Mission & Values
WHO WE ARE
For more than 60 years, RiverArts has been the catalyst that connects performers, musicians, and art-makers with Rivertowns audiences. We believe in the power of art to express, transform, and bring joy to our lives and our community.
RiverArts serves artists and arts lovers of all ages. Our signature programs include large, multi-village events like our Music Tour and Studio Tour, both free to the public. RiverArts offers a dynamic education program for students of music, art and dance with world-class professional instructors at affordable prices. We host numerous conversations, concerts, and gatherings that invite audiences to engage directly with award-winning artists, writers, dancers, directors, and musicians. Importantly, we strive to make the arts a vital and accessible part of everyday life in our community.
OUR MISSION
RiverArts inspires Hudson River communities in lower Westchester to connect through multidisciplinary artistic experiences and supports artists and audiences through exhibition, performance, conversation, and education.
RiverArts succeeds in its mission by:
- Showcasing Multidisciplinary Arts: exposing audiences to the full breath of creative practices
- Lifting the Veil: sharing the energy, passion, and processes that drive artists to create
- Developing Generational Culture: encouraging curiosity and experimentation by creating programs that inspire lifelong learning
- Championing Local Creators: supporting the practice of community members who contribute to regional cultural fabric
- Building Community: by creating unique experiences to gather together and find meaningful connection
OUR VISION
We envision a community where the arts flourish and enrich us all.
OUR VALUES
Creativity. The creative impulse exists in everyone. We deeply appreciate the ability of art and artists to inspire us. We value innovation and experimentation especially through the intersection of different art forms to create something new.
Discovery. Nurturing the creative impulse within us creates a window through which we learn about ourselves, each other, and the world. Teaching and learning through the arts spurs innovative thinking and inspires an enduring love and support of the arts.
Community. We celebrate the arts through large, public events and in more intimate settings. This shared experience, across villages and towns, connects us as neighbors, and benefits the health and well-being of our community.
Integrity and Excellence. We endeavor to reflect the diversity of our community, and we strive for fairness, openness, honesty, equity and excellence in all our activities.
COMMITMENT TO BUILDING CULTURAL EQUITY
RiverArts believes the arts can be a uniting force to bring people together. RiverArts recognizes that we are strengthened by the diversity of voices in our community and in our organization. We acknowledge that we are only at the beginning of our journey, and we commit to doing more to amplify diverse voices and promote cultural equity in the arts. We pledge to devote resources to programs that celebrate and serve diverse populations; foster mutual respect for diverse beliefs and values; and build insight, empathy, and understanding around our respective differences and connections. We pledge to promote social justice and equity through education, conversation, and our support of artistic expression by all.
HISTORY
Founded in 1963 as the Hastings Creative Arts Council by a collective of visual artists who relocated from New York City to Hastings-on-Hudson, one of the organization’s first projects was to install a permanent outdoor sculpture in front of the Hastings Public Library, which still stands today.
Ten years later, in 1973, educational opportunities were introduced through music-focused offerings. The organization continued to host exhibitions, music events, and performing arts classes, and in 1992 it founded the first annual Studio Tour, which has continued as the longest running event. The success of the Studio Tour led to the creation of another annual festival, and the inaugural Music Tour was hosted in 2014. Both festivals serve as the marquee, free programming engaging over 4,500 audience members each weekend and supporting over 100 visual artists and 300 musicians each year.
As the organization’s programming and audience has continuously expanded, it was aptly renamed once again to the Rivertowns Arts Council, Inc with the trademarked name RiverArts.
Today, RiverArts maintains a steadfast commitment to supporting artists and audiences alike. The organization offers an array of multi-disciplinary arts experiences serving tens of thousands of artists, writers, musicians, performers, educators, children, and adults. Programming and services have expanded to include the municipalities of Hastings-on-Hudson, Dobbs Ferry, Ardsley, Irvington, Tarrytown, and Sleepy Hollow, New York.
we—I mean all human beings—are connected with this; that the whole world is a work of art; that we are parts of the work of art. … we are the words; we are the music; we are the thing itself.
— Virginia Woolf