About Gualala Arts
This multi-million-dollar
cultural facility in the little community of Gualala on the Northern
California coast is home to art exhibitions, performing arts, and community
events of Mendocino and Sonoma counties.
The facility is open weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00
p.m. and most weekends from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. Visitors are always welcome.
Please see the current
calendar of events or
call (707) 884-1138 for information about exhibits, musical and theatrical
events, and classes.
Since 1961 Gualala Arts has
served Sonoma and Mendocino County coastal residents and visitors with
year-round programs of art, music, theater, and education. With a budget of
over half a million dollars, Gualala Arts operates with over 20 members on
the board of directors, an executive director, office manager, bookkeeper,
public relations coordinator, Dolphin Gallery manager, and hundreds of
dedicated volunteers.
Gualala Arts - Growing with its Community
Gualala was vastly different in
the early 1950's. The Gualala Hotel was the only place to stay and eat in
this little lumber town. There were no motels, gas stations, or
supermarkets. There were four sawmills, a general store, four bars, and
about 300 people. There were no art galleries.
After the sawmills closed in the
1960's, people drawn by the natural beauty of the area began to settle here,
many of them creative, imaginative, and artistic. They opened art galleries
and staged musicals, plays, and other artistic events. Gualala, and these
people, attracted other creative and artistic people. Gualala became
recognized as a center for individuals who enjoyed many forms of the arts.
In 1961, Gualala Arts was formed
as a non-profit organization. Since then, it has become a vibrant and active
arts association supporting a variety of programs for both residents and
visitors to the area.
Our downtown Dolphin Gallery & Shop serves as a retail outlet for local
artists and craftspeople. It also houses the Redwood Coast Visitor's Center,
where you can obtain information about the area, such as where to go
horseback riding or rent kayaks, and where to find restaurants and
accommodations.
Gualala Arts regularly holds art exhibits and gallery
shows both at the Dolphin Gallery and at the Gualala Arts Center. On the
third weekend in August each year, we present one of the most prestigious
art exhibitions in northern California - the
Art in the Redwoods Festival.
We give scholarships to local
high school seniors each year, and provide concerts, plays, and art classes
within the public schools, using our abilities to fill in where public
school funding is limited
