It was a great day for a RCSE meeting. The sun was shining, members were present, and The Pirates House served salad and dessert with our meal! President Laura Lane McKinnon reminded everyone of the small group who will be meeting to discuss future opportunities for our club. Once all Rotary announcements were made, Stuart Miller, who is with Savannah Cultural Resources, presented to our group.
Stuart said the goal of Savannah Cultural Resources is to make art assessable to everyone. The Savannah Cultural Arts Center opened in April 2019. It was designed for activity since they believe art is a verb. There is a visual arts wing, a performance arts wing (there are two theaters), a gallery which showcases local artist and children's work, and a lawn. Due to Covid, the center was closed. They were able to use this time to make facility updates and take care of the property. They also started doing virtual programming.
The good news is that the center will be open in July for summer camps. All campers will need to wear masks. The camps will be half the normal size and cleaning procedures are in place. Camps are for age 6 through teens and the programs being offered are ceramics, performing arts, and mixed media. The hope is to have the whole center open to the public staring in August.
A study was done in 2015 analyzing arts and commerce in Savannah. The study showed that during 2015, $101 million was spent on arts in Savannah. $60 million of that was generated by tourist and the local government received $8 million. There is Recreation Re-iMagined Survey being conducted asking the public what we want to see in Savannah. Stuart encouraged all members and their families and friends to participate. The link is as follows: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r