How Can Artists and Farmers Stimulate
the Orange County Economy & Generate More Tourism?
Attend one of the upcoming charettes and share your ideas!
The Wallkill River School has partnered with the County of Orange, specifically Planning Commissioner David Church, and O.C. Tourism, O.C. Arts Council, O.C. Citizens Foundation and their Agriculture Board, with help from Cornell Cooperative Extension of Orange County to bring together artists, farmers, community activists and residents in the first of a series of four charettes (brain-storming sessions) throughout Orange County to stimulate cultural tourism.
The charettes are scheduled for:
Thursday, Sept. 8th from 7-10pm at the Wallkill River School of Art, 232 Ward St. (Rt 17K) in the Village of Montgomery.
September 26, 3 to 6 at Soons Orchards, 23 Soons Circle, New Hampton, NY
October 13, 7-10 pm at Kurt Seligmann Art Galleries & Homestead (Sugar Loaf)
November 2, 3-6 pm at Brotherhoood Winery (Washingtonville)
The goal of the charettes is to create a mutually-beneficial, sustainable relationship between arts and agriculture, and develop cultural tourism as a new industry in Orange County. The results of the charettes will be continued as the ongoing work of the consortium partners to foster a sense of “local color and flavor” to Orange County.
The charettes are opportunities for local people (among them, chefs, farmers, artists, activists, hotel and B&B owners, etc.) to discuss new partnerships and brainstorm ideas for making Orange County a tourist destination, as well as create mutually-beneficial partnerships between the arts and agriculture. Interested members of the public are encouraged to attend. The charettes are free, and open to all, with local food provided.
In addition to the charettes, the Planning Department will conduct and publish a study on the economic impact of the arts in Orange County, and incorporate agro-cultural partnerships as part of the county’s economic development plan. The Wallkill River School will expand upon the plein air painting program that takes artists from the cities to the farms to learn the basics of landscape painting. The nonprofit will also develop a module available through their website for other organizations in other regions to replicate this unique place-based arts movement.