October 2025
Annual Meeting Review

For our SCA October 2025 annual meeting, we met at the Macomber House in Westport. Around 50 of us were in attendance. The potluck tables were full with our usual diversity from main dishes to deserts.

Under the checklist for Year in Review and Serving the Community, we spoke of our annual Holiday Show held at the Dartmouth Cultural Center in December. We reviewed our semi monthly gatherings with guest speakers: William Kendal at last October’s gathering at the Little Compton Game Club, Kris Donovan in February on Zoom, Anthony Tomaselli in March at The Macomber House, Bill Shattuck in April at Buzzards Bay Brewing. In May, at the Little Compton Community Center, we announced winners of our Tour Art Contest with the help of juror Kevin Gilmore who gave thoughtful and positive comments to his choices.

June found us at Weatherlow Farms for our Tour Kickoff Party organized and emceed by Lindsey Epstein with much help from SCA’s invaluable group of volunteers, topped off with a motivational talk by Kelley Milukas, SCA’s founding president.

The checklist continues with, of course, the Open Studio Tours, traditionally held on the third weekends of July and August. The Family Guide, a pamphlet designed for children and available at each participating artist’s studio, helped to get children involved in the arts. In September we met at the Little Compton Game Club to go over Tour survey results from both the public and participating artists. One stat that stood out: when asked what was the  likelihood they would visit the OST next year, 100% of the public answering said highly likely. In May and November, SCA artists demonstrated their skills at Hatch Street Open Studios, paired in May with ArtWeek SouthCoast. SCA helped to promote the free Westport Film Series screening of the movie The Wonder and the Worry at Weatherlow Farms.

SCA announced that next year, the main award will be doubled to $2000, with further awards at the discretion of the jurors, with board approval.

Our guest speaker for our annual meeting was SCA’s Galen Snow. Galen gave a spirited talk of her journey to becoming an artist after years in the hospitality trades. She spoke of how she arrived at her art form, describing it as painting with paper.

Awards for the past year were handed out. Among them, SCA’s ‘Heart and Soul’ Award that went to a very deserving JP Powel. Mary Finsness received ‘the Wanda Edwards Memorial Volunteer’ award. Sheri Sousa was awarded the ‘Sustainability Star’ award for her creative repurposing of SCA Tour banners into reusable tote bags, also serving as a fundraiser for SCA.

We took care of a little business with SCA’s board members. Four term renewals went to Heather Stivison (Board Chair), Don Cadoret (VP Marketing), Lindsey Epstein (VP Communications), and Stephanie Stroud (Membership), and one new board member, Debbi Bottomley (Development).

We said farewell to one board member, Carol Way Wood (Development), but we are keeping her on speed dial. Her 14 years of experience as Development Chair are invaluable, plus she’s a great person to be around. She will still be an active SCA member.

Our meeting closed with a reminder of our second annual SCA Distinguished Speaker Series. This year’s subject is Georgia O’Keeffe. Our speaker is Cody Hartley, director of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in New Mexico. His talk will be held at Round the Bend Farm in Dartmouth.

Holiday Exhibition Entries Are Open Though November 3rd!

The 2025 Holiday Exhibition will be at:
Dartmouth Cultural Center, 404 Elm Street, Dartmouth, MA

Hours: Thursday - Friday 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Saturday - Sunday 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Exhibition Dates: December 4 - 21, 2025

A festive reception will take place during the Padanaram Festival, Friday, December 5th from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.

ARTWORKS: This is a non-juried members’ exhibition and sale. Up to three artworks may be submitted per artist. 2D work may not exceed 16” x 16” including frame and must be securely wired. No sawtooth hangers or clips will be accepted. Gallery wrapped canvases are acceptable, but staples must not be visible. 3D work must fit into a 14” x 14” footprint. All work must be original, not previously shown in an SCA exhibition, and created solely by the artist submitting the work. Reproductions, including giclee, will not be accepted.

IMPORTANT DATES:

● Online Registration: October 20th - November 3rd
● Intake: Saturday November, 29th 1:00 - 3:00 and Sunday, November 30th 3:00 - 5:00
● Opening Reception: Friday, Dec. 5 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
● Exhibition Closes: December 21, 2025
● Artwork Pickup: Sunday, December 21, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

ENTRY PROCEDURE: Enter online October 20 - November 3, at Call for Entries via the Holiday Exhibition form. There is a $5 entry fee per piece, per member due at the time of registration. You will be required to upload images of the works you wish to submit at time of registration.

Please be sure to follow all image naming and sizing requirements before submitting your entry.

We encourage you to take a look at the many resources available at your fingertips on our new website, and also to make note of the key dates listed below and in our member calendar.

Mark your calendars with these
Key Dates for 2025

October 20: Holiday Exhibition Registration Opens
November 3: Holiday Exhibition Registration Closes
November 5: Distinguished Lecture: Georgia O’Keefe: What her example might teach us about how to live an intentional and creative life at Round the Bend Farm, Dartmouth, MA at 6:00 p.m.
November 23: Artist Demonstrations at Hatch Street Open Studios
November 29: Holiday Exhibition Intake, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
November 30: Holiday Exhibition Intake, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
December 4: Holiday Exhibition Opens
December 5: Holiday Exhibition Opening Reception, 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
December 21: Holiday Exhibition Closes
December 21: Holiday Exhibition Artwork Pickup, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.