Programs
Artist Conversations With Industry
Arts industry professionals joined by moderator Martin Dominguez Ball to explore trends and opportunities in the Arts sector. The audience is given the opportunity to ask questions. Past topics included Hudson Valley’s Film industry, Public Art, Set Design & Scenic arts and Building Online Audiences.
Arts Outreach – Virtual Studio Visits
Studio Visits allow audiences an inside-look at the artists’ creative space, process and opens a dialogue between artists and viewers. Studio Visits are educational, enhance cultural awareness and engage the public with artists in our communities. The 2022 studio visits will be hosted live online with clips of past Studio Visits are available on our YouTube Channel.
Arts Outreach – I.D.E.A. Training
Every Friday from 1:00-5:00 pm, Orange County Arts Council offers free one-on-one consultations with members. Staff will discuss and advise members on such topics as marketing, social media, resume building, presenting works, employment opportunities, exhibition planning, event management and more. Available by appointment only; consulting sessions are for one half-hour.
Student Arts Showcase
This program offers students in Grades K-12 throughout Orange County to present their artwork in Crystal Run Mall in Middletown, NY. Students’ K-8 artwork is shown in a video slideshow presentation, while high school students’ work is exhibited on panels and participates in a people’s choice competition. Additionally, there is a high school musical preview. Young actors present highlights of musicals staged at their schools. This program attracts over 1500 spectators each year and every school district is represented. In 2021, this event was hosted at the Warwick drive-in movie theater over the summer reaching an audience of approximately 10,000. Learn more by clicking here.
Hudson Valley Creative Impact
This annual event facilitates discussion between cultural organizations, commissions, committees and creative entrepreneurs advocating for the arts in their communities. Speakers from such organizations as MASS MoCA, New York Foundation for the Arts, Greg McKeown, and Storm King Art Center have offered attendees insights on trends, state of the artistic and cultural industries, inspirational sources and more. It attracts over 300+ from the region.
Membership in Orange County Arts Council offers a number of benefits. Members can take advantage of such opportunities as one half-hour free legal advisory session, free half-hour arts consultation, Community Arts Grants, 10% discount to Annual Gala, free admission to select events and programs, and more.
Artist Directory
OCAC’s website offers a directory for its artists to post links to their websites, artworks, social media sites and more. It offers a convenient site for artists to connect with others, or for those in the arts community to reach out and network with fellow artists. View the Arts Directory by clicking here.
Jarrett Markel Creativity Boot Camp
The Jarrett Markel Creativity Boot Camp was created in loving memory of Jarret Markel. Jarrett’s love for motocross was surpassed only by his love for his family. He was a lifelong resident of Newburgh, New York. His persistence, determination, kind spirit and soul will be forever missed.
The Jarrett Markel Creativity Boot Camp brings professional teaching artists from Orange County to provide hands-on arts opportunities for students in our community. Classes are free and are geared towards specific ages groups; 5-8, 8-12, and 12-16. After live presentations, classes are uploaded to OCAC’s YouTube Channel, including separate recordings in Spanish. Activities range from paper arts, book arts, creating with nature, comic book creation, story telling, drawing, and painting. Keep an eye on our events page for registration.
Community Arts Grants
The Orange County Arts Council Community Arts Grants are designed to encourage new and abundant arts and culture opportunities in Orange County. The Community Arts Grants will be administered by OCAC and funded through individual donations made to the Arts Council from donors and sponsors, including a generous gift from the Wesley-Krueger Family Foundation. Funding consideration is given to artistic projects in any discipline as long as the artists are 18 years of age or older, living or working in Orange County, and is a member OCAC, or; are created by an arts organization located in Orange County which is a member of the OCAC; and are exhibited at an art venue in Orange County. Learn more by clicking here.
Fiscal Sponsorship
OCAC’s fiscal sponsorship program allows individuals and emerging organizations without 501(c)(3) status to raise funds for nonprofit activities through tax-deductible, charitable contributions from individuals as well as foundations, corporations, and government agencies. Activities are considered nonprofit in nature when they are undertaken for the greater good of the public and community, rather than for the financial benefit of individuals or shareholders.
On going Fiscal Sponsorships include: The Cornwall Arts Collective, Veterans Arts Showcase, Newburgh Latino Heritage Mural Project, The Village of Chester Arts, and NYSCA individual artist commission, Vernon Byron.
O.C. Live Music Series
Orange County Arts Council’s music committee, composed of professional musicians throughout the region, have developed a creative solution to support musicians. O.C. Live offers musicians the opportunity to directly connect with audiences and provides our community with enriching local performances. Each Friday at 12:30pm, audiences can tune in to Orange County Arts Council’s Social media to listen to local musicians. The audience is able to learn and connect with musicians during interviews conducted during the intermission. Broadcast live from Stonegate Farms in Newburgh, the pilot program has had approximately 2000 viewers. The Orange County Arts Council music committee includes Waylen Roche, Neil Alexander, Everett Collie, Tom Kennedy, and Andrés Santiago. Learn more by clicking here.
Photo above of Marlena Dae by Stefan Bauman
Orange County Arts Council Video 2019-2020
