OUR STORY

The Gloucester Cultural Initiative (GCI) traces its roots to the City’s 2000 Community Development Plan, which emphasized a goal “to support Gloucester’s arts and cultural community as a cultural and economic resource by integrating the arts and culture into the life of the community, downtown and in villages and neighborhoods.”

The Starting Point

The embryonic organization to GCI was the Gloucester Arts and Cultural Initiative (GACI), a collaborative of City, business, and cultural representatives sponsored by the Rocky Neck Art Colony; ArtsGloucester (Castano Design Associates), and seARTS (Society for the Encouragement of the Arts). Together these three organizations secured a $45,500 Adams Program grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council in 2015 to explore a more robust structure supporting the heritage and creative life of Gloucester.

Gloucester Cultural Initiative is Formed

The Gloucester Cultural Initiative was incorporated in 2017 as a nonprofit organization under Massachusetts law. It has been granted tax-deductible donation status under US Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3).