Ellen Phelan - Becky Cohen

Ellen Phelan: Art activist, educator, and noted contemporary art collector

Ellen Phelan earned her University of California, San Diego degree in Philosophy and Art History. She was docent chair at the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art (now SDMCA) and developer of the museums Art to Schools program; Contemporary Art Instructor for UCSD Extension; Instructional Expert in Art History for the San Diego City Schools Gifted Program; President of the Art Council Board of the San Diego State University School of Art, Design, and Art History; Program Chair and Chair of the Contemporary Arts Committee for the San Diego Museum of Art; Curator of More is More exhibition at the Athenaeum in La Jolla, Moving Pictures (LA painter Cond) and a sculpture installation by Kenneth Capps at La Sierra University Brandstater Gallery in Riverside; Member of the COVA (Combined Organization for the Visual Arts) Advisory Board where she was a speaker on Art Collecting for the Barnes and Noble Art Lecture series and Moderator of the panel discussion (Public Art Dialogue in Escondido with Pincus, Sass and Hamilton); Juror of art exhibitions for Sushi, the Childrens Art at the County Fair in Del Mar, Small Images Exhibition in Fallbrook, Earth Day at the San Diego Art Institute, the 2007 Clairemont Art Association and the SDAI regional exhibition in Balboa Park.

Question #1 What is your highlight Visual art experience from the last year?

#1 "For me there were a number of highlights, all of which were exhibitions recognizing the important artists and collectors from this area: the San Diego private collections shown at SDMA, the regional exhibits at both the Oceanside Museum and SDMA, the contemporary group exhibition in Escondido of local artists, the Kenneth Capps retrospective at the Cannon in Carlsbad, Eleanor Antin at SDMA, and Jean Lowe at Quint Gallery."

Question #2 What is your vision of the future of the Visual arts for San Diego?

#2 "Start with art education in the schools for life enhancement and future support of the arts in the community. Promote artists of this region by collecting and exhibiting their art. Encourage the museums to have a gallery where work of the outstanding artists of this area would be on permanent display."