The Aromas Hills Artisans, also known as AHA, was founded in February of 2000 to unite the tri-county artists from Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties with other artists and their communities. From the beginning, we have been passionate about sharing and promoting art in Aromas and the surrounding area. In 2008, AHA incorporated to become a non-profit 501(c)(3) to better fulfill our mission.
Our monthly member meetings are held at the Aromas Grange on the first Wednesday of the month – see our Events Calendar for details. There’s a map to the Aromas Grange on the Contact Us page.
We organize and support several public activities and festivals throughout the year including the Aromas Country Garden Tour, Open Studios Art Tour, Aromas Day, Autumn Art Workshops & Raffle, and the Holiday Art Festival. We also have a monthly “Paint Out”, a wonderful opportunity for Artists to get together in a natural setting and compose “Plein Air” paintings. Click on the link to view AHA’s Events calendar.
AHA’s Mission
The Aromas Hills Artisans inspires and celebrates the creation of art by providing support, education and enrichment to its members and the community.
We strive to grow personally as artists and share our passion for beauty and creativity with each other and our wider communities.
AHA fulfills our mission through the good works of our many active members who volunteer and participate at all levels in our organization. We are grateful for ongoing support from the Arts Council for Monterey County, the Community Foundation for Monterey County, the San Benito County Arts Council, and the Aromas Eagles.
About the Artists
The art produced by the Aromas Hills Artisans is beautiful and varied. Our members include glass artists, wood carvers and wood workers, painters of every media, fiber artists, jewelers, gourd artists, quilters, clay artists, photographers, authors, musicians, poets, and printmakers.
Some of our artists have online stores and galleries where you can view and purchase their artwork, while others have their art for sale in nearby stores and galleries. Many members exhibit locally at our events.
See our Meet the Members page for more about our artist members.
Scholarship Information
For AHA members
Part of our mission is to support the professional development of members of our artist community. We offer several levels of sponsorship for continuing education of artists depending on their level of contribution to the community and organization.
Please download our application to find out more. If you have questions, feel free to reach out to us by using the Contact Us page. We are also available at monthly meetings to answer questions.
Learn More / Download Application
For youth non-members, under age 18
AHA encourages youth participation in the arts and has scholarships available for up to 50% of the workshop fee. Membership is not a requirement. Please download our application to find out more. If you have questions, feel free to reach out to us by using the Contact Us page. We are also available at monthly meetings to answer questions.
The Board of Directors of the Aromas Hills Artisans
Officers:
President – Jane Rekedal
Vice President – Andrea McCann
Secretary – Jacque Palmer
Treasurer – Jo Ann Johnson
Executive Board Members:
Coordinator – Linda Bjornson
Membership – JoAnne Andrews
Board Member-at-Large – Susan Shirley
Thanks to the San Benito County Arts Council, the Arts Council for Monterey County, the Community Foundation of Monterey County, and the Aromas Eagles for their continued funding to help support the arts through AHA!
Support Aromas Hills Artisans
You can donate to AHA when you order from Amazon. Just go to Amazon Smile and select Aromas Hills Artisans.
You can also donate to us directly, using the PayPal button below:
