South Bay Arts Groups Collaborate On $100,000 Fundraiser Goal

SARATOGA, CA — A group of 18 Bay Area arts organizations is collaborating on a $100,000 fundraising goal for Giving Tuesday, with proceeds going towards artists in the groups.

The collective was formed in the fall of 2020 as many arts organizations were feeling the toll of the pandemic.

The organizations are still struggling in 2021, according to a news release, as people are not filling the seats as they were prior to the pandemic.

Lisa Mallette, the Executive Artistic Director for City Lights Theater Company in San Jose, thought of the idea because of the need for the arts groups with common interests to band together.

"I thought to myself that we need to stand together in this moment,” said Lisa Mallette, Executive Artistic Director for City Lights Theater Company. “We are stronger together and the message to our community is that we all matter and we care about each other. We do not compete with one another, as many might think, but we lift each other up and support each other.”

DeAnna Pursai, Executive Director of Saratoga-based College of Adaptive Arts, added that the collaboration will help serve its students.

“Our whole educational foundation is built on an inclusive model that celebrates individuals while also recognizing the power of togetherness,” Pursai said. “We have so many arts based courses and know how essential they have been to our students. We believe that by uniting the arts and supporting each other that we will be stronger together.”

The list of groups participating includes:

• Audacity Performing Arts Project, Inc.
• City Lights Theater Company
• College of Adaptive Arts
• EnActe Arts
• Los Altos Stage Company
• New Ballet
• Opera Cultura
• Palo Alto Players
• Playful People Productions
• The Pear Theatre
• Red Ladder Theatre Company
• Starting Arts
• San Jose Multicultural Arts Guild
• sjDANCEco
• San Jose Jazz
• Silicon Valley Shakespeare
• South Bay Musical Theatre
• Teatro Visión

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