Update at the Gallery

When it rains it pours! 

We were the unfortunate recipients of a leaking roof on Sunday, April 5. The roof is less than 15 years old, so the reason for the leak was a shock and a surprise. But things like this do happen. 

We were fortunate in this situation because I happened to stop by the gallery on Sunday to pick up the mail and check on the space. To my shock, I heard the sound of running water coming from upstairs. I called Joel and the kids, and they helped me save the majority of the stored artwork on the second floor. I believe we caught the leak at the beginning, but by the end, a section of the upstairs was saturated.

Again, we were fortunate to save much of the paperwork and archive documents and the leak didn’t damage the membership artwork displayed downstairs. We will know more details of the damage when we bring in the experts.

I would like to thank the following:

Rudi Blondia who came immediately to help with a ladder; Benjamin Huynh from Saigon who loaned us his ladder so we could check the roof; the Board of Directors for jumping into an emergency on-line board meeting to make a plan of action; the insurance agents, roof and insurance inspectors, and alarm company for working during the COVID-19 crisis and still providing us fast service. We are doing all we can during this  situation, taking one step at a time. I will be personally meeting with the inspectors, contractors, and insurance agents from a healthy distance so we are prepared to reopen.  Please wish us well as we navigate this uncharted territory.

An Appreciation For Our Community

Most importantly our organization is sheltering in place and we are happy to have closed when we did on March 14. I am so proud of our team of volunteers, who helped clean the gallery, and instructors who taught our youth classes on our last open day.

We have heard no news that any of our members, patrons, students, or customers have been stricken with COVID-19. We hope that the number of virus cases remains low in San Joaquin County and that our national numbers will begin to drop.

We will recover from the water damage and from this epidemic because artists will always create and the community will always need a place to experience it. As a community, we will get through this because we have each other.
 

I will be reaching out later this week to share how you can participate with the gallery during our social distancing time. 

Until then, Be well. Be Safe. Keep Creating.
 

Sincerely,

Jessica 
 

P.S.
I would love to hear how all of you are doing and what you are doing to keep busy. Please send me email at [email protected] 

Our Community is Stronger Together!