FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 15, 2013
MEDIA CONTACTS: Collin Nash, Ryan Mulholland, & Sam Marksheid | (516) 869-7794
Town’s Business and Tourism Development Corporation Partners to Welcome over 120 to ‘The Business of Art’ Breakfast Seminar
Port Washington, NY –The Town of North Hempstead and their Business and Tourism Development Corporation (BTDC) welcomed over 120 small business managers and community leaders to ‘The Business of Art” Breakfast Seminar on Thursday, August 8th.
This event was emceed by Angela Susan Anton, CEO of Anton Publications, and was produced in partnership with the Long Island Development Corporation’s (LIDC) Long Island Small Business Assistance Corporation (LISBAC) Division and the Amsterdam at Harborside, a Port Washington senior life care retirement facility where the seminar was held.
The event was designed to educate local businesses about how art can be used as both a marketing and community revitalization tool.
“The concept of this event falls directly in line with my administration’s goal of using art to stimulate the economy and engage communities,” North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman said.
Examples of that in the Town include the recent ArtsBuild in New Cassel which has placed permanent functional “street furniture” and life-like sculptures in the community’s downtown area, as well as the Town’s partnership with the Great Neck Arts Center for the Gold Coast Film Festival that has brought famous filmmakers, actors and directors to the Town for special screenings of independent films.
Caroline Sorokoff, Associate Director of the Great Neck Arts Center, spoke at the seminar and agreed that arts can be used as a community revitalization tool. She also emphasized the necessity for young people to be educated in the arts. “Today, universities, governments and corporations are realizing that in order to develop the kind of workforce that is most productive and effective they need people with solid arts backgrounds,” Sorokoff said. “Education in the arts teaches and encourages skills that not are not easily taught like creative problem solving, self-confidence, collaboration.”
Charlee Miller, Executive Director of the Art League of Long Island, spoke about using art as a marketing tool for businesses of all kinds. “Art can help you build market share, enhance your brand and reach new customers,” Miller said. “Art also speaks to diverse populations and creates an environment that blends backgrounds, ethnicities and cultures.”
County Legislator Judi Bosworth who attended the seminar said, “The arts enhance the aesthetics and culture of a neighborhood. Attending performances and exhibitions at an arts center brings people into local businesses and shops. Whether it is Landmark on Main Street or the Great Neck Arts Center, our communities benefit so much from their presence.
Other elected officials in attendance included North Hempstead Town Councilwoman Anna Kaplan, and Nassau County Legislator Wayne Wink.
Back row, from left, Roz Goldmacher, LIDC/LISBAC; Anna Kaplan, Town Councilwoman; Roy Smitheimer, North Hempstead Town BTDC; Caroline Sorokoff, Associate Director of the Great Neck Arts Center; Charlee Miller, Executive Director, Art League of Long Island; Angela Anton, CEO of Anton Publications, and Dr. Michael Schantz, Executive Director/CEO, Heckscher Museum of Art; Front row, from left, Mary Donovan, The Amsterdam at Harborside, and Artist Ruth Poniarski of Westbury.
From left, Angela Anton, County Legislators Wayne Wink and Judi Bosworth and Ruth Poniarski, as she explains the concept behind one of her paintings that were on display at the seminar.