Vicky DeLong - Dottie Stanley

Vicky DeLong: Executive Director Bonita Museum & Cultural Center, Bonita

Vicky DeLong wears many hats in the world of art in San Diego. She is a clay artist with a gallery/studio in Spanish Village Art Center, artist & board member with the SDMA Artist's Guild; and with the Allied Artists Association of San Diego (AAASD), and Director of the Bonita Museum & Cultural Center in Bonita. DeLong earned a BFA from Drake University (Iowa). She studied ceramics from Italian masters of the Instituto della Porcellana e della Ceramica, and later received a Certificate in Museum Studies from Mesa College in San Diego. DeLong has taken the museum from a volunteer organization that opened its doors only one day a week to a professionally managed venue open four days per week. In addition to creating educational displays about the Sweetwater Valley history, she has added cultural features including art and music. Working as a clay artist since the mid 1980's, DeLong has organized many fine art exhibits in the Museum galleries in order to give the artists in San Diego County an additional professional venue to expose their work.

What is your vision of the future of the Visual arts for San Diego?

"My vision for San Diego is to bring much more art education to the children in San Diego. This can happen through art classes added to a school's curriculum, transporting local professional artist's to the schools and/or organizing classes at local venues to help enhance their education and appreciation. I believe art appreciation and knowledge needs to begin early in ones life to assist in enhancing their life and help support art for the future. My goal at the Bonita Museum is to create more opportunities for children in the arts through hands-on activities and displays of their art."