During the winter of 1984, Bart O'Connor, former Superintendent of the Attleboro Public Schools, called a meeting of area school superintendents and their arts coordinators. The purpose was to share information about the emerging Great Woods Performing Arts Center in Mansfield, MA. This group began to brainstorm possible collaborative plans to effectively make use of the Great Woods resources in order to impact arts education in area school districts. In the summer of 1986 the Southeastern Massachusetts Arts Collaborative, better known as SMARTS, began with a three week intensive program for dance, music, and visual arts students, grades 7-12. The excitement which resulted from the interaction between interested and motivated arts students and artists/educators, has blossomed into a year round, multifaceted organization.
