Palo Alto Art Center Foundation

Direct support of the Palo Alto Art Center: the paacf achieves its primary mission by directly supporting the programs and goals of the Palo Alto Art Center. This direct support covers five program areas: children's fine Art, adult studio classes, exhibitions, project look! (an inquiry based museum education program for school children from throughout the region), and the Art Center's volunteer program

1. Cultural kaleidoscope is an arts education program that pairs artists with k-5 classrooms in Palo Alto unified school district and east Palo Alto's ravenswood school district. There are ten residencies each year, each of which pairs a visual artist with a classroom from each district, thereby encouraging collaborative Art making between students from two neighboring communities that have significant disparities in cultural and economic makeup. The program culminates in a public exhibition of student artwork at the Palo Alto Art Center. 2. The studio sale serves a unique and highly distinguished group of artists working in a range of disciplines, including jewelry design, ceramics and textiles.

Events, including great glass pumpkin patch, a collaboration with the bay area glass institute, is a unique program that serves glass artists from throughout the region. A four-day exhibition of thousands of glass pumpkins serves as the basis for project look! Tours for local school children, and a two-day sale generates substantial revenue for the artists involved and both partner organizations. This activity was suspended during the pandemic.