Arts briefs
Green people, green projects and mean green
By Michel Cicero 11/12/2009
The City of Ventura has awarded what amounts to free office space to a handful of local organizations. In January, the Nonprofit Sustainability Center at 505 Poli St. will become home to the Ventura Film Society, the Hillside Conservancy, Focus on the Masters, Ventura County Ballet and Turning Point Foundation. Tenants will receive a three-year lease with an option to renew for two years for $1 per year and 40 cents per square foot to cover basic utilities. Eric Wallner, the city’s cultural affairs supervisor, said the property, which was purchased from the county, has been sitting vacant, so it was a win-win scenario designed to help key organizations weather the economic storm. Focus on the Masters’ Donna Granata called it a “creative solution” to a serious problem. “It’s an incredible opportunity for nonprofits to partner with the city to reduce expenses through the difficult times ahead,” she noted. “The city really stepped up.”
The WAV project tweeted last week that people are indeed living on the premises, but at press time had still not announced who exactly made it through the whole process and into an affordable live/work art space. Applicants were asked not to divulge anything until developer Chris Velasco makes a formal statement. At the most recent City Council meeting, it was, however, announced that the project was ready to begin moving in the handful of homeless who will now have a place to call home.
Green Art People, an offshoot of the Boho art community on Ventura’s west end, is offering space to artists, crafters and jewelers for a Green Art Christmas boutique to be held Saturday, Nov. 28, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Anyone interested in participating should call 729-2361.
The Mayor’s Arts Awards were handed out at a celebration this week in Ventura, featuring a live performance by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. The recipients were Albert and Micheline Sakharoff, Arts Patron; Michele Chapin, Artist in the Community; Chris Velasco, Arts Leader; Patricia Strickland, Arts Educator; and Veronica Valadez, Emerging Artist.
The public is invited to attend a ceremony marking completion of the Mill Building renovation in Santa Paula, on Friday, Nov. 13, at 10 a.m. Ventura County Supervisor Kathy Long and representatives from the Ventura County Transportation Commission will participate in the 120-year-old building’s turnover to its new tenant, the Museum of Ventura County. The museum will then begin work on converting the Mill into its new Farm Museum, slated to open next year in the heart of one of the most productive agricultural areas in the country.
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