2003-03-31Beverly Cultural Council
Minutes of March 31, 2003
7 p.m. Beverly Public Library
Members in attendence: Lou Ann Faria, Jan Plourde, Doreen Ushakoff, Rachel Pohl
Special guest Tom Scully, library director, to speak about the Bamet Gallery and the
artist it is named for. Rachel Pohl arranged Mr. Scully's appearance.
The meeting opened with a 15-minute presentation about a Beverly native, Mr. Bamet,
who, though he gained fame while living in New York City, donated several of its
paintings to the library. The Bamet Gallery has become a favorite meeting place for the
Beverly LCC.
The purpose of this meeting, which was originally planned for January but postponed for
various reasons, including a particularly snowy winter, was to plan a strategy for
increasing the visibility of the LCC. The council had identified the need to improve
communication to schools, all applicants and build a better relationship with other arts
organizations. Given the bleak financial picture in.the nation, state and city, however, the
council decided to postpone any action until it was clear that funding to the LCCs would
continue. Rachel Pohl mentioned that it was counterproductive to raise the profile of the
LCC if its funding was at risk. All discussion on the subject was tabled.
Lou Ann mentioned that the council was in desperate need of members. Lou Ann pointed
out that those present at tonight's meeting, with just one active member absent, could not
make any official decisions. Jan said she would ask two people, and Rachel agreed to
recruit, as well.