When the Work Center was founded in 1968, one of its principle missions was to help perpetuate Provincetown's reputation as an arts colony. Today, Provincetown remains the oldest continuously operating arts colony in the nation, and what began as an effort to revitalize a local area has developed into a resource of national significance and stature.
Simply put, the Work Center exists to nurture a creative environment for emerging visual artists and creative writers from around the world.
Our Winter Fellowship Program remains unparalleled. The Work Center has now awarded more than 600 Fellowships, and Former Fellows have gone on to win the most prestigious awards in arts and letters. Selected from a pool of more than 1,000 applicants from around the globe, the developing artists offered Work Center Residencies are provided a safe haven -- their creativity is paramount to our survival as a society.
Today, as we work our way through uncertain times, our mission of fostering emerging creative voices is all the more vital. Yet organizations such as the Work Center, which have been increasingly reliant upon the generosity of individuals like you, are facing particular difficulties.
So we ask for your help. We have worked hard on our Capital Campaign, raising money to reduce mortgage debt, increase the endowment and repair our historic structures, while at the same time balancing our operating budget and expanding programs. But the costs of running these programs continue to stagger. Each Fellowship costs more than $20,000. Your belief in us is the only way that organizations such as this will continue to survive.
In advance, many thanks for your support and your future assistance.
Hunter O'Hanian
Executive Director
Visual Arts Fellow Eric Hongisto at work