New Pablo Center Endowment Honors Janet Carson’s Legacy Of Art Education

Pablo Center at the Confluence is pleased to announce the creation of the Janet Carson Art Education Fund, made possible by a generous gift of $50,000 from Janet Carson’s estate. This endowment fund has been created to honor Carson’s artistic contributions as well as her dedicated service to the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire and the community as an educator. The endowment will fund existing art outreach programs such as ARTmobile - Pablo Center’s free mobile, art education program delivered in-person and digitally - while also providing resources to create opportunities such as the addition of a youth, plein air art competition to the 2020 GO Paint! Chippewa Valley.

“Pablo Center is honored to receive Janet Carson’s gift,” said Monica Frederick, Director of Development at Pablo Center. “With this gift, Janet has ensured that her legacy of education in the arts lives on in our community. This gift will enable us to create educational opportunities for everyone in the region. We are incredibly thankful for Janet’s passion forthe arts.”

The late Janet Carson was known for her decades-long career as a University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire emeritus professor of art education, as well as for her contributions as a local artist.

Pablo Center’s Visual and Literary Arts Manager, Rose Dolan-Neill reflected on Carson’s life saying, “Janet Carson was a painter, an educator, a person of deep faith, and consummate contributor to her community. Known for her sharp wit and enthusiasm for painting outdoors, Janet frequently combined the two in the style of her watercolor paintings. As an educator, Janet Carson was well-known for her sharp and honest critique of university students’ work and the work of her colleagues. One point of pride for Janet was the naming of the gallery space at the Eau Claire Regional Arts Center and State Theatre in her honor. The Janet Carson Gallery became synonymous with high achievements in the visual arts and as a premier gallery space. ”

Director of Artistic Programming Evan Middlesworth reflected on the gift saying, “We are very grateful for this gift to help us continue to motivate, educate and support visual artists of all ages and abilities. Our current situation has challenged our team to create new ways of bringing visual arts into the homes of our community and Janet’s contribution has made this possible. Her legacy will continue to shine as we remember the impact she has had on our community and artists past, present and future.”

Pablo Center has transitioned their in-person ARTmobile program to a weekly digital release in response to the Safer at Home order. ARTmobile@home’s art education videos are just one way that Pablo Center is supporting the community during this time. There are also preliminary plans to create free art kits for families to complete the projects which is being supported by the Janet Carson Art Education Fund.

Pablo Center currently has eight of Carson’s works in its Laurie Bieze Permanent Art Collection. These pieces along with the Janet Carson Art Education Fund will ensure that Janet’s legacy continues to live on by both delighting and educating the community.

Photo Credit: David B. Stanton