Community/Events
Munroe Center for the Arts (MCA) was established as a community arts center with a mission to serve the Lexington community and the spirit of community arts everywhere.
- Participation. Munroe Center endeavors to be inclusive of all parts of the community. In 2008, MCA's visual arts program, ArtSpan, began in collaboration with the Council on Aging and the Senior Center a Senior Arts Program that brings programming to the Senior Center. This spring, in collaboration with Lexington Public Schools, it started the Pragmatic Arts Program, an expressive arts program for children who struggle with peer relationships and social skills. This fall, ArtSpan begins a Teen Arts Collaborative to bring youth together on public art projects.
- Consultation. Munroe aims to consult with community leaders and different institutions, including schools, businesses, societies, and other cultural organizations to learn how to better serve the community. If you would like to add your input, please contact the Executive Director.
- Collaboration. Munroe strives to work closely with other community groups to develop the cultural infrastructure of the town and to create projects together. Over the last two years, MCA has collaborated with Lexington Public Schools, the Council on Aging, the Senior Center, the Lexington Council for the Arts, the Lexington Celebrations Committee, the Lexington Retailers Association, the Lexington Downtown Committee, the Lexington Chamber of Commerce, the Lexington Arts and Crafts Society, the Lexington Historical Society, and the Depot Square Gallery.
- Public Art. Munroe ventures to make accessible events that bring people together, give concrete form to peoples' inchoate ideas and feelings, create public space, delight, entertain, and enlighten, and that invoke a spirit of play in a world increasingly given over to competition and standardization. In the last two years, MCA has initiated two town-wide events, Lexington Open Studios (May 2009) and Lexington ArtWalk (May 2008), which included the ArtCycle Parade down Masschusetts Ave. According to a 2007 study by Smith + St. John and TDC, the "Munroe Center for the Arts representas approximately 6% of total spending by arts and cultural nonprofits in Lexington in lexington;" excluding the Museum of National Heritage, the figure rises to 22%. In 2006, moroever, the MCA put on over 140 events, productions, workshops, and open houses, with audience sizes ranging from 12 to 800.
- Economic Benefits. Community arts provide strong economic benefits to towns. "Nationally, the nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $166.2
billion in economic activity every year—$63.1 billion in spending by organizations and an additional $103.1 billion in event-related spending by their audiences"--Americans for the Arts study.
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