Accessibility is the first step towards creating art in Siskiyou County thanks to the Siskiyou County Arts Council. The Art DROP program — funded by a grant from the Community Foundation’s Community Arts Endowment Fund — is an initiative to provide communities with easy access to a variety of art supplies modeled after the ‘little free library’ approach. Local artists decorated retired newspaper vending machines (and one mini fridge) to both serve as a community repository and public art installations. Supplies inside were free for the public. The project started as a concept to reuse items that previously were considered irrelevant (like newspaper boxes, which used to regularly dot sidewalks and the outsides of grocery stores).
Theboxes were placed in central locations throughout Siskiyou County and designated Ambassadors were tasked with monitoring supply levels, sending survey requests, and keeping the boxes tidy.
Over the course of the past year, 10 boxes were installed in Happy Camp, Hornbrook, Tulelake, Gazelle, Montague, Weed, Dunsmuir, Mount Shasta, McCloud, and Etna.
“This is amazing!” said one participant. “I grabbed a thing of paint and The Art Council hopes that community engagement will keep the project flourishing with people choosing to create their own drop boxes as momentum spreads. For more information, visit here.
