Mendocino Art Center begins proposal process for its future

MENDOCINO, CA >> On Saturday, February 4, the Community Advisory Board of the Mendocino Art Center met with Board Chair Debra Lennox, Interim Executive Director Martin Betz, and reorganization consultant Kay Sprinkel Grace. The purpose of the meeting was to inform the Advisory Board of the Art Center’s financial status, examine three proposals to “re-imagine” the Art Center’s functions, and encourage the group to spark interest and discussion out in the community.

The Art Center has significantly cut monthly debts of $30,000 to $40,000 down to $2,000 to $3,000. Due to recent public concern for the Art Center’s financial status, the nonprofit also met its goal of a $50,000 funding match.

The group appeared relieved to hear this news. However, the fragile future of the Art Center remains unresolved. Betz noted that in spite of any short-term budget relief, “That is not an art center as we know it.”

During the meeting, Interim Executive Director Betz described his recent outreach with other art nonprofit groups to County Supervisor Ted Williams. Their discussion led to the conclusion that all the arts groups are struggling with the same issues of declining membership, shrinking donor bases, and less patronage from locals and tourists.

Supervisor Williams noted that there are one-time COVID funds still available to the arts groups, and groups would need to present the County Board with a white paper laying out all financial, cultural, and demographic stresses that have hampered guaranteed futures.

Betz stated, “The Mendocino village is not an art-centered destination anymore.” The meeting led him to believe that people now come to the coast for the atmosphere of the redwoods and the ocean while enjoying the food, wine, and lodging.

Although tourism remains a successful industry on the coast, demographic and generational changes have seriously impacted the sixty-four-year draw to the coast’s artists’ colony. According to Betz, his meeting with other

nonprofits found common ground about the seismic changes their groups have undergone. In a way, COVID had exposed problems already there.

The older generation that reliably supported the arts are aging out and cannot provide the funding they once gave. The younger generation is drawn to the area for engagement with the environment, for shortterm events such as the Music Festival, and for restaurants and lodgings. The younger locals are not subscribers.

Board Chair Debra Lennox bluntly announced that “the MAC has reached a crossroads. Our operating model has reached a point of being unsustainable.” She then stated that “the situation presents an opportunity to develop a new program that is forwardthinking, sustainable, and fulfills community expectations.” She added that with a new focus, they would find the funding “to bring the importance of arts to everyone.”

Betz conducted a PowerPoint presentation of a preliminary analysis of the Art Center’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. A few of the listed strengths were the Art Center’s ownership of the property, its well-equipped facilities, its nationally recognized ceramics program, and its annual economic impact of $1.5 million.

Some weaknesses were the weight of its own history, lack of consistent vision and strategic marketing, and aversion to change. Betz listed some opportunities as “reimaging the MAC,” developing a new program model, building bridges with local communities, and collaborating with other organizations.

As to threats, Betz noted that the Art Center was not addressing fundamental problems, demographic changes, and loss of interest by the community. The lack of fundraising power was tied to a need for a new generation of supporters.

Betz then laid out three proposals which he said were flexible, interchangeable, and not “pre-determined.” He noted that other ideas might easily grow out of these proposals. One proposal would modify the Artist-in-Residence Program so that the artists would also become teaching artists.

This would ease the financial strain of bringing in top professionals to teach art classes which were funded by high student fees. Under the new model the residence artists would gain post-grad teaching experience, the students would pay less, and the artist program would remain a central component.

Board Chair Lennox described the positive effects of the Art Center on the visiting artists and the Gallery visitors. “As an area “rich in nature in so many ways,” she said, “artists-inresidence find nature creeping into their imagery. Visitors to our exhibitions find new ideas and textures that they will associate with Mendocino the rest of their lives.”

The proposal also suggests that the Gallery and store should remain open. Exhibitions would be on a much smaller scale, but large seasonal events such as fairs would be impossible to staff. Since COVID the staff has been greatly reduced.

The second proposal would reinvent the Art Center as a Mendocino Art Collective. Multiple cultural organizations would be invited to establish their headquarters on the Art Center’s grounds creating a central hub.

The property and buildings would then be available for multi-purpose use by a wide variety of community groups. Community service groups and arts programs could potentially operate and flourish on the same site.

The third proposal would be a complete reinvention of the Art Center as an “art/craft school model” along the lines of others thriving across the country. In this scenario, students would be internationally recruited for a residence program that offered multiple sessions throughout the year.

Theater education could be a component as well, along with Pomo education and a naturalism center. This would mean that the Art Center would be developed as a commercial enterprise model. Events and other activities could be arranged for “field trip” enrichment of each student cohort bringing in more dollars to local merchants.

In all scenarios, the Art Center’s new and popular Youth Art Program would continue. Most likely the Gallery and store would also continue to operate. At this time, staffing in the store is limited to five days a week, and there is no staff to oversee the Gallery.

The time frame for committing to changes identified this meeting with the Community Advisory Committee as Step One. The PowerPoint would then go before the Art Center’s Board.

Step Two occurred as Board Chair Lennox formed an Ad Hoc Steering Committee of volunteers to oversee funding campaign proposals and organizational changes. Step Two, including a new business plan, is projected to be completed by April of 2023.

Step Three would be completed in May of 2023 with all graphics and fundraising packages ready. At that time, the capital fundraising campaign would begin.

Step Four would occur in January of 2024 with the “launch of a new program and a new brand.” These efforts will also be guided by reorganization consultant Kay Sprinkel Grace who encouraged those present “to spread the word, engage the community in reimagining the Mendocino Arts Center.”

Noting her experience in advising large metropolitan nonprofits, she assured the group that major arts organizations in San Francisco were facing the same problems as the Arts Center. She stressed that the Strategic Plan “must be committed to change.” She assured the group that “this is the artistic heart of the coast and will remain so.”

The Mendocino Art Center desires to offer the local community a respite for their souls, a place to reconnect to themselves and engage in art in new ways. The impact of COVID weakened the arts organizations that rely upon human interaction. As recently as 2019, the Art center served 1300 students.

People’s social habits changed while they remained in their homes over a long period of time. They developed different priorities and ways of engagement without in-person experiences. Now student numbers at the Art Center are drastically lower.

Society, Board Chair Lennox noted, is larger than ourselves and is strengthened by new ideas and new interactions. Art has been the pathway to understanding man’s earliest experiences with his world. In a way, although not self-created, today’s memes function as a type of graphic representation of individual expression presented on social media. People still crave visuals.

To make her point, she quoted Michael Ano, Senior Director of Engagement for the 18th Street Arts Center. “When artists create projects,” she quoted, “that deeply engage communities and reflect their needs and lived experiences, it creates a space for social change.”