New arts advocacy group established in  Mt. Pleasant, now looking for members

An arts advocacy group has been officially organized to support artists and arts organizations in and around Mt. Pleasant.

Calling itself, ?Mt. Pleasant Arts IMPACT,? the group intends to embody the acronym in its name ? to ?Impact Mt. Pleasant Arts and Culture Together.? Acknowledging that arts and culture are fundamental enhancements to the community?s quality of life, the new group?s mission states that, ??IMPACT serves to ignite and promote broad community excitement, support and growth of artistic and cultural activities in and around Mt. Pleasant.?

Initial projects that the newly launched group is pursuing are: securing non-profit 501(c)(3) status, creating a logo-design competition, assembling a comprehensive listing of artists and arts organizations in and around Mt. Pleasant, and working with arts instructors in the local school district to support an ?artist-in-the-schools? program. Future projects include helping plan for a June meeting in Mt. Pleasant of the Iowa Arts Council, and inaugurating action on public art concepts that are expressive of the culture and history of Mt. Pleasant.

The IMPACT group is populated with 12 board members who share a vision to become the advocacy group, which will integrate arts and culture into the economy, education and everyday lives of residents and visitors to Mt. Pleasant.

President of IMPACT is David File, recently retired Associate Vice President at Iowa Wesleyan University and also a member of the Mt. Pleasant Area Development Commission.

?This is an arts advocacy group ? not a group of artists, themselves. We want to foster and support local artists by creating awareness of their activities and endeavors, and by generating ways to honor and celebrate arts and culture in and around Mt. Pleasant,? says File.

First conceived in mid-September, a small group of young professionals and more established citizens in the community came together to entertain the notion of forming such a group. They began researching and building a set of by-laws, creating a name, focusing on a shared mission and vision, and considering initial projects.

The group became ?official? at a meeting in November when the by-laws were approved and officers elected. Having met in December and January, the group is next scheduled to meet on Monday, Feb. 15.

For more information, contact File at 319-385-8582.