Lamorinda Arts Council board members and curators, (L-R) Elana O’Loskey and Bill Carmel, at the May 31 artist reception in the Orinda Library Art Gallery. They just found out the organization received a grant to support their art and literature programs, Art Embraces Words and Art Embraces Poetry.
Two programs sponsored by the Lamorinda Arts Council (LAC) got a boost last month as the Community Foundation of Lafayette gave the LAC a $2,665 grant.
Both Art Embraces Words and Art Embraces Poetry will be able to take advantage of the grant. Art Embraces Words is held in the Lafayette Library Arts & Science Room while Art Embraces Poetry will be at the Town Hall Theatre in downtown Lafayette.
Art Embraces Words was founded with LAC board member Natalie Wheeler in 2019. The program presents emerging writers who read their work and artists who both present and speak about their work.
LAC board member Elana O’Loskey added Art Embraces Poetry in 2023, due to community requests for a poetry program.
“To provide a place where the voices and work of creative people such as writers, poets, singers, visual and digital artists, can be validated – is what the hardworking board members and volunteers of the Lamorinda Arts Council are all about,” said O’Loskey.
Celebrating its 75th anniversary, LAC started in 1950 as the Orinda Arts Council and later expanded into the Lamorinda Arts Council to encompass the broader communities of Lafayette, Moraga and Orinda.
The non-profit organization is a pillar for promoting artistic voices across Lamorinda.
President Tony DeMartile said the mission of the Lamorinda Arts Council is to ignite and sustain artistic expression and appreciation for all ages throughout Lafayette, Moraga and Orinda.
“Stop by and say hello at our non-profit table in front of the Community Center on the 4th of July,” said DeMartile.
In 2018 O’Loskey began her role as a board member, serving the community through her advocacy for the arts. Her commitment to promoting the arts, however, blossomed long before then.
She’s been writing a monthly column about the Orinda Library and Wilder art galleries since 2009 and in that column, she invites the community to enjoy and appreciate local artists’ exhibits.
Linda Hartmann, vice president of the Mount Diablo Branch of the California Writers Club, co-chairs the two programs with O’Loskey. According to Hartmann, the programs could not exist without the energetic team of volunteers including Kathy Molloy, Darlene and Ramon Milo, Josephine Sabolboro, Diablo Valley College Honor Club students, local high school students, National Charity League members, LAC board and community members.
O’Loskey applied for and received a $3,000 grant from the Orinda Community Foundation in 2024, earmarked for new lighting in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library. In the same year, she and her husband Bill Carmel, also an LAC curator and board member, accepted a $2,000 award for LAC from Arts Contra Costa County as a district partner.
With the support of these grants, Lamorinda Arts Council encourages the formation of creative communities through the literary and artistic programs it offers.
O’Loskey stresses that allowing individuals of all ages and backgrounds to express themselves creatively in a judgment-free, supportive environment builds a strong community.
To learn more about LAC’s board, history and mission visit lamorindaarts.org/about/.
Contributing Writer
Ava Samson can be reached at acsam06@gmail.com.
