Following the success of the 2011 Mountain View Arts Festival (part of the Alberta Art Days celebrations), organizers and volunteers have taken a new step forward.
The new Mountain View Arts Society has been approved as a non-profit society, and will be able to assist and participate in various artistic events in Mountain View County.
A brainstorming session for the society was held on Jan. 16 at the Community Engagement Site at Didsbury High School to determine what the community would like the society to become and do and to incorporate the brainstormed wishes into the society's new set of group bylaws.
"We'll take what we learned on [the brainstorming evening] and forward it to our plan of action,î said chair Kathleen Windsor, who went on to say that there was an excellent attendance and energy during the meeting.
"We received 20 to 30 new ideas. I really felt that, all along, this is the most creative group of people I have ever worked with,î said Windsor. "You can't help but feel good at these get-togethers, everyone is so energized and creative.î
While the society is still laying down its foundations, it's still a bit too early to announce what prospects the group is hoping to get involved with, and what the plans will be for 2012's Mountain View Arts Festival.
"We're looking at things but we haven't committed to any yet,î said Windsor. "Eventually we'll be promoting artists, drama clubs at the schoolsóour focus can be expanded to anything.î
As to why the society has just now come to be, Windsor said it was what came next after the success of last year's festival.
"We needed to move forward,î Windsor said. "So over the Christmas holidays we applied to be a non-profit society. We knew we could do more that way.î
"There is nothing but value in promoting the arts in our community,î Windsor added. "We are covering more than just Didsbury. There are more artists per capita in this area of Alberta alone, and more people need to see what they can do. They need more exposure, and sometimes they don't have the budget to do so.î
"It's about all of the artists coming together, that was the beauty of the festival. Through the society they can share and network, that's what this is going to do, bring them all together.î
