From Left to Right: Sharon Freilich, Danielle Brazell, Kristin Reese
September 21, 2024
Mammoth Lakes, CA– Mono Arts Council (MAC) and Inyo Council for the Arts (ICA), the State-Local Partners for each of their counties, welcomed Danielle Brazell, Executive Director of the California Arts Council (CAC), the weekend of September 20-22. The main focus of the visit was to experience the Millpond Music Festival, presented by ICA, give Brazell a tour of the two Counties and the vast frontier areas that both counties serve, as well as highlight the environmental beauty, artistic communities, and cultural influences in the area.
Danielle Brazell was appointed to the role of Executive Director for the California Arts Council by Governor Gavin Newsom in December of 2023. Brazell’s career spans over thirty years as an artist, teaching artist, presenter, arts administrator, and public official. Brazell has a knack for building new cultural infrastructure and innovating within arcane systems and bureaucracies. From 2014 to 2021, Brazell served as the General Manager of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs; she was the founding Executive Director of Arts for LA, transforming the ad-hoc group of executive arts leaders into a new model for local arts and arts education advocacy. (Source CAC Website, December 2023)
During her visit, Brazell was taken on a short tour of some of Bishop’s Art spaces by Mono Arts Council Executive Director, Kristin Reese. The tour started at the Inyo Council for the Arts where she was greeted by ICA’s former director, Lynn Cooper, and current ICA Board Member Karen Atkinson. After an engaging conversation about the history of ICA and an overview of the arts landscape in the Eastern Sierra, the group continued the tour by viewing the Art in Storefronts exhibit while walking to C5 Studios Community Arts Center. While at C5, they viewed the Connected Community Mural, funded by Creative Corps Grant from the California Arts Council, stopped in on an Arts Integration workshop, and had a moment to speak with C5 co-director, Naomi Hart Johnson.
After the Bishop tour wrapped up, Reese and Brazell made their way up to Mammoth Lakes where they stopped in at the Mono Arts Council Gallery & Community Arts Center and had a great discussion about the artists showcased in the gallery and the collective of arts organizations in Mono County.
The visit concluded with the main event of the weekend, when both Brazell and Reese connected with Sharon Freilich, Executive Director of Inyo Council for the Arts, at the 32nd Millpond Music Festival. There they enjoyed top notch performances by La Muchacha, Los Silverbacks, the Lee Boys, Nikka Costa, and the following morning by Sage Romero and the performers of the AkaMya Culture Group.
“We are so grateful to Danielle Brazell for taking the time out of her schedule to visit our two counties. This was the first visit to the area by a California Arts Council Director. While we only had time to visit a few of the art spaces and parts of the area, we hope she was able to get a good sense of our communities and is inspired to come back and learn more,” said Kristin Reese, Executive Director, Mono Arts Council.
“California is beautiful! I am grateful for the warm invitation from our friends at the Inyo and Mono Arts Councils. From being welcomed into their headquarters to then getting to experience the multigenerational joy shared at the Millpond Music Festival, I was reminded of the great work that our State-Local Partners do within their communities to advance access to the arts and to preserve the diversity of our cultures,” stated Danielle Brazell, Executive Director, California Arts Council, “The relationships we maintain with our State-Local Partners is what underscores the CAC’s commitment to nurturing a California where all people flourish with universal access to and participation in the arts. We do this work together.”
About Mono Arts Council
MAC provides visual and performing arts education for K-12 students in school, after school, and during the summer. We ensure every student in Mono County has access to this VITAL part of their education. Arts education increases test scores and attendance. Making art supports good mental health and provides opportunities for social-emotional learning. Our adult programs, including Art & Wine and the MAC Gallery & Community Arts Center help us raise awareness for arts education and give local artists a place to showcase their talents.
About Inyo Council for the Arts
“Empowering Artistry, Enriching Community, and Fueling Creativity in Inyo County since 1983.“
Inyo Council for the Arts (ICA) champions local artists, organizations, and arts education through outreach and collaboration. By supporting and celebrating the unique talents of our multicultural communities, we enable the arts to flourish and ignite positive change in our region.
The arts have the power to transform lives, to connect people and cultures, and to encourage creative exploration — we here at Inyo Council for the Arts are dedicated to fostering the arts in the Eastern Sierra. ICA envisions itself as a vibrant hub of art and culture events, programs, partnerships, and activities that connect our diverse communities.
About the California Arts Council
The California Arts Council is a state agency with a mission of strengthening arts, culture, and creative expression as the tools to cultivate a better California for all. It supports local arts infrastructure and programming statewide through grants, initiatives, and services. The California Arts Council envisions a California where all people flourish with universal access to and participation in the arts.
Members of the California Arts Council include: Roxanne Messina Captor, Chair; Leah Goodwin, Vice Chair; Gerald Clarke; Caleb Duarte; Vicki Estrada; Roy Hirabayashi; Alex Israel; Phil Mercado; Nicola Miner; and Olivia Raynor. Learn more at www.arts.ca.gov.
To learn more about Mono Arts Council please visit https://www.monoarts.org/
To learn more about Inyo Council for the Arts and the Millpond Music Festival, please visit https://inyo.org/
To learn more about the California Arts Council, please visit www.arts.ca.gov
To learn more about C5 Community Arts Center and the Connected Community Mural, please visit https://www.c5studios.org/
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