Georgia Assembly of Community Arts Agencies (GACAA)

The Georgia Assembly of Community Arts Agencies' (GACAA) mission is to strengthen and foster community arts organizations in Georgia; connect community arts organizations, provide professional development, and technical assistance; and promote the arts. Through its core values, GACAA believes that: the arts support an economic base that builds communities where people want to work and live; the arts bring artists and audiences together for fun and entertainment; the arts build bridges between people; the arts provide education through new experiences, and the arts are an avenue for human expression, creativity, and vision. GACAA was founded in 1979 by arts administrators from around the state and Georgia Council for the Arts' Executive Director, John Bitterman. The national community arts development initiative earmarked by the formation of the National Endowment for the Arts and state arts agencies during the 1960's gave impetus to the formation of statewide arts "assemblies." These assemblies were formed as distinct nonprofit organizations to complement the state arts agency and serve as a vehicle for community arts advocates and organizations to network, obtain professional development, and technical assistance. There are currently 30 "statewides" in the nation, with the Georgia Assembly of Community Arts Agencies being one of the oldest. This profile courtesy of Arts & Democracy.