Around East County: Delta Gallery needs help to avoid closing soon

A Rotary Club member has set up a GoFundMe page to assist the Brentwood nonprofit with its short-term operating expenses.

The Delta Gallery Community Art Center is more than just a space for East Contra Costa County artists to showcase their work. It’s also an event center that hosts arts and cultural events for nonprofit groups. To help keep the gallery afloat while its operators look for new funding sources, a Brentwood Rotarian has created a GoFundMe page.

Although Dan Torres is not part of the artist community that conceptualized Delta Gallery, he has benefited from its services as the Youth Art Contest organizer for the Rotary Club of Brentwood. The Rotary chapter has hosted its annual award event activities at the gallery to help young artists connect with the local art community.

“I’m really fond of the gallery and what it does to help promote art in East County,” Torres said. “So I started the (GoFundMe) page to help the organization get the word out about needing help.”

Local artist Rosie Grejsen explains that the Delta Gallery, located in The Streets of Brentwood mall, was opened by artist Jack Gaughan as a for-profit gallery to provide a space for local artists to showcase their work. However, the gallery’s ownership was transferred in 2014, and it became part of the nonprofit cooperative Art Guild of the Delta Inc.

“The Delta Gallery plays an important role in promoting arts awareness, art education and art processes within the community,” Grejsen said.

Over the years, the gallery has opened its doors to many other local nonprofit and community support groups to host events and showcase the local community.

“This wonderful space has offered an opportunity for the art community to build relationships with groups like the Rotary Club, Soroptimist International of the Delta, local colleges and students from middle school to college level,” Grejsen said. “The gallery has become an essential community art source for all over East County.”

The gallery received partial funding from the Brentwood Art, Wine and Jazz Festival, but the show was canceled during the pandemic and has yet to return. Artists do support the Delta Gallery’s quarterly shows, and the gallery also offers art classes throughout the year to generate funds for expenses such as PG&E, Internet and phone services, insurance, website maintenance and basic upkeep.

“We remain hugely grateful for the years of support we have received from The Streets of Brentwood, CLO Marketing and Fairbourne Properties,” Grejsen said. “Due to a lack of income, the Delta Gallery needs a lifeline to avoid closure this summer.”

The gallery team is actively pursuing sustainable grants and fundraising options to guarantee that it can continue operating for years ahead. These options may take some time to come to fruition, but the gallery requires funding in the interim to meet its short-term operational expenses. So far the GoFundMe page has collected more than $3,390 of its $9,000 goal. For more information, visit the webpage at gofund.me/7612e1fa.

Panelists sought: The East Contra Costa County Habitat Conservancy needs four people to join the multicity authority’s Public Advisory Committee (PAC). The committee will give feedback on the East Contra Costa County Habitat Conservation Plan/Natural Community Conservation Plan (HCP/NCCP). The PAC includes members from different groups and interested public agencies.

One East County community member from each of the following groups is sought to fill the current vacancies: a permit seeker from the development community; a representative from the conservation community; a private landowner and/or agriculturalist (or his or her representatives); and a suburban or rural resident from the plan area.

The PAC convenes quarterly to evaluate and provide input on the HCP/NCCP. This includes policies, work plans, restoration projects, research grants, preserves and adaptive management.

Applications must be submitted before Aug. 1, and application materials can be found on the Habitat Conservancy webpage at bit.ly/3CmmEeI. For further inquiries, email Maureen Parkes at the East Contra Costa County Habitat Conservancy at Maureen.Parkes@dcd.cccounty.us.

Roni Gehlke can be reached at oakleynow@comcast.net.