Category: Art

Sandra Violet Clark adds a sticky note to an idea board at the Oct. 18 meeting of Arts Alliance Davis as Chris Zdunkiewicz watches. (Wendy Weitzel/Courtesy photo)

By Wendy Weitzel

Members of Arts Alliance Davis met on Oct. 18, brainstorming strategies for supporting local artists and their programs, boosting big ideas and ensuring that everyone has access to see or partake in the community’s creativity.

Arts Alliance Davis meetings are open to anyone interested in or involved with local arts and culture. Its most recent gathering, at the City’s Dresbach-Hunt-Boyer House at 604 Second St., drew more than a dozen participants.

This meeting operated like a mini strategic planning workshop, where attendees took stock of accomplishments, analyzed areas of achievement and looked at ways each person could contribute to a more vital, collaborative, destination-worthy community. After surveying the broader picture, members narrowed the focus to the next year, and two things they hoped to improve on by the end of 2024.

First, the group wanted to explore how to solve the lack of affordability of artists’ working and living spaces. Many young people and emerging artists cannot afford to live in Davis or set up a studio here, they said. Shelly Gilbride, director of International House Davis said UC Davis is losing out on talent because of the high cost of housing in Davis.

Costly housing further compounds another problem: the lack of diversity in a predominantly white town. Natalie Nelson, director of the Pence Gallery, said the group has a lot to celebrate “but we also have so far to go. There needs to be a category of where we are failing, like diversity. What do we need to work on?”

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Justine Villanueva performs in “Gynecologos” on March 18 at the Davis Branch Library. Other Davis Repertory Theatre performers shown are Jasmine Washington, left, Lolita Echeverria-Greco and Annie Velez. The theatre company was one of many arts organizations and artists receiving American Rescue Plan grant funds. (Hanna Nakano/Courtesy photo)

By Wendy Weitzel

Davis artists and nonprofit arts organizations benefited from more than half a million in American Rescue Plan funds distributed in recent months.

The largest amount – $500,000 – went to stabilize the city’s nonprofit arts and culture sector, which saw substantial economic impacts during the pandemic. The Yolo Community Foundation administered and selected those 20 winners, with organizations receiving between $5,000 and $45,000 each. In addition, the city chose 50 individual Davis-based arts and culture applicants to receive grants of $1,000 each.

Rachel Hartsough, the city’s Arts and Culture manager, said, “We can’t overstate how important this support is to the work of local artists. Their collective efforts improve our quality of life in so many ways. The arts and culture sector strengthens our local economy, provides an important tool for gathering in times of celebration and mourning, creates individual and civic pride, builds community within neighborhoods, attracts out-of-town visitors, amplifies the voices and faces of marginalized members of our community, and supports initiatives that promote health and wellness. And, of course, the arts bring joy and beauty into our lives.”

That echoes an October 2021 op-ed printed in The Davis Enterprise, written by Autumn Labbé-Renault, then-Arts Alliance Davis chair, who is executive director of Davis Media Access. Signed by 22 members of the Alliance, it argued that arts and culture were essential to local economic vitality yet were often overlooked in pandemic relief funding. Besides providing jobs, local events boost the coffers of hotels, restaurants, bars, shops and cities, it said.

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Joseph Fletcher, manager at the Veterans Memorial Theatre leads members of the arts community on a tour of the upgraded facility at the Feb. 16 Arts Alliance Davis meeting. (Wendy Weitzel/Courtesy photo)

By Wendy Weitzel

More than 20 members of the arts community gathered Feb. 16 to see the newly improved Veterans Memorial Theatre and collaborate about their work.

The occasion was the Arts Alliance Davis meeting, open to anyone interested in or involved with local arts.

Joseph Fletcher, manager at the city’s Veterans Memorial Theatre, explained the recent upgrades to the city’s aging theater technology in the 1974-built facility. They include updated computer, video, lighting, and other electronics systems and technology.

Fletcher was hired in October 2019 – shortly before the pandemic mandated closure of theater operations for nearly two years – and led the improvements at the facility. Rachel Hartsough, the city of Davis’ arts and culture manager, said, “Fletcher was incredible about using this down time that we unfortunately had from COVID to apply for and receive multiple grants. Nearly $100,000 of upgrades to the theater came from Shuttered Venue Operators grants, and it’s really transformed the usability of the theater.”

That grant money went almost all into materials. Fletcher said he and his staff did much of the setup, saving the city what would have cost an additional 25 to 50 percent. Separately, the theater will get a much-needed new roof starting in March.

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Autumn Labbé-Renault of Davis Media Access, left, ended her four-year term as Arts Alliance Davis chair on Sept. 20. Shelly Gilbride of International House Davis took the reins. (Wendy Weitzel/Courtesy photo)

By Wendy Weitzel

Members of the arts community met on Sept. 20 for the first in-person gathering of Arts Alliance Davis since the pandemic started. They shared details on how their organizations are regrouping, and the work they are doing to help Davis and Yolo County community members recover.

It was an occasion of transition for the group’s leadership as well. Shelly Gilbride, executive director of International House Davis is the new chair, filling a role held for four years by Autumn Labbé-Renault, executive director of Davis Media Access.

Arts Alliance Davis was formed a few years ago as a grassroots effort to give artists and their supporters the opportunity to gather, share ideas and create meaningful impact. Meetings, held at least quarterly at local arts-related establishments, are open to anyone. Gilbride plans to survey members about meeting times, then set a schedule for the next year.

Rachel Hartsough, the City of Davis’ arts and culture manager, said she was grateful for Labbé-Renault’s leadership during the pandemic. She helped orchestrate an Arts Alliance advocacy effort that ultimately led the City Council to allocate federal recovery funds to the local nonprofit arts and culture sector.

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