Art museum still seeking a home

The Conejo Valley Art Museum once again came away empty-handed after appealing to the city of Thousand Oaks for funding to create a permanent site.

The museum had applied for grants from the city’s Community Events Endowment Fund three years in a row but was turned down each time. Museum organizers appealed to the city council for support.

During its meeting last week, the council considered other funding sources for the museum but decided instead to have city staff assist museum organizers in finding a site rather than provide monetary assistance.

Museum Director Maria Dessornes expressed her disappointment with the decision, saying she wasn’t looking for the museum to be subsidized by the city, just for help getting it established.

“I want this to be a museum people can be proud of,” Dessornes said. “The city of Thousand Oaks is not the only city in the Conejo Valley. Maybe another city will be glad to have an art museum.”

The council had asked the Thousand Oaks Arts Commission to evaluate the museum’s request. The issue was carefully reviewed, said Stephanie Angelini, a commission member, but several factors led to the decision not to recommend financial support.

First, the museum currently has $200,000 in arts endowment funds in the bank, according to Angelini, which the commission felt was a good start for a move into a temporary location. The museum did not meet national museum criteria for accreditation, did not have a large enough board of directors, and did not have an appraised or estimated value of its collection, added Angelini. The commission also recommended that a study be done of all local arts groups to identify overlapping services and cooperative possibilities.

“The purpose of the Community Events Endowment Fund is to help bridge the gap between expenses and the income of the program. The intent is not to help build endowments,” Angelini said.

The Conejo Valley Art Museum is best known for coordinating the annual ArtWalk, a popular two-day outdoor arts and crafts exhibition at The Oaks mall that attracts artists from throughout the United States as well as more than 18,000 visitors.

The museum was formed in the mid-’70s by teachers, artists and businesses who wanted to create a community art facility. The Janss Mall donated an empty space and over the next five years 35 exhibits were created, including displays featuring prehistoric Indian pottery and Guatemalan folk art.

In 1985, when the Thousand Oaks Library moved to its current location, the museum joined several other groups and occupied the library’s former home on Wilbur Road.

About six art shows were held each year until 1990, when the city sold the facility. The museum returned to the Janss Mall, but had to leave in 1994 when that center was sold.

The city has provided financial support to the museum, Councilmember Andy Fox said, including endowment grants prior to 2003 for museum operations and for ArtWalk, which is a moneymaker for the organization.

“To use grant money for profit-making flies in the face of what the grant money is for,” Fox said. “I’m glad the arts commission took the bull by the horns and made a difficult recommendation.”

Mayor Claudia Bill-de la Peña pointed out that the council had provided funding to other arts organizations in similar situations recently. She felt the museum’s request wasn’t unreasonable. Fox and Councilmember Jacqui Irwin disagreed.

With Councilmembers Dennis Gillette and Ed Masry absent, Bill-de la Peña made a motion for city staff to assist in helping the museum find a permanent home. The council unanimously agreed.