Carnegie Art Cornerstones is committed to promote creativity, learning and growth in the careers of artists, and to inspire passion and appreciation for arts and culture in Oxnard and Southern California.
An Update on Our Progress
The representatives of the Carnegie Art Cornerstones board, as part of and along with the Save Oxnard’s Art committee, have been working diligently during these post-election months to meet with the new mayor and council members. Our purpose is to familiarize them with the educational, cultural and financial benefits of the Permanent Collection being available to the community, and to share a proposal for collaboratively moving forward on this.
The mayor, who is very interested in revitalizing downtown Oxnard, and several council members have been open and receptive to hearing what we have shared. We are currently working on arrangements for them to view what is in the Collection so they will have a concrete sense of what is there. Your input in our surveys has confirmed the community’s desire to have the museum reopen and have the collection available to the public. We see the Carnegie Art Museum as a fine arts museum that utilizes that art to support the multicultural aspects of the community. Utilizing the Permanent Collection and rotating visiting exhibits, the museum can again be an educational resource to local schools and colleges, provide art classes and free hands-on art creation events for families, host cultural celebrations, and support emerging artists. Our Recommendation to the Mayor
The Save Oxnard’s Art committee has asked the city to hire a consultant experienced in art museums and fundraising to identify sources of grants and evaluate options for reopening and ongoing operation. The selection of this consultant would be done by a committee that includes representatives from the SOA committee and the Carnegie Art Cornerstones along with appropriate community members. Those representatives would also work collaboratively with the consultant and city staff, serving as institutional memory and a voice of the community.
The committee has also asked for a report on the current contract that was previously issued to evaluate the collection.
In the coming months we will be giving presentations to a wide spectrum of community organizations, educating and garnering support for this collaborative approach. There is power in numbers. Please send us any contact info for your organization if you think we should be presenting to them. |
A Message from your Carnegie Art Cornerstones Board
Greetings! Over the past year, several members of the Carnegie Art Cornerstones board have been serving on the Save Oxnard’s Art committee. In accordance with our mission to promote the arts in our community, we have been participating actively to represent our group’s concerns about the future of the museum and the Permanent Collection.
In May of 2024 Suzanne Bellah & Peter Martinez were finally able to inspect the collection with Mayor Zaragoza and report on its condition and appropriate storage procedures. Over the summer months of 2024, committee members met with the then council members and the former Mayor Zaragoza to educate them on the value of the collection and the importance of its availability to the community. In September we presented the mayor with a proposal for the city to hire a consultant to research sources of funding and to analyze what would be the best path forward to reopen the museum. We continued our efforts in 2025 after the election in late 2024. In February the committee met with Mayor McArthur with our proposal and emphasized the need for this to be a collaborative effort. The mayor sees the revitalization of downtown as an important issue and was interested in seeing how the reopening of the Carnegie and the activities it offers could be a part of that. Subsequently, we have been presenting our proposal to the council members and educating the new members on the value, history, and potential of the museum and the collection. If you are interested in learning more about these efforts or participating in any way, we welcome your support. Our goal in this endeavor is to protect, conserve and share the art in the Carnegie Art Collection with the people of our community. Sincerely, Cesar Perez, Carnegie Art Cornerstones President Other Helpful Information
What of the Carnegie? City officials, art lovers and community continue to grapple over the future of Oxnard's cultural institution
Please help us continue this support of artist events!
You can send your contribution by check to: Carnegie Art Cornerstones PO Box 567 Oxnard, CA 93032 Or donate on-line here: |
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