Branford | Economic Development | Arts & Culture | Visual Arts | Branford Arts & Cultural Alliance
Shoreline Chamber of Commerce Chair Kim Spanier, Branford First Selectman James Cosgrove, Frank Carrano, and Connecticut State Sen. Christine Cohen. Shoreline Chamber of Commerce Photo.
An artists’ dream turned cultural incubator has been recognized as an economic driver in the heart of downtown Branford. Now, it is hoping to stay in the building that made that growth possible.
That news came out of the Branford Arts and Cultural Alliance (BACA) late last month, as the Shoreline Chamber of Commerce recognized the group as its “Branford Community Partner/Hometown Hero” of 2021. In particular, it received acknowledgement for its role in revitalizing downtown Branford with a large, brightly lit gallery space at 1004 Main St.
Frank Carrano, president of the all-volunteer organization and the retired head of the New Haven Federation of Teachers, said he is grateful and excited for the formal recognition of the arts as a creative and economic catalyst in his town. He added that he’s hopeful BACA will be able to maintain that momentum as it tries to stay in its first and only physical home.
“It represents something beyond just getting an award for helping to revitalize the center of Branford,” he said in a phone call with the Arts Paper earlier this week. “It really represents for a lot of us the belief in the power of art to motivate people. We're finding that a lot of the people coming into the gallery have never visited an art gallery before.”
BACA’s path to the award began in late 2020—the first winter of the pandemic, and a long and dark one at that. Before the holidays that year, BACA members secured permission for a window display at 1004 Main St., in the shell of a former Denali store that is almost 4,000 square feet (read more about that here). At the time, landlord Alex Vigliotti charged BACA only basic utilities. After the first display drew public attention, BACA held a second window installation in April.
The space during summer 2021. BACA Photo.
Then last summer, it opened a gallery in the space, where it has continued to display and sell artworks and hold events since. Within months, it proved itself a boon to Main Street, bringing in hundreds of visitors who then stayed to spend time at Branford’s restaurants and small businesses. Carrano recalled meeting a woman who walked into the gallery and kept returning to the same painting over and over again. It turned out she had never bought an original piece of art.
“She finally said, ‘I love it and I'm gonna buy it, because I want to see it and enjoy it every day. I know exactly where I'm gonna hang it,’” Carrano said. “She represented to me the type of art patron that we're attracting into the gallery, and it really speaks to our mission, which is to bring art to people, not necessarily to have them seek it out.”
Dee Jacob, president of the Shoreline Chamber of Commerce, praised BACA’s use of the Main Street property in the midst of Covid-19. Calling the gallery “a vibrant community anchor” in a written statement, she noted that the space has given exhibition opportunities to over 100 artists. To support its own mission and cover utilities, BACA collects a commission from each sale it makes at the Main Street hub.
“We are excited to celebrate the accomplishments of all our awardees,” Jacob said. “Each one faced their own set of challenges in 2021, but never wavered from their vision to do business or serve others in our community. Looking toward the future, we are committed to roll up our sleeves and dig into the work for our members in 2022!”
The news of the award comes at a time when BACA is at risk of becoming itinerant. In a phone call Tuesday morning, Carrano said that Vigliotti has been extremely generous with the space, but that BACA’s guarantee on 1004 Main St. expires at the end of March. After that time, the group can put a rental offer on the space, but needs between $60,000 and $70,000 a year to do so.
It has submitted an application to the Town of Branford for financial help—Carrano pointed to the nearly $3 million coming to the town from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)—and will also be applying to several individual grants. The Town of Branford has received $2,837,773 in ARPA funding, according to the national league of cities. The town's finance department did not respond to a request for comment on the distribution of those funds.
BACA Photo.
It remains unclear whether BACA will be able to meet that late March deadline, Carrano said—but he’s hopeful. Prior to March 2020, the state’s arts, culture and tourism sector generated $9 billion, 57,000 jobs, and five percent of Connecticut’s economy, according to Americans for the Arts. As of last summer, Americans for the Arts reported an estimated $17.97 billion in losses to the national arts sector. In Branford, that’s exactly when the gallery came onto the scene.
“That an art gallery of all things could be becoming an important participant in the economic life of a community is pretty amazing,” Carrano said.
As recently as last month, the group’s still-new home base meant that it had a spot to celebrate the Lunar New Year with dancing, music, food and Chinese history for the first time in its existence. It gave artists and community members a chance to honor a rich cultural tradition in space with each other, Carrano said. For the longtime educator, who grew up in New Haven but now calls Branford his home, that’s what it’s all about.
“It happens to be in Branford, but I think that the important thing is we've been able to create a more important attitude around the experience of art,” Carrano said. “It also gives us a base. Our organization, we have never had a home base. We've been around for six years, wandering from place to place.”
To learn more about BACA, visit their website.