FORT BRAGG, CA >> Art Explorers, a progressive art studio in Fort Bragg, has served neurodivergent and physically disabled adult artists for twenty-five years. It is a significant milestone for a nonprofit that depends on federal and state funds, as well as donations. Somehow, Executive Director Maria Trombetta and her staff always find ways to patch together the financial resources needed to keep their studio doors open for a unique group of dedicated artists.

Trombetta noted, “It’s a huge accomplishment to be here for so long and to provide studio space for twenty-five years. Our former directors worked hard to build the program and make it self-sustaining.” She added, “We are so grateful for that work they put in, giving a lot of their own time to create it and make it work.”

What also came to Art Explorers in their anniversary year was an acknowledgement of its value in providing a creative atmosphere for adults who struggle to find acceptance, purpose, and honor in a society that too often dismisses them.

The Arts Council of Mendocino County recently announced that Art Explorers had won the 2025 Arts Champion Award in the category of Arts Organization. “We were super excited,” said Trombetta.

The Arts Council commended Art Explorers on its philosophy and approach to the nonprofit’s clients. The Art Council’s announcement said, “Art Explorers believes that creative thought and expression is a universal right, without rules, restrictions, or cultural boundaries.”

The announcement continued, “Their studio is an inclusive space that upholds this belief, and their philosophy is rooted in a total respect for individuals and their communities, and in the foundation that all people have a unique artistic voice that deserves to be heard.”

The timing of the award was welcome. Art Explorers, like many of our local nonprofits, is facing federal funding shortages that may severely impact its program.

Although Art Explorers had received notice that it had been awarded a grant through the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA), the grant is now on hold until a federal budget passes Congress. The nonprofit has not received word that the grant has been cancelled, but Maria Trombetta has concerns that a federal grant directed to a nonprofit that serves a marginalized group is easy to brand as a DEI program.

Like many other agencies of the federal government, the National Endowment for the Arts has been ordered to stop funding any program that benefits diversity, equality, and inclusion. The NEA has historically provided grants to underserved communities with little access to the arts. The NEA was also directed to focus on funding programs that honor America’s history.

Yet Art Explorers inches forward, sketching out a backup plan and for looking for other funding avenues to help defray the costs of a large progressive art show it will be holding at the Mendocino Art Center this July. The progressive art show, titled “A Progressive Ensemble,” will be the first of its kind to appear in Mendocino County and will showcase art by students in the Art Explorers program.

Eight progressive art studios around the country have been invited to participate in the MAC exhibition. Art Explorers sees this gallery exhibition as “an opportunity to come together in joy and broaden our community, and to stand united with progressive studios across the country in the fight for social visibility, inclusion and respect.”

Trombetta said that unusually creative art pieces for the show are already arriving. She added, “It will definitely be a look into this whole other world I’m hoping will get more notice and recognition.”

Progressive art studios in California have existed since the 1970s after Governor Reagan ended the state mental health hospital system. The funds that had operated the system were parceled out to various state agencies for locally provided services designed for the disabled. Art experiences for those neurodivergent and physically impaired became part of the new system.

The state funding that Art Explorers receives from the federal government and the State Department of Developmental Services via the Redwood Coast Regional Center are limited to adults with very specific diagnoses. The nonprofit does take in a few clients who don’t qualify for the state program, but they are able to pay their own costs.

Many of the clients rely upon Medicaid not only to manage their daily lives but to provide them with access to art programs. Some come to the art studio accompanied by a personal aide. Projected cuts to Medicaid will hinder Art Explorers even more.

Trombetta noted, “This is like death by a thousand cuts. They’re taking away the services that people fought really hard for, like basic services in Special Education, speech therapy, occupational therapy, employment programs, and programs like ours. To start cutting at the school level sets people up for an even harder time, and it just snowballs.”

She noted, ” In my emails and social media, I see messages that say: ‘Don’t let this slide back to where it was;’ ‘We cannot go back in time;’ ‘It’s wrong.’” She continued, “What are you going to do? Put people back in institutions?”

She finds comfort in California’s enactment in the 1970s of the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, which established the right to services and supports for people with developmental disabilities.

Trombetta and her staff are currently serving 40 clients, and approximately ten to twelve are in the studio each day. The clients have access to a full range of art supplies in various media, and when affordable, guest artists come to teach a new method or a new genre. Staff on hand teach and guide as well.

Last year, Art Explorers received $10,000 from 100 Women Strong Mendocino Coast. The nonprofit has targeted the funds to replace the old tables and plastic chairs with movable furniture such as tables on casters and adaptable chairs geared toward people with physical limitations. It’s always been “make do.”

Trombetta cannot say enough about how life-affirming the art studio has been to many of her clients. The physical, created piece of art itself validates each artist’s personhood, bringing with it self-esteem and pride, particularly when an art piece is sold. Even for the local community and tourists, Trombetta believes that visitors find that the art studio “is an open, welcoming space. They see what we are doing, and it is joyful.”

Trombetta believes one of Art Explorers’ biggest successes is what happens when clients come into the studio. She said, ” People come in here and they’re so dedicated and so focused. They’re so proud because they really see themselves as artists. That’s how they talk about themselves.”

She continued, “This place gives them the power to do that and be themselves in a society that often likes to label people and tell them what to do and where to go. We’re able to give people almost unlimited freedom.”

She added, “It really makes me feel proud when they show visitors or people at shows their art. They are saying: ‘This is my art. This is my piece. This is me.”

Trombetta spoke of what she loves about Art Explorers. “It’s a constant thrill to see what people are making, especially when we have a new artist or someone who is a little bit hesitant trying a new medium. Then they just blossom and get super into it. They’re so thrilled with whatever they’re making.”

She added, “It’s awesome to see somebody change like that. They’re coming out of their shell. It becomes a shared experience.”