As part of their effort to keep art alive, the artists at Gallery 9 recently made a second donation to the Los Altos Art Docents.
Los Altos-based Gallery 9 in January donated money to the program, which provides volunteers to teach art to students in the Los Altos School District.
“We wanted to give back to the community,” said Gallery 9 member Cecilia Mases, who declined to disclose the amount of the donation. “We talked about the future and how we had to support the future of art, so the Art Docents felt like an important group to support.”
This marked the second time in two years that Gallery 9 has donated to the Art Docents, according to Mases.
Located at 143 Main St., Gallery 9 comprises a group of nearly 30 artists who show and sell their work at the downtown studio. They used some of the proceeds from their art to make the donations, Mases said.
Since the first donation, the two organizations have been collaborating in other ways to support the future of art. The studio hosts showcases featuring art made by elementary school children and by Gallery 9 artists.
“The children are spreading such joy and it’s always so fun,” Mases said. “I noticed that when the children are in the gallery and they talk to us they say, ‘Are you real artists?’ We get to be cool because they act like we are famous. Maybe kids these days just don’t really think that artists are all over the community; we’re everywhere. Your neighbor might be an artist, you never know. So, the children give a lot of fun things back.”
Recently, the Art Docents hosted its inaugural district-wide community art showcase at Almond Elementary School, highlighting both the kids’ work and artists from Gallery 9. According to Kimberly Dickerson, coordinator for the Art Docents, having local artists present at the district-wide show was beneficial for the children’s art education.
“Kids look up to the Gallery 9 artists as the experts because their art is framed on the wall,” Dickerson said. “Just having someone who is sort of an expert talk to them on the same level was really empowering for the kids; I think they got a lot out of it. It was a two-way street, each time we’ve done this; whether it’s been at their gallery or in our space, it’s been a fun way to hear how the kids react to the artists and how the artists react to the kids, too.”
Dickerson added that the proceeds from the donations have been used to develop lessons for lower grades. She explained that the Art Docents must think outside of the box and include more playful, exploratory lessons with different supplies rather than specific skills and techniques, since the children aren’t that advanced yet.
Dickerson said the Art Docents are now developing lessons titled “Playing with Lines” and “Playing with Color” that require students to rotate through several stations to play with different color mediums and materials to create colorful pictures and different types of lines.
According to Dickerson, the collaboration between Gallery 9 and the Art Docents has been well-received by the children she works with. She added that it’s convenient that Gallery 9 is local, and she, as well as the children, likes to check out their art displays and talk to the local artists featured at the studio.
“We love the collaboration,” Dickerson said. “All the artists I’ve met at Gallery 9 are very open to this collaboration, which has been very fun. It’s great that we have so many people in our community who are dedicated to and appreciate the arts.”
For more on Gallery 9, visit gallery9losaltos.com. For more information on the Arts Docents, visit losaltosartdocents.org.
