Siskiyou County Arts Council Brings Art to County Families

Art is a lens for seeing differently

Siskiyou County Arts Council (SCAC) President Bridgétt Rangel Rexford says the organization defines art as “anything made by a maker. It could be a hamburger, or it could be the traditional ‘fine arts.’ That’s the beauty of art.”

If this definition challenges your understanding of art, you’re on track to seeing its value. Patricia Lord, the council’s executive director, says art “creates a perspective that makes you see something that was already there in a different light; it’s a new lens for seeing it differently.”

Increasing access to the arts for any age

A nonprofit partner of the California Arts Council, SCAC exists to “provide equitable access to the arts” for everyone in Siskiyou County. “We focus on increasing access to arts, including for children and students,” Patricia says, “but most of our programs are scalable for any age, meaning they can be tailored to meet any age group as needed.”

One of SCAC’s favorite scalable art outreaches is the SCRAPS Art Cart. Inspired by a former Siskiyou Arts Council program (and, coincidentally, the efforts of NSP Publisher Pamela Newman!), the Art Cart brings free, high quality art supplies and upcycling art project ideas to community events throughout the county.

Opportunities to do art for whole families

Marilyne Shamansky, a SCAC board member, has worked hard to equip the transportable art studio with tools that inspire and enable creative expression for all ages. “You might think the cart and supplies are just for kids, but moms and dads sit at the table and work with their kids,” Marilyne says. “It gives whole families an opportunity to do art together.”

Seeing adults doing art invites other adults to participate, creating a unifying, intergenerational experience. “Scalable projects like this are awesome because they are collaborative,” Bridgétt says. “Anyone can do it with anyone; it creates memories and community. The art is something they can take home, plus they’ve learned skills they can do at home as well.”

New programs include podcast and postal service project

Although the Art Cart has begun making reappearances, this particular program does not lend itself well to social distancing and at-home orders. So, during the worst of the pandemic, SCAC dug deep into its soul of creativity to create new programs, including Art RADIO. As a podcast featuring local artists, Art RADIO provides a platform to celebrate and promote art, while also building an art community that “is accessible anywhere, anytime, to anyone,” Bridgétt says.

As another COVID-friendly project, SCAC held a 2020 upcycling contest, challenging home-bound students and community members to use at-home items to create art that demonstrated science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) principles.

With the support of the Community Arts Endowment of the Community Foundation of the North State, SCAC also launched a collaborative postal service project. SCAC mailed templates throughout Siskiyou County and the returned pieces were combined into a single work of art along with a section created by two local artists. “Older and younger adults and children collaborated on this project,” Patricia says, “We like projects that help people come together.”

Art helps communities remain connected

Regardless of any upcoming twists and turns of COVID, the past year has illustrated how art offers a way for communities to remain connected – both in-person and apart. “Through the pandemic, we have art. Art is always there,” Marilyne says.

Bridgétt agrees, pointing to art’s benefits on mental and emotional health: “’Hope’ is the first word that comes to mind when I think about the correlation of the pandemic and art.” Art helps Bridgétt and her toddler find “a smile or a feeling of connection for the day; it really helps me feel like I can go forward.”

To learn more about how art can enrich your family’s life, especially in Siskiyou County, visit siskiyouarts.org, twitter.com/Siskiyou_Arts, or http://www.facebook.com/SiskiyouArts