CLEARLAKE— Lisa Kaplan, Middletown Art Center’s Executive and Artistic Director, was this week’s guest speaker at the Judge’s Breakfast in Clearlake on Thursday. Kaplan shared the excitement of celebrating nine years of operation to the day, while giving a glimpse into the center’s next projects in line.
According to Kaplan, “The MAC was born out of true love for the arts and a true desire to spread the arts throughout Lake County, because we don’t have enough.” Formed just prior to the Valley Fire in 2015, the MAC lost some artwork in the Sculpture Walk during the fire and many members lost their homes, inspiring a rebirth of sorts, offering workshops that were directly intended and designed to help those affected by the fire.
These classes included working with local manzanita wood that had survived the fire, and helped fire victims work out the trauma physically through art and wood carving. Kaplan mentioned “When you think about a whole community going through that, it’s a lot of energy.” Helen Owens of Middletown shared her experience in these classes stating, “I took that class, absolutely loved it, took the project home and fixed it up to be a chandelier.”
Today the MAC has grown to a staff of 12 and holds a variety of art exhibits featuring all types of artists, both local artists and artists from all around the world. Kaplan shared that the MAC’s purpose is “Engaging the public in art making, art education, and art appreciation.” She added that “The art center provides platforms for diverse voices and perspectives trying to create an inclusive and accessible space for all.” She called the MAC a “place of hope.” Currently the MAC is housing an exhibit called “Raices Hermosas (Gorgeous Roots)” and is a vibrant and colorful presentation of 19 LatinX artists which Kaplan related to the Spanish folk song “De Colores.” Kaplan shared “We have probably all heard that song and all of a sudden as a non LatinX person you have a broader understanding of who my neighbors are. We’re making connections, building bridges.”
The center also hosts dances, open mic nights, workshops and classes every weekend and sees hundreds of student visitors on field trips.
The next big project for the MAC is the painting on the Middletown water tanks. The facility is working with District 1 Supervisor Mike Simon to obtain grant funding in order to paint tribal inspired murals on the tanks, which has a traffic rate of 30,000 vehicles. The proposed mural is visible on the MAC website middletownartcenter.org. Kaplan shared that the center has worked with many on local murals and has recently worked with the Konocti Unified School District to install the “Kindness Mural” at the Burns Valley Elementary school.
According to the MAC website “The design incorporated student drawings and writings in response to the prompt “What is Kindness?” 200 students participated in creating the mural together with MAC artists.” Kaplan expanded on this stating, “You can hire artists from the MAC to make a mural with you, not just for you. To engage the kids, to engage the adults. We have worked in senior centers, all types of places.”
Kaplan has developed a knack for grant writing thanking their current partners which include the California Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, the California Cultural and Historical Endowment and the Upstate California Creative Corps. Kaplan the MAC received seven grants from the California Arts Council, three from the National Endowment, one from Cal-Humanities and another one in that they are still waiting to see on. Despite success with grant writing, Kaplan noted that they are always looking for sponsorships and community support as they continue to grow.
