Creativity Connects Milford: Meet Lorie Lewis of the MAC

Creativity Connects Milford

What fuels a vibrant, connected, and creative community? What makes people feel good about living in Milford?

When locals share the creativity that they uncover in the nooks and crannies of their community it brings about connectivity and makes us all feel good. Believe it or not, you discover creativity every day as you walk, shop, work, and play in Milford. 

Creativity Connects us.

Meet Lorie Lewis, Marketing Director at the Milford Arts Council (MAC).

How does creativity connect you to Milford? 

Because creativity IS the heart of Milford, I have met everyone I know here through some creative event. These events are sponsored by every type of organization you can imagine from the Milford Arts Council to the Downtown and Walnut Beach Business Associations to the Rotaries to the Chamber of Commerce. I joke that from March through December, Milford will find a way and a reason to have a creative event. We celebrate Pirates, Fairies, Oysters, Lobsters... You name it, we celebrate it. These are the spaces where everyone connects - either by working together to create them or just by attending them and adding to the creativity. 

Is there a person or organization using creativity to provoke change in Milford? 

We like to think that Milford Arts Council (the MAC) - the heart of the arts in Milford and beyond - works hard to provoke change. We’re not just about entertainment, we’re about growth and transformation. We’re not just about art consumption, we’re about intimate, special and memorable experiences that we hope will make people walk out of our doors changed in some way. We seek to highlight programming that provokes new insight, perspective, understanding, energy and inspiration. That’s the power of the arts, and we want to share that power with everyone. So for example, our new 'Meet Me At The Bench' project is not just about attractive benches. We are going to be placing a series of artistic and thought-provoking benches around downtown that will help to build bridges by increasing social interaction, prompting reflection, preserving history and creating a sense of community pride. Our new Summer Pop Up series will provide opportunities for visual and performing artists to spontaneously share their talents on Saturday mornings in surprise locations around town. The community will get to see, hear, and feel the arts all summer long as they go about their everyday routines around town. This is the kind of programming that we like to offer. We want to make a difference and have an impact on our community.

We are the only full service non-profit visual AND performing arts organization in Connecticut and maybe even beyond. We have two venues - the MAC (a repurposed train station) and the Firehouse Gallery (a repurposed Firehouse) We're on a mission to provide audiences, students, and artists with opportunities and experiences in the arts that enlighten, enrich, and entertain Milford, CT and beyond. Our vision is to see creativity happening everywhere.

Any place in town where you go for inspiration and creativity? 

Milford is just so beautiful! With 17 miles of shoreline, natural beauty everywhere, and so many other hidden gems. It is easy to draw inspiration from so many spots around town. The beaches, the parks, the downtown and historical areas, the harbors, the duck ponds and waterfalls. We often see people painting outdoors, dancing on rocks, creating cairns, singing and playing music at the beach, on and on.

Finish this sentence: When I think of creativity in Milford I think of...

When I think of creativity in town I think of literally everyone and everything in Milford. I moved to Milford three years ago and realized immediately that the reason why I was so attracted to Milford is that it is in constant creation mode. Every business owner, restaurant owner, public leader, non-profit worker, and citizen...everyone works together to see Milford thrive and pulse with energy and excitement. It's just in the city's DNA. Creativity is truly the identity of Milford.

Creativity Connects Milford is made possible by LIFEWTR.

If you have local creativity to share and would like to be featured in this series, feel free to email  CreativityConnects@HamletHub.com 

The views and opinions expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of HamletHub or LIFEWTR. 

M
Submitted by Milford, CT

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