Arts & Leisure
$500,000 bequest means world of possibilities for York Art Association
By Melissa Wood
YORK - The late Letitia Moore has left her entire estate, worth almost $500,000, to the York Art Association, a gift that has arrived just as the association has been rethinking its offerings to the community.Moore's will provides a trust for the association of $10,000 a year for its own use. The rest will be in a yearly scholarship to support a student in a second-year art or art history program at an accredited college. The amount of the scholarship would be at the discretion of the association, according to Nick Strater, attorney for Moore's estate.
"All the possibilities are tremendous," said Joe Dominguez, member-at-large of the York Art Association.
Both Dominguez, who is active in local theatre groups, and Sue Little, head of the York Public Library Program Committee, began serving the association's board as members-at-large this fall as the group looks to refocus and expand its offerings to areas besides fine arts, and possibly to hold a year-round schedule.
On Monday night, Feb. 12, the association held a meeting to talk about some of those possibilities, in light of Moore's substantial gift, with various people in the community, including artists and educators.
"There was a bona fide excitement in the crowd because everyone started talking about possibilities," said Dominguez. "Ideas were just pouring out of their heads."
One idea the group discussed was the possibility of using Moore's residence, which is part of the estate and located in the Whippoorwill subdivision, as an artist-in-residence location, allowing artists to visit the town for a couple of months at a time and be involved in educational programs.
Another idea was to form an arts collaborative so that different groups doing similar programs, such as the library, schools, Kittery Art Association and Old York Historical Society, would not be competing for audiences but instead working together.
Dominguez said the YAA hopes to include a broader representation of the arts, including theatre, sculpture and pottery, and has been inspired by what the Kittery Art Association has been doing. For example, the KAA offers 12 shows a year, compared to York's four, as well as a series of musical performances.
"I said, 'Just let your mind dream,'" Dominguez said.
Little said the next step is putting together a committee "to help steer the direction of this great resource that we now have."
Dominguez said the members are looking for people in town who have legal or financial expertise to help the association. He said the steering committee would be a way for people to get involved and help refocus the association without a long-term commitment.
These changes also come at a time when the board has vacancies for the positions of the president and vice president.
Little said the number of possibilities was very exciting, and the association welcomes members of the community to join in the discussion as changes move forward.
"It's just amazing," she said, "with a lot of people putting their heads together, it will allow a lot of ideas to percolate, and we'll see what happens. … It's anyone's guess."
