Napa panel addresses artists’ need for space and visibility

Napa Makes, a city initiative aimed at supporting and growing the number of artisan makers in the area, hosted a spotlight event last month for local artists.

During the event, panelists shared their experiences attracting attention to their work.

Four of five featured artists presented and discussed the lack of affordable and accessible studio space in town.

Jennifer Owen, Napa’s economic development coordinator, led the panel. She works with Napa Makes to identify specific needs and solutions for artists.

The initiative strives to give creative individuals a chance to build and sustain their businesses, so artists and makers can elevate the economy and enhance the cultural identity of Napa.

Owen shared the program’s 2022 accomplishments, such as generating over $175 million in revenue.

Napa Makes also contributed $13 million in sales tax to the county and $1.7 million to the city. One of the city’s annual events, the Lighted Art Festival, attracted 50,000 attendees, resulting in an economic impact of $3.2 million.

Other members of the panel included Arleene Correa Valencia, Nancy Willis, Agnes Pierscieniak, Kristina Young and Jacques Lesec. Sunshine Moeschler also was featured as a live painter at the event.

Young creates large-scale murals, mosaics and paintings. She has led the Quake Mosaic Napa Valley project for the past nine years. Quake Mosaic is a community-built memorial for the 2014 Napa earthquake.

“I really believe everyone is creative and should experience working with an artist,” Young said. The Rail Arts District Napa is raising $25,000 for the completion of the collaborative project.

The artist addressed the massive need for work space and expressed concern about Napa’s focus on its local artists. Young said she fears Napa is becoming a destination and venue for outside artists and tourists, with little consideration for the needs of its residents.

Correa Valencia presented virtually from Mexico City. Due to the lack of affordable studio space in Napa, she must travel to complete most of her work, she said.

Correa Valencia spoke about the competition for space between artists and other businesses. Makers and small manufacturers struggle to match the larger businesses.

Some of Correa Valencia’s work highlights art visibility and invisibility in times of crisis.

Her 2017 series, “En Tiempos De Crisis” (“In Times of Crisis”), focused on undocumented workers in the vineyards during Napa Valley wildfires. Workers faced high levels of pollution as they tried to save the crops they harvested.

“I love bringing visibility to us,” she said. “I think it’s extremely powerful to make something that’s also changing our community and making people feel like they belong.”

Correa Valencia has led various local projects and collaborations. The Armory Show in New York will display her creations — art inspired by her home, where she can’t afford to work.

Willis, another local artist, said, “I represent the artists that live and work here and have an existential crisis every day.”

She has struggled to find and keep an affordable and sufficient studio in Napa and hopes for change, she said. “I advocate for space for artists.”

Willis started group printmaking sessions called The Artists’ Trellis to bring awareness to the creative sector. Willis and fellow Napa artists invite industry and civic leaders to create together to highlight the importance of the arts.

“The power of making art collectively is really strong,” she said. Some of her latest work reflects the 2020 wildfires in Napa Valley.

Lesec, a large-scale sculptor and architect, said, “I can only imagine what I’d be able to accomplish if we had a communal art space.”

The struggle for space is particularly significant in his craft, he added. “I swear it’s my super power that I get to work alongside others.”

Lesec said there is a need for communal spaces in Napa, as well as access to equipment and educational opportunities.

Artists are expected to support themselves and often can’t afford to run their businesses downtown, which puts them at risk of losing much-needed visibility.

Pierscieniak, who owns Crave Workshops and co-founded 100 Coombs Creative Collective, said, “Experiences are powerful because they’re shared with others,” stressing the importance of local communal spaces.

Moeschler happily paints outdoors in public, yet she recognizes the need for improvements for artists.

“The community can support us by making us more visible, by providing more community spaces and accessibility to the arts,” Moeschler said. The painter said she hopes to uplift others and connect with people through her artwork.

In a later conversation, Young and Willis shared further thoughts on the invisibility of artists in Napa.

“It’s not gonna be a place where we nurture our creative community that lives and works here,” Young said. “It’s gonna become a place where we invite amazing people in, but we don't grow our own.”

Formerly the executive director of the Arts Council, Young has been working with the city of Napa, on and off, for the past 25 years and pushing for change. She’s excited to finally see progress.

Willis shares Young’s concerns regarding the economic and cultural changes in Napa.

“If Napa doesn’t do something to protect the arts here, it’s just going to be a venue for the rich and famous, empty of all it says it is,” Willis said.

Artists, Willis said, are feeling pushed out by larger businesses and unsupported by the economy.

“I’m the sole proprietor for my business,” she added. “I’m not treated the same as a restaurant or winery is.”

Emma Molloy is an intern for The Press Democrat. She can be reached at emma.molloy@pressdemocrat.com.