If so honored to be elected to Garwood Council, I would like us to create an Arts and Culture Council, which would have a mission of promoting and nurturing the arts for and by the people of our community. The Arts and Culture Council, made up of volunteers including myself, would collaborate with local agencies both public and private to provide arts experiences for our community in a variety of settings throughout our town. It would promote engagement between the public, local businesses, and local government through art and culture.
Garwood is already a town that brings people together for celebrations and activities. My family looks forward every year to the seasonal celebrations, such as the Christmas Tree Lighting, and have enjoyed many special memorable events over the years such as the Garwood Rocks Street Fair, wet downs for new fire trucks, and the super Centennial Celebration back in 2003. These shared experiences with my friends and neighbors have given me a feeling of connectedness to my town. This new Arts and Culture Council initiative would give our community new opportunities to engage with each other in meaningful ways, deepening our shared cultural understandings and increasing our civic engagement.
“This new Arts and Culture Council initiative would give our community new opportunities to engage with each other in meaningful ways, deepening our shared cultural understandings and increasing our civic engagement.”
An important first step for such a Council would be to create a directory of people working in the arts who live locally. The arts registry would serve the purpose of connecting artists to each other and their community. It could be a first step in identifying members of the community who are already involved in the arts professionally and might be interested in joining the Arts and Culture Council.
One project that would have a direct and visible impact on our sense of community is murals for the walls of the underpass at Center Street. Public art in this active connective area would be important to us as we see our town on a daily basis, as well as to others who are just passing through.
Other projects could be art or photography contests, judged by working artists within our community, student art displayed at various local businesses, and small concerts or performances. We could engage with local businesses as well as public entities, like the school and library, for locations of such showcases and with help in making the events happen. The future development at the Paperboard site on North Avenue with a 4200+ square foot community room will also be a great space to host events and activities. This is one of the many tangible new ideas that our campaign for Garwood Council is putting forward. I look forward to hearing your ideas and feedback as my running mate, Jeff Jotz, and I knock on doors this fall. We can also be reached at Clarissa@dems4garwood.com and Jeff@dems4garwood.com. Thank you!
Clarissa Nolde
Candidate for Garwood Council