Sharing History, Building Community

This article is part of our “Play On! – Celebrating New Leaders in Arts & Culture” series of five articles featuring interviews with new executive and managing directors at the helm of beloved arts organizations in Santa Cruz County. All the featured organizations are recipients of 2024 Community Grants. Read the full series.

Header photo: Laura DeAngelis, Executive Director of the San Lorenzo Valley Museum on the steps of the Grace Episcopal Gallery in Boulder Creek.

Under the redwoods in the historic Grace Episcopal Church building—which now houses one of two locations for the San Lorenzo Valley Museum—there is a replica of a late 1800s classroom. There are original desks and chalkboards, a huge school bell, reading lessons posted on the wall, and a display mapping all the original schools in the valley. But smack dab in the middle of the room, propped on a tarp protecting the creaking floorboards, are three oil paintings, rich in texture, alive with color, and practically vibrating with movement. The paintings are works in progress by Bailey Rios, the first ever artist-in-residence at the SLV Museum, a program that is the brainchild of Laura DeAngelis, the museum’s new Executive Director.

Learning from her Predecessors

Laura, an artist and studio arts educator who planted roots in Boulder Creek nearly a dozen years ago, is building on the museum’s strong foundation that was set by predecessors like former Executive Director Lynda Phillips and dedicated Board members like Lisa Robinson, who is the current president. The mission of the museum is to preserve and share the history of the San Lorenzo Valley by collecting and exhibiting artifacts, gathering historical information, and providing education through outreach programs. By sharing the region’s cultural history, the museum strives to increase a sense of belonging and connectedness among Valley residents, in turn leading to stronger civic engagement.

Recent community grant support over the past several years has helped with digital archiving and preservation equipment, inclusive curricula development, and accessibility improvements to the museum properties.

Laura says, “It’s been a helpful and rewarding learning experience for me to seek counsel from previous leaders and continue the important work they started while also expanding upon it with my vision.” Post-pandemic, and with so much of the valley still healing from the CZU fires and the 2023 winter storms, Laura is inspired to build the permanent collection to more fully represent the diverse communities of the valley.

New Art, Expanded Audiences

With her arts background and as a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Person of Color) leader, she says, “The representation of diverse communities in the Valley is just not something you find very much of in our collection. The artist-in-residence program is a way to build a body of work that addresses gaps in our collection but also expands our audience to become even more of an inclusive and diverse organization.”

The residency application was open to all county residents, BIPOC applicants highly encouraged, and offered a $1,200 stipend for a two-month residency, providing the artist with a studio space. During his residency, Bailey works six hours a week during the museum’s open hours so he can engage with museum visitors and staff, hosting an artist talk, exhibit, and workshop. One of Bailey’s paintings will then become part of the museum’s permanent collection.

Laura reflects, “Our community has been through so much and post-disaster, the preservation of history feels even more important. And, art brings people together, helps with community rebuilding, healing, and social engagement. I’m so grateful to be at the museum and I hope my leadership in the community will be beneficial to future generations.”