MEASURE U SPOTLIGHT: MONO ARTS COUNCIL
Tell us a little about your program/organization.
Mono Arts Council has been around in the community for over 50 years. We started as an informal group of artists looking for a way to showcase their art and have an event to bring tourists to the area. This group eventually formed into the Mammoth Art Guild, which was the name we had when we finally incorporated into a nonprofit in 1992. We changed our name to Mono Council for the Arts in 2013 and then again to Mono Arts Council in 2015. Our mission: Mono Arts Council fosters a lasting culture of creativity by collaborating with artists through education, advocacy, and programs. We operate the Mono Arts Council Gallery & Community Arts Center, located by Vons, where we sell art from over 60 local artists throughout the Eastern Sierra, as well as provide many programs for the community to engage with the arts through visual art, music, dance, and theater. We also provide arts education to all schools in Mono County, through programs such as Create With the Greats and our Crescendo Music Program.
How does your program/organization impact the lives of people in Mammoth Lakes?
Mono Arts Council provides year-round programming to the youth and adults of Mammoth Lakes and throughout Mono County. These programs range from in-school arts education instruction, such as our Create With the Greats program, to our popular Art & Wine programs. Our youth programs offer students opportunities to be creative and express their unique personalities, learn new art skills, as well as develop tools for social emotional growth. Our adult programs provide people a community to learn art in a supportive environment, meet new people, try a new art form, or even develop skills to become a thriving artist.
Your program/organization is a Measure U grant recipient, can you tell us what you use that funding for in your program/organization?
We have quite a few programs that we fund through Measure U. First, is our Create With the Greats program that provides visual arts instruction to the Kindergarten - 8th grade students of the Mammoth Unified School District. The elementary school does not have funding to support a visual arts teacher, so we are grateful to be able to provide this program to our students. Second, we provide a Cultural Arts Program to the elementary school, where students learn about a specific culture, through the arts. We offer an after-school art program at our Gallery & Community Arts Center. This gives students a fun and relaxed way to unwind and get creative after their regular school day. During the summer we offer a variety of summer arts camps, ranging from camps for littles to Art & Nature camps where students can have fun exploring our public lands while making art to reflect their experiences. Through our Gallery & Community Arts Center, we offer free arts programming and opportunities to community members. We have a bi-weekly program called Nümü Social Dance where anyone is welcome to learn about the dance and culture of our local Paiute tribes. We also offer an Open Studio, where anyone can come in and create art using either their own materials or our materials, anytime the gallery is open. Finally, we offer the space to various artists and community members for meetings, creative gatherings, like Ukulele group or art nights, and collaborate with community partners to host family art experiences.
Did the Measure U grant funding make it possible for you to offer programming that would not have been available otherwise?
There are several programs that would not exist or at the very minimum, would happen at a much smaller scale without Measure U funding. Our Create with the Greats program would have to scale back significantly to only maybe 1-2 visits per school year vs. the 5-6 visits we provide now. We would not be able to offer the Cultural Arts Program, nor the after-school program or the summer arts camps. We are so very grateful to be able to offer these programs as well as continue to listen to the needs of the community and offer new and exciting programming with Measure U support.
How did the Measure U grant funding help your program/organization to provide opportunities for locals to engage with arts/culture/mobility/recreation?
The Measure U funding provided us with the funds necessary to hire skilled Teaching Artists for all our youth and adult programs. This demand keeps growing so it is vital to keep growing our skilled staff. It also helps us to purchase art supplies and have an incredible Education Director for planning and running all of these great programs.
What is the next big thing happening with your organization/program?
We are excited to have our spring/summer Art & Wine program ready for registration but probably more excited to have our Summer Arts Camps open for registration on April 1st! We have seven camps available at different times throughout the summer for ages ranging from 4-14! We are also thrilled to be hosting our first ever open call, student art show, Through the Looking Glass! The exhibit opens April 14th with an artist reception on May 3rd from 5:30 - 7:30pm.
Do you have any words of advice for other programs/organizations that might be looking at applying for Measure U funding?
Just make sure that you have all of your ducks in a row when you consider applying. That includes your required paperwork, like tax returns and P&L statements, but even more importantly, your plan for matching funds. Also, make sure you show up at the allocations meetings! It’s a great way to talk about your program but also, it is important to be there if any questions about your application come up.
About Mammoth Lakes Recreation
Formed in 2014, Mammoth Lakes Recreation’s mission is to deliver cutting edge sustainable recreation, mobility, and arts & culture opportunities and infrastructure for the benefit of the community and natural environment of Mammoth Lakes. For more information, go to www.mammothlakesrecreation.org.