On Inauguration Day, Americans welcomed a new president.
With little fanfare and virtually no undercover security detail, some community art organizations recently transitioned to new leadership as well—a move that brought renewed hope of a national administration that might support the arts a bit more. Such positive change could ripple down to the Santa Maria community, too.
By now, it’s old hat to talk about how hard the economy has hit everyone. Such discussions are practically cliché, having penetrated into the very essence of America.
Still, the arts obviously aren’t immune to the downturn. In fact, they’re usually one of the first areas to get hit. All over the country, arts organizations big and small have had to cut programs, squeeze budgets, cancel shows, or shut down completely, all of which ultimately affects jobs and
consumer spending.
Like a great masterpiece, however, the picture is more complex than it seems. Where there are bleak shades of economic grimness, there are also strokes of promise. Congress just approved $50 million in recovery funds for the National Endowment for the Arts as part of the economic stimulus bill. The money will allow arts organizations to play a vital role in reviving the local
economy.
There’s also been a petition circulating urging President Barack Obama to appoint a secretary of the arts. The momentum is small, but building, and it offers hope to art lovers of every scale.
In this era of national change and focus on leadership, the presidents of the Town Center Gallery, Los Padres Artist Guild, and the Santa Maria Arts Council took the time to talk to the Sun about the current status of the arts, how the new presidential administration will affect the arts, and their hopes for the coming year.
Franczeska Bobi Angel,
Town Center Gallery
The Town Center Gallery faced a lot of challenges last year, so it’s understandable that its members would feel down about the status of the arts. But at a time when Americans are finding new hope, so are the gallery’s members. Franczeska Bobi Angel encouraged a bright outlook in her first speech as president of the Town Center Gallery Board of Directors when she talked about the coming of a new hope and a new era, in reference to the incoming presidential administration.
Angel teaches watercolor painting and other media at Allan Hancock College. She also teaches cartooning and illustration for kids through the Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department. But Angel herself didn’t start painting until later in life. After her kids grew up, she finally got the courage to explore her interest in art. She enrolled in Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. In one of her classes she set three goals: to pay off a $42,000 student loan, to make a living with her art, and to travel.
Within a year, she had met all three of them.
Just a few months after graduating, she got a call from a man with a British accent, offering her a job. She was to be the art instructor and artist in residence for a royal princess, the daughter of the king of Saudi Arabia.
“This is a case of where you should be careful what you wish for,” Angel said. “I said I wanted to travel, but I never said where.”
The instructor stayed with the princess on and off for six years.
Angel hopes that, as president of the board, she can help the Town Center Gallery reach some of its goals. The gallery is still without a permanent space, after being told to move from its location in the Santa Maria Town Center last year. As president, Angel faces the challenge of not only trying to find venues to show the gallery’s exhibitions, but also of keeping up morale among the artists who were active participants at the gallery.
“We are desperately trying to find an art gallery to replace what we had at the mall,” Angel said.
She explained that the gallery is down to about 37 artists from about 100 because of the lack of a show space. Good Neighbor Bakery has become an interim home for the gallery, and art from member artists still shows at the airport. Other places—like the Museum of Flight—have expressed an interest in allowing the gallery to show as well.
Having such venues is important to the artists because, as the Santa Maria Valley grows, so does its interest in art, Angel said.
“As new people come in here and buy homes, they come from the cities where they are used to having art,” she said.
Other established venues, such as PCPA, bring in art patrons as well, which in turn brings up the level of interest in all arts.
“When you’re into one art, you sort of flow into the other areas of art,” Angel said.
She’s hoping that all forms of art will get a boost from the new administration under President Obama.
“There’s hope there will be an—“art czar” is the word I heard—to promote the arts,” she said. “But it’s only been a week into the administration.”
[image-3]Craig Shafer,
Santa Maria Arts Council
Craig Shafer is a familiar face to the Santa Maria Arts Council.
He’s been president since 2006 and has long been a supporter of the arts. He’s also been the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission’s 5th District chair since 2007, was arts editor for the Santa Maria Sun from 2004 to 2008, and currently handles publicity for PCPA. He’s also long been a student of various art forms.
Shafer has a strong belief that the community must be involved in the arts for the arts to exist, and he holds that position as president of the
council.
“Art is not a sit-on-the-couch kind of activity,” he said. “You have to be part of it. So many people think that art is just a frill anyway. Arts in education increases test scores, interest in school, and camaraderie and tolerance.”
For his current term, Shafer was installed as council president at the start of the Arts Council’s fiscal year in June 2008, but he took time to analyze the state of the arts in the community and what the new year could possibly bring. He said despite the economy, which has battered arts programs across the board, the Arts Council remains committed to its mission to promote the arts. It’s given almost $200,000 to 280 emerging artists so far. And this year, the Arts Council will give out another $10,000.
That giveaway won’t be easy. With the Art Council’s trust fund down 20 percent, it may have to borrow from its general fund in order to continue supporting artists.
The Arts Council also provides program grants each year for programs like the Santa Maria Philharmonic Music Van and the Santa Maria Civic Theatre. A spring student art show helps to encourage teachers to get art in the classroom.
Going forward, Shafer said, the Arts Council will push for more advocacy and encourage more active membership. The group currently boasts 40 or 50 members. With more people, the organization could provide an arts liaison position, someone who could see what needs aren’t being met and find available grants to meet them. Some of the community’s high schools, for instance, have a shortage of band instruments, Shafer said.
“That’s my dream: finding those unmet needs and finding ways to fill them,” he explained.
To meet the Arts Council’s financial needs, the organization holds a few regular fundraisers, like the biannual Corks and Canvas. Most recently, the group sold pieces of a giant mural by local artist Robert Burridge to fund its programs.
Successful fundraisers don’t mean the organization wouldn’t also like a little boost from the presidential administration.
“I hope Obama’s reinvestment plan in America includes the arts,” Shafer said. “To not acknowledge it is wrong, but I think he will. He has in some of his speeches.”
Either way, you can count on the Santa Maria Arts Council to not sit around and wait for
funding. Shafter made it clear that the group will do what it takes to continue its mission of providing opportunities for everyone interested in participating in and benefiting from the arts.
“We’re an active organization, and we’re going to remain vital,” he said.
Carol J. Rodriguez,
Los Padres Artist Guild
Carol J. Rodriguez has always been attached to the arts. She’s been an artist since she picked up her first set of crayons at the age of 4. She focused her high school studies on the arts and received her fine arts degree from Allan Hancock College. She’s worked with clay since 1993 and eventually dropped a lot of the other mediums in which she’s experienced—such as watercolor—for clay because it’s the medium with which she most connects.
Rodriguez has been a Los Padres Artist Guild member for 18 years and has been active since the beginning. She also thinks there’s an interest in art in everyone, and she’s set out to make those opportunities available for anyone who wants to express themselves with art.
As incoming president of the Los Padres Artist Guild, Rodriguez hopes to invite aspiring artists and art lovers to discover the talent in the community.
“Our focus is on spreading the word that we are here,” she said.
She explained that with so many artists living in this area who have had their work recognized nationally and globally, it’s imperative that Santa Maria not be overlooked.
“Among the talent that’s here, I think Santa Maria is a hidden gem,” she said.
Rodriguez explained that there’s a big interest in the arts in Santa Maria—especially among children. Classes she teaches often fill up, demonstrating a local interest not only from kids, but also from parents who have to commit to get them to those classes. Rodriguez hopes to capitalize on such interest through the guild, which currently counts about 90 members.
[image-4] Rodriguez recognized that the local art scene has taken a hit recently—mostly visible in the closing of several galleries—and noted that the scene isn’t looking as healthy as she’d like it to. Still, she holds out hope that with talk about an investment in the arts from the White House, things will improve.
“When you have someone in the White House [supporting the arts], that really helps us out,”
she said.
For now, the guild is gearing up for its big events of the year. In March, they’ll hold a Spring Show, followed by a Studio and Garden Tour set for June 30. On the first Saturday in October, the guild participates in the Autumn Arts Grapes and Grains festival, and it hosts a three-day show on Thanksgiving weekend. m
The walls in Arts Editor Shelly Cone’s house are filled with Crayola masterpieces by her own three artists-in-residence. Contact her at scone@santa
mariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 5-12, 2009.
