by Claire Wright
President, SJCAC
The San Juan County Arts Council voted on Sept. 25 to give its first grant ever. The Funhouse Commons submitted a very comprehensive application for funding, which we were thrilled to be able to support. We hope to be able to fund many more proposals like this one in the years to come.
The arts council is a 501(c)3 organization that works to promote and integrate the artistic resources of the county for the creative economic development, education and overall well-being of the community.
Big thanks to all the support for our annual fundraiser, the San Juan Summer Arts Festival, which has made it possible for the arts council to start working towards its long-term goals. We clocked nearly 7,700 visitors throughout the five-week long festival this year. It has been running three years strong and all the hard work is beginning to pay off as the SJCAC gets closer to its mission to fund other organizations that provide educational and artistic resources to the communities in San Juan County.
We’d like to invite everyone to the annual membership meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 27 from 3-5 p.m. at the San Juan Island Grange Hall. This annual meeting will provide an opportunity for you or your organization to learn about and become an official member of the San Juan County Arts Council, hear about our budget and exciting upcoming developments, meet board members and perhaps even join the board yourself! We currently have five available board positions. If you are interested in joining, submit a letter of interest before Oct. 26.
On Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019 (time to TBA), Diane Martindale and I will be hosting another summit to explore the opportunities in the Washington Cultural Access Initiative. We have some important people from the state level coming to Friday Harbor to give us a presentation, answer questions and help us get this initiative rolling in our county. To learn more, check out https://www.culturalaccesswa.org/
Make sure to follow us on facebook @SanJuanCountyArtsCouncil and Instagram @sanjuancountyartscouncil to get up-to-date information about the latest developments and fun things that are happening. If you have anything you’d like us to share on social media pertaining to the arts and culture in San Juan County, send us a photo and a blurb or a flyer to sanjuancountyarts@gmail.com, Facebook messenger, or Instagram messenger.
