The Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture is collaborating with local museums and other institutions to produce 805 Inspires, a new video series to highlight the region’s cultural and educational assets. The series includes a variety of 15-minute video segments available online at sbac.ca.gov/805inspires. The videos will also periodically air on TVSB’s local public access channels.
805 Inspires was first proposed by Steven Windhager, executive director of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, as an opportunity for local organizations to produce informative and interactive content that individuals and families can enjoy from the comfort of their own homes.
“During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, my colleagues and I were seeking a way to continue to give back to our community and bring a bit of our missions into everyone’s home,” Windhager said in a press release. “We thought sharing an activity that could be undertaken as a family would be a great way to start.”
Erik Davis, executive director of TVSB, will host the series, which will include segments from the Guadalupe Cultural Arts and Education Center, Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum, Elverhoj Museum of History and Art, Blue Sky Center, Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum, and several other participating organizations.
805 Inspires is funded in part by a grant made possible through the COVID-19 Joint Response Grants Committee, a partnership between the Santa Barbara Foundation, United Way of Santa Barbara County, and Hutton Parker Foundation.
“I see this project as a love letter from our cultural institutions to the community,” Sarah York Rubin, executive director of the County Office of Arts and Culture, said in the release. “Despite tremendous hardship, they continue to serve.”
This article appears in Jul 30 – Aug 6, 2020.