"Gatherings" is The Eastmont Art Fund's beneficiary of its 2nd annual fundraiser.
The Eastmont Art Fund is the fundraising division of Eastmont Custom Framing. The main concept of the EAF is to involve the local art community in fundraising events for local organizations to their mutual benefit. The first such event, "Land Visions", helped raise funds for the Pascommuck Conservation Trust's "Save Echodale Farm" Campaign. It attracted close to 40 artists from throughout the Pioneer Valley, hundred of visitors to the exhibition, and allowed a dozen artists to receive commissions for the sale of their artwork.
We are pleased to announce that the 2007-2008 edition of the Eastmont Art Fund will benefit the 2008 "Family Gatherings", a community-building project of the Rosenberg Fund for Children (RFC). One of the reasons that the EAF selected Gatherings was that this income will help fund Western Mass. artists to teach cultural workshops such as Visual Arts, Poetry, Dance, Drama and Music, to attendees at this 4-day retreat.
The Rosenberg Fund for Children (www.rfc.org) is a public foundation that provides for the educational and emotional needs of children in the U.S. whose parents have been targeted because of their progressive activities and who, therefore, are no longer able to provide fully for their children. The RFC also provides grants for the educational and emotional needs of targeted activist youth..
In addition to awarding regular grants, the RFC produces in-house programs called "Gatherings." Held at a summer camp in rural, Western Massachusetts, Gatherings offer RFC beneficiary families an array of cultural workshops along with recreational and social activities. The programming facilitates the formation of bonds between Gathering participants who have experienced similar situations as a result of the activist parents' work for social justice. The RFC has produced five of these multi-day retreats. Three of the past Gatherings were for RFC beneficiaries aged 15-25, and the other two were for entire RFC beneficiary families (the activist parents and their school-age children.) These events exemplify the RFC's commitment to building community and combating the isolation that makes activist families vulnerable. Gatherings also reflect the RFC's belief that children in difficult circumstances deserve to have fun, relax and experience some "normalcy."
A Call to Artists to submit artwork for the juried exhibition to be held in Feb.-March 2008 will be issued within the next few days. The theme of the exhibition will be "Art as Witness: Capturing Community Values"
For more information about The Eastmont Art Fund, please call Jean-Pierre Pasche at 413-529-9265. For more information about Gatherings and the Rosenberg Fund for Children, please call Amber Black at 413-529-0063, or use the links in the left column of this newsletter
