PUTNEY — The Next Stage Arts Project says that the Aug. 2 “Arts Unite Windham” event raised more than $8,000 for local social justice organizations.
More than $6,700 came through the online portal, and more than $1,500 came through an anonymous donation after the concert.
Net proceeds were split evenly between the Windham County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Root Social Justice Center, a Brattleboro-based, people-of-color-led collective dedicated to racial justice organizing, community advocacy, and programming.
Next Stage served as lead producer and organizer for the collaboration among seven presenting arts venues in Windham County, resulting in a four-hour extravaganza of music, theater, puppetry, circus arts, and art history.
“I'm overwhelmed by the community support we had for this event,” Keith Marks, executive director of Next Stage and primary producer of the event, said in a news release.
Marks said that Next Stage “brought together these organizations to celebrate Windham County's range and depth of performing arts and raise money and awareness for social justice. It was a Herculean effort that required trust, coordination, and collaboration.”
Thousands of people tuned into the livestream, which was hosted on Brattleboro Community Television's YouTube channel. Marks commended the BCTV staff for their technical prowess in switching among Next Stage, the New England Youth Theatre, the Sandglass Theater, the Latchis Theatre, the Vermont Jazz Center, the New England Center for Circus Arts, and the Brattleboro Music Center for presentations and performances.
In between the acts, Marks was joined by guests to talk about topics ranging from racial justice, to the state of arts organizations in Vermont, to how Windham County is faring in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among the guest MCs were Danny Lichtenfeld, director of Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC); State Rep. Sara Coffey, D-Guilford, Robert McBride from the Southern Vermont Creative Network, Steffen Gillom, head of the Windham County NAACP chapter; and Dr. Kat McGraw, chief medical officer for Brattleboro Memorial Hospital.
“They brought context to the evening through underpinning the relationship between a healthy community, social justice, and the arts,” said Marks.