2007 Arts Grants Encourage Local Economic Activity

The economic landscape of Mendocino County has been changing for the past several years. The dwindling resource based economy has given rise to an economy that relies on both the beauty of our natural resources and the creativity and wisdom of our human resources – the people of our county. This year’s grantees for the Community Foundation of Mendocino County's Arts for Our Future program are energetic community based people who see opportunities to contribute to the future economic vitality of Mendocino County. The Mendocino Coast Writers Conference is a good example of an organization that is thinking big and looking to build a national reputation. Under the leadership of published novelist and College of the Redwoods instructor, Charlotte Gullick, the Writer’s Conference is not content with resting on the reputation it has developed over the past 18 years, but is looking to attract new participants to the annual event.

From left to right, Ronnie James, Miriam Rice and Dorothy Beebee of the International Mushroom Dye Institute

“The Writers Conference is ready to step-up to a new level,” Gullick says. “For too long we’ve had an amazing program, but not the money to bump up the caliber another notch. This $20,000 grant is important not only for the money it brings, but for the vote of confidence and energy it gives us to move forward. We’re ready to increase the scope of the conference in terms of attracting prominent presenters and bigger audiences, and to put Mendocino Writers Conference on a par with other nationally recognized conferences.”

One of the newest festivals in the county was also the recipient of a grant of $15,000 from the Arts for Our Future program. Just a year ago, The Mendocino Film Festival was a new and untried venture. However the first year of the festival met with such a great response, that it has energized the entire community, bringing local people out for events, as well as new visitors to the area.

“The Mendocino Film Festival offers more than 100 independent films to watch,” says Ann Walker, Board Vice President of Operations for the Festival. “It also gives participants an opportunity to meet filmmakers, to ask questions and to learn from the subjects, viewpoints, and experiences the filmmakers bring to us. Over sixty filmmakers, including the “dean” of documentary filmmaking, Albert Maysles, attended this year’s festival, which took place May 17 – 20, 2007. Although films, filmmakers and celebrities may draw visitors to Mendocino County for the first time, our community and stunning location will guide them back for years to come.”

Just as the Film Festival celebrates the long history of making movies in Mendocino County, the art of mushroom dyes also has a long tradition in the area thanks to the pioneering efforts of Miriam Rice. Miriam documented the existence of chemically stable, water soluble, color and light fast textile dyes in mushrooms in 1968 and wrote two popular books on the subject. An avid recycler, Miriam also discovered she could make paper and sculpting material from the fibers left after the dye extraction. Her work moved mushroom dyes and paper into the national and international art arena.

The International Mushroom Dye Institute formed and sponsored its first official gathering in Mendocino in 1985, and symposia have continued in various countries around the world every two years. The 13th Symposium will once again be held in Mendocino and draw visitors from throughout the world to the county. A $6,000 grant from the Arts for Our Future program will support some of the local infrastructure necessary to host the conference, such as the purchase of propane gas burners and stainless steel dye pots to be permanently housed at Mendocino Art Center.

The Arts for Our Future program at the Community Foundation of Mendocino County is made possible through a grant from the James Irvine Foundation, with a mutual recognition that the arts can be a powerful force in bringing communities together and in engendering economic activity. A prominent panel of local residents, including John Marshall of Covelo, Michael Addison of Boonville, Lisa Orselli of Little River, Madelyn Yeo of Ukiah, Sus Susalla of Gualala, Francine Selim of Ukiah, and Art Harwood of Branscomb have advised the program.

If you would like to learn more about the Arts for Our Future grant program, contact the Community Foundation of Mendocino County at 707-468-9882 or email info@communityfound.org.