Champion of the Arts - Channel Magazine

Carnegie Art Cornerstones endows $50,000 scholarship for Art students

By Kim Lamb Gregory

An Oxnard non-profit organization designed to support and encourage aspiring young artists has endowed CSUCI with a $50,000 scholarship fund for students majoring in Studio Art or Art History.

Carnegie Art Cornerstones evolved out of the Carnegie Art Museum, which closed in summer of 2019 because of Oxnard city budget cuts. As a non-profit, Cornerstones will continue to promote art and art appreciation but will now do so through college scholarships.

Program Chair and Professor of Art Liz King teaches a Web design course.

“I think this is really going to help students, especially coming out of a pandemic,” said CSUCI Program Chair and Professor of Art, Liz King, M.F.A. “We’ve always had such an amazing relationship with the Carnegie Art Museum. Some of our faculty have had shows there, our students have been interns — it’s a treasured, vital relationship.”

“It’s important we support the young creatives in the area. If we can give them a platform to tell their story and be successful, they can serve as an example to others,” said Carnegie Art Cornerstones Vice President Brian Paumier.

The two CSUCI Art students chosen each year to receive $750 scholarships will meet several criteria, such as carrying at least 15 units, making at least a 3.0 grade point average and demonstrate a willingness to mentor other young artists.

“I think our students would make wonderful mentors for high school students or anybody considering going to school to further their education,” King said. “Our students can relate to area high school students. They share the same background, so our college students can interface with high school students and show ‘this is possible.’”

Paumier believes it’s important to champion these young artists to help them believe they can do even bigger and better things.

“We show them how to put work on the walls and how to price the pieces,” Paumier said, “and maybe someday they get the confidence to apply to an art school in New York or Los Angeles.”

But perhaps even more important is what these young artists bring to the rest of us, pointed out Professor of Art History Irina D. Costache, Ph.D.

“Young artists bring new voices, views and ideas that reflect today’s culture and society,” she said. “And their creations enrich us all.”