www.harfordsheart.com
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the
Artists' Association) Thursdays and
Fridays, from 1 to 6pm; Saturdays, from
10am to 6pm; and Sundays, from Noon to
4pm. Exhibits will be changed approximately
monthly, with the current show "Country
Landscapes" running until mid-January.
In addition to paintings, photography
and prints for sale, unique jewelry, pottery,
and gifts are available for sale as well.
As exciting as it is for the
Harford Artists'
Association to have finally found a home
and gallery space, the creation of the
Gallery will be an important step in the
Town's application for designation as an
Arts & Entertainment District. Maryland
is the first state in the country to develop
Arts and Entertainment Districts on a
statewide basis. The benefits offered
to selected districts can include
property tax credits for renovation of
certain buildings that create live-work
space for artists and/or space for arts
and entertainment enterprises, an
income tax subtraction modification
for income derived from artistic work
sold by qualifying residing artists, an
exemption from the Admissions and
Amusement tax
levied by an
arts and
entertainment
enterprise, or,
qualifying
residing artist
in a district.
To date, nineteen
other towns have
obtained this
designation,
including Havre
de Grace, Elkton, Annapolis, Cumberland
and Cambridge. Most have seen a boost in
the local economy in terms of increased
commercial activity, increased occupancy,
and an increase in overall property values.
Mary Jo Jablonski, Director of the
Elkton
Alliance (the equivalent of the Bel Air
Downtown Alliance and the Havre de
Grace Main Street Alliance), explained
that "in 2003 there were 33 vacant spaces
in downtown. Now there are zero."
Elizabeth Affleck Carven, Deputy Director
of the
Maryland State Arts Council (and
former Senior Planner with the
Town of Bel
Air), notes that the Arts & Entertainment
Districts have multiple effects because "they
create clusters of creative economic activity
and destination areas centered on arts and
culture." Arts and Entertainment Districts
also become tourism magnets and are most
effective where the arts community develops
partnerships with existing organizations.
According to Carven, "Interweaving
existing assets with new ones make these
districts successful," she says. "Main Street
programs, local tourism departments,
chambers of commerce, arts organizations
and businesses all play their part."
Opening a gallery space for the
Harford Artists Association from
a vacant caretaker's house on the
Rockfield property is not only the
fulfillment of the
Association's
efforts, it can also be a component
in the establishment of an Arts
and Entertainment District within
Bel Air. And that, in turn, by
continuing the momentum and
enthusiasm for the arts community
in Harford County, can be a
contributing factor to the
development of a larger
Center for the Arts
a Center that will only further enhance the
arts community and (coming full circle)
enhance the entire community.
In the gallery's current exhibit are paintings by a number
of the artists whose works have been featured on covers
of Harford's Heart: Carol Albert, Maria Knott, Rhoda
Seiden, Eleanor Mulholland and Helen Woodward.
Others will be featured on future covers, and future
exhibits at the gallery will be listed in our Calendar
of Events, both in the magazine and online at
www.harfordsheart.com