Dear Supporter of the Arts,
We are excited that we are entering our third year of being a 501c3 nonprofit organization. We made it through 2 years and feel we have built a strong foundation for arts in the community. Interest remains strong for art activities and art education.
In 2024, activities included activities at monthly meetings (such as abstract water-coloring, soul collages, and making Christmas cards); watercolor Saturdays at the Boardwalk Café; and making kid’s crafts at the Little Bear for their Hometown Christmas Event sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. Members had opportunities to exhibit and/or sell their art at two events co-sponsored by SIACAC: the Library Art Show in January and the Arts Dockside Arts & Craft Show on Labor Day weekend. We also had a “Show and Tell” at one of our fall meetings. We enjoyed sharing and discussing each other’s works so much, we could have used another hour!
Arts Education has thrived as well. We were successful in partnering with the Michilimackinac Historical Society (MHS) to create a coloring book featuring local history. SIACAC worked after-school with 6 middle school and high school students to complete this project which was funded by the St. Ignace Area Community Foundation. For adult education, we began an Art & Coffee event on Friday mornings in the community room at the library.
This fall we received an operations grant from the Michigan Council for the Arts. These funds will be used in 2025 to assist with a storytelling festival, a performance by the Starling Shakespeare Company, and quality art workshops January through September. The St. Ignace Area Community Foundation awarded us a $500 grant for children’s art supplies. These are being used in after-school art programs as well as kid’s projects at special events such as Hometown Christmas. Our theme for 2025 is: “Art as Storytelling.” We hope to highlight local author and illustrators at our monthly meetings. We are sponsoring a Storytelling Festival at the Hampton Inn on May 30 & 31.
Community engagement is a priority. Now that we have the infrastructure in place, we hope local residents will see our organization as a resource that will enhance life in St. Ignace. We are so grateful and appreciative of every sponsor and member. We hope that you recognize that all of this is only possible with generous supporters like you and that you will renew or begin your sponsorship and/or membership for 2025.
Sincerely, Deanna Draze