Mission
The mission of the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri is to provide a forum for residents and artists of the Southeast Missouri region to explore, experience and share in the diversity and excitement of the arts.
Educating the public about the arts is something that the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri believes is an important part of creating a sustainable artistic community. We strive to do this in many ways:
Hosting free monthly programs at our gallery, including exhibitions, classes, demonstrations, lectures, and Q & A sessions with locals who are involved with the arts in various capacities, across many disciplines.
Partnering with local schools and community organizations who serve underserved and under-resourced youth to provide after-school, arts education programming
Partnering with local organizations like the VA and Blue Sky Community Center to provide meaningful multidisciplinary arts education programming for veterans and persons with disabilities.
Keeping our newspaper and other media outlets informed of upcoming events and projects so that they may disperse the information residents of our region.
Keeping our members, patrons, and community-members informed about workshops and opportunities for continuing their education in the arts.
Developing meaningful partnerships with artists and arts organizations across the SEMO region to develop programming that is responsive to the needs expressed by communities.
We are always striving to bring the artistic community and the public together through new experiences. If there are any ways you feel that we could improve upon the Arts Council’s implementation of the organization’s mission, please contact us! We would love to hear your suggestions.
Important Announcement
A note to our valued members and followers:
This past Tuesday, we invited members to participate in a meeting regarding our strategic plan to provide a sustainable future for our organization. In the meeting, we discussed a deliberate modification to our organization’s mission statement, and our plans to use collaborative partnerships to transition the arts from the traditional gallery setting, and into the community as a whole. Our primary focus is on multi-disciplinary arts education, improved social outcomes, economic viability, and advocacy.
To that end, in discussing the fiscal viability of our non-profit, we highlighted the fact that we paid almost $40,000 in mortgage costs on our building, only $9,000 of which was applied to our loan principal. Building ownership is now not only untenable, it is a threat to our organization’s mission. Consequently, our board has made the difficult decision to sell the building at 16 N. Spanish. We will continue to prioritize exhibiting the work of our Visual Arts Cooperative, as well as hosting our Children’s Arts Festival, Members Show, and Regional Exhibition. We are honored to be working with the competent team of Jacob Fish of Team Fish and Ashley Roney of Edge Realty during this transition period.
To find out more about the specific details of the conversation, please refer to the presentation used at Tuesday’s meeting.
Kelly Downes
Director