GILROY
– Kirsten Carr, the Garlic Capital’s official greeter, will be
the South County’s arts advocate to the largest nonprofit arts
council in the state.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – Kirsten Carr, the Garlic Capital’s official greeter, will be the South County’s arts advocate to the largest nonprofit arts council in the state.
The executive director of the Gilroy Visitors’ Bureau has joined the 18-member board of trustees for the Arts Council of Silicon Valley, a nonprofit advocate of the arts that provides funding and support to the county’s arts organizations and artists.
“We have a lot of programs down here that don’t always get recognized outside of South County, so it would be an opportunity for me to, one, introduce those programs to Silicon Valley and also, to introduce the Arts Council down here,” Carr said.
She said that Arts Council Executive Director Bruce W. Davis shares her vision of promoting Gilroy arts programs, like Kids Discover Arts, Pintello Comedy Theater and South Valley Symphony.
“One of the important things that we both were discussing is more South County presence in the arts community in Silicon Valley,” Carr said.
As an Arts Council trustee, Carr also hopes to wear her Visitors’ Bureau hat and extend an invitation to Gilroy, to “let more Silicon Valley people know, you don’t have to
pack an over-night bag to come to South County,” she said.
Arts Council Silicon Valley has supported the arts in Gilroy
by sponsoring the Gilroy Arts Conference and artist-in-residence Lori Franke.
Carr was one of four new trustees elected by the board and will volunteer for a term of one year. Board trustees are responsible for the fiscal oversight and governance of the Arts Council and also assist in fund raising, marketing and advocacy efforts.
New board members are nominated and reviewed by a board development committee before being recommended to the board, said Cecilia Clark, communications manager for the Arts Council. Besides looking for candidates with skills and experiences that complement the existing board, the committee tries to reflect the demographics of the county.
“We look for a mix,” she said. “We make grants to organizations throughout the county, so we try to have representation from all areas.”
Three other trustees were nominated this month: David Sandal, senior manger of operations planning and support at Applied Materials; Sheila Pott, a loan consultant; and Terry Acebo-Davis, a visual artist and nurse.
“The Arts Council is fortunate to have such a dedicated and talented group of new board trustees,” Bruce W. Davis said in a statement. “The leadership experience demonstrated by these individuals will definitely enhance the board and the Arts Council.”
