Re: This month's lucky exclusives! (fwd)

[robert <http://dummy.us.eu.org/robert>]

Wow, cool.

 > From: Noelle <noelle>
 > Date: Sat, 5 Mar 2022 10:12:24 -0800 (PST)
 >
 > Chris & Dale
 > 
 >  > Subject: This month's lucky exclusives!
 >  > From: San José Museum of Art<http://www.sjmusart.org/~membership>
 >  > Date: Tue,  1 Mar 2022 01:32:07 +0000
 >  > 
 >  > Just for members, only at SJMA.
 >  > 
 >  > View this email in your browser (
 >  > https://mailchi.mp/sjmusart/new-year-new-exclusives-15273823?e=b24de68f9d)
 >  > 
 >  > ** Chris Mengarelli and Dale Elliott
 >  > ------------------------------------------------------------
 >  > 
 >  > **
 >  > ------------------------------------------------------------
 >  > 
 >  > Membership level: Curator
 >  > Members since: 2001
 >  > 
 >  > Chris Mengarelli and Dale Elliott moved from North Carolina to where-I-live in 
 >  > 1996. They became members of SJMA in 2002, when Chris became a Museum Store 
 >  > volunteer, and they joined the Founders’ Society (
 >  > https://sjmusart.org/planned-giving/founders-society) in 2017. Interested in 
 >  > art, color, and patterns from a young age, Chris has a background in studio 
 >  > art and interior design and creates artwork with oil pastels. She served on 
 >  > SJMA’s Councils Committee from 2018 to 2021. Dale recently retired from 
 >  > his career in software engineering and is passionate about digital 
 >  > photography.
 >  > 
 >  > What is your history with SJMA?
 >  > Chris: My exposure to the Museum started with volunteering for the Museum 
 >  > Store (https://store.sjmusart.org/) . The most rewarding part was engaging 
 >  > visitors not only about the products, but also about the exhibitions and 
 >  > their reactions to what they saw. I got involved with the annual fundraisers 
 >  > that the store volunteers organized. Over time, I got to know staff and 
 >  > appreciated what it took to run a museum. Eventually we became part of the 
 >  > Director’s Council (https://sjmusart.org/patron-membership) , and 
 >  > especially appreciated being able to participate in the Council of 100’s 
 >  > ArtPick, learning about the art that each of the curators proposed for 
 >  > acquisition.
 >  > 
 >  > Dale: I helped with the computer stuff for the fundraisers, and I’d often 
 >  > come down to pick her up and end up spending time in the galleries waiting 
 >  > for her. I volunteered as an event photographer for SJMA during 2007–2008, 
 >  > taking photographs at Community Days and exhibition openings. I’ve come to 
 >  > appreciate art so much more by Chris dragging me to shows. Now when we 
 >  > travel, museums are a big part of our itinerary.
 >  > 
 >  > How did you first learn about the Founders’ Society?
 >  > In 2013 when we created our Living Trust, our financial planner asked if, in 
 >  > addition to our families, there were any charitable organizations we wanted 
 >  > to support. We included SJMA as well as two other local nonprofits that we 
 >  > believe in.
 >  > 
 >  > What part of SJMA’s mission are you most enthusiastic about supporting?
 >  > Education is very important to us—exposing school kids to ideas and 
 >  > concepts through art. There is such an emphasis on STEM in public schools 
 >  > these days, and art and music departments always seem to be the first to get 
 >  > cut when funding is tight. It hurts us. We appreciate being able to provide 
 >  > funding for art evangelism in schools through the Let’s Look at Art (
 >  > https://sjmusart.org/education/k-12-online-your-classroom/lets-look-at-art) 
 >  > program. And we love Two-Part Art (
 >  > https://sjmusart.org/education/K%E2%80%9312-virtual-school-tours/two-part-art
 >  > ) , which brings kids into the Museum, learning with the gallery teachers. 
 >  > It’s wonderful to see children in the galleries so engaged and 
 >  > concentrating so hard. Since we have no children of our own, it’s our way 
 >  > of giving back.
 >  > 
 >  > SJMA’s inclusiveness is also important, everything from the wall text in 
 >  > three languages to the community-based music and dance programs. We really 
 >  > admire SJMA’s current approach to exhibitions—they are not always the “
 >  > prettiest,” but they make you think. And the docents are trained to 
 >  > interact with visitors by inviting them to share their own thoughts about 
 >  > and reactions to the work on display. SJMA has a great permanent collection 
 >  > as well, and we would love to see more of those works on display on a 
 >  > regular basis.
 >  > 
 >  >  ,https://mcusercontent.com/03b74a104de260099984b603f/images/2483a43b-7726-cba7-fa36-7cd37072b341.gif,
 >  > 
 >  >  Images:
 >  >  Dale Elliott and Chris Mengarelli at the C100's Annual Dinner, February 29, 
 >  >  2020. Photo by Sharon Kenney Photography.