The Coast Highway Art Collective in Point Arena, CA, has created this GoFundMe campaign to reach out to everyone in our art world and beyond. Our much loved but very old building desperately needs a new roof. The current roof is over 25 years old and is starting to create problems for all the beautiful but delicate artwork it should be protecting.

 

Our Collective is the art hub for the City of Point Arena. Our members are involved in many community-oriented events, and we strive to be a gathering place for the entire community. Monthly art openings have continued throughout the pandemic, observing safety precautions, mask mandates and social distancing. We believe in the power of community and felt keeping the gallery open was a way for many to feel less isolated and still part of something greater than each of us individually.

 

As a small but vibrant collective, members contribute monthly dues and a percentage of sales towards the rent and upkeep of the building and gardens. Keeping the doors open has been a labor of love for the past 10 years, but our sales will never cover the expense of reroofing our building.

 

Our gallery is in a historical wood-frame building built on Main Street in the early 1900s. Local book publisher, the late Warren Jones, purchased the building in the early 1990s. It was in a state of disrepair, and Warren had no idea how to use it other than improving his beloved City of Point Arena.  A group of artists suggested an art gallery, and he embraced the idea. Volunteers rebuilt the building and called the gallery CityArt. The interior was completed in 1997, and was active as the creative and vibrant CityArt Gallery for ten years. Maintaining and staffing the gallery on a volunteer basis was always a labor of love. Unfortunately, artist membership declined, and the gallery closed in 2007. Afterward, the building sat empty, waiting patiently for a new life.

 

Then, in 2012, the idea of the gallery was resurrected, and Barbara Fast, a renaissance woman in her own right (former pediatric surgeon, artist and musician), became the founder and first manager of the newly minted Coast Highway Art Collective. The artists who work to make this collective succeed are just as eclectic and quirky as the building they inhabit.   Ling-Yen Jones, a jewelry artist, currently serves as the General Manager of the Collective, and is the leader of the campaign to Save Our Point Arena Gallery with a New Roof.

 

Currently, member artists' genres include painting, photography, jewelry, textiles, woodworking, sculptures and ceramics. There can be many creative temperaments among such a diverse group. However, all agree on the importance of the gallery as a place to exhibit and sell art, and cultivate a sense of artistic community in our area.

 

Our Mission Statement is to bring together artists, new and old, and provide a place to exhibit and promote the creativity of local artisans. The gallery is a place to learn and feel what it’s like to exhibit and sell work. Equally important is the fostering of art appreciation and enjoyment of art activities by the community.

 

The gallery often has guest artists in addition to the collective members. Monthly opening receptions for featured artists often include the opportunity to meet the artist and live music in the garden when the weather cooperates. 

 

The gallery has participated in American Craft Week and the annual Almost Fringe Festival. In this fun event, artists are encouraged to let their imagination run wild and create from the heart, not the wallet. In addition, the gallery opens its doors for Point Arena’s annual Hometown Holidays, a special night when Main Street fills up with holiday shoppers and revelers. The gallery lights up with a holiday tree decorated with handmade ornaments made by collective members.

 

The campaign donations fund will hire local skilled labor to remove the old roofing materials, correct any water leakage damage, and furnish and install the new roofing. We have received cost estimates for the work, and our campaign goal is based on the forecasted amounts. In addition, members plan to contribute an increased percentage of their artwork sales to the gallery's general fund, as a concurrent incentive for the public to donate to our campaign roofing fund. We are determined to save our gallery and appreciate your help in reaching our goal.

GALLERY TOUR

 

 

 

Welcoming the collective's 10th Anniversary with L-R, founding artists Norm Fast and Barbara Fast, and Sus Susalla, Executive Director of the Gualala Art Center. Sus is displaying a hand signal for 10, and all have the newly designed tee shirts celebrating our tenth anniversary.

 

Our gallery presents a new exhibit each month featuring collections of selected member artists and guest artists. An opening reception is scheduled on a Friday or Saturday at the beginning of the month. In pre-COVID times, the reception was held in the early evening, and the gallery and featured artists provided a buffet of snacks. However, until the COVID emergency is over, the reception is held in the afternoon, sans buffet, and observing safety protocol. Local musicians frequently provide live music. Our monthly receptions offer a stimulating and fun setting for discussions between artists and the public.

 

 

 

Our receptions may include music in our front garden area during good weather on the coast: Spring, Summer, and Fall. Often a reception is coordinated with the date of another local event to increase visitor enjoyment. For example, this band performed at the gallery during April's annual Almost Fringe Festival. The garden area includes fixed benches and space for additional seating to enjoy a performance.

 

 

 

We take videos of artist interviews at our Reception events. This video is an interview with Brenda Phillips, a member artist, and Bruce Jones, a local visiting artist. All videos are posted on our website at www.coast-highway-artists.com, and we hope you will visit and enjoy the monthly interviews.


This video is a First Progress Report for the Coast Highway Artists Collective, Go Fund Me campaign, to provide a new roof and repairs to save the historic Point Arena art gallery. The preliminary work shows the repair of water leakage and attendant rot and termite damage to the south wall.