Pajaro Valley Arts

Mission Statement:

Bringing the community together through the arts.

About Us:

The Pajaro Valley Arts Council, known in short as PVAC, was founded as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization in 1984 in Watsonville, California to promote and foster cultural events in the Pajaro Valley and south Santa Cruz County. We serve to encourage artistic resources found in our rich local cultural diversity, historical heritage and the natural beauty of the Central Coast.

Our goals include developing and promoting new opportunities for public participation and appreciation for the arts.

PVAC opened the Pajaro Valley Gallery in 1986 and presents rotating visual art exhibitions in the gallery and satellite locations, such as the recent "Sculpture IS" exhibit at both the gallery and Sierra Azul Nursery. Two annual exhibits highlight the schedule: "Collective Membership Show" and "Mi Casa Es Tu Casa" - showcasing Latino art and culture. We also support and encourage performing events in other venues in the region and encourage all art forms and connecting the community to artists and their work.

PVAC maintains on-going relationships with the regional arts community through the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County and other local cultural organizations. We also enjoy our relationship with the City of Watsonnville, owners of our historic Victorian building location and supporter of our organization. To better reach our local schoolchildren and youth, we partner with the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, local parochial and private schools, as well as the city and county departments of Parks and Recreation, and the YWCA/YMCA, our next-door neighbors.

We invite community members to volunteer with us as members, gallery hosts, and many other helpful capacities.

Thanks primarily to donations by our patrons, donors and volunteers, and to support grants funding from the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County, the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County and the City of Watsonville, we look forward to continuing our quality programming and services far into the future.