The Arts Fund has introduced two new board members, Tarah Connolly and Kitty Balay.
Connolly is education curriculum specialist at MOXI Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation. Balay is director of engagement and resident artist, Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA) at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria.
While receiving bachelor’s degrees in linguistics and sychology from UC Berkeley, Connolly activated her passion for education to begin her career in nonprofits and museum education.
After spending time at organizations spanning the fine arts, the sciences and early childhood education, she joined MOXI as its curriculum specialist.
Connolly utilizes her background in child development and informal science education to develop and oversee programming that bridges STEM and creativity, much of which is implemented in the museum’s makerspace.
Having grown up in the Bay Area, Connolly was exposed to a variety of arts institutions. From traditional fine arts museums to local nonprofits, creativity, artistic skill building and bold expression became key values to her.
She attended Marin School of the Arts, an award-winning arts high school. While studying dance and creative writing as a teen, she came to appreciate the positive impact of the arts and the value of supporting a creative community.
Connolly said she is eager to pay it forward for her personal experiences, and support the arts and the artistic community in her new home of Santa Barbara County.
Balay is an actor, director and dialect coach. She has appeared in some 80 productions at PCPA, and has worked in several West Coast theaters including appearing as Patsy Cline at the Utah Shakespeare Festival.
She teaches voice and speech in PCPA’s Professional Acting Conservatory. As engagement director, she develops engagement events to deepen the audience experience and reach new audiences.
Balay is the creator and director of the company’s literacy program, PCPA READS. In its second year, the program sent 65 actors to local schools and, in a single morning, read to more than 8,500 children in their classrooms.
Balay is a member of Actor’s Equity League, Voice and Speech Trainers’ Association, and is a registered Music Together teacher. She earned a BA from Brown University, and an MFA in acting from UC Irvine.
The Arts Fund was established as a nonprofit in 1983. Its mission is to create, fund and administer programs and projects that foster the arts for Santa Barbara County.
The Arts Fund administers five core programs that support its mission: the Teen Arts Mentorship Program, Public Art Program, Community Gallery, Guest Curator Program and Funk Zone Art Walk.
Visit www.artsfundsb.org to learn about programs and events or to make a donation to support.
— Torrie Cutbirth for The Arts Fund.