County, city receive certification by State Arts Office
Monongalia County and the city of Morgantown have been designated as the state’s two newest Certified Arts Communities by the State Arts Office, West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History and the West Virginia Commission on the Arts.
According to the release issued by the state, the designation is for communities that have realized the benefits of cooperation between arts and humanities groups, business leaders and jurisdictional agencies.
To be eligible, communities must support arts organizations by providing volunteer governance, financial contributions and audiences for arts programming; adopt a resolution indicating recognition of the importance of the arts to economic development, educational quality and civic involvement; and demonstrate successful collaborations between arts, humanities and heritage groups, as well as business leaders and jurisdictional agencies.
Vincent Kitch was named the city’s director of arts and cultural development in March. He helped put together the city’s application, working with Arts Mon on the county side.
“What I’ve told people before is by helping put together the application, I’m just telling the story of everything that’s come before,” he said. “It’s really the artists and art organizations and all of the groups that this award is really all about. It’s not given to the city or the county so much as it’s a recognition of the people who make art and culture and history in our community.”
It’s unclear how many communities have received such designations. Kitch said he believes it’s a dozen or fewer. The Dominion Post reached out to the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History for additional information, but did not receive a response in time for this report.
While Kitch said the designation doesn’t come with a tangible award or guaranteed benefit, he said it will help the city and county market the region and potentially leverage future grant funding.
Monongalia County Commission President Ed Hawkins said it’s also an example of a successful collaborative effort between the city and county, as was the creation of the Coordinating Arts Council, which helps steer arts funding countywide.
“You need to get away from this us vs. them attitude and work together, particularly when it comes to the arts, because there’s a whole community out there and there are a lot of people out there who could be involved,” Hawkins said.
“And it would really be something to look in five or 10 years and say, ‘Wow, look at what it’s become.’ I hope that’s the significance of this recognition, that people can look in five or 10 years and see what’s been generated in the city and beyond, because this doesn’t have to be limited to downtown Morgantown.”
TWEET @BenConley_DP
