Member Spotlight on Historic & Cultural Affairs Division - City of Roswell, GA

During the month of February, GIA's photo banner features grantees of GIA Member Historic & Cultural Affairs Division - City of Roswell, GA. The Division's mission is to enhance quality of life by strengthening the community's cultural enviroment through support of the arts, preservation of its historic resources, and facilitation of access for all—objectives accomplished through cultural programs and events, oversight of historical and cultural facilities in Roswell, and more. Below, Morgan Timmis, Roswell's historic & cultural affairs manager, outlines the process of introducing grantmaking to the Division's program line-up:

Roswell, Georgia is a historic community founded in 1834 by six families who moved here collectively to start the Roswell Manufacturing Company. As an intentional community, it was carefully laid out to resemble a New England village with a green, the mills, mill workers housing, and the six grand homes of the founders.

The “historic” Roswell brand has dominated the character and marketing of the community. It wasn’t until the late 1990s when there began an effort to recognize and promote the arts as a meaningful contributor to the quality of life. The first citywide cultural plan was developed then and the original Cultural Arts Board was established.

I was hired into this position in early 2000 and worked with the Cultural Arts Board to create a better balance between the emphases on history vs. the arts. These efforts have taken many forms, including a children’s arts festival, an annual arts awards program, an arts and business luncheon meeting series, and more. But the greatest need for our local arts and cultural community was for funding support and that was a long time coming.

In 2007, surveys were taken of our twenty-plus arts and cultural organizations to determine what types of funding would be most important. We also asked questions about a granting process and whether they would be inclined to apply. Then a draft program was prepared recommending four types of support. This groundwork took well over a year, and just when we were ready to take it forward to the City Council, the economy crashed and all belts tightened.

Even though the program was shelved for a few more years it was not forgotten. The request for funding was finally put forth in early 2012 and $25,000 was provided in our 2012-13 budget. With those funds, we were able to provide grants to eight organizations ranging from chamber music to theatre to choral music and more. We are now in our second cycle of “Contracts for Cultural Services” funding with eight more grants given for 2013-14.

In my fourteen years in this role, perhaps nothing we have accomplished feels more rewarding than being able to provide support directly to our local arts community. We literally started from “scratch” with no local arts administration program so it has taken perseverance, passion, and a long-term vision to reach this important goal.

Photograph: Hembree Farm Preservation Site, Roswell Historical Society. Image courtesy Historic & Cultural Affairs Division - City of Roswell, GA.