MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

In 2021, COVID continued to persist along with all the necessary safety precautions.

Southampton Arts was under significant pressures in 2021 to deal with COVID issues as well as staff and Board member changes. As new ‘waves of COVID’ altered the day-to-day strategy of SA, I was reassured by the commitment by Staff, Board members, volunteers, artists, and instructors to make the best of the situation on any given day. The new word used in 2021 by businesses and organizations, and which certainly applied to Southampton Arts, was ‘pivot’. During a year when other arts organizations collapsed, I am relieved that we pivoted to simply remain standing to look forward to better years to come. Was everything done to our liking? Absolutely not! However, the decisions that we made followed our policies and the resources that we had available to us.

With 2021 in the rear-view mirror, I look forward to seeing better times for Southampton Arts in 2022.

Yours respectfully, Gerald Guenkel