About the Humboldt Arts Council and the Morris Graves Museum of Art

Supporting the arts and artists of Humboldt County since 1966!

Founded in 1966, The Humboldt Arts Council is committed to providing support and opportunities to the many painters, ceramists, writers, musicians, actors, dancers, poets, and cultural historians who live and work in Humboldt County.

In 2000, the Humboldt Arts Council opened the doors of the Morris Graves Museum of Art, Humboldt County's only art museum and home to hundreds of inspiring works of art, 7 galleries, a courtyard sculpture garden, the Humboldt Artists Gallery, museum store, classroom facilities, and performance rotunda.

Every year, we spend hundreds of hours bringing the arts into schools and providing programs within the museum that reach over 15,000 Humboldt County children annually. (And that number keeps growing!)

We are the State-Local Partner for the California Arts Council, and run the Morris Graves Museum of Art in a historic Carnegie building which was slated for demolition in the late 1990s, until a Humboldt Arts Council campaign raised enough funds to restore the building and create a community arts space inside.

To become a member of the Humboldt Arts Council, or to donate to the Humboldt Arts Council and your community art museum, please click here! We are grateful for our community support and truly could not do this work without the generous members of our community.

About Morris Graves

Morris Graves was a resident of Humboldt County from 1964 until his death in 2001, and an internationally recognized Northwest artist. Mr. Graves was an enduring supporter of the Humboldt Arts Council and in 1999, he endowed the art museum restored by the Humboldt Arts Council in his name. Much of his personal collection and twelve of his major and minor paintings are part of the Humboldt Arts Council's permanent collection.

HUMBOLDT ARTS COUNCIL STRATEGIC VISION

Mission

The Humboldt Arts Council is dedicated to providing leadership in support of the rich heritage of North Coast Arts and to bringing this legacy fully into community life.

Vision

To continue promoting Humboldt County as one of the most vibrant places in the world to live, work and visit, with arts and culture being a connecting thread to quality of life in the region. The HAC advocates, supports and provides access to diverse art and culture experiences within our community.

Values

Passion: The HAC is passionate about instilling a dedication for the arts that will enrich the lives of everyone in our community.

Integrity and Diversity: The HAC is committed to individual and artistic integrity and inclusion.

Collaboration: The HAC values the power of collaborating with other organizations to enhance our collective strengths.

Leadership: The HAC aspires to excellence in governance and to be a leading advocate for the arts in our community.

Education: The HAC promotes the fundamental need for arts education and encourages lifelong learning.

Strategies

The Humboldt Arts Council supports artists, programs, and organizations that preserve culture, create community, promote arts as a universal language, and stimulate the creative economy.  The HAC’s principal strategy is to advance social equity through the arts by supporting artists, programs, and organizations that are emerging, under- resourced, or underrepresented. In doing so, the HAC practices the following strategies in programs and operations:

Facilitates access for under-resourced, emerging, or typically underrepresented groups in accessing HAC’s resources and services.

Forms partnerships with local organizations at the forefront of equity and inclusion issues in the region.

Expands the HAC’s scope of work to include and recognize traditional and non- conventional art forms.

Stimulates the creative economy through investments in the development of artists and arts organizations.

Ensures the financial stability of the HAC through strong leadership and transparency.