Press Release by Sierra County Arts Council Downieville, CA – Sierra County Arts Council today celebrates two grantees from Sierra County who will be working under the Upstate California Creative Corps program. Artist Marjorie Voorhees and The Sierra County Land Trust are among 27 partner
agencies, 54 lead creative partners, and a total of 1,010 artists and culture bearers supporting initiatives serving California’s least represented peoples and most vulnerable communities and environments. Sierra County Arts Council and other Arts
Councils across California’s Upstate Region, led by Nevada County Arts Council, announce $3.38 million in grant awards across Northern California. Announcing Upstate California Creative Corps grantees follows over seven months of outreach, listening, and support before and during the program’s application window. Says B.J. Jordan, Executive Director of Sierra County Arts Council: “The
Creative Corps began with a Listening Tour that came to the Yuba Theatre in January 2023. Local artists and organizations met Eliza Tudor and Diana Arbex from Nevada County Arts Council, and were given the opportunity to understand, participate, and ask
questions about the program modeled after the Works Progress Program (WPA) that created so many legacy art projects in our state in the 1940s. The Sierra County Arts Council was pleased to support our own Sierra County artists through the Creative Corps
grant process.” With support from Upstate California Creative Corps, local artist Marjorie Voorhees of the Paiute Nation will create the Headwaters Stained-Glass project. In the wake of the climate crisis, Sierra County watershed communities have been among the most
affected communities within the lowest quartiles of the California HPI. This project will create an intergenerational public awareness installation that will boost civic pride while reflecting the environmental importance of watersheds that originate
in our rural county and that are essential to the health of the entire State of California. With support from the California Creative Corps, the Sierra County Land Trust will work with nine artists and writers long inspired by the Sierra Buttes and Lakes Basin to publish a book of photography, art, and writings, together with a culminating exhibition
along the themes of: 1.) How will preserving our high elevation forests and watersheds buffer climate change impacts in California?, and; 2.) How can we do our part locally by protecting the iconic Sierra Buttes and Lakes Basin of Sierra County? Sierra County Arts Council would like to thank Musica Sierra, who helped to facilitate the Headwaters Stained Glass project that will install a beautiful stained-glass window in the Old White Church, part of the Milt Gottardi Museum complex in Loyalton
and soon to be the Musica Sierra performing arts facility. We would also like to thank everyone who participated in the grant process. Priority was given to local artists across the Upstate Region. The Arts Council did our best to steward those individuals
and organizations who applied for the grants. We appreciate the hard work that went into every application, regardless of the outcome. We also want to thank the volunteers who participated in the Grant Panel that helped to evaluate and choose our grantees. Grantees are collectively part of a media, outreach, and engagement campaign designed to increase awareness for issues such as public health, water and energy conservation, climate mitigation, and emergency preparedness, relief, and recovery. California
Arts Council views the California Creative Corps program as a job creation and human infrastructure development opportunity. Region by region, the program is increasing the ways in which artists are engaged in public work. A complete list of grantees
can be found at https://www.upstatecreativecorps.org/grantees. Within the Upstate Region, Sierra County Arts Council is one of a network of agencies that serve as State-Local Partners with the California Arts Council. While each serves distinct communities, State-Local Partner agencies are connected through a coalition
that networks, consults, and gains from peer learning and support. Upstate agency partners are Nevada County Arts Council (as administering organization for the California Creative Corps), Arts Council of Mendocino County, Arts Council of Placer County,
Colusa County Arts Council, Del Norte Association for Cultural Awareness, Friends of the Arts in Butte, Humboldt Arts Council (and Ink People, working in partnership with Humboldt Arts Council), Lake County Arts Council, Lassen County Arts Council, Modoc
County Arts Council, Plumas County Arts Council, Shasta County Arts Council, Sierra County Arts Council, Siskiyou County Arts Council, Tehama County Arts Council, Trinity County Arts Council, and Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture.
Marjorie Voorhees inside her shop in SattleyProjects funded in Sierra County