Mark Golden Speaks at Regional Arts & Nonprofit Conference

––– Columbus, NY, August 3, 2005

The Finger Lakes Arts Grants and Services, Inc. (FLAGS) invited Mark Golden, president of the Sam and Adele Golden Foundation for the Arts, Inc., and also the CEO of Golden Artist Colors, Inc., to participate in a panel discussion titled, “Concrete Ideas for Your Next Step” on Tues., Aug. 2. The goal of the conference was to provide nonprofits, individual artists, emerging cultural groups, and cultural heritage tourism businesses with solid ideas, knowledge, and applicable steps to help them in their day-to-day business management. Mark specifically spoke about collaboration, relationships with communities, and the support of the arts in the rural environment in which GOLDEN is located.

“I was thrilled for the invitation to speak,” said Golden Foundation President, Mark Golden. “It was an opportunity to share insight regarding the intersection between non-profit and for profit businesses and how they can engage one another for mutual success.”

“It is exciting that so many arts groups across multiple counties have collaborated to create ‘Concrete Ideas for Your Next Step,’” said Mary Beth Springmeier, Executive Director of FLAGS. “As a nonprofit art service organization, our goal is to increase the support, recognition, appreciation and promotion of the arts in Cayuga, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne, and Yates counties and we believe this conference has done that. Participants took part in a variety of workshops and sessions dealing with topics from marketing the traditional way to understanding new trends and weblogs.”

FLAGS worked with many arts partners, including the New York State Council on the Arts, and Cultural Resources Council of Syracuse and Onondaga County, Inc to put the event together. Executive Director of the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) since 1980, Theodore S. Berger, was the keynote speaker for the event. NYFA provides more support to artists and arts organizations in all disciplines than any other private organization in the country: nearly $11 million annually. NYFA’s fellowships of $7,000 go to as many as 160 New York State artists from a field of 16 disciplines, covering the visual, performing, and literary arts. Small and mid-sized arts organizations, which artists so often depend on, are also supported by NYFA.

The conference was held at the Ramada Lakefront Inn in Geneva, NY.

About the Sam and Adele Golden Foundation for the Arts, Inc.
The mission of the Sam and Adele Golden Foundation for the Arts, Inc. is to be a meaningful resource for the professional visual artist. The Golden Foundation for the Arts was originally conceived as a way to thank the community of artists for their support, encouragement and friendship. For the Golden family and friends, it is also a means of celebrating the legacy of Sam and Adele.

About Golden Artist Colors, Inc.
Founded in 1980 by the Golden family, Golden Artist Colors, Inc. began producing acrylic paint as a result of conversations with artists who needed new materials to help them explore more innovative ways of working with acrylic. The products that Sam Golden developed as the result of collaborations with these painters became his inspiration and central motif that he carried forward in the creation of GOLDEN. GOLDEN takes pride in the fact that its Custom Lab is the only facility of its kind, dedicated to designing products to the specifications of individual artists. Developing paints to meet exacting criteria is the specialty of GOLDEN’s custom operations. For more information about Golden Artist Colors, Inc. and its comprehensive product offering, call 1-800-959-6543 or visit the company’s Web site at www.goldenpaints.com.