The Meriden Arts Council (MAC), founded in 1993, seeks to promote interest in all forms of artistic and cultural expression for the greater Meriden area. We do this mainly through an online arts/cultural events calendar and an online artist directory. In addition, the events are printed quarterly, along with a brief description and contact information about local arts organizations. The print version is distributed via mail to our individual and organizational members, as well as being available free to the general public at various locations, such as the Meriden, Southington and Wallingford libraries and different businesses in our region. We promote use of our calendar via an e-mail newsletter.

In order to encourage young artists, each year MAC gives education awards to high school seniors who are planning to continue their education in the arts. In addition we recognize one or more Artist of the Year, an honor awarded to adults in our community who have made a notable contribution to the arts, as an artist, patron, teacher or other support of the arts.

Although MAC focuses mainly on connecting our communities to artists and organizations, we do organize one annual art show and sale, the Main ARTery. Artwork is presented in conjunction with an annual wine tasting event that supports the non-profit agencies in Meriden. This well-attended event gives MAC and its participating artists exposure to a good cross section of local citizens. We purposely keep the entry fees low, in order to encourage as many artists as possible to participate.