RAC Gets Creative to Raise $50,000 for Programs

Raffle tickets for the ’s most important fund-raiser of the year were on sale Monday in front of William Raveis Realty on Purchase Street. They might have attracted more attention if they brought along that nude Rodinesque model to call attention to their needs and various deadlines.

The nude Rodinesque who? And what deadlines? And why is this the most important fund-raiser of the year?

Rye Arts Center is the largest, not-for-profit multi-arts center in Westchester, serving 17,000 residents in 30 communities through art, music, and outreach programs. So it needs to raise lots of money, at least $50Gs this time around to help bankroll its ongoing programs.

As for the why,  RAC is committed to artistic excellence and fulfilling their mission year-round: making the arts available to all with a wide variety of artistic programs.

Those programs range from arts, crafts, ballet, digital workshops and filmmaking to RAC's trademarked Famous Artists program enabling 220 parent docents to deliver interactive classroom presentations to more than 6,000 students in area schools each year.

RAC's goal is to deliver high quality, low cost, accessible art programs to all, without interruption. And that “all” includes that Rodinesque promotional model in her all together, among other things. 

The  promo model is part of the latest RAC class, an upcoming figure sculpture workshop with noted sculptress Susie Amato. Amato is the kind of RAC artist you may hear about Monday night if you receive a call from one of 24 RAC Board members during their phone-a-thon. 

The deadline to register for the sculpture workshop is Wednesday, March 9.
Coincidentally, the same day as RAC’s opening reception for its “Emerging High School Talent” exhibition that runs through March 22 and features the work of top student artists from across Westchester and Fairfield.

So let's take a closer look at that upcoming sculpture class and the emerging teen talent event for 2 great examples of what RAC is doing nowadays.

Susie Amato, founder of Artists in Conflict, examines the human form and composition as applied to sculpture in her ten-class workshop starting this Saturday, from 9 a.m. to noon.  The class  is open to sculptors aged 16 and up who want to get in touch with their inner Rodin, Michelangelo, Moore and more.  And yes, there may well be a nude model, clay, and lots of insights along with Amato's instruction.

Amato is co-creator of several art workshops in Italy, Africa, Cuba and across  the U.S. Her work is collected widely by institutions and individual collectors, and exhibited in regional galleries and far-flung galleries from France to Norway to Tanzania.

“The better education one has can only make a more intelligent artist creating work that will make a lasting impression and inspiration,” said Amato.

The “Emerging High School Talent” exhibition will feature students’ work –running the gamut of media and subject matter –selected by participating high schools. Their talents and achievements will be honored at the opening reception Wednesday, March 11, 6p.m.

Further information: The Rye Arts Center, 51 Milton Rd., Phone: 967-0700; wwww.ryeartscenter.org.