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More Creative Experiences
An old golden door in downtown Plattsburgh is a portal to a different world.
The North Country Cultural Center for the Arts has contributed to the development of the arts for the community of Plattsburgh. Founders Adelina Flores Gray, Jackie Sabourin, Sylvia Stack, Fray Goldie, and Susan D. Tucker started the center in 2000 in collaboration with the New York City office of children and family service. NCCCA provides scholarship for young people to take lessons to pursue the arts.
Donna Lock, bookkeeper, started working in NCCA this year.
“I am really interested in meet the arts and this is something new every day,” Lock says. Lock is happy to get the chance to have projects of different exhibits every month.
People come to meet your own art at NCCCA. |
“People are usually happy to come here,” says Lock, explaining that she enjoys seeing the children’s happy faces. From a bookkeeper’s view, Lock says NCCCA is nonprofit organization that contributes to the community. Lock takes pride in connecting the community to the arts “[the NCCCA] always provides fun projects, and it’s just nice involvement work,” Lock explains.
“I am very happy to work here.”
The NCCCA, like many nonprofit organizations, has budget concerns. According to Lock, the center needs more donations and memberships to help people experience the arts. “The NCCCA does not always need community support, but we need grants to continue our business,” Lock says.
Lock is content with job at the center, “I am very happy to work here,” Lock says. One of the benefits of the job for Lock is the wonderful people — volunteers, interns, and lifelong friends. Another reward is the happy faces on the children, “Bringing the arts into the life makes me happy and I want to continue working here for what I am,” Lock says.
As for her idea for NCCCA’s future, Lock hopes to get a new large space that artists and children can dance, play music, oil paint, and watercolor.
“That’s my mission to make sure that everybody has time to experience the arts.”
Colleen Lutinski works as a DEC coordinator and educational programmer at NCCCA. “I always promote culture in the Plattsburgh area and am very interested in promoting education for the arts, music and theater.” Lutinski thinks NCCCA is a good place for her to use her educational background and hopes to help people appreciate the arts, music, and theater.
“I love to watch people coming and admire different exhibits,” Lutinski says. It brings her joy to see children having fun and playing music, and their creativity for the art projects is her inspiration. “That’s my mission; to make sure that everybody has time to experience the arts,” Lutinski explains.
People can meet Different exhibitionevery month. |
“NCCCA offers me great opportunities to work with my major, which is public relations,” says Megan Ferries, Strand Theatre Assistant and Plattsburgh State University Student. Introduced to the arts at a young age, Ferries works hard today to restore the strand theater across the street of NCCCA, which was built in 1924. The NCCCA purchased this theater in 2004 and has just begun restoration.
“I love the people I work with,” Ferries says. “They are a great group of woman motivated and dedicated to the task.” She hopes to bring a cultural arts district to Plattsburgh.
Ferries explains that the community is not aware of what NCCCA is. She also says that if the community knows more about NCCCA, they will be inspired to revive their local cultural heritage. For these reasons, Ferries strongly wants people to know what NCCCA is.
Susan D. Tucker, the director of NCCCA and one of the founders, has a background of business management major and art minor. She says she likes sharing art in the community and teaching children.
Tucker says the goal of NCCCA is to open a performing arts center that will educate children. Tucker wants more shops that artists can work in such as Strand Theater. She explains she wants to make sure art is always alive in the community;
“You have to have creative experiences.”
Are you doing your own creative things in your life?
Susan D. Tucker, director of NCCCA, says that Plattsburgh has the destination for tourists because they have beautiful environment and beautiful lake. She thinks Plattsburgh is growing more than New York City in terms of historical culture. Plattsburgh comes around 400 anniversaries. She is proud of working in NCCCA. She said, "Art has primitive home." Plattsburgh is really suitable for the concept. She wants to change the world which current education relies on English and Mathematicscc, disregarding learning creative things. She has responsibility to tell people the importance to learn Arts be because she thinks if people cannot only have a standard idea, brand new idea will never pop up in their mind.