Valley Arts Council Passed Over For State Grant

Some schmoozing and a lot of thanks.

Such was the scene at Gallery @ 37 on Elizabeth Street in Derby Saturday night, where artists and supporters of the Valley Arts Council gathered to socialize and thank the volunteers who keep the organization going.

But there was an undercurrent of unrest at the gathering this year, especially in the Council’s president, Rich DiCarlo.

In recent weeks DiCarlo has been complaining loudly at the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development’s decision to not give money to the Valley Arts Council this year.

The non-profit organization submitted a grant for $6,500. DiCarlo said money was spread generously everywhere else in Connecticut.

DiCarlo said the Valley Arts Council had hoped to use the funds to buy supplies so local school students could paint historic murals to decorate the (unsightly) concrete flood walls in Ansonia.

He plans to rally supporters for a visit to Hartford aimed at demonstrating the community’s feelings about being snubbed.

“We want to get everybody together and holler about it to let the state know we exist,” he said. ​“We’re not sore losers. It’s my job to stamp my feet and try to get funding.”

DiCarlo pointed to a protest cartoon circulating online that reflects the feelings of Valley Arts Council members toward the snub. 

DiCarlo said the drawing — by an anonymous ​“phantom cartoonist” — is similar in tone to 19th Century rabble-rouser Thomas Nast. 

It depicts the state stepping on the hand of the youthful Valley Arts Council while the Council attempts to create a sidewalk chalk drawing.

By overlooking the Valley Arts Council, DiCarlo said the DECD implied that there’s no art in the Valley. 

That’s a big mistake, he said, noting that the Valley is the home of Center Stage in Shelton, the Nine Mile Players in Oxford and a new digital art gallery called Gallery Chartier in Derby, next to Gallery @ 37.

In an e‑mail response to the Valley Indy, Jim Watson, a spokesman for the Department of Community and Economic Development, said the state could only fund about half of the requests they received.

Photo: Fred MusanteThe grants were competitive — and the Valley Arts Council’s grant application did not receive as many points as other grant applications.

“There were many more good proposals than we had funding for. While this project scored well, it did not score high enough to secure the grant,” Watson said. ​“We had over $1 million in requests for funding — but we were only able to award approximately $439,000.”

DiCarlo, meanwhile, has put a call out for more volunteers to get involved with the Arts Council. Specifically, they need help writing grants, DiCarlo said. 

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the council is Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. at The Valley Center of the Arts, 119 Caroline Street.

Party!

Despite the grant failure, the main focus of Saturday night’s get together was to simply celebrate the arts.

“We’re having a post-holiday party for the members to show appreciation to all our volunteers for the work they do throughout the year,” said Steve DiRienzo, vice president of the arts council.

The gallery showcases artwork by Valley Arts Council member artists. DiRienzo said the artists, including himself, sell art at the nonprofit organization, 15 percent of which benefits the council.

The Valley Arts Council’s region includes Shelton, Derby, Ansonia, Seymour, Oxford, Beacon Falls and Naugatuck, although some member artists come from other towns as well.

BillieJo Scharfenberg has some pieces of stained glass art hanging at the Gallery @37.

She said she started making stained glass artwork about 15 years ago after moving to the area from Wisconsin.

“A friend of a friend made stained glass in his garage and I always wanted to do it,” she explained. ​“So one day I went over and got started.”

Her friend, Betsy DeLucia of Ridgefield, was also at the party. DeLucia said she is a multi-media artist, meaning she works with a variety of art mediums — jewelry, clothing, paintings and anything else that strikes her fancy.

Scharfenberg described the gallery as ​“a community. It’s not just a place to hang art on the wall.”

“The artists who are here, we know each other. We hang out together,” DeLucia added. ​“It’s good for our spirits.”

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