Arts & Culture Advocates

Evelyn C. McDonald
Arts and Culture Reporter
June 4, 2015 12:30 p.m.

Introducing Arts & Culture Nassau (ACN), whose mission is to support, promote, and enhance the arts in Nassau County and to provide a framework to network and address common concerns. ACN was appointed by the Nassau County Commissioners as the Locally Designated Arts Authority (LDAA) for the county. As such, the organization can utilize monies collected by the sale of Arts license plates to further arts and culture in the county. Eight organizations are currently represented on the ACN, plus one county appointed member and one at-large member.

Since its inception in 2010, ACN has accomplished several objectives. We created a website to provide a window into the arts and culture scene in the county. Following that, we printed a directory brochure listing 19 arts and culture organizations in the county with contact information on each one. We distributed copies to various places around the county where citizens and visitors alike could obtain them.

We have held several forums on topics of interest to the arts organizations, such as grant writing, marketing for non-profits, use of social media, board governance, etc. The topics were chosen after surveying member organizations for their needs and interests.

We developed two ordinances governing public art installations – permanent and temporary, for the Fernandina Beach City Commission’s approval. Once these ordinances were approved, we decided to sponsor a project to create a temporary public art installation.

The installation, located next to the Christmas Shop on Centre Street, celebrates the arts and culture groups within the county. Totems were created through collaboration between the artists of the Island Art Association and the various arts and culture groups. The installation was unveiled in April.

Follow us on Facebook or checkout our website (www.artsandculturenassau.com. We are looking for at-large members as we have two positions to fill. Contact our city support staff, Scott Mikelson, at Parks & Recreation for information on joining ([email protected]).

Evelyn McDonald moved to Fernandina Beach from the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. in 2006. She is a chair of Arts & Culture Nassau, a city commission charged with support of the arts in Nassau County. She serves on FSCJ’s Curriculum Committee for the Center for Lifelong Learning. She is also the chair of the Dean’s Council for the Carpenter Library at the UNF. Ms. McDonald has MS in Technology Management from the University of Maryland’s University College and a BA in Spanish from the University of Michigan.