Gloucester’s new Arts and Cultural Initiative is extremely pleased to announce that Cape Ann artist and business owner Martha Wood is leading the Initiative as its first Project Manager, effective March 25th. Martha Wood holds a B.A. cum laude from Harvard University and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. She has staffed a C$9 million startup campaign for the Alberta Performing Arts Stabilization Fund, and she has experience as a management consultant, as a board member for arts and education non-profits, and with historic preservation on Cape Ann. She has operated her own jewelry design and fabrication business since 2001 and manages the Pop-In! Gallery in Manchester-by-the-Sea. In September, 2015, a partnership of three arts organizations — Rocky Neck Art Colony, ArtsGloucester, and seARTS — received $45,500 in grant funding over two years for the establishment of the Gloucester Arts and Cultural Initiative, a project whose mission is to champion innovation and excellence in the cultural landscape, to support private and public cultural development across all sectors, and to strengthen and promote the cultural vitality of the city’s waterfront and neighborhoods. This prestigious grant, awarded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council through its Adams Arts Program, is an important step for Gloucester. The grant partners gratefully acknowledge the Council’s continuing investment in Gloucester and the many people whose efforts over many years have helped sustain Gloucester’s cultural vitality by fostering support at the community, municipal, and state levels. Among these arts leaders, the partners give special recognition to Karen Ristuben, President the Rocky Neck Art Colony, whose role in the development of the successful Adams grant proposal was crucial, and whose leadership and commitment to the arts in Gloucester is an inspiration. The City of Gloucester is assisting the Arts and Cultural Initiative through collaboration and the contribution of in-kind services. “This Initiative is critically important to the future of our City,” said Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken. “I am pleased with the decision to hire Martha Wood. She is certainly qualified, and I believe that she will be a strong partner as we work together to promote and sustain Gloucester’s arts and cultural heritage.” A central goal of the Initiative is to plan for and create a permanent City government office for arts and cultural development led by a full-time salaried Cultural Development Director and supported by a broadly representative volunteer Cultural Development Council.
The Initiative will be led by the Project Manager and a Steering Committee. In September, the partners convened a planning group to lay groundwork, including the design of a process to hire the Project Manager. After a state-wide announcement for the position, an independent community-based Screening Committee reviewed 16 applications, conducted interviews, and recommended Martha Wood, whom the partners have unanimously and enthusiastically ratified. Henry Allen, Chair of the Screening Committee, said “We were looking for the right balance of many important qualities. We selected Martha Wood from a field of exceptionally qualified finalists because of her impressive accomplishments in business administration, her extensive experience in government and the arts, and her expertise in strategic planning, and analytical studies. A working artist herself, Ms. Wood has been a civic-minded Cape Ann resident for 19 years. The Committee found her to be a remarkable blend of the creative artist and the effective planner. We trust that she will bring her valuable perspective to the Initiative and that with her leadership the City of Gloucester and its arts and cultural communities will join together in an enduring way.” Suzanne Gilbert Lee, Executive Director of the lead grant partner, Rocky Neck Art Colony, praised the diligence of the Screening Committee and called it a “wonderful example of the community working together for everyone’s benefit.” “We were fortunate to have such thoughtful and diverse Screening Committee members,” added Jo-Ann Castano, Principal of ArtsGloucester. Guided by Ms. Wood, the Initiative will engage in long-term projects including development of a Cultural Master Plan for Gloucester; investigating ways to provide affordable studio space for visual, performing, and other artists; and researching how best to provide resources and advocacy for Gloucester’s many-faceted cultural organizations and communities. Among the Initiative’s tasks will be to assemble the Steering Committee, a council of citizens dedicated to the future and sustainability of Gloucester as a city rooted in its arts, culture, and the unique heritage of its natural environment. On behalf of the Gloucester Committee for the Arts, Chair Judith Hoglander said “Congratulations and welcome! The Committee for the Arts looks forward to partnering with Martha Wood in promoting arts and cultural development in Gloucester.” To that end, the Initiative and the Committee are working with the City’s Ward Councilors to hold a series of public forums in April to solicit further public input on both the Committee’s efforts to develop a new public art policy and on arts and cultural development priorities for the Initiative. The Initiative has also created an online survey to gather public input at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/F62NTPQ
Good Morning Gloucester 