Episode 3: The Community

In Episode 3 of monca Unframed, we explore the community behind the Museum of Northern California Art. Featuring conversations with board member Morgan Perry and membership coordinator Lynn Haskell, this episode highlights how Monca brings people together through memberships, workshops, events, and volunteer efforts. From health and healing classes to live performances and exhibitions, we look at how the museum serves as a cultural hub in Chico and how listeners can get involved. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

The Museum of Northern California Art, or Monca, exists to make art accessible and to promote awareness of Northern California artists through collections, exhibitions, and educational programs. In this five-episode series, we're going behind the frames into the stories, the risks, the history, and the big ideas that continue to shape this community-driven museum. This is episode three, the community. I'm Georges Weber, and this is Monka Unframed. Today we're going to be talking about community. And we have with us the fabulous Lynn Haskell, and she is our membership manager coordinator, and we have Morgan Perry, who has been president of the board and now currently is on the board and conducts a lot of our health and healing workshops at the museum. So welcome. And I would like to know what led each of you to the museum personally, professionally. Lynn, what about you? How did you end up here?

SPEAKER_04 1:32

Well, that's a great question. Thank you, Georgia, for being here with us. My husband produces the classical guitar concert series. And that's been going on for over 20 years in the community. Started out at Cafe Coda, went to the 1078 gallery, and when Monka opened, moved over to Manca. And there's quite a following for that. And Warren is able to bring in world-class guitar players to provide exceptional music. This last weekend, uh, one of the uh audience members came up to me in the middle and said, I can't believe I'm in Chico that we get the opportunity to hear this kind of music up close and personal. So that's how I was introduced to the museum. And once I got in there helping him out, I became a volunteer. And volunteers are the lifeblood. They are. If we didn't have volunteers, there would not be a museum. Indeed.

SPEAKER_02 2:46

I mean, the director and all the board members, everybody's a volunteer. And how about you, Ms. Perry?

SPEAKER_01 2:55

Uh I think I came about it in a little sideways route. Uh I moved to Chico recently, and uh I heard this amazing museum existed, and they were looking for classes to teach or things to help support the expansion of the back room. And I thought, great, I teach uh movement classes, and I started a foot class at Monka, so I'm known as the foot lady. Um, and it's been such a beautiful experience to teach this class in this community in a museum. It's just a wholly different experience to teach classes in museums. So it's been a little um, sometimes it feels like a funny little fit that there's like a foot class happening at the museum, but it's been such a beautiful experience to move my body and teach other people to connect to their bodies in this beautiful environment. And um, I just kept talking with Pat and asking about the back room and getting really excited about all the potential that could happen back there. And so Pat asked if I wanted to be on the board, and then here it is.

SPEAKER_02 3:56

The rest's history.

SPEAKER_01 3:56

Yeah, but Monka really helped me actually insert myself into the community, help build my business. It's such a beautiful reciprocity that I've gotten to experience in my entry into Chico. And so this whole center of art and movement and healing has just been a welcoming, beautiful thing that I'm so happy. Like Lynn said, like, I can't believe this is happening in Chico. Like, oh my gosh, I can't believe I get to be in this.

SPEAKER_02 4:24

That thank you. That space, the museum itself, is such a beautiful space and it seems to fire the imagination for a lot of people. Certainly, it has for me.

SPEAKER_04 4:36

Yeah, I think I think um people are realizing that our environments have such a huge impact on us. And when you walk into the museum, you just feel, I mean, I feel a calmness and an excitement for whatever's up on the walls. And the and I usually see people I know that come in to visit the museum. It's just a vortex of activity in the community. Uh, Georgia, I was interested, how did you get on the board?

SPEAKER_02 5:09

Well, it all started when our mailman delivered the mail wrong. Um I Pat and I share house numbers on different streets in the same neighborhood. And so she came over to hand me some mail one day, and she's always gorgeously put together. I was covered in mud, I'd been repairing the water heater. Anyway, uh, it started a conversation. And my educational background is arts and English. And I strayed from that because I didn't want to be poor, and I was not a Van Gogh or a Picasso or any of those wonderful people. So it went from there. Again, it was a conversation, and um I had encouragement from several folks, and it's been about two years now. So it's been a really great experience.

SPEAKER_04 6:09

I think that's what we call the Chico way when you have a conversation, and then that leads to the next thing and the next thing, and all of a sudden we're just weaving community together. It's a beautiful thing.

SPEAKER_02 6:21

You pull one thread and there goes the next one. Well, so Morgan, uh, you have this marvelous background in osteopathy, if I'm saying that correctly. And you're doing the workshops. We also have other healing workshops and classes at the museum. To me, it's not an intuitive leap to think of health and healing with the arts, but it has been a focus and an important and successful focus for the museum. So, how does that all tie together?

SPEAKER_01 7:00

Well, I mean, art reminds us that we're human beings, right? That we're more than just this kind of like walking to-do list. It lets us pause and stop, reflect, um, and come together in this museum as a community to do that. But also when you're connecting to your body, you're doing the same thing. You're stopping, you're pausing, you're connecting to your physicality, and that honestly allows your nervous system to completely reset. So when you pause uh and you stop your to-do list and you stop this idea that you're running from a bear uh and you're looking at a piece of art, you remember, oh wow, like your nervous system can't enjoy art or even creating art at the same time that it thinks it's running from a bear, right? And the same thing when you're moving your body. So we have a lot of movement that happens at manca. Um, there's my foot class, there's a salsa class, there's uh Tai Chi has happened at Manca. There's been a lot of dancing. And I'm like, I'm so happy that you um asked me that question about how does this link? Because I see it, it's just obvious to me, but I realize that like that might not make sense. But um not only being able to be in that space, as Lynn said, it just changes your whole perspective. When you walk in there, everything slows down. You just shift your mindset, and then to be able to actually engage in your physical being in that space in a different way just creates a lovely space that's different than when I teach in a movement studio. Um, and that's what I think is so beautiful about having this community and this time is that we really need this moment to slow down.

SPEAKER_02 8:35

And so body, mind, and spirit. Yeah, well, I remember talking with Pat about Pat, our executive director. Um she taught art classes for unhoused people many times. And we've even had some exhibits of folks that are unhoused. And I said, Pat, how does you know, these are folks that need housing and clothing, and they might actually be running from a bear. Um how does teaching them art help? And she said, well, it allows them to think beyond their circumstances. And that has stuck with me. It's it's that transformative part of art.

SPEAKER_04 9:26

We have to remember that humans have been around for a hundred over a hundred thousand years, and there have been five traditional ways of healing, and that has been through art, singing, song, dancing, movement, storytelling, and prayer and meditation. And um, I think of the tribal belly dance that's going on right now at Manca, and how that's been carried through generations of people, and we're still using the classes and the workshops as a way of healing in the community. And we welcome everyone.

SPEAKER_02 10:07

Yes, we do.

SPEAKER_01 10:09

Well, and I think that's an important part, is there is an inclusivity where everyone is welcome, and everybody just kind of lets down when they come in. And I, when I'm when I'm teaching in that space, everybody leaves feeling so inspired and so connected, and then they take that out into the world. And it's just it's so great to see that transformation happen in all the classes and just watching people in the museum and leaving the museum and being in community.

SPEAKER_04 10:35

You know, Morgan, I took your foot class, and um I talked to a lot of people that have foot pain, and your class really addresses that. And um, and I use the uh what I learned from the class, and also you showed us the kind of shoes that work good for our feet. So very useful information gets passed around there.

SPEAKER_02 11:01

Say goodbye to the four-inch stilettos.

SPEAKER_01 11:04

Yes, sometimes shoes, it's okay.

SPEAKER_02 11:08

Everything in moderation.

SPEAKER_01 11:09

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 11:11

So, Lynn, we've had a nice upsurge in membership in the past couple of years. Yes. And perhaps it's just been growing all along. Um what do you attribute the increase to and what's involved in being a member?

SPEAKER_04 11:35

Well, um 2020, you know, pretty much took everything down, and Monca was growing up to that point, but then museums closed down. So since 2020, yes, our membership has steadily um risen. And I think it's because of the um the exhibits. People come in and they're surprised at the quality of exhibits that we have. They're timely, they're provocative. You know, you'll stand in front of a piece of work and it gets you thinking. And, you know, when we stop and reflect on these ideas that are presented before us, that's when cultural change happens. That's when we start thinking in a different way. And um, and then, you know, we have opening receptions that people come to to meet the artist, and we have um artist talks along the way. I think um there's a lot to enjoy there for a variety of different reasons. And, you know, we have our call for art through our newsletter, and you never know what's going to come in. And that's also been increasing around the North State. So we started out very locally with Chico artists, but now when you come in, you can see they're from all over the North State. We truly are the Museum of North of California Art.

SPEAKER_02 13:07

Yes, from San Jose up to Oregon. Yes, yeah. And parts east of the border.

SPEAKER_04 13:14

Yeah, and we have over 500 members now, and you can be a member if you're a vet for $25 for the year. It's like our membership levels are really reasonable because we have six to eight exhibits a year. So you can buy one card and come in. Every card that is bought, you can bring in a friend with you. So um seniors are $30. If you're a dual um partnership or a family, $60. So you get two cards with that, and you can bring in two other people with you. So if someone's visiting from out of town, it's a great place to bring visitors. In fact, I always notice I ask people where they're from when they come and visit, and we have a lot of out of town visitors, a lot of Chico State student parents over parent weekend. Uh anytime we have bike rides, the uh snow goose festival, we have a lot of out-of-town people come in. And if you're an individual, you can get your membership card for $40. So we take care of everybody. And then we have a special membership, uh, which is called a NARM membership. It's the North American Reciprocal Museum card. And uh NARM is associated with over 1,500 uh museums, galleries, botanical gardens. There's um in the Bay Area over 27 that you can take your NARM card and get in for free. So um that is really exciting if you travel. And when you travel, if you are a person that goes to galleries and museums, it's worth getting an ARM card. Wonderful. And students always get in free, right? Students always get in free. Yeah. So it's a great place to bring your kids, visiting nieces and nephews, grandchildren. Um, yeah, we we almost always have something for the little ones to do.

SPEAKER_02 15:26

Well, and we now have a junior board, which is very invigorating. Uh, we had one segment with Johnny in Kent, and they're bringing a lot of um a lot of energy and great ideas into the into the space. So we have the junior board, and then we have the board of directors. And what the heck does the board of directors do?

SPEAKER_01 15:52

Uh the board of directors, we're working to kind of set a real stable foundation so manca can grow. I mean, as we might have already talked about in the series about expanding into the back room. So we're setting, I was thinking about it as if we're the banks of the river, and then there's this big creative flow that's coming through. So just helping kind of direct and guide through all of the things that are happening at Manca so we can really meet our goal of expanding uh into not just Chico. I'm still shocked that there's people in Chico that haven't been to Manca. It blows my mind. So um reaching out and really um helping us to expand. Uh what about you, Georgia? You're on the director's.

SPEAKER_02 16:40

Yeah, it is, it is that the business end of the arts, and it's foundational, it's important, it's not quite as glamorous as the rest of it. It's the structuring is the governance. You know, we do have bylaws, we do have obligations as a nonprofit that need to be attended to. So we have a variety of people that have those skill sets to be able to structure us and let us also grow artistically, which is a trick. The two don't always seem to go together naturally.

SPEAKER_01 17:19

Exactly. But it's it's been a nice give and take, right? Where you know you want to make sure that the boundaries and the rules and the budgets don't get too bogged down and that we're also pushing back against and being creative and expanding and thinking beyond those boundaries. So I think it's a beautiful reciprocity that happens between the artistic side and that more business side. And so it's learning how to channel that into the best forward path.

SPEAKER_02 17:45

So and it is volunteer. That's well put, thank you. It is volunteers, so there are people that naturally come and go. Not everybody can spend that much time forever. Um, so but we are always looking at new board members as well.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

Well, and I have to say that I'm consistently impressed with all of the volunteers around Monka and how much work goes in and how much dedication to the mission and to the museum that really expresses itself in every single volunteer and every single board member.

SPEAKER_02 18:20

We have about eight individuals on the board right now. We have yourself, Morgan, Perry, um, myself, Georgia Zweber, and we have um Viana Boring Renault, who's a Chico native, and excellent musician. It's somebody who wears so many hats. I can't even, it makes my head spin. Um we have uh Dan Carter from this radio station. Um he's really great at helping us with everything sound related. And we have um Jeff Lindsay from Red Hot Metal, another Chico icon, and just an all-around jolly good fellow. I love working with him, um, and a creative spirit. Um who am I leaving at? Heather. Heather, oh my god. Um Heather is our treasurer, and she is just one of the rocks of the whole place.

SPEAKER_01 19:24

She is a powerhouse.

SPEAKER_02 19:25

Yeah, she is, and also extremely pleasant to work with. Um that's our current board. We have some potential new members coming up, but that will be a story for another day.

SPEAKER_05 19:43

I'm Vienna Boring, and I'm board president of Monka. I first, well, I would say rediscovered Monka when I relocated to Chico after years abroad. I was absolutely blown away by the magical transformation that had taken place in the Veterans Hall on Esplanade and uh met Pat and Richard Masseyus, who were behind that vision. And I was, I was, well, I still am flabbergasted at the wide range and variety of different activities that put take place in the space for our community, from music to art to workshops on a variety of things. It's such a resource to the community and was definitely something that I wanted to get involved right away.

SPEAKER_02 20:33

And, you know, in terms of the museum, the board, the members, the volunteers, the classes, in the middle of everything that's happening in our world, you've talked a little bit about it, but what do you see as the future of Monca and the function of this museum in our community?

SPEAKER_04 21:01

Well, um, Morgan mentioned the back room, and it is 9,000 square feet, beautiful space, stage, has a long history. That building was built in uh 26, and unfortunately the wiring is still from 1926. So, in in wanting to update that and remodel that to make it a useful space in the 21st century, yeah, we are currently raising funds to make that a usable performance space. And that I think it's a medium-sized space for the performance spaces that we currently have. So it fills a niche that um doesn't exist right now as far as um number of people in Chico. Yeah, in Chico. Yeah, so that's exciting. Um raising money for that, we're putting our focus onto that. That. And I think that in the future we want to continue to strengthen our partnerships with Chico State, Butte Community College, Chico High. Chico High, that's right, the elementary schools. We had a membership gathering the beginning of the year, and such great ideas came out of it. And one of them was why don't we have volunteer liaisons to the elementary schools so that we can reach out and bring those schools into the museum? Or we have a bus, we can take the museum out to them. So we actually need more volunteers to be able to do some of these great ideas. If someone is listening, call in.

SPEAKER_02 22:50

You can also send an email to contact at manka.org. And you will get a response.

SPEAKER_04 22:59

Oh, I wanted to say another thing that I hope really, really, really, really grows is the gingerbread houses that we had over uh the holiday season. We had some amazing ginger houses that were made, and we're hoping to turn that into a yearly event. So think about that, you bakers out there.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

Well, and one of the things I would really like to see for Manca is it to become not just a pillar of the community in Chico for arts, for healing, for music, for um, we've talked about it being a hub for the area, but I would really love it to become a destination where people know that this exists in Chico and they come and they see this museum and they see, I mean, the exhibits that come and it becomes uh a draw in and of itself. So that way we don't just have people in Chico that say, Oh, I've never been to Manca, but that we have um everybody in Chico saying, come, come see Manca, and come see me too, but come see Manca. Um and I would like to see um growth in all of our programming. I would love to see more uh expansion of art classes and more expansion of uh community talks. I really love what the junior board has done and bringing in um the cocktails and conversations, and we're having uh, you know, um space for people to just meet and actually talk about the art and create more community and more um invigoration in our community. And I want to see that expand and grow. And that's again the back room is the perfect venue for that, and we're really excited to watch that continue.

SPEAKER_02 24:46

It has beautiful light with those tall windows and a nice wood floor. Um, the other part of the back room is now having expanded that call for art, we often cannot display everything that comes in for an exhibit. And it's really good art. Um, so that back room along with performance space will have expanded exhibit space and classrooms. Um classrooms will have movable walls. So when you want to have a show, you just push them out of the way. And there will even be a little catering kitchen in the corner. Uh there's a loading dock. There's a next time any of you come in, check out the architectural plans that are on the wall up by the front desk and take a peek in the back. Somebody can take you back there because it will get you thinking.

SPEAKER_01 25:48

What do you see as Manca expanding into or the future of Manca?

SPEAKER_02 25:54

A lot of what you just said about it being a hub and not just, or along with having people come more to the museum to act as a connector, so that the different galleries, Chico Arts Commission, um, all the different arts venues, and and the schools that we're facilitating what happens there, that we're in communication, and that it's you know, Chico, I read somewhere is one of the like the third rated arts community in the whole state. We've got it happening. And there's a lot of ways that we can connect and help foster what's happening with other other groups as well. So that is our discussion on community and the Museum of Northern California Art. Thanks to both of you, Lynn and Morgan. And um, we'll see you in the next segment. Thanks, Georgia. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:59

Thank you for listening to Manka Unframed. This episode has been produced by Aidan Vanderroot. This episode is a production of KZFR as part of the Chico Speaks series, with funding made possible by the City of Chico Arts Commission, the California Arts Council, and listeners like you. Listen to Manca Unframed on KZFR ninety point one FM and on digital streaming platforms.