CT Arts Day ‘Moving Foward’ For 2nd Year; Big Red For Arts In 12th Year

Connecticut Arts Day, a day set aside to bring together artists, potential investors and policy makers to drive home the importance of the arts in the economy, made its debut last year, with the theme of “Moving the Arts from Nice to Necessary.” The second annual event, to be held March 2 in Hartford, is themed “Moving Forward.”

Laura Callanan, the keynote speaker for this year’s Connecticut Arts Day, would say that both themes are relevant. Callanan, founding partner of Upstart Co-Lab, a New York City-based collaboration, says arts have definitely moved forward from “nice to necessary” to become a premier economic force.

“The creative economy is a driver of quality jobs, everything from publishing and music to food and fashion and game design and industrial design. It’s a big category, more than 4 percent of the GDP,” Callanan said. “We’re not an agrarian or manufacturing economy anymore. We’re an ideas economy. The creative economy is one where there are not just living-wage jobs but jobs where there is an opportunity for career progress, where people feel anchored and valued and inspired.”

Upstart Co-Lab, a New York City-based collaboration founded last spring, connects artists, investors and social entrepreneurs to create opportunities for artists to thrive and create work that encompasses both creativity and social awareness. Kristina Newman-Scott, director of culture for the state of Connecticut (DECD), said she invited Callanan to speak because the mission of Upstart Co-Lab dovetails with the awareness mission of Connecticut Arts Day.

“The Hartford area has over 300 arts and cultural treasures but when there was a budget deficit, arts got cut first. But the arts is a workforce and development attractor,” Newman Scott said. “There is so much opportunity in a state like Connecticut, given our size and the number of towns. The key here is to bring national leaders together with local leaders and policy makers to talk about all of their perspectives, to better understand … how to position the arts in your communities.”

Connecticut Arts Day, a daylong event that is open to the public, is organized in collaboration with arts councils in New Haven, Hartford, Waterbury, New London, Fairfield County, Windham, northwest Connecticut, western Connecticut and the shoreline. The day also will include talks by Gov. Dannel Malloy, Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, DECD Commissioner Catherine Smith, state legislators and arts and culture leaders from around the state and nation.

Callanan said arts-focused impact investing and the participation of “b corporations,” corporate entities that emphasize the constructive societal impact of their business practices, is becoming more vital, considering the recent talk of possible federal cuts to the National Endowments of the Arts and Humanities. “This just means it’s even more important that there be more investment in the marketplace to bring capital to this important work,” she said.

At Connecticut Arts Day, Callanan plans to share stories of artists who have succeeded in using their work to promote social awareness. She gave as an example found-object artist Aurora Robson based in New York.

“She salvages trash from rivers and oceans and creates these sculptural installations that from a distance look like something made by Dale Chihuly, but up close people say ‘Hey, that’s a bottle cap.’ She does it to make a point … to get a sense of how much plastic is in the river, that if you take it out and clean it off you can make art with it,” Callanan said.

Connecticut Arts Day starts at 8:30 a.m. with breakfast and a morning program at The Bushnell, then moves to the Capitol at 10:30 a.m. with talks and performances ending around 5 p.m. Admission to Connecticut Arts Day is free but space is limited. For details, visit eventbrite.com.

Big Red For The Arts

One week after Connecticut Arts Day is another major arts-advocacy and awareness event in Hartford. Big Red For The Arts, the 12th annual get-together that begins the Greater Hartford Arts Council’s United Arts Campaign, will be March 9 at Infinity Music Hall & Bistro, 32 Front St.

For the first time, Big Red will include a tribute to a local philanthropic leader. The Pryor family of West Hartford — the late Millard Pryor, his wife Claire and their daughter Esther — have been involved for 45 years with cultural organizations including the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford Symphony, Connecticut Opera, Hartford Stage, the Amistad Center for Art & Culture and other local and regional institutions.

Cathy Malloy, CEO of Greater Hartford Arts Council, said the Pryors — through donations, board membership and hands-on participation in events — “have set an example, have seen the value of arts in the community.

“In our society now, we have a lot on our plates philanthropically. Every one of them is worthy. … When a major situation happens, arts fall to the bottom of the totem pole,” she said. “But arts are integral to everything we do, affecting economic impact, quality of life, education, social services. We’re trying to change the narrative on the importance of the arts.”

Malloy said a $2,500 grant for arts in education will be established in the Pryors’ name.

GHAC provides funding and other support to more than 150 arts organizations in 34 towns in the Hartford area. Malloy said the core of GHAC’s donor base are “people who donate in the $50 to $250 range.”

Four local arts entities will perform: Cuatro Puntos, Mixashawn, Sonia Plumb Dance Company and Hartford Opera Theater.

Admission to Big Red is $125 for the 6:30 to 9 p.m. event, and an additional $75 to attend the VIP premier wine tasting, which starts at 5:30 p.m. at NIXS, next door to Infinity at 40 Front St. Attendees at the VIP reception will see the tribute to the Pryor family. letsgoarts.org.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct that the Sonia Plumb Dance Company will perform as part of Big Red for the Arts.