The blowing of trumpets accompanied the dropdown of banners as the Westchester Arts Council, now ArtsWestchester, revealed its new name, logo and creative vision at the Arts Exchange this week.
“A little drama in the morning is always good for the soul,” said Janet Langsam, executive director, beaming. For the 44-year-old arts council that began as a grassroots effort, the event warranted an aura no less than dramatic.
The two-year rebranding process began with an examination of “how the organization was represented visually,” said Stephen Dishart, Westchester Arts Council trustee who led the effort and head of communications, America, at Swiss Re. “It was critical for it to be exciting and vibrant.”
Indicating the organization”™s presence in Westchester for nearly half a century, board President John Peckham said, “Through the years we have grown, and our services have changed and grown with the times. Today, we are not just about grant making ”“ we are an arts advocate, an arts educator, an arts marketer.” Peckham said the new logo reflected the organization”™s service to the county on various levels.
“A brand change and change of name in this environment is a great thing to do,” County Executive Andy Spano said. “It”™s saying: we have faith that, with the economy, everything is going to be alright. I think it”™s great for the economy of Westchester.”
Langsam called Spano a “true partner, our friend and a friend of the arts.”
The new logo, a constellation representing the council”™s 150 affiliate organizations in a silhouette of the county, was the brainchild of Manhattan-based Shine Inc., a marketing firm affiliated with WPP and JWT group. The company met with board members, staff and the arts community for more than a year; brainstorming sessions and focus groups molded the final product.
“The concept revolved around the notion that each individual is a star,” said Matthew Asinari, co-director of Shine, whose past clients include: Chanel, Nike, Honda and Mercedes. “Board members, artists ”¦ we are who we are because of synergy, the driving force that arts are a powerful vehicle to evolve society.”
Jamie Ambler, co-director of Shine, said the constellation insignia was intended to represent the “shape of Westchester.”
“The more I come here, the more I want to know,” Ambler said, commenting on the county”™s diverse culture.
Among board members and branding gurus were artists involved in the organization”™s work. Terry Kessler Schwarz, who is on the teaching artists roster, said her work with the council “makes her feel alive.”
“They send me into so many venues and I really enjoy teaching visual arts,” she said. “There has been a tremendous cuts in grants for the social services in this economy. I hope it picks up.”
Dishart said arts and business can go hand-in-hand; commenting on the economic climate. “When you have thriving culture, it”™s great for business,” he said. “When there is thriving culture, it could bring in outside businesses that wish to relocate.”
ArtsWestchester is currently updating all publications and marketing materials to reflect the rebranding effort. The launch of www.artswestchester.org is planned for spring 2009.
