Easthampton City Arts+ enriches lives through the integration of arts, culture and community and promotes revitalization and protection of Easthampton’s cultural assets. ECA merged with the Easthampton Cultural Council & Art Walk Easthampton to create ECA+ in 2011. Easthampton City Arts+ is funded in-part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the City of Easthampton. Since 2005, ECA+ has introduced innovative and diverse programs and activities in the community which enable local artists to showcase and market their works, while providing the public with the opportunity to discover emerging and established artists. From spearheading Easthampton’s Cottage Street Cultural District (one of the first 15 cities in the state to be recognized as such); organizing projects like Easthampton Bear Fest, which drew thousands of visitors to Easthampton’s bear sculpture-lined streets, to the monthly Art Walk Easthampton, EAT (Live Crowd Sourcing for Creatives), MAP (incubator space), C.H.A.T., and networking and social events for creatives, and the implementation of numerous permanent public art projects from murals to sculptural bike racks. Powered by a group of hardworking volunteers that support its small staff, ECA+ is making big waves in one of the region’s most exciting arts communities.
