Call to Artists

If you’re a creator with a vision, we’re here to help! Reach out or stop by our office to discuss a project you have in mind or borrow from our Artists Lending Library. 

Call to Curators

Propose an art exhibition for our rotating program! Stipends available.

Advisory Circles

Do you have expertise in a particular area or artistic discipline? We’ll put you in touch with others with complementary networks. 

Volunteer

All ages and abilities can help ArtsWestCT fulfill its mission. 

Board of Directors

Elinor Slomba, MPPA, is an experienced arts manager who helped raise $12.5 million for Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in the Berkshires. For the City of New Haven, she directed the award-winning Project Storefronts program described in two national publications. Today, she is Strategic Communications Director for Red Rock Branding. 

Ruth Torres is a retired law enforcement officer, former government administrator, and enrolled member of the Schaghticoke Tribe. An author and editor of Dawnland Voices, an online literary journal showcasing indigenous writers from New England, she is currently Tribal Member In-Residence at Brown University. Ruth is also a Board member for CT Humanities.

Lalani Perry is Assistant Vice President for Internal Communications at Yale University and an adjunct faculty member in Communications at the University of New Haven. For West Haven, she Chairs the Economic Development Commission and is on the Board of the Land Trust. She is also an active member of her Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and collects art in Puerto Rico. 

James Celestine, originally from Trinidad and Tobago, is a Solution Advisor at ADT Security and an active member of BNI Western New England. He is working toward obtaining his real estate license, serves on the Board of the West Haven Rotary, and is co-creator of All Neighbors Day, ArtsWestCT’s Fall signature event. 

Dabar Ratupenu assists in the law library of Withers Bergman, LLP. He is an active member of the Indonesian Association of Connecticut and an alumni of Southern Connecticut State University’s Political Science Department. He sings in SCSU’s Alumni Choir and with the First Congregational Church of West Haven. 

Mitch Gallignano served the City of West Haven’s Fourth District as a Councilperson for many years. He is a regional manager for Fleet Pride and has acted in local theater productions. He also serves on the Board of the APT Foundation.  

Elaine Braithwaite is Director of Library Services for the City of Bridgeport. Connecticut’s first Black woman library director, she started her career at the Ora Mason Branch of the West Haven Public Library. Her daughter Zaneta is a choreographer and company manager for Matchbox Theater. 

Nikki Chavoya is Practitioner in Residence for the University of New Haven’s Department of Film, Communications, and Media Studies. As a media director, she has focused on youth film and video programming. Community partnerships have involved Artspace Gallery, Site Projects, and the Arts Council of Greater New Haven’s Arts Paper, specifically its Youth Arts Journalism program. 

Linda Dempsey heads the visual arts department at Notre Dame High School in West Haven. Formerly of New Bedford, Massachusetts, her own work in encaustics frequently depicts maritime and nautical themes.  *in orientation

Donate

We are in a memorable season of community-building, and it wouldn't be the same without you!

Should you need proof of 501c3 status for your records, kindly make a check out to our fiscal agent, the Arts Council of Greater New Haven, and put ArtsWestCT in the memo line. Send it to 70 Audubon St 2nd floor New Haven, CT 06510