Webster Family Receives Friend of the Arts Award

Yes, Virginia. There are “friends of the arts” and the Altadena Arts Council (TAAC)
was a recipient of their good works.

The Arts Council’s Executive Director, Mary Ann Stevenson, states that their members were in the process of planning its “Altadena ARTBreak 2011 Community Arts Festival” for a June 18 opening, an annual event the council has held for a number of years, when it was notified by a major sponsor that it would no longer be able to provide funds that have supported previous events. That’s it, council members thought, the event is over before it’s even started.  However, several days later, while driving on North Lake, a council member spotted a large, vacant store, owned by the Webster family, that was being advertised for sale and a thought flashed through his mind - “Do you think the Websters would……? Probably not, but I’ll call anyway.” With that and without expecting a positive response, the Arts Council member placed a call asking whether the Websters would allow use of the facility to house the council’s event, now conceived as an art exhibition. To his surprise, a return call was received next day indicating they would be glad to assist. With that, members of the organization got busy transforming the vacant store into the Temporary Gallery@Websters, including construction of temporary, gleaming white walls for mounting the many works of art of Pasadena Unified School District students. And instead of the two weeks use requested by the Council, they were given full use of the space for an entire month rent free, including utilities. This opened the door for many members of the community to have an opportunity to enjoy the gallery (the only one in Altadena, temporary or not) and the wonderful art, performances and workshops that were
scheduled.

In appreciation of their generous support of the Council’s efforts to provide a venue to showcase the many young, talented young artists attending Pasadena Unified District school, the Webster’s were honored recently by the Altadena Arts Council’s board of directors with the organization's Friend of the Arts Award.