Art and Social Change

ART AND SOCIAL CHANGE

By Paul Cloud

Can artists effect real change in their communities through connection and education? The folks at the Macoupin Art Collective think they can. The MAC is a nonprofit school of art and crafts located in the small rural community of Staunton, Illinois, and the employees and volunteers there strive to act as agents of change in an area sorely lacking in fine arts education and appreciation.

True to their name, the Macoupin Art Collective brings citizens of Macoupin County and beyond together in an effort to make crafts and fine arts in a welcoming, collaborative environment. They opened in March 2017 and have seen thousands of students come through the doors of their gallery and studio since then. The community has been unbelievably generous and supportive, providing volunteer help and financial support in the form of class fees and donations.

This attitude of collaboration and community is at the heart of the Macoupin Art Collective, run by only two full-time paid employees.

Brandace Cloud, founder and executive director of The MAC, long dreamed of opening her own art school. She was educated in art curriculum at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, and attended postgraduate studies in the ceramics department at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. After completing her education, Brandace taught ceramics classes through the Edwardsville Arts Center, where she met a student named Brian Markowitz, who was so impressed with Brandace’s vision to open an art school that he purchased a building in Staunton for Brandace to use, helping make that vision a reality.

Now Brandace, Marcella Cloud (The MAC’s development coordinator and community outreach director), a host of volunteers, The MAC’s board of directors, and an incredibly supportive network of students, patrons and independent instructors dedicate themselves to promoting the arts in a society that has sadly allowed creativity to languish.

Many schools in the small rural towns and villages around Staunton—and all over the country—face budgetary woes and a lack of enthusiastic support. They often see cuts made to art curricula before other programs. But saving money often comes at the expense of an important aspect of children’s development and education: creative intelligence and artistic expression. In Staunton, for example, students have access to art classes at the high school level but not before. And by the time students reach high school, without a background in the fundamentals of art, the opportunities for learning are severely limited.

Brandace, Marcella and all the other members of the collective seek to change that. Providing education in the fundamentals of art theory, experience with a variety of tools and materials and a supportive encouraging community of artists gives kids and adults knowledge and skills to express themselves creatively. And that is sorely needed in our world today.

www.macart.org

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