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The Purpose of EcoArts of Lake County dba Middletown Art Center is to engage the public in art making, art education, and art appreciation. Through exhibitions, performances, workshops, and community events, the Middletown Art Center provides a platform for diverse voices and perspectives, striving to create an inclusive and accessible space for all.
Our goals are to:
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A little about our history:
The MAC has its seeds in the EcoArts Sculpture Walk at Trailside Park, an annual seasonal exhibit of works by about 25 regional artists that was founded by Karen Turcotte and her husband John Williams, in 2003. EcoArts was the county's first public art venue, and a partnership with the County of Lake Department of Public Works. When Turcotte was ready to retire from her position in 2013, Artist and Art Educator Lisa Kaplan, who had non-profit experience through the Lake County International Charter school became President of EcoArts.
Local artists affiliated with the walk identified a need for a year-round indoor place to create, teach and exhibit. And so the search for space began. Kaplan recruited a small group including artists Renata Jaworska, John Hanses, Sariah Marier, and Gallerist Kristina Della Valle with Della Valle's partner Francisco Cafisa to jump start the collective community vision to reality. The five contributed skills, vision and experience to revitalizing the old Middletown gymnasium building in the center of town, which had changed renters numerous times over a decade, into a contemporary gallery with a classroom studio.
MAC's first exhibit, Premiere, opened on March 28, 2015, with great festivity and featured work by the founding group. About 200 people showed up to inaugurate the new center for arts and culture in South Lake County. The county has few arts and culture resources.
The next show, opened just 6 weeks later, Innovative Landscapes. The exhibit featured work by about 20 Lake County visual artists in a variety of media from all corners of Lake County. Group shows, featuring Lake County artists works primarily, as well as artists form the region at large, organized under an overarching theme became the exhibit format at MAC.
Then the Valley Fire happened on September 12, 2015. The third worst fire in California’s history at the time swept its way through the South Lake County and Cobb Mountain area, destroying over 2,000 homes and businesses. Five lives were lost. Pets, livestock, millions of trees flora and fauna were destroyed. Thousands of people evacuated; the last residents returning after 14 days. The area was declared a "National Disaster."
The Trailside Park and thirteenth annual EcoArts: Lake County Sculpture walk burned, but downtown Middletown was saved, and the Art Center along with it. Nine of ten board directors of MAC/ EcoArts along with 30 of 60 MAC artist members lost their homes, studios and/or place of employment. The community was traumatized.
The Valley Fire was the first "mega fire" in the region which has now (2021) endured 6 years of fires. Each year since 2015, Lake County residents and lands have either been directly impacted by fires within the County or on high alert due to fires right over the ridge and County line that could impact South County residents if the winds shifted.
MAC became, and still is, a locus for folks to gather and find solace, enrichment and healing – galvanizing community through wildfires and later COVID-19.
A new exhibition opened just six weeks after the Valley Fire, restoring a sense of normalcy, and quality of life. MAC teaching artists volunteered to offer free art classes for adults and children of all ages most days of the week in the months immediately following the fire, and was able to offer subsidized classes thanks to generous support from Lake County Rising Valley Fire Relief, the Lake Area Rotary Club Fire Relief Fund, the Middletown Luncheon Club, and other local organizations, and individuals. The MAC applied to the California Arts Council, and was awarded grants for the Resilience and RESTORE projects offered in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Materials, supplies and professional guidance in a safe creative space provided opportunity to process and release trauma and reframe the experience of overwhelming chaos into artistic expression. You can view samples of work created and exhibited in public spaces throughout the county here.
The MAC has its seeds in the EcoArts Sculpture Walk at Trailside Park, an annual seasonal exhibit of works by about 25 regional artists that was founded by Karen Turcotte and her husband John Williams, in 2003. EcoArts was the county's first public art venue, and a partnership with the County of Lake Department of Public Works. When Turcotte was ready to retire from her position in 2013, Artist and Art Educator Lisa Kaplan, who had non-profit experience through the Lake County International Charter school became President of EcoArts.
Local artists affiliated with the walk identified a need for a year-round indoor place to create, teach and exhibit. And so the search for space began. Kaplan recruited a small group including artists Renata Jaworska, John Hanses, Sariah Marier, and Gallerist Kristina Della Valle with Della Valle's partner Francisco Cafisa to jump start the collective community vision to reality. The five contributed skills, vision and experience to revitalizing the old Middletown gymnasium building in the center of town, which had changed renters numerous times over a decade, into a contemporary gallery with a classroom studio.
MAC's first exhibit, Premiere, opened on March 28, 2015, with great festivity and featured work by the founding group. About 200 people showed up to inaugurate the new center for arts and culture in South Lake County. The county has few arts and culture resources.
The next show, opened just 6 weeks later, Innovative Landscapes. The exhibit featured work by about 20 Lake County visual artists in a variety of media from all corners of Lake County. Group shows, featuring Lake County artists works primarily, as well as artists form the region at large, organized under an overarching theme became the exhibit format at MAC.
Then the Valley Fire happened on September 12, 2015. The third worst fire in California’s history at the time swept its way through the South Lake County and Cobb Mountain area, destroying over 2,000 homes and businesses. Five lives were lost. Pets, livestock, millions of trees flora and fauna were destroyed. Thousands of people evacuated; the last residents returning after 14 days. The area was declared a "National Disaster."
The Trailside Park and thirteenth annual EcoArts: Lake County Sculpture walk burned, but downtown Middletown was saved, and the Art Center along with it. Nine of ten board directors of MAC/ EcoArts along with 30 of 60 MAC artist members lost their homes, studios and/or place of employment. The community was traumatized.
The Valley Fire was the first "mega fire" in the region which has now (2021) endured 6 years of fires. Each year since 2015, Lake County residents and lands have either been directly impacted by fires within the County or on high alert due to fires right over the ridge and County line that could impact South County residents if the winds shifted.
MAC became, and still is, a locus for folks to gather and find solace, enrichment and healing – galvanizing community through wildfires and later COVID-19.
A new exhibition opened just six weeks after the Valley Fire, restoring a sense of normalcy, and quality of life. MAC teaching artists volunteered to offer free art classes for adults and children of all ages most days of the week in the months immediately following the fire, and was able to offer subsidized classes thanks to generous support from Lake County Rising Valley Fire Relief, the Lake Area Rotary Club Fire Relief Fund, the Middletown Luncheon Club, and other local organizations, and individuals. The MAC applied to the California Arts Council, and was awarded grants for the Resilience and RESTORE projects offered in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Materials, supplies and professional guidance in a safe creative space provided opportunity to process and release trauma and reframe the experience of overwhelming chaos into artistic expression. You can view samples of work created and exhibited in public spaces throughout the county here.
In 2019-20 we offered an Artists in Schools project Being Leonardo to students grades 3-12 in the Middletown Unified School District. We also offered the LOCUS, a Sense of Place project, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts to revitalize public spaces that had burned in the fire including the beloved EcoArts Sculpture Walk at Trailside Park. The park and 14th annual sculpture walk had been devastated in the Valley Fire, and about 40,000 trees and shrubs were felled and removed for public safety.
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Since 2015 alone, annual wildfires have impacted all corners of the County and burned about 60% of the land. While primarily forest areas have been affected, collectively over 3000 structures have been lost. Fires have had devastating impacts on our local economy, on our roads, on our property tax base, and on the morale and well being of residents. But the people of Lake County are resilient, and MAC has been a part of that.
COVID-19 brought additional challenges. CARES funding, helped us keep the doors open, adapt to offer virtual programming, and continue to develop projects to contribute locally through the arts. Support from members and donors was essential, and always will be. Lake is a low income county having few community resources for funding. As a County, our economic challenges have been exacerbated by increased losses and expenses due to fire, then the hardships of the pandemic. MAC and it's partners, are committed to Lake County, and to supporting a thriving local community and economy. |
"The MAC has been a great help in dealing with the trauma of the Valley Fire. Transformative, really." -Nicholas Hay
In 2018 with the Resilience project, over 18,000 visitors attended MAC exhibitions, events and classes. But our impact is much greater than these numbers demonstrate! We have changed the face of South County and created a ripple effect throughout Lake County by taking action to extend the arts reach and weave the arts into the fabric of daily life. We offer accessible arts programming to about 65,000 residents of Lake County-one of the poorest counties in California. Our regular programming includes compelling art exhibits, cross cultural engagement projects like Weaving and Sounds of Liberation, student field trips to MAC, summer camp, EcoArts Sculpture Walk, Artists in Schools projects, public art projects, performances, great classes, dances, wine and art pairings, film screenings, and a variety of community events.
How we keep it all happening: Grants support most of our projects and generally comprise about 30% of our income, classes and events as well as art sales bring in earned income. And we rely on community support in the form of memberships and donations to ensure we can continue to offer affordable classes or subsidize participation for those in need, and keep our doors open and lights on, and keep doing our good work as a welcoming cultural space in the heart of an underserved community. We continue to reach out to communities across Lake County to join us in celebrating local and regional arts, artists and culture.
In 2018 with the Resilience project, over 18,000 visitors attended MAC exhibitions, events and classes. But our impact is much greater than these numbers demonstrate! We have changed the face of South County and created a ripple effect throughout Lake County by taking action to extend the arts reach and weave the arts into the fabric of daily life. We offer accessible arts programming to about 65,000 residents of Lake County-one of the poorest counties in California. Our regular programming includes compelling art exhibits, cross cultural engagement projects like Weaving and Sounds of Liberation, student field trips to MAC, summer camp, EcoArts Sculpture Walk, Artists in Schools projects, public art projects, performances, great classes, dances, wine and art pairings, film screenings, and a variety of community events.
How we keep it all happening: Grants support most of our projects and generally comprise about 30% of our income, classes and events as well as art sales bring in earned income. And we rely on community support in the form of memberships and donations to ensure we can continue to offer affordable classes or subsidize participation for those in need, and keep our doors open and lights on, and keep doing our good work as a welcoming cultural space in the heart of an underserved community. We continue to reach out to communities across Lake County to join us in celebrating local and regional arts, artists and culture.
"Sweet space, sweet people. Bedrock of the South Lake County community" -Mark Emegin
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Images from 2015-2017
A sampling of MAC in the press (historical)
Me Myself and I
Ashes to Art
Palette to Palate
Community Works
EcoArts @MAC
Reasons to Visit Lake County
A sampling of MAC in the press (historical)
Me Myself and I
Ashes to Art
Palette to Palate
Community Works
EcoArts @MAC
Reasons to Visit Lake County
MAC is grateful for generous support of Lake County Rising Valley Fire Relief Fund, The Lake Area Rotary Club Fire Relief Fund, the Middletown Luncheon Club and the generosity of individuals and families near and far who have enabled us to expand our programs, provide scholarships , revitalize our facilities, and develop the MAC Sculpture Garden. We could not have done it without you!
Thank you!
EcoArts of Lake County, dba Middletown Art Center, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization. All donations to EcoArts/MAC are tax deductible to the extent of the law, and support affordable access to the arts in Lake County.
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Learn more about becoming a MAC Member or donate below to MAC's general fund to support our ever-evolving programs.
Make a note of what you would like to donate to. We are very grateful for your support! |
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Calls for Work
Submit work for consideration as a Professional Member or teach at MAC. Or, submit work for a particular show. |
