Founded in 1981, YoloArts is the designated State-Local Partner with the California Arts Council. Confirmed each year by the Yolo County Board of Supervisors, YoloArts serves as the central non-profit agency for the arts in Yolo County.
We work to collaborate with and support strategic partners, both public and private, to provide the community with resources and access to the creation, exhibition, and preservation of the diverse arts and culture of Yolo County. YoloArts promotes access to the arts through arts education, the operation of two free public art galleries, and management of a cultural center at the Gibson House and Property. In addition to sustaining the Art & Ag Project, YoloArts is a creative placemaking effort that connects artists with Yolo County farms and providing meaningful professional development activities and opportunities for artists and the county-wide arts community.
YoloArts believes arts and cultural practices transform our daily interactions by sparking dialogue, building empathy, and encouraging shared experiences. We strive to inspire a flourishing arts and cultural ecosystem in Yolo County by serving the community, individual artists, and arts organizations.
Arts Education Programs:
K-12 arts education programs bring professional teaching artists into public school classrooms and Yolo County Juvenile Detention Center to instruct in visual, performing, and literary arts reaching over 1,600 students.
YoloArts' innovative and successful CommUNITY Through Art program, strives to increase the artistic expression and social connections of adults who are unhoused or low-income in Yolo County.
Art + History Field Trips:
Unique to Yolo County, the Gibson House and 2.5-acre park serves as an important state historical landmark and home of The Barn Gallery where elementary school students can explore the intersection of art and history through standards-based educational tours and hands-on activities.
FREE Open Studios:
FREE weekly open studios provide space, supplies and support to inspire creativity in the next generation. Our Mini Studio services ages 0-4 with art activity stations set up for the littles to explore and develop motor skills. Our After School Studio for 2nd -8th grade students engages students in exploring different art techniques through a combination of guided prompts and free experimentation.
Art & Ag Project:
The Art & Ag Project cultivates a dialogue between artists and farmers in Yolo County to increase public awareness about the importance of preserving farmlands. A nationally recognized project for over 10 years, YoloArts has worked with farmers to open their land to artists who capture private landscapes that would otherwise remain inaccessible and unseen and engages almost 200 artists per year.
Gallery 625:
Gallery 625 hosts six new gallery exhibitions to highlight local and visiting artists. Conveniently located at Yolo County's Erwin Meier Administration building, Gallery 625 is also open to the public during the week.
The Barn Gallery:
The Barn Gallery, offers 1,400 square feet for exhibitions, performances, presentations, and more. The Barn Gallery yearly schedule features four gallery art exhibitions with a diverse representation of emerging and established artists. New exhibits encourage the expansion of Yolo County's vibrant cultural and fine arts programming.
Yolo County Historical Collection:
The Yolo County Historical Collection (YCHC) is the County of Yolo's collection of historical objects dating from the 1830s to the 1930s. The YCHC is used for exhibitions at the Gibson House, Library Branches, and throughout the community. Funds will support exhibitions and programs. YCHC is partnered with YoloArts to raise donations to further their mission.
Gibson House Propagators:
The Gibson House Propagators cultivating garden space throughout the property, including an herb and kitchen
garden.The gardeners also propagate plants for sale.
At YoloArts, we believe arts and cultural practices transform our daily interactions by sparking dialogue, building empathy and encouraging shared experiences. We strive to inspire a flourishing arts and cultural ecosystem in Yolo County by serving the community, individual artists and arts organizations.
In support of this mission, YoloArts commits to championing organizational policies and practices of cultural and racial equity that propel all of the Yolo County community toward a full creative life.
We acknowledge there are systems of power that grant privilege and access unequally. These systems impact YoloArts internally and externally through our work environment and distribution of programmatic, financial, and informational resources.
We acknowledge that we must hold ourselves accountable and continuously review, interrogate and change, when needed, organizational policies and practices.
We affirm that the arts amplify the voices of the unheard and are unlike any other form of expression: art allows us to give form to our dreams of who we want to be and the communities we want to live in.
We affirm that the prominent presence of artists in a community challenge inequity and encourage alternatives.
To foster cultural and racial equity and inclusion, we commit our effort, time and resources to:
- Develop a board of directors, staff, and advisory committees that reflect our expansive and diverse community.
- Continually review public programming and evaluate exhibition practices to ensure the inclusion of different perspectives and experiences.
- Strengthen community partnerships with artists-in-residence programs where children and adults have limited access to artistic expression.
YoloArts remains dedicated and determined to use the power of arts to strengthen and enrich Yolo County communities and to having honest and courageous conversations in this work.
Organization name
YoloArts
1981
Mission Category
Arts, Culture & Humanities
Operating Budget
$250,001-$500,000
Organization Need
Funding: Program
Demographics Served
Women/Female-identifying
Local Counties Served
Yolo
Equity Statement
Equity Statement
Address
508 Gibson RoadYolo, CA, US