Power Through Pottery, a Paintbrush, and the Poetic Word

The SLO County Arts Council's Cultural Impact Speaks Volumes Without Uttering a Syllable

By Molly O’Brien

Art is—and always has been—an influential medium for bringing people together to learn about the human experience. Throughout the course of time, communicating through various mediums, such as painting, music, and poetry, has given artists the ability to address a multitude of issues and promote social change in a peaceful yet powerful way.

No matter people’s backgrounds or where they come from, the feelings elicited by seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, or even tasting art can connect a diverse range of souls on an equal plane.

The thoughts that come from artistic minds transcend time and history. The San Luis Obispo County Arts Council’s goal is to share those thoughts and creations with the greater community by offering people of all ages, backgrounds, and skill levels the opportunity and resources needed to bring their art to life.

“We’ve got a good board right now, and we’ve got a lot of really enthusiastic people that are supporting what we’re up to,” said Allen Root, a local artist and president of the Board of Directors for the SLO County Arts Council. “Not only are we artists, but we’re entrepreneurs, as well.”

The council’s stated mission is to cultivate the county’s visual, literary, and performing arts opportunities. The local partner of the California Arts Council, this small but mighty council supports a multitude of local programs that promote public access to art, offer art in educational settings, and generate opportunities for artists and arts organizations to collaborate.

This includes supporting programs and cultural organizations, including Art After

Dark in cities across SLO County, the Equality Mural Project initiative, and Poetry Out Loud.

“I’m fond of [all] the things we support,” Root said. “But I’m also really fond of looking into the future and seeing where we’re going…I always think there’s more that we can do…

Let’s give everyone something to enjoy.”

The San Luis Obispo County Arts Council proudly supports a lineup of accomplished local cultural organizations that celebrate diversity and empower artists to tell their stories through their talents. These organizations include Cal Poly’s Black Academic Excellence Center, R.A.C.E. Matters SLO, and the Cal Poly Multicultural Center, among others.

Everyone is Equal While Holding a Paintbrush

The Equality Mural Project was designed by a group of locals and artists to illustrate different angles of equality by coming together to beautify the community with 10 murals in downtown Atascadero. This initiative has transformed nearly a dozen areas across the city into works of outdoor craftsmanship.

“Our community appreciates the murals as a way to highlight the arts, and our historic downtown provides a beautiful place to showcase them for all to enjoy!” Atascadero Mayor Heather Moreno said.

The project started in early 2020 after being inspired by “The Floating Lady” by Ioan Baraban and “The Historic Mural” by Heather Millenaar, which were painted in 2017.

An overseeing committee put out a Request for Proposals and chose artists based on a set of criteria.

“We are matchmaking building owners with artists in a way, in parallel with talking to business owners and community members for insights and contacts for new walls to paint, and seeking permits to let the art concepts come to fruition!” project coordinator Victoria Carranza said.

Carranza said. “Also, the close proximity of them makes them walkable and promotes physical activity and overall wellness.”

Explore Door to Door, After Dark

Art After Dark offers everyone the opportunity to enjoy art—for free—through a lineup of accessible, self-guided art walks. The first Friday of the month (or Saturday, depending on the city) in Morro Bay, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, and Los Osos, a curated collection of galleries and local venues offer access to visual, literary, and performing art. It’s a chance for locals to mingle and connect with the community’s creativity in the heart of each city.

“Art After Dark is definitely a nod toward a younger clientele—I’ll be 70 in October, so I’m not that,” says Root with a chuckle, “but I appreciate the [youthful] energy and the interest.”

Any gallery, nonprofit organization, or business can become a part of the program as long as they display original art.

“One of the things we’re working on is ‘Art After Art After Dark,’ which would start when Art After Dark is [wrapping up],” Root said. “We’ll have a DJ and a food truck and [it’ll be] a cool spot for people to gather.”

The Power of Poetic Words

Young poets can become involved in Poetry Out Loud, which is a well-respected national arts education program that offers free resources and hosts competitions for high school students honing their creative literature skills. The group is meant to give young adults a chance to practice public speaking and build self-confidence while also becoming educated on the history of literature.

This program has rapidly expanded over the past two decades, growing to reach more than 4 million students and 60,000-plus teachers from more than 10,000 schools in every state in the U.S., including the District

Art is For Everyone

The council also offers additional resources for artists who want to become further invested in their talent in an independent manner. There are a collection of businesses in SLO County that support art education and expression by offering their spaces for celebrating creativity. For two decades, the Paso Robles Youth Art Center, a public, nonprofit organization, has hosted programs in art, dance, music, theater, and creative enrichment.

Each second Saturday on the lawn at the SLO Museum Of Art (SLOMA), from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., families can bond and learn together about the visual arts for free, using the museum’s curated activity kits.

And at Glasshead Studio in Atascadero, the lineup of programs includes private classes, group art classes, summer camps, and team-building activities for those interested in glassblowing and fusing. For an hourly fee, there’s even Open Studio Time, which offers more practiced artists all the tools necessary to create and cultivate their projects independently.

Artists can convey an important message without even saying a word—but the SLO County Arts Council’s message is loud and clear: Art is for everyone, and everyone in SLO County deserves an equal opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the collective creative experience.

For more information about the SLO County Arts Council and its programs, visit slocountyarts.org.