2020: A Year to Remember
2020 was a year to remember. We hope that you and yours are safe and healthy and that part of what you remember is the AC Arts Foundation supported artists and produced arts events all year long.
Focus On Community
On Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day we partnered with Atlantic Cape Community College to host “What do you dream for Atlantic City?” Over 100 community members joined, sharing their dreams and cultivating a sense of hope for our city.
Healing and Pride Through Mural Art
Art is a great comfort in dicult times. We hired a muralist to paint a COVID-themed mural, “Personal Space” to uplift our community. It was the first of six 2020 murals – including one on a basketball court in Venice Park, a block-long “Black Lives Matter” mural on Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., one near the Sovereign Ave. Boys and Girls Club featuring youth from the club and a mural at the corner of Atlantic Ave. and Dr. MLK, Jr. Blvd. of Madame Sara Spencer Washington, an Atlantic City entrepreneur and philanthropist, serving as an inspiration and a source of pride for residents.
48 Blocks AC Goes Virtual
In a Herculean effort, our annual “48 Blocks AC” celebration moved online. ACAF volunteers and a team of Stockton University production specialists worked with our community of over 60 artists to produce the event. “48 Blocks AC” 2020 spanned an August weekend full of virtual studio and mural tours, performances by dancers, musicians, and poets, full-length theater performances, and demos and workshops ranging from doll making to juggling! Over 4000 virtual audience members joined us for a weekend of live & recorded events.
In September we gathered together to unveil this year’s collection of 11 artist-designed Adirondack chairs, installed at O’Donnell Park.
“Safari Theater,” an innovative drive-thru live theater event engaging 21 performing, literary, and visual artists, was produced in November. In December, we're producing and airing a reprise of an original, one-person, full-length play entitled “Yo! Eleven,” a collection of 11 Atlantic City personalities brought lovingly to the stage.
Chalk About AC Spans The City
We revamped Chalk About AC to ensure safety, inviting the community to spread their creativity throughout our city. Volunteers assembled 1400 sidewalk chalk packets to distribute at the October food distribution at Bader Field, as well as at nine additional community sites.
The board and staff of ACAF worked together with several partner agencies this year to create these successes that kept the arts alive in Atlantic City and supported 95 local artists.
We thank you for your continuing support, and we extend our good wishes for a happy, safe, and healthy 2021 to all!