VENTURA COUNTY — Ventura County Community Foundation (VCCF) has awarded Studio Channel Island (SCI) a grant in the amount of $28,820 to support its Arts and Health programming. Funding will be used to expand its Memory Cafes (creative social events for individuals with memory loss and their caregivers), art classes with hospice (workshops for children in bereavement counseling) and stroke survivor art classes. Funding for the grant will come from the Ruth Daily Livingston Fund.
“We are grateful to VCCF for their support of our growing Arts and Health community programs. There is extensive research which demonstrates that participation in the arts has profound impact in improving individual and community well-being,” said Peter Tyas, SCI’s executive director. “Studio Channel Islands has been collaborating with a number of Ventura County professional organizations serving people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, stroke recovery and bereavement. The VCCF grant will go a long way in helping us provide Arts and Health programming to more people.”
Tyas explained that the arts have been employed in both hospital and community care settings for over twenty years and the findings from peer-reviewed research has led to the development of an extensive arts and health network across Europe and parts of North America. The partnership between arts professionals and the medical community has refined a number of arts and health models which have measurable health outcomes and significant impacts upon the overall quality of life.
Studio Channel Islands has been developing a partnership with Camarillo Health Care District and with the local hospital to explore the potential of the arts to have positive impacts within the community. This work is in an early stage of developing models of good practice that can be expanded upon and several opportunities have been identified as natural progression routes to enhance the impact of existing work. The program delivery will be coordinated by Studio Channel Islands and the artist membership of the organization would be leveraged to deliver cost effective activities. Early stage discussions have begun with higher education to engage health communication students with the program and to offer service learning opportunities with business and art faculties to further develop the model.
For more information, visit www.studiochannelislands.org or call 805-383-1368.
Studio Channel Islands is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the arts and creative life within the communities of Ventura County, fostering connections between artists and visitors, and celebrating the cultural identity of our community. Ongoing programs include art classes for adults and children, providing studio space for professional artists, presenting diverse art shows in its Blackboard Gallery and providing community art and cultural events for individuals and families. Gallery hours are Tues.–Fri., 11 a.m.–5 p.m., Sat. 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Located at 2222 E. Ventura Blvd., Camarillo, CA 93010.