Community Gathers Around New Public Arts Program

Over 150 community members gathered recently to help inform development of the Susan Cooley-Gilliom Artists Residency and Teaching (ART) program for Placer County. 

The Placer Community Foundation held two receptions and four focus groups over two days.  Local artists, educators, public officials, arts consumers and advocates came to provide input on what they hope will be an exciting program that will enhance and strengthen the arts in our county. 

The community foundation engaged an outside consultant, Bonnie Laing-Malcolmson, to conduct research and craft a program that it is line with the donor’s overall intent. “It was a great pleasure meeting with so many members of Placer County’s cultural community,” said Malcolmson.  “I was greatly impressed with the level of activity and interest in the visual arts. Everyone made it more than clear that the Susan Cooley-Gilliom Artists Residency and Teaching program would be a welcome addition to the community. It was gratifying.”

Generously funded through a newly established endowed fund at the Placer Community Foundation by Sue Cooley, the ART program is a lasting legacy to her late daughter Susan Cooley-Gilliom.  While details of the program have yet to be determined, it is expected that short-term residencies will be offered in Placer County to nationally established and highly-reputable visual artists who create in a range of media.  These artists will then teach workshops and/or conduct lectures to the public.  It is anticipated that the ART program will launch mid 2011.

“Working with the energetic and capable staff and board of the Placer Community Foundation was a great pleasure,” added Malcolmson. “They did a wonderful job of getting the word out about my visit, organizing receptions, focus groups and one-on-one meetings. With their help it was clear that interest in the project ran high; and that when implemented, the project would be well received.  The Community Foundation provides an important infrastructure for county-wide cultural growth,” she noted.

Veronica Blake, Chief Executive Officer for the Placer Community Foundation, was equally pleased by the community’s interest.  “Donors such as Sue Cooley are how programs like this one exist in our community,” she stated.  “The Community Foundation takes our donor’s charitable intentions very seriously.  But we also understand that for a program to be effective, community input is vital.  Prior to launching our Audience Development Program for the Arts in 2009, we also held focus groups, surveyed arts organizations, and brought in an outside consultant to inform our grantmaking strategies.  The result is a program that has shown a 13% increase in public, local arts participation in just one year.  We anticipate the ART Program will also yield great outcomes for our community because it is born from an insightful donor, a knowledgeable consultant and an engaged community.”

For information on how the Placer Community Foundation works with donors to create these and other programs, contact us. 

About Bonnie Laing-Malcomson

Ms. Laing-Malcolmson has vast arts administration experience; inclusive of managing artist residencies and teaching workshops nationwide.  She recently ended a very productive, decade-long position as President of Oregon College of Art & Craft, in Portland, Oregon.  She is known for establishing and maintaining highly reputable arts education programming that is fiscally sound and sustainable.   The input she recently gathered from the local community is helping Ms. Laing-Malcolmson determine just where and how the ART program will best serve the visiting artist and Placer’s arts community.

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