There have been a couple of recent staffing changes at the Upper Catskill Community Council of the Arts, an official said. Interim executive Director Scott Ward resigned last week for personal reasons, board President and CEO Linda MacKenzie-Ranc said.
The position of program coordinator, held by Corrine Armstrong, was eliminated as the organization has downsized "in a last attempt to survive, she said. The telephone number of neither one was in the phone book and they could not be reached. Ward replaced executive director Sara Hammonds, who was in the position for a short time.
Since 1970, the Arts Council has served communities in the region by supporting and creating opportunities for area artists and arts organizations, according to the UCCCA website. Last year this included giving out more than $63,000 in support and grant money received from state agencies, according to an UCCCA media release. Most of the state funding comes from the New York State Council on the Arts, an UCCCA official said.
The board of directors will be discussing replacing Ward at a Tuesday meeting, she said. The job of the program coordinator will be filled by board, staff and volunteers as "we are looking at what we keep and what must go," she said. The current budget is about $350,000, she said. Most of that is redistributed as part of the nonprofit mission, she said. Exact figures were not available Friday afternoon.
The board will also be discussing its options at the meeting, these include further scaling back or going on hiatus until a solution is worked out.
"The goal is to keep our doors open," she said. To do that the nonprofit must have the support of the community, she said. This includes volunteers, donations and participating in the programs that are scheduled to be continued. This includes the City of the Hills Arts Festival, scheduled for Aug. 14.
The problems that have been going on for about three years have been affecting other arts organizations as they struggle to deal with the overall economy, she said.
People need to see the
see UCCCA on page A4
agency as "a community organization," and become members and take classes, she said.
Treadwell literary and visual artist, Bertha Rogers, said that having an agency like UCCCA is crucial to the arts in the area.
"It's been wonderful," in helping artists with grants, especially in rural areas where there is not a lot of services. The size of the awards may be relatively small, up to $600, but they can be essential, she said. She has received help for travel and framing expenses in previous years.
Oneonta resident, David Hayes, is a volunteer at UCCCA. He has served on the board for a couple of years but stepped down more than a year ago because of time constraints.
Its continued existence is critical for the community, Hayes said. Not only does it provide a way for decisions to made on the local level about funding visual and performance arts, but it also provides a "professional venue" for regional artists to show their work.
"Now is when the community needs to come together and help," he said.
