Arts Association of Alachua County
Mission
To promote, encourage, and support the arts in Alachua County, to marshal and adapt the community's resources to the needs of artists in the community, to enhance Alachua County as a cultural destination and a center of arts activity in Florida, to serve as cultural liaison and to work cooperatively with area artists, arts organizations, local government, area schools, the business and professional communities, and local non-arts organizations by providing services and leadership.
Message from President Ed Crapo
After Doris Bardon moved to Gainesville in 1978, she envisioned a place where artists in all fields could work and perform, where students could learn, where citizens could enjoy cultural treasures at an affordable price.
Although we have different venues for the arts in Alachua County, we lack a cultural center accessible to a broader range of people. As Doris and her co-author Murray Laurie learned from their visits to cultural centers throughout Florida, most centers are run by non-profit agencies dedicated to the arts. In Alachua County, most venues are controlled by government entities and are subject to their schedules. The Thomas Center, for example, is run by the City of Gainesville's Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs. Use of the building is subject to increasing rates, scheduling conflicts, and usually must be booked a year in advance. Some arts organizations are fortunate to have a site for their home base, but most do not. Doris felt strongly that there was a crucial need for an arts center that belonged to the community, one in which the arts would always have priority.
This was her dream, a dream about which she cared so much that she bequeathed her estate to help make it a reality. Doris spent decades improving this community's cultural life, its government, and its citizens' welfare. Doris designated AAAC to help create the Doris Bardon Community Cultural Center. AAAC gladly assumes this mission, and to date has raised over $20,000 from over a hundred different donors, simply by word of mouth.
You can help meet vital community needs and realize Doris's goal by helping AAAC fulfill Doris Bardon's dream. Please attend our meeting on May 20, 2007 at Kanapaha Botanical Gardens to tell us what you and your group need and to find out how we can create this center together.
Ed Crapo
AAAC President