"Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one."

- Stella Adler, actress, acting teacher and founder of Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City and Stella Adler Academy of Acting and Theatre in Los Angeles

Taft native Leigh Golling sees the arts and sciences as a route to a renaissance on the Westside.
A major step to that renaissance is the creation of the Arts Council of Taft, she said.
"It's something that would help the kids in town - something to aspire to," Golling said. "Now to have something that hasn't been around to give (the youth) an opportunity.
"We believe the arts are essential to, and enhance the quality of life in the community. The Arts Council of Taft promotes, celebrates, develops and encourages visual, performance and literary arts."

"Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time."

- Thomas Merton, Trappist monk, poet, priest and social activist

"Art is everywhere"

Renae Ginther - a native of Taft, alumnus of Taft Union High School and Taft College, and a representative of the visual arts for ACT - asked: "Wouldn't it be wonderful if there was a place in Taft where the community could access various forms and mediums of art in one place; a place where people could participate in learning, developing and displaying.
"I think so."
Ginther is a graduate of California State University, Bakersfield, with a bachelor's degree and a single subject teaching credential in art. She has worked as a summer art teacher at TUHS and enjoys teaching art as well as creating it.
Ginther is an artist and has displayed several paintings and sculptured pieces for the public. But she sees infinite possibilities for expressing her artistic side every day through such activities as interior design, gardening, writing and crafting.
"Art is everywhere: In my home, in my flowerbeds, even in my work," Ginther said. "I express myself artistically in everything I do.
"Personally, I look forward to the possibilities of creating programs for our youth and venues in the community for sharing or experiencing the arts on a daily basis."
Ginther pointed out benefits to the youth of the community through a strong arts program.
"Studies have shown a strong correlation between participation in arts and literacy," she said. "Students who are involved in the arts have higher literacy rates."

Arts and sciences

Golling and her husband, Taft College instructor Greg Golling, have formed Imagination Laboratories, Inc., "to provide hands-on opportunities in the arts and sciences for the youth of Taft," she said. "An arts council would benefit our goal by making arts a presence in the community."
While her personal favorite is the theater, she hopes to see an organization that promotes theater, music, dance, the visual arts, creative writing, photography.
ACT would give the arts the ability to showcase themselves in the community, Golling said. It would be a non-profit opportunity for youths to explore the arts and sciences, she said.
"My goal is a theater company, and on-going classes kids could participate in," Golling said. "It would be a creative opportunity for kids, instead of (having them) going out and getting into trouble."
The Gollings hope that a combination of their non-profit Imagination Laboratories (ILinc) and an arts council could lead to an arts and sciences museum in Taft, "with a long-term goal of gallery space to display artwork, and theater space," she said.

First step

As a first step toward forming an arts council - hopefully in advance of Oildorado in early October - Golling presented her ideas to the July meeting of the Friends of Taft College Library.
FOTCL voted to support forming of the ACT and to act as liaison for the arts council.
In April, FOTCL sponsored An Evening With the Arts, featuring artwork, photography, readings, monologues, dance, musical interpretation, oral presentations and creative writing.
"We hope the April show will be a first annual," she said. "There is enough space in town to have something going on (regularly); something that would help the kids in town; something (for them) to aspire to.
"(There could be) classes in art, acting. There would be space for kids to have classes - to learn, to explore the arts and sciences.
"Thirty years ago the town was hopping. (Now) a lot of people feel very limited in Taft."

Second step

The next step is to draft a proposal to go before the Taft City Council to gain support for ACT, Golling said.
Golling's proposal will be an information item on Tuesday's City Council agenda and could be on the agenda for a vote at the Tuesday, Aug. 3, meeting, said City Manager Bob Gorson.
"It is a good opportunity to explain the proposal; a good opportunity for her to explain what she is proposing," Gorson said. "She isn't asking for a commitment from the council.
Any city involvement with ACT is subject to City Council approval, he noted.
"I'm anxious to see how the council receives it,"Gorson said.
"I embrace the concept of an arts council. I will definitely assist in any way I can. Hopefully, Oildorado will help create a renaissance for the arts culture in Taft."

Oildorado arts show

The Arts Council of Kern County is in charge of an arts show in connection with the unveiling of the Oilworkers Memorial during Oildorado. ACT could co-sponsor the Oildorado arts show "to get arts going in Taft," Golling said.
City Manager Gorson agreed, "Hopefully, Oildorado will help get this thing going."
And Dave Layne, a Taft College employee and treasurer of FOTCL, sees the Oildorado art show as an opportunity for ACT to test the waters.
"I've never been involved with an arts council before," Layne said. "I'm not sure what people are looking for here.
"I know that in Colorado, where I am from, Loveland has one that produced a body of work for the city.
"Loveland started with a small (arts) council."
In Loveland, the arts council's support for artworks made the community -- with a population of about 40,000 -- well-known as a city of sculptures, he said.
He sees an arts council as a funding mechanism for arts groups, such as a theater group that he and Taft College English instructor Jessica Grimes hope to start. Layne hopes the theater group could present a performance - possibly as a dinner theater featuring Westside actors - by January 2011.
He and Grimes are considering a comedy or possibly a melodrama for the initial presentation.

Literary magazine

Another arts venue about to debut in Taft, or actually reappear on the scene after a 10-year absence, is a peer-reviewed literary magazine from Taft College.
Geoffrey Dyer, an English instructor at the college, is working on the return of the publication that will accept and seek public contributions.
These efforts are good news for arts supporters, such as Golling and Ginther.
"I know that Taft will benefit from the creation of an arts council that will not only support our existing arts community but also encourage the development of additional arts opportunities," Ginther said.
"We need access to the arts in our schools and our community. Access to and participation in the arts increases the quality of life on all levels."
Those interested in forming the ACT can contact Leigh Golling by e-mail at leighbg@gmail.com.