My, How We’ve Grown!

I’m going to borrow freely from Robert Frost’s famous 1923 poem, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.

The South Coast’s creative community is vibrant, diverse, and talented,
We made promises when we began,
To document as many artists as we could,  
And there are more lives and legacies to preserve before we rest.

Jeff Wotton and I, Ron Fortier,  had a goal when we began. From day one, we’ve continued to look for, document, and transform the stories told to us by our podcast guest artists. Their stories will be preserved in a lasting cultural archive that future generations can explore, learn from, and build upon.

Because of our efforts, we were recently awarded the George C. Perkins Presidential Award by the Waterfront Historical Area League (W.H.A.L.E.). The award said:

For the promotion of the cultural sustainability of the South Coast’s creative community, protection of artistic and cultural heritage, and preservation of its rich diversity for future generations.

Being recognized for our work to preserve and promote the cultural sustainability of the South Coast’s creative community, primarily for our podcasts, conducting the Gallery X Documentation Project, or for featuring artists in our Dandelion Magazine articles, has required planning, organization, and grant-supported paid professionals. Our partners and sponsors have graciously embraced our vision.

Co-founder Jeff Wotton and I, Ron Fortier, owe our success to our team, who, by working both out front and in the background, have ensured our mission of documenting and preserving the lives and legacies of the South Coast’s artists remains possible.

Together, continue to document, build, and preserve the South Coast’s creative memory! Preserving our creative legacy today offers rich rewards for tomorrow. Every artist has a story. We’re documenting them and saving the stories behind their art.

We have come so far…

Our long-term agenda to document and preserve the lives and artistic legacies of the South Coast’s historical and contemporary visual, performing, and literary artists will continue well into the future. But first, a comprehensive digital archive of South Coast creative history—a living resource connecting artists, stories, organizations, events, and cultural movements across generations has to be designed, built, and maintained. This vision embraces artists, historians, educators, collectors, podcast listeners, arts advocates, and anyone who believes the South Coast’s creative history deserves to be preserved and celebrated.

We’re not asking for you to finance a nonprofit. Instead, we are asking for your support to fund a legacy.

Our mission is to preserve and document the lives and legacies of all South Coast Artists.

If you would like to be a guest on The Artists Index or have a suggestion, please let us know!

Our podcasts are available on The Artists Index and your favorite media app, including Amazon Music / iHeart Radio / Libsyn / Podcast Page / Spotify / WebPlayer / APPLE PODCASTS

 

This Series is Supported in Part by:

Wicked Cool Places/ARPA GRANT

Wicked Cool Places

The Gallery X Documentation Project is supported in part by the ARTnet/Wicked Cool Places grant funded by the City of New Bedford through the American Rescue Plan Awards and its Arts, Culture & Tourism Fund and is facilitated by New Bedford Creative at the NBEDC.

Gallery X

The Gallery X Documentation Project is the first phase of a larger agenda to scan the entire collection of Gallery X documents, including news clippings, posters, flyers, photographs, and more. The scanned documents will be archived and later mined for information specific to South Coast artists