Rio Grande Valley Arts Council Provides New Focus, Support
arts, business, mcallen chamber of commerce, rio grande valley arts council,
Timing is everything onstage‚ and the Rio Grande Valley Arts Council entered right on cue to answer a need in McAllen.
The volunteer council was formed in 2002 to promote development and awareness of the arts in the area‚ says Nancy Millar‚ director of the McAllen Convention and Visitors Bureau and vice president of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce. Millar serves as staff liaison to the council with capable help from fellow CVB employees Blanca Cardenas and Tita Moreno.
“The timing is perfect for this‚” Millar says. “The council is serving as an umbrella for resources‚ networking and marketing of artists – anything to encourage a greater awareness of the talent that exists here. No one had taken hold of it before.”
Working closely with the Texas Commission on the Arts‚ the council meets at least monthly‚ and more volunteers are showing up at each meeting‚ Millar says.
“At a TCA conference I attended recently‚ I was amazed at the reputation the Valley has statewide. The Rio Grande Valley really has a reputation in the Southwest for its quality and quantity of artists‚” Millar says. “It was an eye-opening experience. The council was formed at just the right time.”
The council’s work fits right in with special programs the Chamber already has in place to promote the arts in McAllen‚ Millar says. One of its newest ventures is Broadway in McAllen‚ started in 2002‚ which brings in four shows a year with performers from a Chicago company.
In addition‚ the Chamber sponsors a free cultural entertainment series open to the public with seminars‚ workshops‚ salsa dancing and Hispanic literature‚ among other things. The Chamber has also hosted photography classes‚ planned a workshop for educators to get more arts into the schools and displayed works of various artists at its offices.
Millar says the Chamber is also known for its involvement with popular ongoing annual events‚ such as La Lunada‚ which celebrates the arts once a month from 8 p.m. to midnight with storytellers and poets; the Starry Nights Art and Entertainment Festival; and WinterStage‚ a series of performances during the winter months.
In December 2002‚ the council awarded its first grants‚ totaling $5‚300‚ to artists and art organizations as an investment in McAllen’s cultural future.
“People are jumping up and down and getting excited about all of this‚” Millar says. “Exactly what we thought would happen has – everyone was doing things to promote the arts‚ but no one knew what anyone else was doing. Now they do.”
Story by Anne Gillem
Photo by Stephen Cherry
