Breakbread Literacy Project

The Ventura County Arts Council is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting arts education and opportunities throughout Ventura County. With a vision of fostering a vibrant and inclusive creative community, they advocate for local artists and cultural organizations while striving to reach underserved populations. For over 25 years, the Council has empowered students with art instruction, supported artists through exhibitions, and facilitated partnerships aimed at enhancing the cultural landscape of the region. They continue to develop new programs and initiatives that improve lives through the transformative power of the arts. Generated from the website

HistoryThroughout history artists have tended to fall in and out of the public eye. Ranging from who is in vogue at the time to artists re-emerging posthumously, those who survive the test of time are artists who write or who are written about. Patrons of the arts are often left with the task of championing the work and securing the memory of the artists. At FOTM, we take this concept one step further. Following a devastating fall that resulted in more than a year of debilitating convalescence, our Founder, Donna Granata, an accomplished photographer, found herself organizing earlier negatives and prints she had captured of accomplished artists. It was at that point she realized her photographs were more than portraits, they were historic documents. Today, the FOTM archive houses extensive biographical material including photographs, a digital art library, audio and video recordings and ephemera of all types.SpecialtiesFocus On The Masters is an ongoing nonprofit photographic and biographical resource project. The documentation consisting of visual, written and oral history, is comprised of multiple projects linked by a common mission. The goal of Focus On The Masters is to demonstrate the full significance of the arts to society by bringing highly accomplished artists to the forefront of the community. Focus On The Masters has two objectives; 1. document these extraordinary people and their work through museum-quality photography, personal interviews and biographical research which encompasses the artist's experiences, artistic thought and development, and 2. utilize our ever growing resources for the benefit of both the artists and the public at large through educational outreach, lecture series, classes, regular exhibitions and publications.