About STUDIO 395 and the Village on Grand
MISSION STATEMENT
To improve the quality of life for the community, to enhance the area via public art projects, as well as to provide programs where all can experience and engage in art and culture, and provide opportunities for local artists to inspire and create.
HISTORY
STUDIO 395 started in 2011 as a small group of artists meeting to discuss the opportunities to enhance the Lake Elsinore community through the arts. In order to get the name out, the group decided that first they needed to be visible; to attend local civic and service events and identify public art projects that could involve the community and attract local businesses. The name STUDIO 395 is due to the historic significance of the old highway. A one-time American Indian trading route, Highway 395 ran through the communities of Temecula, Murrieta, Lake Elsinore, Perris, and Riverside along its journey as the state’s only North-South route east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
STUDIO 395 debuted on the streets of downtown Lake Elsinore when they began their monthly 3rd Saturday evening “LIVE ART” event in July 2012. They were an adjunct to the weekly Flour Fusion music nights. In 2014, they decided to combine both music and art events in the City Park by staging the “Elsinore Al Fresco-Summer Art & Music In The Park”, bringing free music and LIVE “ARTivities” to the community.
In August of 2013 the group received their 501(c)3 California Non-Profit status establishing STUDIO 395 Foundation, Inc. and allowing further growth and sustainability. As always, the goals and purposes were service to the community via the arts.
The group began their signature Día De Los Muertos event in 2011 as a kind of guerilla takeover of the historic downtown district with the support of those local businesses, having local musicians play, ballet folklorico dance, and local artists creating and painting the faces of young attendees. By 2014, the City of Lake Elsinore and the Downtown Merchants Association joined in and an iconic annual event was begun.
In 2017, after successes with grant funding by The National Endowment for the Arts, Southern California Edison, and the California Arts Council, the group took on the opportunity to be the contract operator of the Riverside County’s Lakeland Village Community Center.
In 2019, the group took on space at The Outlets at Lake Elsinore with the intent of creating interactive art experiences for the local community and with the help of local artists. Starting In 2021, they worked with Outlet management to help transform waning retail space into a new vibrant destination for entertainment and unique activities, including window displays and a gallery venue. The idea of outlier art in large scope has become a hallmark of STUDIO 395 and the space is designed to provide workshop space for creation for events there and elsewhere with leadership by local artists but utilizing as many volunteers as possible.
Classes at the Village On Grand (their branding for the Lakeland Village Community Center) allows for local artists to teach their skills and for local community member to learn and grow. Space at the Outlets allows for local artists to create and contribute to community events. Through grant funding efforts, STUDIO 395 attempts to teach local youth and encourage their practical application of skills, particularly as a vocation. As an organization that values the broad definition of “art”, they are continually seeking ways to contribute and to find places for others to contribute.
In 2021, STUDIO 395 lost its last participating founder, Grace Sandlin. Through a small staff and a dedicated board of local supporters, the mission and vision of the group continues. The group is continually seeking out those that understand the importance of art to a community to assist in whatever way they can and to offer their insight on how art can have an impact.
Please feel free to contact us to find out more about how you can help via your time, your ideas, your funds, or whatever you have to offer!
Make a donation.
Help us to accomplish these goals with a generous donation. You can contribute in many ways;
Email us if you can donate time or sponsor something at an event, or you can use our PayPal account here to contribute money.
