New exec has big plans for San Benito Arts Council
Stephanie Hicks started as executive director of the San Benito
Arts Council just a few weeks ago, but she already has ideas of
what the nonprofit can achieve in the county
– over the short and long term.
New exec has big plans for San Benito Arts Council
Stephanie Hicks started as executive director of the San Benito Arts Council just a few weeks ago, but she already has ideas of what the nonprofit can achieve in the county – over the short and long term.
“This is an exciting time for the arts in San Benito County,” she said. “With lead grants the Arts Council received from the California Arts Council and the Community Foundation of San Benito through their Packard Foundation funding, we are taking our mission in promoting the arts to an exciting new level.”
The San Benito Arts Council it is a nonprofit that is run by a board that consists of artists from a variety of disciplines – stage and film actors, sculptors, painters and more – that promotes the arts in San Benito County. The Arts Council sponsors an open studios tour each year and they were behind the Rooftop concert atop the Briggs Building this summer, as well as a student film festival. But more than that, they provide money to local art projects through their re-granting program.
Grants awarded for 2009 went to the San Benito Stage Company, El Teatro Campesino, Kids’ Rule Theatre Camp, the Hollister Youth Alliance, Gavilan College STAR, Pinnacle Quilters, Aromas Hills Artisans and the Oriana Chorale.
Hicks herself first got involved in the arts community in San Benito County when she moved to Hollister seven years ago.
“When I first moved here, my first exposure to arts was the San Benito Stage Company,” she said. “I went to ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ and was mesmerized.”
Hicks is married with two daughters, ages 11 and 7, who are active in San Benito Stage shows and in dance. Hicks is a dance instructor at San Benito Dance Academy and has choreographed shows for San Benito Stage Company as well as the Kids’ Rule Theatre Camp.
The next show she will choreograph will be a kids’ production of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” in the spring.
“What really inspires and impresses me” are the youth who are involved in the arts, she said. “They crave it. I see it taking my daughters to shows. I see it through my dancers. They care about their art.”
A dancer herself of classical ballet for 30 years, Hicks also worked for 10 years in nonprofit development and fundraising, most recently at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Money, of course, is needed to keep arts programs running. One plan Hicks has to get funding is the launch of a business partnership campaign to get local businesses involved.
“I think that in times of economic hardship, the arts thrive,” she said. “People want to create something positive. We are really confident that the arts will thrive.”
She stressed that the Arts Council supports all mediums – visual, performing and literary arts.
“One thing I find is that culturally it brings the community together in a positive way,” she said.
At least one agency outside the county has noticed the local art scene. The San Francisco Bay Area’s Creative Works Fund, a nonprofit, has opened up its grant program to San Benito artists for the first time this year.
“Artists in San Benito County are really excited about this opportunity and the Arts Council will be one of the collaborating organizations in this effort,” Hicks said.
In addition to fundraising, Hicks is focused on a plan to get arts programs back into local schools. The “Artist in the Schools” program is a 12-week art history series for eighth-grade students in which an artist will visit the classroom to talk about three different art disciplines that coincide with the history curriculum. Sacred Heart Parish School and Gabilan Hills Elementary will participate in the first year.
“Both schools are ready and eager to have their history lessons come to life in this unique way,” Hicks said.
The Arts Council will also be supporting a broad-based program that will serve all grades and schools.
While Hicks’ job with the Council is part-time – perfect, she says for a working mom who is shuttling kids to karate, ballet and ice-skating lessons – she said the job is on her mind full time.
“I am looking forward to all the possibilities,” Hicks said. “The Arts Council can bring a lot of good things …We have a really amazing art community – across the spectrum – that is very energetic.”
