From The Director

It's the start of an exciting new year and here at the William T. Colville Foundation we've had a amazing turnout of brilliant new applications to read through at this years board meeting. This year we had the pleasure of meeting on the garden isle of Kauai in late October to review and choose this years winning grant recipients. (An afternoon dip in the ocean was just what the doctor ordered after many hours of sifting through the many wonderful applications we received). We had some very tough decisions when it came to choosing this years grant recipients. After several days of deliberations from the committee, 14 artists were chosen to receive grants. We also awarded 1 lifetime achievement award to an superb Oregon artist named Robert A. Nelson in the amount of $5000. You can see all the grant recipients HERE.

One outstanding recipient to watch for in the future is Bradford Edwards. A long time Santa Barbara artist, Bradford spends his time between Santa Barbara and Vietnam every year. His proposal is to bring a Vietnamese coffee shop to life in Santa Barbara next summer. The installation called "Hanoi Café" will be a working Vietnamese coffee shop and gallery. During the installation there will be a silent auction to purchase all of the fixtures brought from Vietnam for the show with all the proceeds going to the Foundation to benefit future artists. This is just one of the many wonderful examples of our grant recipients "paying it forward". It is a cornerstone of our mission at the foundation as we seek to spread the artistic wealth throughout the greater community.

We've had the pleasure of welcoming two new board members to the foundation; Dawn O'Brien, owner of the Mercury Lounge in Goleta who is also an accredited art and ceramic restorer, and Stephanie Wiarda, partner in beppu/Wiarda gallery in the beautiful Pearl District of Portland Oregon. We would also like to send out a big thank you to Harry Rabin, Neal Rabin and Nancy Grinstein for the use of their Home on Kauai. 

Mark your calendar for our February 1 Valentine "Art for Your Sweetheart Party" benefit show. We would love for you and your special someone to come join us at the Beppu Wiarda gallery located at 319 NW 9th Ave, in the beautiful Pearl District of Portland Oregon.  This is an artists tribute to love, and proceeds from the show will go to furthering the efforts of the WTC foundation. The art will be priced to make it affordable to everyone, so be sure to join us for a heartfelt evening and give your sweetie the gift of art. We would like to give many thanks to the generosity of one of our newest board members Stephanie Wiarda for donating the use of her gallery for the Valentine's show.  If you would like a personal invitation sent to you or just want to chat about love, please provide your mailing address to the love doctor Mark Swank at mark@colvilleart.org

We will also be having our annual benefit show at The Arts Fund Gallery in July/August 2009. If you haven't been before, it's great art at fantastic prices going towards the wonderful cause of supporting artists now, and with your help, long into the future. Donated pieces from grant recipients will be offered at studio prices during the show.  There is also a meet and greet with many of the artists we have supported in the past. We would like to extend a hearty thanks to The Arts Fund for the use of their gallery over the last 2 years.

To become a member of the William T. Colville Foundation and be included on the mailing list please send your info to mark@colvilleart.org For more information about memberships and donating click here .

We hope your new year is starting out artfully and look forward to seeing you at some of our great events!

Mark Swank, Director