Pictured are three of the Alhambra High School art teachers who were among the recipients this year. 
Left to Right: Denise Fuller, Kristen Paradiso, MAA Grant Coordinator/retired teacher Carol Wiley, and Allison Fairchild.

2018-2019 Art Grants for Martinez School Teachers 

The Martinez Arts Association has awarded over $2,000 in grants to 14 local teachers to use for funding art projects in their classrooms. Examples of how the funds will be used are: purchase of three-part harmony books for chamber choir, frames for exhibiting student photos, materials to make tiles, mosaics, fabric painting, plus watercolor tubes, palettes, canvas boards, and mini easels for students painting at the Martinez Marina. 

The funding for the grants is provided by MAA membership dues, Art in the Park proceeds and other events, and generous donors in our community like Shell Oil and other local businesses. 

A student art show is scheduled at the Martinez library from March 2- May 4, 2019 to exhibit student work that results from the grant monies. Last year's show proved to be creative and full of wonderful surprises.  Visit www.martinezarts.org for more information about the non-profit association. 

The MAA Scholarship Program

The Martinez Arts Association promotes arts in the community not only by supporting established artists through the Martinez Art Gallery and a number of annual events, but also by supporting young artists in local schools with scholarships. Proceeds from MAA membership dues and art events help fund scholarships for local youth interested in pursuing their arts education beyond high school.
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Links for downloading grant and scholarship applications will be posted on this page during the fall and spring months.
2018 Scholarship Winners Just Announced!

The Martinez Arts Association awarded four local seniors scholarships at the May 29th Awards Assembly at Alhambra High School. They are: Dylan Gregory, Harmony Soffer, Tyler Caspar, and Tiauna McClenahan. All are talented and deserving young people in our community.

Tyler Caspar wants to be an actor and has participated in eight performances in high school.
He plans to go to DVC and then UCLA to study Theater.
Dylan Gregory plans to pursue a career in film as a Director and Writer. He has been accepted at Arizona State University's film production program. Dylan also plays cello and has been part of a Concert Band, Orchestra, Jazz Band, and String Quartet.
Tiauna McClenahan's works focus on portraits, and she plans to minor in Art at DVC. She also has experience as an actress.
Harmony Soffer plans to pursue a career in Art Therapy and Psychology. She will spend two years at DVC before transferring to a four year school.
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All four students come with terrific recommendations from their teachers, and MAA is pleased to support them in their continued ventures.
2017 Scholarship Winners

The Martinez Arts Association has awarded $1,000 in scholarships to two seniors from Alhambra High School who plan to keep art in their futures.
 
Gabrielle Solis describes drama as “an art I love so deeply” and enjoys making people “feel something” when she performs. Gabrielle has been accepted at Sonoma State University, Humboldt State, and three universities in Oregon.  Clearly she has a choice where to earn her minor in Theater Arts and obtain a teaching credential. Gabrielle was a student teacher for middle school drama classes and plans to be a Drama teacher for middle school or high school students.
 
Aaron Sullivan has a variety of experience working on sculpture pieces, mural art, designing posters and T-shirts, and helping to build a house for Habitat For Humanity in New Orleans. He has been accepted at the University of Nevada, Reno and hopes to incorporate design elements into computer science work.
 
MAA supports the arts in local schools through teacher grants and student scholarships. The scholarship program is intended to support students’ educational goals in the arts, and is primarily funded by MAA’s annual Art in the Park event, which is coming up August 20th.  
2016 Scholarship Winners

Four Alhambra High School seniors will be awarded scholarships from the Martinez Arts Association at the upcoming Awards Assembly June 1.
  1. McLellan Corum, who is a dancer and will also pursue kinesiology, has been accepted at the University of North Carolina
  2. Danielle Estrada, whose interests are in surreal composite photography, will attend Sonoma State to major in Studio Art with an emphasis on photography
  3. Grace Jeung, whose interests are in industrial design and graphic arts, plans on attending San Francisco State
  4. Mallory Perez, whose interests are in abstract and conceptual photography, plans to go first to DVC and then UCLA for a BA in Art
We applaud these talented young women and wish them well!

Art Grants for Local Teachers

2016 GRANTS

MARTINEZ, CA – December 22, 2016 — The Martinez Arts Association recently awarded approximately $2,000 in grants to 12 local teachers to fund art projects in their classrooms.
 
Teachers requested funds to support projects such as murals, tiles, and even butcher paper for “mummification” of students. Students will get supplies for Digital Arts, as well as drawing boards, sketchpads, easels, paint, and videos.
 
MAA donates 15% of its sales from the Gallery toward these grants, and this year funds were supplemented by Shell Martinez Refinery.  Supporting art in the schools is a primary mission of the Arts Association. The grants support teachers and help students benefit with enhanced classroom activities.
 
Pictured are Kindergarteners at Morello Park Elementary School (Clara Wojcik in front left) with their teacher, Janine Reed, one of this year’s recipients of the grants. 
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Pictured are Kindergarteners at Morello Park Elementary School (Clara Wojcik in front left) with their teacher, Janine Reed, one of this year’s recipients of the grants.

Grant Results Part 1
From:: Debby Wang-Lendahl <dlendahl@martinez.k12.ca.us>
Date: Mon, Apr 17, 2017 at 2:20 PM
Hi!
As the end of the year approaches, my 'Social Skills' class (students with emotional disturbance) here at MJHS draws to a close. I want to thank you once again for funding art supplies for my new curriculum on Art Journaling. It has been a fun venture into therapy through art.
I have attached several files. The files include the lesson (word doc) and the results via student work (jpeg/image). The file names are the same. Hope you enjoy them. 
The grant has helped my class with art supplies and I am very grateful for your generosity. 

Thank you and have a great summer!
Debby Lendahl 
Special Education Department Room A204
925-313-0414 ext.2154

2015 GRANTS:  MAA Awards $3,000 to Local Schools
 
MARTINEZ, CA – December 15, 2015 — This Martinez Arts Association recently awarded a total of $3,000 in grants to 24 teachers to fund art projects in their classrooms.
 
The teachers requested the money to support art projects such as sand painting, mirror tiles, pillow making, scrapbooking, making sculptures of Famous Americans, building a mission, making prints, making Native American pots, creating portfolios, and learning art techniques from DVDs. A photo class at Alhambra High School will use their funds for a field trip to San Francisco for "Art Talk and Walk" along Market Street.
 
The teacher grant program is supported by the Martinez Art Gallery which donates 15% of its sales, and the MAA which contributes funds from membership dues and other special events.

 Mona Kolodzie and Melissa Waters, teachers at John Muir Elementary School, were among this year's recipients.