MASC Newsletter Winter 2019-20 English 2019 Newsletter in single pages | Page 2

MASC is a national success story. There are few
Canadian arts organizations that survive to be 30
years old, and fewer still that make it to this grand age
and find themselves fiscally healthy and creatively
energized. Yet MASC, at 30, is in an exciting period of
renewal, regeneration and robust health. This is due
in no small part to the work of retiring Board Co-
Chairs Dan Pearlman and Jane Ellens.
Dan and Jane worked unstintingly over the last two
years, initiating an exciting strategic planning process
and a bold governance review. Before leaving their
term of office, they sought out new, diverse board
members, crafting a board that will provide support
and oversight for MASC for many years to come.
“
Many of you will know that 30 years ago, (yes, really
30 years ago!!!!) in partnership with Jan Andrews, I
co-founded MASC. How splendid it is to see how
this organization has outstripped any idea Jan and I
had in the beginning of what was possible. In the
ensuing years, I have watched as the organization
has gone from strength to strength. Now as MASC
gears up to celebrate 30 years, I’ve been
dragooned into actually doing something again!
So here I am, helping to launch a fundraising
campaign.
While the organization has grown exponentially, I
can tell you there is something that hasn’t changed
in all these years. It’s the thing that inspired Jan and I
to start the organization. It’s the heart of MASC. It’s
the passion the artists have for their work, a passion
that impels them not only to make art but to create
with people young and old, to offer inspiring artistic
experiences that can be transformational and
encourage new ways to think and be.
As Interim Chair, I am in awe of the size of the shoes I
am trying to fill. We are all incredibly grateful to Jane
and Dan for what they have done for MASC. They
have left a legacy of strength and vision that will guide
MASC toward the next 30 years of operation.
With a 30th Anniversary comes a 30th Anniversary
Gala, and our gala committee, headed by Board
member Claire Speed, is planning a fitting
celebration for the fall of 2020. I have no doubt it will
reflect MASC in all its creative glory. So let’s raise a
toast to the past, present and future of MASC - a
unique Canadian arts success story.
Amanda West Lewis Interim Chair
In a storytelling residency, I once asked a grade 5
class what they needed to be able to imagine.
Hands went up, the expected answers came; a
brain, images etc. Then a quiet boy at the back of
the class, a recent arrival from Afghanistan, put up
his hand. His English was uncertain and his answer
riveting, “What you need to imagine is … hope, like
the girl in the story has. You will never imagine
anything if you don’t have hope.”
Imagination is of course so central to MASC’s work.
And …maybe, maybe the work can go even deeper.
Maybe the chance to create something, to express
yourself, the chance to have an artist believe in you,
might also give you hope; hope that you have the
potential to be a making, imagining, contributing
person in the world. And just now, hope might be
what we all need most of all.
Each and every donation, of whatever size, is a
concrete expression of your belief in the life
changing creative work MASC does. To donate,
please visit masconline.ca. Here’s to the next 30!
Jennifer Cayley Co-founder
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