The Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts was founded in 2005 with the dual intention of promoting the arts and preserving the legacy of Beatrice Wood. Exhibitions of contemporary art support both the center and living artists, while permanent installations share our collection of works by Beatrice Wood, her remarkable collection of world folk art and a fascinating array of memorabilia.
While viewing our programs in an international framework, we maintain a strong sense of place - located in beautiful Happy Valley, we are well aware of the land's rich history and promising future. We are also part of the Ojai community, which has a wealth of creative, progressive individuals and strong art community. As a home for the arts in Southern California, we support the local art scene and ceramic community.
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The Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts is fully self-supporting. While sale of works from exhibitions, and tickets to events, result in income, we are dependent upon grants from foundations and donations from individuals who believe in our important work. You will find that we have added a link on our website to assist in funding the Center and supporting our programs (see How to Help). One of the most exciting of these programs is “The Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts Oral History Program” – which preserves existing footage of Beatrice Wood and her contemporaries and enables us to interview others to preserve her legacy. We are currently developing the first film in connection with this program, which will focus on Wood’s life in Happy Valley – exemplifying how the later years of an individual’s life can be the most active and rewarding.
The Center is made up of the homes of Beatrice Wood and her best friend Rosalind Williams Rajagopal. Rosalind spent decades of her life committed to the school in Happy Valley. Recently renamed the Besant Hill School in honor of Annie Besant, the school teaches high school students “how to think, not what to think ” with a belief that the future is shaped by individuals with wisdom and a love of knowledge. Beatrice Wood enjoyed teaching the students ceramics and in honor of these two women, the Center is increasingly involved in working with students, so that they might benefit from having an art center in close proximity to the school.
Beatrice Wood is not only our namesake, but also provides a guiding spirit, having set an example of how one can perfect the art of living through originality, openness and a unique combination of humor and spirituality. It is our dream that the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts will live on in this light.
-Kevin Wallace
Director
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