Public Meeting, April 2015

On April 28, 2015, a citizens group led by Freeport Players and assisted by Freeport Economic Development Corporation (FEDC) hosted a public meeting to bring the broader community into a discussion of the needs and interests of Freeport’s arts and cultural sector.

The group had been meeting informally since early 2014 to explore the possibility of creating an arts & cultural center in Freeport. Members had interviewed individuals and organizations engaged in arts and cultural activities to find out what kind of spaces they needed and would support. The group looked at arts centers that have been created in Maine and around New England to learn what they could about the keys to success and the challenges that would need to be faced in creating such a center. [See Report Of Arts Committee June 4, 2015.] By the April meeting they were ready to broaden the discussion.

At the public meeting the group learned a few things:

There is interest in an arts & culture center, but there is work to be done to figure out what it will contain, how it will be paid for, and how it will be managed.
There is immediate, strong interest in developing ways to help arts/culture groups promote what they do.
The group needed a more formal organization to continue the work.

[See Notes from Public Meeting April 28, 2015]

We are busy organizing, assessing needs, and planning, but we are already making progress.

The non-profit Arts & Cultural Alliance of Freeport (ACAF, formerly Freeport Arts & Cultural Alliance) was incorporated in June 2015. The founding board and steering committee include representatives from arts groups and the business community, individual artists in various disciplines, and interested members of the community at large.
This website is combined with ACAF’s Facebook page, Twitter feed, emailed newsletters, and other media to form the Virtual Kiosk — a portal to arts and cultural activity community-wide.
ACAF and the Town of Freeport are working with Reinholt Consulting to develop a cultural plan for Freeport. A systematic process of research and assessment will lead to a plan that will guide ACAF’s work going forward and assist others interested in supporting and growing the presence of arts and culture in our community. [See Developing a Cultural Plan for Freeport and Cultural Plan Overview. The overview will be used at a public meeting on February 28, 2018, 6:30pm at Freeport Library, to present the key aspects of the proposed plan.]

We welcome your participation, support and feedback. Your involvement is especially important as we move into a new phase of the organization.