By Erie Vitiello

“The Davis Art Center is a gathering place for dynamic engagement with the arts. Through multidisciplinary classes and programs for the regional community, the Art Center inspires creative expression in people of all ages and fosters an environment for the arts to flourish.” — Mission Statement in Strategic Plan 2011-2016

After 52 years of service, we at the Davis Art Center felt it was time for a makeover, from the inside out! So we’ve spent most of the past year creating a new mission and vision, and developing exciting new strategies to nurture artistic creativity in the Davis community.

Our new Strategic Plan lays the groundwork for accomplishing our newly established goals over the next five years. The plan, funded by a grant from the James Irvine Foundation and developed with the assistance of Museum Management Consultants Inc., is the result of tireless efforts by board members, staff, teachers, students, community members and professional experts who helped guide us in developing clear objectives and strategies to ensure a successful and sustainable future.

For those of you who frequent the Art Center, don’t worry! We’ll still provide the same wide array of classes and workshops by some of best teaching artists around. But we’ll also build upon that foundation to develop family-oriented participatory arts experiences in more informal settings and utilize strategic community partnerships to broaden our outreach. And we’ll work toward diversifying our income sources, strengthening our financial position and ensuring the viability of our programs for future generations.

Our new mission states: “The Davis Art Center is a gathering place for dynamic engagement in the arts.” What does that mean to us? It means inspiring each person who comes to the Art Center to create and appreciate art. It means supporting local artists and encouraging the artists of the future. It means upgrading our facility to be more comfortable and friendly. It means building meaningful alliances with partner organizations to bring the arts to more members of our community.

It also means listening to our participants, donors and community stakeholders and responding to their needs as we develop new programs. An audience survey that we conducted of Davis families indicated that you, our community members, are looking for activities that are creative and educational, but that also include opportunities to socialize and have fun. You’d like to see us offer arts experiences that the whole family, from little ones to grandparents, can enjoy together. And since family life can be hectic and over-scheduled, you’d also like the option of more informal activities that can be enjoyed on a drop-in basis or worked on at home, without a large time commitment.

Discovery Art, a new program that will turn our gallery into an interactive space where all ages can participate together in large-scale art projects, is a direct result of that survey. Launching in July, this year’s Discovery Art exhibit is called “Cross-Pollination” and will contain many opportunities for families to explore the intersection of art and the environment, from collecting natural objects that will be displayed in the exhibit, to working together on pieces of a large grid that when displayed together will form a picture of — well, you’ll have to wait until this summer to find out!

In short, we have big plans for our future, and we want everyone in our community to be a part of them! I invite you to learn more about our center and join us — whether as a member, donor, participant or volunteer — as we continue to inspire community members of all ages and from all walks of life to share in the joy of creative expression.

View the Davis Art Center’s Strategic Plan online at www.davisartcenter.org/SP.pdf.

— Vitiello is the executive director of the Davis Art Center. This column appears monthly.

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