Sponsor Future Wearable Art Events:

seARTS and the Celebrate Wearable Art Committee welcome new and returning sponsors for future events!  We have a wide variety of packages ranging from Artist Awards to our Premier Level sponsorships.   Funds from this event help sustain seARTS ongoing activities in support of the arts community, the Wearable Art initiatives, and shows.  seARTS and the Wearable Art Group are immensely grateful to all of our sponsors (listed on the right) for the 2017 Show.

 

sponsorA

Please review the overview below and contact anyone on our sponsorship team to discuss the proposals in detail: Jacqueline Ganim-DeFalco, Martha Sutyak, Kristine Fisher or Ruth Lieberman.

 

What is Celebrate Wearable Art?

Celebrate Wearable Art is a multi-faceted event that showcases hand-made, one of a kind art-to-wear, for sale and for show. The event has two essential parts – a “sale” of artist made clothing and accessories and a runway show that combines art, fashion, and sculpture in functional wearable art by created by individuals from all parts of the region.

Join our team

of  sponsors!

CWA IV Sponsors

sponsor2011
aboutCape
  • The event is sponsored by, and is the biennial fundraiser for Cape Ann based Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. It takes place during Boston Fashion Week and ties the north shore of Boston into the Boston Fashion Trail by way of Gloucester.
  • It premiered in 2011 at Bass Rocks Golf Club. The inaugural show showcased 80 looks created by 35 artists and designers from New England and as far as New York City. It raised $15K (net) for seARTS and $10K work of artwork sold, of which 75% went directly into the hands of artists. The overwhelming success and passion for the first event created a groundswell for 2013.
  • Due to the level of interest, the 2013 CWA moved to Cruiseport Gloucester. It showcased over 100 looks with over 50 artists and $29K (net) for seARTS. $19K worth of artwork sold.
  • Artists, designers, and models came from all segments of the north shore: students from local  Manchester High School and Montserrat College of Art, local celebrities (author Wendy Booker, national spokesperson for Multiple Sclerosis Society to local floral designers from Sage Floral Studios. It was a fusion of the region’s creative economy.
  • Wearable Art Awards were given out for the second time with judges from the publication Art New England, the Peabody Essex Museum, and Montserrat College of Art selecting the best works.
sponsorSage2
sponsor2013brown
sponsor2015camilla
2015 Fashion Award: Redat Davidson RISD

2015 was a pivotal event for the CWA followers.  The show evolved to a more professional level with fewer, but more impactful “looks” thanks to the engagement of the new curator.

  • Among the highlights: Judges for the Wearable Art Awards included Michelle Finamore, Penny Vinik Curator of Fashion Arts, MFA Boston and the Managing Editor of the North of Boston Media Group, Tracey Rauh.
  • Well-known local visual artists were invited to create “vests” for a first time ever live auction.
  • CWA held a special “post show” event at the Cape Ann Museum with an informative panel of artists and local media.
  • Over 200 attended with nearly $14K in wearable art sales. (numbers shifted due to changes in seating); seARTS netted $25K in funds.
  • The show was video-taped and is available for viewing on YouTube.

All of these changes helped the show reach a new goal – embracing the greater arts community.   The “Best of Show” design was awarded to Rick Crangle, an architectural detail specialist and wood sculptor. [See 2017 Postcard Photo}  Our Emcee for all shows was Steve Aveson of the New England Cable News’ Morning show host.

sponsor2015golddress
sponsor2015recycle
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sponsorSalonPanel

In October 2016, the seARTS Wearable Art group celebrated ten years since its founding.  The group presented a Salon Style event:  From Understated to Outrageous, the Many Expressions of Wearable Art.

  • The evening’s panelists included curators from both the PEM and MFA. The event both educated and delighted the curious audience and furthered our goal to expand appreciation of wearable art in our region!
  • 150 people attended the 2016 Salon and 95% of the attendees told us they learned “something new about wearable art.”
  • The group also premiered the Wearable Art Shopping Guide The complete wrap up from the event is written here.

Celebrate Wearable Art IV is scheduled for October 1, 2017 In order to sustain its success and grow, sponsorships are a critical part of the equation. seARTS is requesting a major sponsor partnership with your organization  to share and grow its vision for Celebrate Wearable Art.  This event is also the most significant  fundraising effort for seARTS (a 501c3 Non-Profit) to maintain its free programs and arts community outreach over the next two years.

What’s New for 2017?

  • New dedicated Wearable Art Group Website!
  • Tie-ins to the Peabody-Essex Museum’s WOW Exhibit
  • A pre-show event with the Cape Ann Museum on September 7, 2017.
  • VIP Judges from important cultural institutions
  • More outreach to local educational institutions
  • More substantial “wearable art awards”
  • Formation Wearable Art Advisory Council
  • Wider Distribution of the Wearable Art Shopping Guide
sponsorBethMarthaDonnaCamilla
sponsor2015elegant

Why present Wearable Art?

Great art destinations are marked by the presence of a combination of many artistic and cultural assets - among them, a centrifugal “event” or festival that draws from outside the immediate area. CWA exists because a group of artists saw a need to find new channels to sell their work and at the same time, seARTS needed a “destination” event that was unique enough to attract cultural visitors to Cape Ann that would otherwise not see the diverse range of art being created here.  Celebrate Wearable Art is destination event for the region and will continue to grow with the advent of the new Beauport Hotel in Gloucester, the opportunity for a multi-day event now on the radar for the future.

  • CWA is a direct result of seARTS dual mission – to connect various parts of the arts-based economy together and at the same time, help “fill in the missing” pieces of the story of Cape Ann and the North Shore as an arts destination.
  • CWA is evolving in a unique way that reflects the communities around it and the creative assets within. The growth opportunity is tremendous insofar as encompassing the high concentration of artisans, craftspeople, and tradespeople, alongside local makers who focus on fashion and wearables.

Why invest in this event & seARTS:

The seARTS Wearable Art group was on the leading edge in its investment in this category of art work and has continued to innovate in the show presentation and education.

  • Celebrate Wearable Art has grown in popularity and the category of “wearable art” is becoming associated with the north shore. Survey feedback from the events indicates that it has been embraced by the community.
  • Most critically, this event puts money directly into the local economy and supports artist entrepreneurs directly. It also supports locally made goods. The majority of these artists are female business owners. The buyers of local art-to-wear are a diverse demographic of arts patrons introducing many to Cape Ann’s larger art community for the first time.
  • To date the entire talent pool needed to plan, manage, and produce the show is done by volunteers and the next wave of events will need funding to pay the professionals who have been supporting it. There are many event components that require funding: from the venue to staging, etc. Our event budget currently covers these basic costs, but additional areas could benefit from additional resources.
  • This fundraiser not only supports the arts community, but provides seARTS with much needed operating revenue to continue our mission of supporting the arts on an annual basis. seARTS has many signature programs that support the creative economy, the linkages between arts organizations, artists, businesses, and local municipalities.

What makes Celebrating Wearable ART unique from a sponsor or partner perspective is:

  • Sponsorships support the seARTS Mission. This event is the key source of funds for all of the seARTS Programs and activities.
  • CWA features working artists – celebrates their work - and at the same time creates income-generating opportunities that contribute directly to the local creative economy.
  • CWA attracts a diverse array of creative individuals who are an invaluable part of the local economy – art, fashion, floral design, graphic design, interior design, book writing, hair & makeup It demonstrates collaboration among artists and community groups
  • While CWA takes place in Gloucester, it embraces the entire region as a local center for arts and culture. The “call to artists” to participate in the event is sent out regionally and nationally
  • CWA attracts new “art-loving” audiences to the area.
  • The events have received tremendous feedback – testimonials and media coverage.

Sponsorships help fund artist awards which in turn attract more artists to the event and region.

Sample Publicity Dossier:

2016:

2015:

2013 and 2011