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Gallo Center Awarded Three California Arts Council Grants
Gallo
Virginia Still/The News

The California Arts Council has announced grant awards totaling $33,800 to the Gallo Center for the Arts as part of the council’s Arts Education Exposure, Youth Arts Action and Organizational Development programs.

Arts Education Exposure promotes attendance at high-quality performances and exhibits for students with limited access to these experiences. Youth Arts Action supports projects for youth that operate outside of school time, in artistic venues and community settings as well as on school sites. Organizational Development provides funding for consulting services to build arts organizations’ capacity for sustainability and success.

At the Gallo Center, the grant funds will 1) support an initiative to provide 250 children from Patterson with an in-classroom theater workshop plus tickets to a Gallo Center presentation of “Children of the Dust Bowl” with a post-show question-and-answer session; 2) underwrite scholarships for underserved youth to participate in the Gallo Center Youth Academy’s afterschool programs, as well as provide overall program support; and 3) fund a research project designed to learn more about and program for consumers in the 30 to 40 age demographic.

“We are thrilled to receive these grant funds,” said Amber Flores, the Gallo Center’s director of development for foundation and annual giving. “They will give an important boost to the Center in three areas of need.”

The Gallo Center is one of several hundred grantees chosen for these California Arts Council programs. Grants to all organizations total a projected $24,508,541 for 2018-19, the highest investment in statewide arts programming since the council’s 2000-01 fiscal year.

“Arts and culture are inextricably linked to our humanity,” said Nashormeh Lindo, California Arts Council chair. “They serve as a universal touchpoint for understanding and addressing our societal issues – dismantling inequity, healing trauma, reframing justice, inspiring truth and shaping futures. The Council is humbled to support the vital work of the Gallo Center and its passionate efforts to make a better California for us all.”

The mission of the Gallo Center for the Arts is to enrich the quality of life in the San Joaquin Valley by providing an inspirational civic gathering place where regional, national and international cultural activities illuminate, educate and entertain. The Gallo Center for the Arts celebrates the diversity of the community by offering an array of affordable cultural opportunities designed to appeal, and be accessible, to all.

The mission of the California Arts Council, a state agency, is to advance California through the arts and creativity. The Council is committed to building public will and resources for the arts; fostering accessible arts initiatives that reflect contributions from all of California’s diverse populations; serving as a thought leader and champion for the arts; and providing effective and relevant programs and services.