Community Connections
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Sherman Artists Association
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Community Connections
Community Connections shines a light on local charities whose compassion, service, and dedication strengthen the fabric of our community. By sharing their stories, we hope to inspire others and help the spirit of giving spread throughout our towns.
Under the spotlight today: Sherman Artists Association
An interview with Linda Hubbard, President and Founder, Sherman Artists Association
How do you brighten our community?
We serve the Sherman and surrounding communities including New Fairfield and New Milford. Members are also from Bethel, Brookfield and Newtown, plus Kent and neighboring towns in Patterson, Pawling, Wingdale and Dover, NY
MISSION STATEMENT: “Sherman Artists Association advances the education of visual artists and the public by providing a means for artists to share their knowledge, support, and inspiration, thereby enriching the cultural life of the Sherman community and beyond.”
Started: October 2021, the organization has grown to over 100 members. Key events are the OPEN STUDIO’s first weekend in December, April Showcase at the Live 4 Art Gallery in Pawling, ARTFEST in June at the Sherman Fire Dept Hall and Town Green, August Light at the Kent Art Association in August, and Happy Acres Farm Day in October. These events give members opportunities to show their work.
Monthly meetings feature speakers on a wide range of art-related subjects and offer an opportunity to talk to fellow artists. We also hold an Art Supply Tag Sale every Memorial Day Weekend which gives artists an opportunity to share items they are no longer using and encourages new artists. In July we host our annual picnic which also encourages friendship and community.
This summer we also held our first major fundraiser for a Sherman Art Center. We would like to have a place in Sherman where we can offer art classes, workshops, art exhibition space and a home for Sherman Artists.
Our website features the organization, our events and our members.
Who do you serve in our community?
We serve visual artists - painters, photographers, glass artists, potters, fabric artists, woodworkers and more. The ages range from young to seniors. We also serve those that admire the visual arts. Sherman is a rural community. Art helps with isolation, brings people together, gives them a sense of community.
Members share their love of art with each other, encouraging them, offering advice on materials, instruction and more.
Sherman is rich in culture. There is the Sherman Playhouse, the Jewish Community Center which hosts music performances and more, the Sherman Library and a very active Sherman Historical Society. Sherman Artists is the missing piece.
What are you most proud of?
In just five years, the Sherman Artists organization has grown from a few people meeting in artists' homes, to a vibrant gathering of many types of visual artists. Sherman has a history of famous painters, photographers and other types of artists, but there was no organization to help connect them or to encourage new artists.
Linda Hubbard, one of the founders, moved to Sherman from the Hudson Valley. She had an art gallery in Beacon, NY and helped create Beacon Artists and Art Along the Hudson. She recognized that there were many artists in Sherman and the surrounding communities that did not have a meaningful way to connect.
Sherman Artists Association gives them a way to meet other artists, share ideas, learn from each other and share their work. Watching new and experienced artists grow from these connections is rewarding. We hope to continue to grow, and someday have a home base that we can continue to strengthen these connections and offer more opportunities for learning and sharing.
What was the spark that started your organization?
organization?
Bringing like minds together helped create an organization. Other art organizations especially Lisa Scails at the CAWCT were helpful in offering advice as to how to get started and we quickly organized a board and bylaws, and became a 501C3.
In turn we sponsor the Great Hollow Photographers club, offering them services since they are a small organization.
What is one of your future impact goals?
We are working toward having a Sherman Art Center that would be able to give classes, workshops, have a pottery studio and more to offer instruction and to help grow our artists skills. We also want to have space for art exhibition here in Sherman instead of always having to rent space in adjacent towns or other Sherman organizations who are very active using their space. Having a home base for meetings will also foster better communication and sense of community.
How did you change a life?
We encourage new artists, sometimes giving them the opportunity to show their work for the first time, giving them guidance how to present their work and recognizing talent that they did not know they had. Life happens in many little steps and building connections and friendships help encourage those steps.
Who are your community partners?
We partner with the Sherman Commission for the Arts and participate in their Sherman Community Expo, the Sherman Cultural Guide and other events. Other partners include the Sherman Library, the Sherman Historical Society, the Sherman Chamber Ensemble, the JCC and Happy Acres Farm.
We also partner with other art organizations in other towns willing to share their space and support for this new art organization.
Local-Insta thanks Fairfield County Bank for making our Community Connections series possible!
Celebrating the charities that make our community stronger.
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