By Breeana Greenberg
The Dana Point Arts and Culture Commission is working to compile lists of local artists and nonprofits centered around the arts to serve as comprehensive resources for city staff and community members to reference.
With the two directories, the commission hopes to engage residents with Dana Point’s nonprofits and encourage more collaboration between the various organizations through future meetings and events.
Commissioner Laura Smith-Hatch chairs the ad-hoc committee tasked with compiling data for the two registries, along with Commissioner Karin Schnell.
“What we hope to achieve is that (nonprofits) will learn about what resources that they have within the city and how to effectively interact and work with the city and create more of a mutually beneficial relationship,” Smith-Hatch said.
The registry will be posted on the city’s website, under “local art and cultures organizations,” and will include each nonprofit’s mission statement, their website and information for the organization’s key contact person.
“There’s a specific section for it, and everyone in the community can find it so other nonprofits, but then also, other individuals that might be looking to serve, volunteer with these organizations,” Smith-Hatch said.
Once compiled, the commission said it hopes to facilitate meetings among nonprofits to encourage resource sharing and collaboration. By the end of November, the commission is looking to reach out to all the groups identified and schedule a collaboration meeting.
“That way, we can all work together,” Smith-Hatch said. “They can share their calendars, their resources, their ideas, and really, we want to engage these organizations to collaborate and work together on joint events for the city.”
Though the registry is focused on nonprofits centered around arts and culture, Smith-Hatch hopes to expand the list in the future to truly be a one-stop directory for all local nonprofits.
Similarly, the commission is working to compile a list of Dana Point residents who are artists with the aim of showcasing them in the community.
“There are opportunities that the city has—for example, we’re putting up artwork at the community center and also City Hall—and so we need local artists to fill these spots,” Smith-Hatch said.
“So, once we have this together, it will allow us to reach out to them in a more sort of organized fashion with a structure to see if they want to participate in certain festivals, events, showcase their work at community events and centers,” Smith-Hatch continued. “I think it will serve as a good tool for that.”
Those interested in being included in the nonprofit registry should email Smith-Hatch at laura.eliza.smith@gmail.com with the nonprofit’s name, mission statement and contact information.
Residents interested in being included in the artist directory can also email Smith-Hatch, and they should include their name, the type of art that they do, their email and website, picture of their artwork that they’d like to display on the website and address of their studio, if they have one.
“I was super excited to do this, because we’ve seen it successfully done in other cities like Laguna Beach, Costa Mesa; a lot of cities have these on their websites,” Smith-Hatch said. “It’s just such a great community resource tool, and we’re looking forward to implementing that here.”
Breeana Greenberg
Breeana Greenberg is the city reporter for the Dana Point Times. She graduated from Chapman University with a bachelor of arts degree in English. Before joining Picket Fence Media, she worked as a freelance reporter with the Laguna Beach Independent. Breeana can be reached by email at bgreenberg@picketfencemedia.com
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