Donors and local leaders in conversation
On the Table: Arts & Culture
Everyone who attended the most recent On the Table event wrote on their name tag what arts and culture mean to them. For Lora, Janis, and Peggy (pictured above) it was JOY. For others, it was community, opportunity, beauty, and education.
Our On the Table event is a series of participatory mealtime conversations that connects our community of donors to current issues and each other. On this warm, late July day, the Community Foundation’s terrace was adorned with locally grown marigolds, zinnias, and sunflowers, as colorful, vibrant, and beautiful as our local arts and culture community.
Sustaining and Advocating for Joy
For the conversation on Arts & Culture we invited
Isabelle Tuncer, Founder and Executive Director of El Sistema Santa Cruz/ Pajaro Valley
Consuelo Alba, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Watsonville Film Festival
Dr. Nereida Robles Vásquez, Co-Founder of Senderos and her daughter Chanel Robles, a Senderos Board Member
Valéria Miranda, Executive Director of Pajaro Valley Arts and the Santa Cruz Art League
These leaders all nurture a local ecosystem of dance, music, film, and visual art. They spoke about how arts and culture are instrumental in building an equitable and inclusive county that imbues both the audience and performers with a sense of representation and cultural pride.
Art is Vital
As a community, we’re at a critical time where we need innovative, community-driven, local solutions to help keep arts and culture alive in Santa Cruz County.
Together we celebrated the creation of new dedicated arts spaces in downtown Watsonville thanks to PV Arts and the Arts Council. But the conversation also centered around how to help artists and arts administrators make a livable wage, keep funding steady for arts education, and have stable and accessible places for artists to show their work, make art, rehearse, and store instruments and materials.
Dr. Robles shared that Senderos continues to welcome new families however, they are struggling to live and stay here due to the cost of living. "Our families are eager to reconnect and to keep their traditions alive but art and culture feel like a privilege now because so many of our families do not even have time for their kids to join. The adults are working multiple jobs and the students are working too. With COVID impacts we are working on recovery and still searching for support- how do we recover and revive and support our community?”
Dr. Robles emphasized how vital art is both for youth and the larger community. “The arts instill pride in our culture, understanding of our roots, and helps children feel proud of their identity.”
Actions We Can Take Together
Donate general operating support, sponsor events, or become a member:
Volunteer:
Watsonville Film Festival - Join committees in outreach and events.
Attend arts & culture events and invite family and friends to join:
- El Sistema Santa Cruz/ Pajaro Valley - El Sistema would be happy to organize a class where our students will be teaching Orff instruments to a group of people.
Senderos - Fiestas Patrias- Mexican Independence Day Celebration Downtown Santa Cruz, Saturday, September 17th, 11am -2pm
Santa Cruz Art League - Take an Art Class and support local artists who teach: https://scal.org/find-a-class/
Watsonville Film Festival - Attend Fandango at the Plaza, Friday, September 16th at 6pm. This free community event at the Watsonville Plaza in honor of farmworkers will feature live dance and music performances, as well as the outdoor screening of Fandango at the Wall, an award-winning documentary film about music transcending borders.
Help Senderos and Watsonville Film Festival find a permanent home in our county.
Contact Senderos at: Gabriela Cruz Gabriela.cruz@scsenderos.org
Contact WFF at: Consuelo Alba consuelo@watsonvillefilmfest.org
Put your interest in Arts & Culture in your Memorandum of Charitable Intent (MOCI).
Contact Hilary Bryant at hbryant@cfscc.org or 831-662-2065
