MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Art Center is preparing to celebrate the first anniversary of its opening as it gets set to unveil its eighth exhibition.

The opening of the newest exhibition, “Subversive Biology,” takes place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, March 26.

The exhibit runs through May 1 at the center, which is located in the heart of town at the junctions of highways 29 and 175.

Lake County residents and visitors are invited to enjoy artist’s interpretations of the combination two generally unrelated words: sub·ver·sive: “tending or intending to overthrow, destroy, or mutate an established or existing system” and, biology (bio): “A branch of knowledge that deals with living organisms and vital processes: the plant and animal life of a region or environment.”

Join them for an evening of art and community, meet the artists, enjoy refreshments and music by Tear Drop Trailer. Children are welcome.

The Middletown Art Center has a lot to celebrate. Founded in partnership with EcoArts of Lake County, the center provides a year-round arts and cultural presence in south Lake County where formerly there was none.

Team members transformed the old Middletown Gymnasium into a beautiful space for contemporary art, performance and events. 

The back portion of the building serves as a studio where classes in drawing, painting, ceramics, photography, drama and more, are offered for children, teens and adults.

The art center opened its doors on March 28, 2015, and has since presented eight extraordinary art exhibitions featuring work by local artists, including the 13th annual EcoArts Lake County Sculpture Walk.

The first year of operations of the Middletown Art Center was fruitful, but also dramatic. Nine of 10 MAC and EcoArts board members lost their homes to the Valley fire. Twenty-five affiliated professional artists lost their homes, studio or place of work.

But board leadership understood the pressing need to bring back a sense of normalcy to the Middletown area community, despite their own crises. The center immediately resumed classes following the fire, to encourage the public’s engagement in self-expression and healing through the arts.

The center has provided free, and continues to subsidize classes to those in greatest need. Its key goals are to inspire every child and adult to express themselves and grow through the arts and arts exposure, while bolstering the quality of life and sustainability of our community in support of a healthy local economy.

EcoArts and the Middletown Art Center have even more to celebrate thanks to #Lake County Rising - The Lake County Fire Relief Fund which is a joint project of the Lake County Wine Alliance, the Lake County Winery Association and the Lake County Winegrape Association. 

The Middletown Art Center and EcoArts received a major grant to support their continued growth and contributions to both community and economic development. Soon the community will be able to participate in the making of a mural and enjoy benches, shade structures, gardens and sculptures outdoors at the center.

More of the center's neighbors can benefit from engaging with the arts through expansion of our scholarship fund; the studio and gallery will have lighting improvements; center artist’s Web presence will grow, and outreach beyond the county to encourage visitors will increase.

The Middletown Art Center is an arts nonprofit made by community members for the community to enjoy.

The center offers a colorful palette of classes for children, teens and adults most days of the week. Aside from lively art openings every six weeks, the center hosts musical performances, open mic or hootenannys every other Friday.

The Middletown Art Center Theatre will soon be auditioning for its first production, “It was So Sudden I Wasn’t Prepared,” a live multimedia theater performance commemorating the Valley fire. They are seeking stories of residents and first responders who were impacted by the fire to be included; visit www.middletownartcenter.org to fill out a simple survey.

The gallery is open Friday to Saturday 12 to 6 p.m., or Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. (subject to seasonal changes). It will be closed on Friday, March 25, and will reopen on Saturday, March 26, at 6 p.m. for the opening.

Middletown Art Center offers an array of memberships with benefits, as well as tax deductible donation and volunteer opportunities. When you support MAC, you are supporting our local community and community development.

Find out more about MAC online at www.middletownartcenter.org , email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , call 707-809-8118 or visit at 21456 Highway 175.