cultural Council Awards AHA! Funds to Expand Cultural Revitalization Efforts
(New Bedford, MA) – AHA! (Art, History, Architecture), New Bedford’s monthly free arts and culture night, will receive $40,000 to expand and pilot new cultural economic development initiatives in 2005, part of nearly $1 million in grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) that will draw on an array of arts and cultural resources to stimulate economic activity in communities across the state.
AHA!, a project of Downtown New Bedford, Inc., is one of 22 projects in Boston, Worcester, Gloucester, Pittsfield, and many other cities and towns that the MCC is supporting as part of The John and Abigail Adams Grant Program. An independent review panel recommended projects for funding and ranked the AHA! proposal 5th out of 32 applicants. Mary Kelley, MCC Executive Director said, “These grants allow us to work in partnership with communities and cultural organizations to create new jobs, attract new businesses, and expand cultural opportunities for the people of Massachusetts.”
In 1999, the MCC and the City of New Bedford worked with local cultural leaders and artists to bring about the first AHA! Night. In a relatively short time, AHA! has established itself as a positive catalyst for New Bedford’s growing downtown cultural marketplace promoting the city’s galleries, museums, organizations, shops and restaurants involved in the partnership project. The new MCC Grant will allow AHA! to further augment the city’s current cultural momentum and extend its work beyond the downtown. Specific grant activities will include:
- Convening cultural stakeholders with the city to further communication and collaboration
- Publishing an online cultural inventory to promote the city’s assets and revival
- Holding New Bedford’s first City-wide Open Studio event
- Expanding AHA!’s cultural economic outreach to North and South End Neighborhoods
- Mounting large-scale art installations downtown on several 2005 AHA! Nights
- Launching an access city arts cable show hosted by AHA!
Besides stimulating economic growth, the MCC’s Adams Arts Program also fosters fruitful partnerships between cultural organizations, businesses, and local governments. And since MCC funding must be matched dollar for dollar, the program generates new public and private investment in communities across the state. AHA! will be working closely with the City and all its project partners on these activities. AHA! is seeking the majority of its matching funding from the federal government and locally based corporations. Margie Butler, AHA! Program Director, points out that “This is our chance to bring everyone to the table and insure that we capitalize on the city’s positive momentum. Already, conversations with the City, current AHA! partners and new collaborators such as Arts New Bedford, and the North and South End Business Associations have demonstrated the time is right to take an important step forward.”
Mayor Kalisz has met with AHA! and the MCC several times during the proposal process. His commitment of in-kind support for this project and direct involvement has been a factor in securing this grant. Mayor Kalisz said, “This project is as much to benefit city residents as it is to attract new audiences that are critical to our urban revival. The common denominator can be the enjoyment of our arts and culture. AHA! has proven continually that they know how to bring people together to celebrate the best our city has to offer.”
Since 1997, the MCC invested in communities such as Holyoke, Roxbury, New Bedford, Worcester, and North Adams where economic challenges were most pronounced. Despite studies demonstrating the program’s success, cuts to MCC’s budget in 2002 forced the agency to suspend grants for this purpose. Last year, however, the Massachusetts Advocates for the Arts, Sciences and Humanities (MAASH) and its cultural advocates across the state successfully urged the Legislature and the Governor to reinvest in cultural economic development. These Adams grants are the result of that effort.
Most recently, the Adams Arts Program was eliminated from Governor Romney’s proposed fiscal 2006 budget, which was released January 26. The Massachusetts House is expected to release its budget proposal in April.
AHA! views this 2005 grant as an opportunity to pilot new approaches and if necessary will seek alternative funding to continue the successful efforts in years to come. Lasse Antonsen, Director of the UMASS Dartmouth University Gallery and AHA! Co-Chair has pointed out that, “The last five years in New Bedford have seen tremendous cultural and economic growth. Many significant cultural institutions are ready to move forward, by collaborating with each other, with the City, with educational institutions, and with private developers, in order to improve the larger cultural, educational, economic and social infrastructure.” Mr. Antonsen will be working with AHA! staff on the new grant activities and will be leading the public art installation component that has been designed towards the city developing its own high profile creative “happenings” that can help do for New Bedford what WaterFire has done for Providence.
About the Massachusetts Cultural Council
The Massachusetts Cultural Council promotes excellence, access, education and diversity in the arts, humanities and interpretive sciences, in order to improve the quality of life for all Massachusetts residents and contribute to the economic vitality of our communities.
MCC is committed to building a central place for the arts, sciences and humanities in the everyday lives of communities across the Commonwealth. The agency pursues this mission through a combination of grant programs, partnerships and services for nonprofit cultural organizations, schools, communities, and individual artists. MCC receives an annual appropriation from the state Legislature and funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and other sources.
Arts and culture are a key part of the Massachusetts economy. Cultural non-profits alone provide nearly 40,000 jobs, contribute $7.6 million in taxes, and provide a total economic impact of nearly $3.5 billion. But these statistics doesn’t tell the whole story. Thriving museums, galleries, science fairs, and performances bring visitors, and, with them, the demand for restaurants, retail, and many other services.
The 2nd Ha! Ha! for AHA! Comedy Night Benefit will take place on Saturday, January 29, 2005.
The AHA! Project, New Bedford’s free second Thursday night of art and culture, is once again administering a healthy dose of humor to the task of fundraising. Saturday, January 29th, the 2nd Annual Ha! Ha! For AHA! Comedy Night Benefit will take place at Gallery X. The Comedy Night will present a program that ranges from vaudeville-inspired silliness to spoofery with local material and short-form improvisation. AHA! Program Director Margie Butler bills the comedy night as, “one that draws talent from near and far and humor from classic to crazy.” She points out that this fundraiser is certainly for AHA!’s adult audience only and again will incorporate a community component with several cameos from figures in downtown New Bedford. Ms. Butler adds, “The ability to laugh together and even poke fun at ourselves is a huge part of what fueled the first Ha Ha success. And while it is hard to top what the cast achieved last year, our 2005 line-up of talent and skits is up to the task.”
Shannon Gracia, who directed and acted in last year’s Ha Ha production “Martha S. in a Prison Named Desire,” is the creative director for AHA!’s 2005 Comedy Night. Ms. Gracia describes that, “the production involves many shorter, witty pieces that will keep the evening lively and feature some of New Bedford and the region’s most loved talents.” Michael Ventura, who also acted in the first Ha Ha is the event’s emcee. The evening will begin with the skit “A Bridge Too Old” written by Ray Veary. This clever piece toys with how tricky it can be to get across the drawbridge that connects New Bedford and Fairhaven. Have you ever realized that when this drawbridge is physically open, the road signs warn bridge “closed”? Mr. Veary has cast P.J. Carroll, Nancy Leary and Niko Tarini in this skit of local humor that everyone can appreciate.
Ha Ha’s line-up continues with “A History Brief of the Portuguese,” by Cape Cod play-write Allan Moniz. “A History Brief…” theatrically presents a humorous exploration of Portuguese history. Robert Anderson, the playwright who wrote last year’s “Martha S.” psychodrama, this year contributes a skit titled, “CONDO-mania.” Anderson’s piece will have community cameo appearances that include Anne Brengle, Director of The New Bedford Whaling Museum and Karie Vincent, Director of the New Bedford Art Museum as well as other surprise geusts. “CONDO-mania” features the musical talents of Shannon Gracia who takes the downtown’s current wave of development to hilarious proportions.
Representing the playfully crazy side of the evening, will be Liz Rapoza’s contribution of an act from “Pajamazon” her well received comedic radio play complete with commercials. “Pajamazon” which has previously attracted sold out crowds at the New Wave Café, is a superhero comic book story that takes place in New Bedford and is performed in the style of an authentic radio play with sound effects. Annie Hart Cool of West Falmouth, MA, who graces stages from Provincetown to Off-Broadway and that of our own New Bedford’s Your Theatre, will perform an original one-woman comedic skit that she is developing for this event.
The comedy from afar in the Ha Ha line-up is anchored by the New York City group, The Devil’s Dancebelt, which will perform the Harold style of long-form improvisation. As Ben Hauck the Director and Coach of the troupe explains, “The Harold is the seminal form of improv that is widely popular in New York City and starts with a single question or idea from the audience.” Hauck emphasizes that the Devil’s Dancebelt “takes improv to more artistic and dramatic levels.” This group has been together since September 2002 when they produced their first New York show, “Improv Unbound.” AHA! teamed up with this group due to the family connections between Ben Hauck and Chuck Hauck, a Gallery X member and Ha Ha for AHA! organizer.
Gallery X contributions are integral to this event. Margie Butler emphasizes, “the rich, collaborative spirit of Gallery X and the setting of its one-of-a-kind remodeled church really help us to pull off this unique comedy benefit.” Niko Tarini, Ha Ha cast member and President of Gallery X adds that he is “anticipating a smorgasbord of bigger laughs and wittier quips that builds on last year’s Ha Ha hilarity.”
The event will begin with a pre-party at 7 pm and the curtain for the Comedy Show is at 8 pm. Tickets are $18 and all proceeds go to help fund the programming, marketing and planning that is involved with AHA! Nights in downtown New Bedford. 150 tickets will be sold. Interested parties should contact AHA! at 508-264-8859. This event is in addition to AHA!’s monthly second Thursday free nights of art and culture.
AHA! and Downtown New Bedford, Inc. Join Forces
AHA! and Downtown New Bedford, Inc. Join Forces In an effort to expand its impact on the cultural and economic development of downtown, New Bedford, AHA! (Art, History & Architecture), New Bedford’s collaborative arts and culture project, has merged with Downtown New Bedford, Incorporated (DNB). DNB had served as the fiscal agent for AHA!, which was formed in 1999 to promote awareness of cultural assets in downtown New Bedford. The organization’s main focus has been the monthly AHA! Night, where on the second Thursday of every month, downtown New Bedford becomes alive with exhibitions, music, theater, film and lectures as well as shopping and dining. The free monthly event draws as many as one thousand visitors to the downtown district. Kevin Pelland, President of the Downtown New Bedford Inc. Board of Directors, said the merger made perfect sense for the two organizations as they work to enhance cultural and economic development in the downtown. “It is a piece of the economic development puzzle that the DNB organization has been missing for years. The galleries, nonprofits and cultural community have grown tremendously over the past number of years and has had a positive impact on this city and will continue to change the face of downtown.” Pelland continued, “We feel strongly that the advent of AHA! into the DNB family, and those that have worked so diligently to make it such a success, will bring both DNB and the AHA! project to a new level, a level that all of New Bedford will benefit by.”
Lee Heald, Chair of the AHA Steering Committee, agrees: “This merger is a way for our two organizations to work more closely on the shared goal of revitalizing the Downtown. By bringing the business know-how of DNB, Inc. together with the creative capabilities of AHA! both organizations will be strengthened and New Bedford will be the better for it.”
As part of the merger, two members of the AHA! Steering Committee will serve on the DNB’s 21-member Board. The mission of Downtown New Bedford, Inc. is to play a vital role in ensuring that the downtown New Bedford district is a vibrant place to live, work and visit. DNB is funded primarily through its memberships and local fundraising efforts with support from the City of New Bedford and the Office of Housing and Community Development. The AHA! nonprofit collaborative project is funded in part by the Island Foundation, the local business community, the City of New Bedford, the Mass Cultural Council, local Cultural Councils and individual donors.
For More Information, contact:
Kevin Pelland, President
Downtown New Bedford, Inc.
(508) 675-4317
5th Annual Bowl-for-Art Brings Together the Community and Funds for AHA!
Bowling alleys and arts organizations are not usual partners, but AHA!, New Bedford’s monthly 2nd Thursday arts & culture night, tends to do things with a fresh, creative approach. Starting five years ago AHA! began its Bowl-for-Art event where teams representing galleries, museums, businesses and community members bring together pledges for AHA! and hold a fundraiser tournament at New Bedford’s Wonder Bowl. The event is unique and well loved by its participants. Several weeks in advance, AHA! supporters form teams and start collecting pledges. Program Director Margie Butler notes, “We value the $5 pledge as much as the $50 pledge because it all adds up and each pledge shows appreciation for the work AHA! does.” Then, on the actual day, everything comes together with a high-spirited afternoon of bowling, pizza, cake, a silent auction and prizes. Teams go by creative names such as the National Park’s “Rescue Rangers,” Dyan Kieltyka’s “Just Us Girls” and ArtWorks! “Bowler and the Bowlettes,” who sport British bowling caps decorated with marshmallow Peeps! In the end it’s good fun and the event raises upwards of $8,000 which represents roughly 15% of AHA!’s annual budget.
Event organizers were thrilled to highlight the amazing contribution of Bowl-for-Art’s top pledge raiser, New Bedford craftsman/designer George Saulnier who has been involved with AHA! from the start. Each year for the past five years Mr. Saulnier has collected the most pledges overall. This year he single-handedly brought in $1,458 from friends and AHA! supporters. Ms. Butler noted that Mr. Saulnier is obviously, “someone who understands the value of AHA! and goes the distance to help our project and our city.” AHA! thanked their top pledge raiser with a generous gift certificate from Freestone’s City Grille, an AHA! partner and also a Bowl-for-Art team participant. While the Bowl-for-Art tournament is casual, skilled bowlers and novices alike enjoy competing for prizes donated by local businesses such as Cardoza’s, Not Your Average Joe’s, Dorothy Cox Chocolates, Baker Books, The Standard-Times and Blockbuster Video. This year’s high scoring team was “The Zoo Crew” from the Buttonwood Park Zoological Society and the high scoring individual bowler was Mike Laberge also of that team. The 18 and under top score went to 16 year old Dana Robert from one of four Whaling Museum teams. The winning youth team was Nathaniel Fuchs, Walker Fuchs, Casey Magee, and Alison Roney, all 10 years old, and Peter Perkins age 11 representing the Whaling Museum. The high scoring under 13 bowler was Darren Borges, age 10, with the ABC Disposal Service, Inc. team.
Prizes are also given for team spirit and other fun categories including the Gutterball (low score/sportsmanship) and Twinkletoes (original form) awards. These prizes and the people who participate help make Bowl-for-Art a unique, animated event. This year the event attracted many new teams including The Michael McGuire Gallery which will open on William Street this summer, a group of New Bedford City Councilors, a team of “MIS Chiefs” from City Hall, and groups representing the YMCA Teen Center, Nativity Prep Boys School (sponsored by Elaine’s T-Shirts) and a few downtown real estate companies. Linda Morad, Ward One City Councilor noted, “How wonderful it was to be there with teams from across so many groups.” She and her fellow Councilors, including Naomi Carney, Joe DeMedeiros, Paul Koczera, Denis Lawrence, Jr. and Leo Pimental, were a great addition to the event and are already talking about returning next year.
For AHA! it’s never too early to start thinking about next year. Plans include the addition of women’s division prizes and continued outreach to a broad cross section of groups. The future also holds even higher expectations as AHA! thinks big. “This event has been building momentum each year and has the potential, if we fill all the lanes with teams, to raise $20,000!” said Tom Ross, both an AHA! Steering Committee member and a bowler on the “Rescue Rangers” National Park team that raised the second highest total pledges after Mr. Saulnier’s ArtWorks! team. Ms. Butler reflects “When I was in the midst of planning Bowl-for-Art and collecting pledges myself both public television and NPR had pledge drives going. As I listened to their effective appeals about a year of great programming being more than worth five or even ten dollars a month, I couldn’t help but feel the same thing applies to AHA!
Even though AHA! Nights are ‘free’ it does take money to put these evenings together, publicize them and pay performers and staff. Thus people who enjoy AHA! Nights throughout the year who can afford to donate $10, $20 or more to Bowl-for-Art certainly get their money’s worth.”
Next year’s 6thAnnual Bowl-for-Art will take place in late March. Interested participants should watch for event listings in the Coastin’ section and in AHA! communications.
AHA! Project Receives NEA Grant to Increase Community Outreach to Groups in New Bedford and Surrounding Towns
New Bedford’s AHA! (Art, History, Architecture) Project is one of two Massachusetts groups to be awarded a 2004 National Endowment for the Arts “Challenge America: Access to the Arts Fast Track Grant.”
With the $10,000 NEA grant award AHA! staff and partners will have the time and resources to reach out to many community groups that are currently not taking advantage of these free nights of arts & culture programming. As Margie Butler, AHA! Program Director states, “AHA! Nights provide an invaluable service to our community and something we can all take pride in. We are trying hard to make sure as many people as possible share in this experience.”
Through an audience survey conducted this past summer AHA! has become aware of the need to reach out to the underserved communities right here in New Bedford. By working more closely with groups such as the YMCA and YWCA, Nativity Prep and city youth and neighborhood organizations AHA! will seek to spread the word about the second Thursday Night events and create situations where members from these groups can collaborate and participate in AHA! programming. Tracy Furtado, Executive Director of Brick by Brick and AHA! Steering Committee member relates, “I hope this initiative will provide the stepping stone for many individuals and families to experience the excitement, beauty and pleasure of all these nights have to offer, and at the same time give them the chance to feel a little more connected to their own community.”
In addition to underserved New Bedford groups, this NEA grant also enables AHA! to work with arts and culture groups in surrounding towns who can greatly enrich this project and contribute to the sustainability of New Bedford’s downtown. AHA! recognizes that many arts appreciators who live in the Southcoast do not associate downtown New Bedford with a thriving arts & culture scene. Butler offers, “What better way to shift perceptions than to host area arts and culture groups to come experience and join in AHA! Nights?” There is also a historical basis for New Bedford’s role as a cultural hub. Candace Lee Heald, AHA! Steering Committee Chair and New Bedford Whaling Museum Director of Programs reflects, “New Bedford was traditionally the commercial and cultural center for surrounding towns. Our goal is to recapture that feeling as a current-day hub for the arts & culture.”
By providing free, monthly arts and culture nights since July 1998 AHA! has embraced its mission to increase the awareness of New Bedford’s cultural resources and help stimulate economic activity. On second Thursday Nights from 5-9 pm, the AHA! Project attracts anywhere from several hundred to well over 1,000 community members and visitors to the downtown.1
Since its establishment in 1965 the NEA has sought to foster excellence in the arts and bring arts to all Americans. “Challenge America: Access to the Arts” grants are provided to specifically support small and mid-sized organizations for projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations.
The diversity of the art, music, theater, dance, and lectures provided on AHA! Nights allows the project to think expansively about who might be interested in attending and participating. With the NEA grant AHA! partners can work to capitalize on these strengths and reach many more individuals. Butler recounts, “Collaboration is the key to why AHA! has been a success and this NEA funding will extend that collaborative opportunity to many more people helping our AHA! Nights to be true community events.”
1. UMD Center for Policy Analysis AHA! Economic Impact Studies available online at www.umassd.edu/cfpa
