Our Story
CAI was formed out of a passion for the arts and a desire to make better use of available and established talented assets in the Indian Valley.
In 2010 The Indian Valley Arts Foundation had been actively creating and promoting all forms of the arts in the Indian Valley for nearly 30 years. Many of the programs that operate under that board are ones you may already know and love such as:
- Concert Sundaes - free Summer concert series featuring music and ice cream in Souderton Park's beautiful Maurice W. Foulke band shell
- Montgomery County Poet Laureate program - an amazingly active and diverse literary program designed to recognize and promote excellence in poetry
- Artists in Action - bringing the arts to school kids through presentations, guest artists, residencies, and community art projects done by kids
- A public arts committee responsible for large murals in Souderton and Harleysville
- A sculpture committee responsible for the modern sculpture in the public parking lot on Main St in Souderton.
Community members account for a large share of the work that goes into and comes out of those committees but the fact remained that IVAF board members were stretched thin working on so many projects at the same time. That's when CAI co-chairs Marsha Stevens and Harry Boardman realized that we could combine several of those committees into one. That's what happened and the result has been fantastic!
CAI operates by partnering with businesses, organizations, and individuals in the Indian Valley. We create great public art pieces for them and they, in turn, make a donation to CAI. That money is used to cover the cost of the project and the remaining funds go towards other public arts projects such as commissioning artists to design and install sculptures or utilitarian art objects like unique benches, bike racks, trashcans, or anything we or you can think of.
Have an idea for a public arts project? Are you looking to get involved with CAI as a committee member or as a community partner? Get in touch!