There's a new nonprofit in town: the East Haven Arts Commission (EHAC) has officially been awarded 501(c)(3) status by the Internal Revenue Service.

Commission member Bob Genzano received the good news in a formal letter on Jan. 16. The new designation now allows the Commission to become eligible for multiple grant opportunities, ultimately allowing EHAC to expand its programming.

"What I've been doing as our principal grant writer in the off-season is applying for additional grants," said Genzano. "We just received a $5,500 grant from Connecticut [CT] Humanities. We have another grant that's pending with the…Office of the Arts."

Genzano said the Commission is also in the process of drafting several funding requests, including one from the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven and an operational grant from the CT Cultural Fund. The CT Cultural Fund was established by the CT Office of the Arts to further prop up and support institutions and organizations in cultures and the arts and humanities, including museums, art classes, and performances. If awarded, the operating grant would be used for EHAC's performing arts programs, including theater productions for its Summer Musical Theater Camp, which serves up to 60 young participants.

"We're trying to build resources because what we want to do takes people, space, and money," he said.

Currently, the Commission receives most of its funding as a volunteer body part of the East Haven Town Charter, according to Genzano. During the past fiscal year, EHAC received $7,500 in support, which, Genzano said, does not cover some of the group's expenses and events. Formal recognition as a nonprofit would allow the Commission to shift from being an organization run by volunteers to one overseen by a board of directors which would pave the way for additional state grant eligibility.

"To receive grants directly from the state, you have to have a dedicated person on the town payroll who you can honestly say is working towards the promotion of arts, culture, and perhaps tourism," Genzano said. "By becoming a nonprofit, the way it works in the bylaws is that…Mayor [Joseph Carfora] still appoints the commissioners, but then the commissioners, by decree and bylaws, become ex officio board members," said Genzano.

According to Genzano, the Commission needs more members to mobilize this effort and is looking for potential new volunteers to elevate the group's standing in the East Haven Town Charter.

"We're always advertising, and we're always looking for volunteers," said Genzano.

Genzano added that a greater number of members "speaks to a greater need" to provide programming and find static locations to serve as cultural centers for those programs to thrive.

The new programs the Commission has rolled out include its first art exhibit as part of the town's most recent Fall Festival, allowing more than 30 local artists to present their work during the two-day show. Genzano said the Commission is looking to expand upon the initial exhibit and create "an additional public art exhibit" for the town, further showing community members the work of its local visual creatives.

As a member of East Haven's Chamber of Commerce, the Commission is also looking to link up with other members "who would like to dedicate a space in their business for the display of public art," said Genzano. Public art displays at local businesses would provide another option to display artists' pieces and recognize the artists themselves. He referenced the East Haven Recreation Department and Hagaman Memorial Library as examples of town organizations that have held lectures and programs for the arts.

"If you go into Town Hall, we don't really have a dedicated space…that says 'Artist of the Month,' and we want to do that," Genzano said. "In addition to the wonderful work the Library is doing…the Recreation Department is doing, we want to kind of coordinate, promote, and expand those art opportunities."

Most recently, the Commission completed the construction of the stage at the newly reopened East Haven Public TV (EHTV) station on Jan. 22.

The station's intended new programming EHTV could offer another platform for the Commission to showcase further its artists and comedy troupes, poets, and socially-conscious drama productions.

Broadly, Genzano said the Comssion hopes to present the community everything from "A to Z" in its mission to further integrate and expand visual and performing art programs. In doing so, the Commission continues its commitment to "enhancing, magnifying, recognizing" racial, cultural, and neurodiverse voices in town.

"There is a real push for cultural diversity and inclusion in all of the projects that we're doing," Genzano said. "If you look at the demographics of East Haven, who we have living here, we need to see those people in the arts."

Commission member Michael Moore concurred.

"The arts are one of the things that remind us of our shared humanity and enrich our lives," he said. "The impact of any expanded arts program ultimately aims to bring people together, in this case within the East Haven communities...have very exciting offerings related to the visual arts. And I think that East Haven has the same potential to showcase local talents in a really meaningful way."

Commission member Michael Moore concurred.

“The arts are one of the things that remind us of our shared humanity and enrich our lives,” he said. “So the impact of any expanded arts program ultimately aims to bring people together, in this case within the East Haven communities...have very exciting offerings related to the visual arts, and I think that East Haven has the same potential to showcase local talents in a really meaningful way.”