Grantee Partner Spotlight:
Cape Ann Art Haven
David Brooks was only 19 when he and his sister, Sarah, decided to start teaching after-school art classes in response to Gloucester public school budget cuts. Recruiting artistic friends to help teach, they founded Cape Ann Art Haven, a community art program that grew for nearly a decade, from 2008 to 2017, until the group began to move into careers.
That’s when David suggested that volunteer Traci Thayne Corbett apply for the newly created full-time executive director job. With a background in corporate product development for global brands such as Reebok and Stride Rite, Traci wasn’t an obvious fit. She was, however, a fine artist who had taught painting at Art Haven for five years, and she understood several essential things for leading the organization: the power of art; the strength of collaboration; and the rigor of running a successful business. It was time for Art Haven to become a professional nonprofit, and Traci possessed not only the business skills, but also the boundless energy that would be needed.
“I have a touch of oldest-child syndrome,” she admits. “In the beginning, when I took my daughter to Art Haven classes, I was so excited, I kept elbowing her out for paint and supplies. Later, when I became a volunteer, I couldn’t stop seeing all the potential and saying, We could do this and this and this!”
Art Haven has increased its revenue and impact continuously since Traci took over as full-time director, with only one “off” year: 2020.
“When Covid hit, kids had all their fun cancelled, just like that,” she recalls. “So we started making art kits out of the supplies we had — just a little bag with instructions and something they could keep, like craft scissors or a kneaded eraser — and we handed them out to families at our front door.”
She soon realized the best solution would be to deliver the kits directly to families, and from her corporate background, Traci knew that collaboration could be the way to make it happen. She called her friend, the executive director of the Cape Ann YMCA, and then the Gloucester Housing Authority and Pathways for Children. With these new partners on board, Art Haven was able to reach hundreds of families.
“We managed to stay relevant during the pandemic and do something new, to deliver on our mission, and expand to less advantaged families,” Traci continues. “Now, a full 50 percent of our programming is delivered through our mobile program, out in the community, free to low- income families. Our partners have seen the benefits of incorporating our creativity into their programs, too. We all gained huge momentum and offer more extensive services now by working with each other.”
As their community relationships have expanded, Art Haven has added more specialty programs to their roster of classes, such as an English-language-learner summer program and a transition program for mentally challenged young adults, who specifically requested art as the “fun” part of their life skills training.
Founder David Brooks and his friends have stayed involved with Art Haven, too, partnering to build the community’s most beloved art project: the annual Lobster Trap Tree in the downtown Gloucester seaport. Stacking 350 donated traps, volunteers construct the giant tree in early December and decorate it with lights and oversized “ornaments.” The ornaments? Lobster buoys, of course — hundreds of them, each decorated by hand. Over several weeks in November and December, Art Haven goes out to public schools and holds weekend family sessions, bringing all ages together to paint unique designs on every buoy that adorns the tree. For Gloucester’s 400th anniversary last year, nearly 1,000 buoys covered the extra-large tree made of 400 traps.
“It’s the only event I can think of where every town resident and every child, from all walks of life, can make a piece of art, for free, then gather to see this group project they created,” says Traci. “And since we have students as young as preschool involved, it engages families with the community early on. We see kids proudly pointing out the buoys they painted to their parents and grandparents. You may think they couldn’t find their own buoy on this massive tree, but they always do!
“Although it’s only a small fraction of Art Haven’s programming, the Lobster Trap Tree & Buoy Painting Project is a really powerful, unifying, and creative community tradition, and it gives all these local families a reason to get out into town.
“We have to remember that not everyone has art in their houses or their lives. Cape Ann Art Haven gives them the opportunity to make art, not just see it.”
Current needs at Art Haven include funding/donations and volunteers with strong backs to assist with the assembly of the hundreds of painted buoys. Art Haven also invites everyone to participate in the range of community events they offer, from Pumpkin Carving to Plein Air Painting and Black Light Art nights. If you’d like to get involved, please contact Traci Thayne Corbett at traci@arthaven.org or use the contact form on the Art Haven website.