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Please explain the <br />impact of your <br />organization on the <br />Orange County <br />community in a <br />typical year. <br />Between group exhibits, open studios, participation in the art walk <br />and regular openings on weekend afternoons, the co-op reaches a <br />regional population as well as town and county residents. Roberta <br />W allace noted that approximately 250 v isitors a month came to the <br />weekend afternoon openings, many of them families with children. <br />Last Friday group exhibits in the Skylight Gallery and solo artists' <br />openings crowd size v aried depending on publicity, the artists' work <br />and reputation, weather, competing ev ents, but often an opening <br />drew 50 to 100 v isitors or more. The co-op supports town ev ents by <br />opening during "Ladies Night Out," "Sundays in Hillsborough" and <br />the Holiday Parade. Co-op members hosting the ev ents are generous <br />with their time and explanations about the exhibits. <br />The co-op has cultiv ated a spirit of collaboration, innov ation and <br />engagement. “They are the most welcoming, accepting and non- <br />judgmental group I hav e ev er had the pleasure of being part of,” <br />noted Kulsum Tasnif. “My exhibit about the refugee struggle, <br />Journey to The Good Life, shown in May of 2017 was met with <br />positiv ity and compassion. W ords cannot describe how grateful I am <br />for this community of artists.” Asked about the importance of their <br />exhibition in early 2020, daughter and father Annalyce and Hughes <br />Grogan wrote, “It was incredibly meaningful to gather our entire <br />community of family, friends and coworkers together to celebrate <br />many years of hard work on our shared passion: photography. The <br />exhibit's success inspired both of us to pursue other shows, with <br />Hughes currently showing pieces at his local library and Annalyce <br />increasing her local photography gigs.” (Another impact: dozens of <br />the Grogans’ out of town guests ate together at a downtown <br />restaurant, boosting the town’s economy.) <br />Each year, co-op ev ents draw in more people as art participants. <br />W orkshops, such as Jacquelin Liggins' Nov ember 2019 collage <br />ev ent, supplied a creativ e path forward through introduction of <br />materials and techniques. That workshop coincided with a collage <br />group inv itational exhibit at the Skylight Gallery which included an <br />interactiv e component. Easels and materials were set up so that <br />v isitors could work on collages. Pop-up exhibits and open hangings <br />hav e inv olv ed the public. In one exhibit, v isitors could knit or crochet <br />and hang their work on the walls, and another exhibit inv ited v isitors <br />to draw on the gallery walls with chalk. In the past decades the co-op <br />has tried many different approaches but the philosophy consistently <br />remains one of encouragement and inclusiv eness. <br />As member Andrea DeGette says about the co-op, “It is an activ e, <br />interactiv e, inclusiv e, av ant-garde env ironment, the only place in <br />town where there are ‘happenings' that depend on v isitors and <br />guests to participate in the creativ e process, and that impact is <br />v irtually immeasurable.” <br />COVID-19 IMPACT <br />DATA <br />This data is for the OCAC's informational purposes only and may or <br />may not be applicable to your organization depending on your <br />structure. <br />DocuSign Envelope ID: 9817B4A2-1328-4ADD-8A8E-BC5D68851AA4