President's Message

May-June 2019

The Smith Mountain Arts Council  (SMAC) is entering a new era! The year of 2020 will bring many new and exciting activities and events to the Smith Mountain Lake arts community. Last winter, the board conducted a strategic planning session. During that, we recognized that Smith Mountain Lake is more than a retirement community. There are many young families living in the area who would like to expose their children to the arts and would like to enjoy family centered events for all ages.

During the strategic planning session, the board outlined several steps that can begin to shape the arts outreach from this organization for young families. We already offer college scholarships to youth who will be entering a field of art, music, dance, and other related fields of arts. We already offer a junior Appalachian music program, but we are seeking to expand it more broadly across all three counties. Our youth artists and photographers participate in our Art and Photo Shows. We are forming a youth advisory board that will be led by young adults in our community. Stay tuned as more exciting art events  to be added to our already busy calendar!

If you are interested in helping to shape this new phase of Smith Mountain Arts Council outreach to the community, please contact me so I can put you right to work! It’s going to be a great year!

Karen DeBord

Want to volunteer? Contact Karen DeBord at support@smithmountainartscouncil.com.

The Smith Mountain Arts Council (SMAC), established in 1989, is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization and serves a large geographic area surrounding Smith Mountain Lake.

SMAC is partially funded by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.