Mystic Arts Center Sets Sights On New Audiences

At the turn of the 20th century, acclaimed landscape artist Charles H. Davis settled in Mystic, where he founded a thriving arts colony and established an association which would later influence American Impressionism.

The Mystic Arts Center, the descendant of Davis’ endeavor, now stares down the barrel of its centennial (scheduled for 2013).

Over the years, the center has worked tirelessly to provide a space for artists to practice and refine their craft—preserving and upholding Mystic’s rich heritage. But the true potency of the Mystic Arts Center, its most effective scope, is in how it continues Davis’ vision of creating an arts community by inspiring the next generation of art lovers.

The Young

To this end, the center dedicates a large portion of its resources to programs that augment arts education in schools. Last year, roughly half of the center's education budget went to support after-school programs in Groton, serving nearly 1,500 students. Mystic Arts Center programs have directly benefited Northeast Academy, Fitch Middle School, Fitch High School and Claude Chester Elementary School.

Private donors make up the budget for the arts center programs serving Groton. A restructured grant from the Anderson-Pafford Foundation in 2011 increased resources to the area, funding center endeavors almost exclusively.

“At-risk students would never be at an arts center otherwise,” said Athena Yannitsas, director of development and public relations. “For some children, this is their only exposure to art.”

As with any alternative approach touted as a solution to school funding cuts, Mystic Arts Center education and outreach programs are designed to meet education requirements. Center educators encourage students to make critical observations about artwork through hands-on learning, storytelling, movement and imaginative play. Students are invited to create artwork of their own using stylistic and compositional elements of an artist, technique, or theme studied. 

“Most programs build upon education in school,” said Dawn E. Salerno, director of education. “The goal is to teach visual literacy and verbal literacy along with arts education. It [depends] on the schools and teachers. It’s easier to reach students through flexible programs.”

Center offerings include professional development for teachers, on-site programs for field trips, studio art classes, and off-site, after-school activities.

“We have come up with clever concepts for mixed art,” Yannitsas explained. “There’s a yoga and arts program for [tweens].”

A number of scholarships are also offered so students may take on-site studio courses; these, too, are funded almost entirely with private donations.

Older Audiences

Serving the young is only one end of Mystic Arts Center's vast scope. In recent years, the center has unveiled a series of programs to drive engagement in new and diverse audiences.

Artini, a two-hour social activity and class, connected with current exhibitions at the gallery, invites 25 participants to make art while enjoying cocktails. A similar program series called "Art After Dark", provides a casual, family-friendly atmosphere, where patrons partake of music, pizza, beer or soda and access to gallery rooms.

This fall, the center attempts to reach new audiences with an installation on crafts—a new exhibition medium for the gallery.

The center has also devoted efforts to increasing its public presence by partnering with organizations like the Groton Public Library and Groton Adolescent Substance Prevention Coalition.

“We are going to do more partnering and resource-raising [in the year ahead],” said Salerno, who also runs the arts center's public engagement programs, “to get local residents involved.”

“The goal is to help [people] understand their world, how an artist expresses it,” Yannitsas explained. “To broaden their perspective, and help them read the world around them.”

The Mystic Arts Center boasts a permanent collection of over 250 works by the founding members of the Mystic colony—selections of which are shown year-round. Exhibitions of current regional artists rotate every six weeks, drawn by a pool of juried shows hosted by the center’s gallery.

MAC is a participant of the Mystic Arts Festival, an ongoing, monthly event showcasing local art galleries. This month’s Mystic Arts Festival opens Thursday, July 7 from 6 to 8 p.m. For more information on the Mystic Arts Center visit www.mysticarts.org.