ABOUT Montalvo arts center
“Montalvo is a magical house and garden. This became evident within twenty minutes of my first tour around the grounds.
I am instinctive by nature and have taught myself to be open to new experiences, always allowing my imagination freedom to express my initial reactions. In this instance, I had a powerful literary connection; Montalvo encapsulated the essence of a house and garden that features in the third book of The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, Voyage of the Dawn Treader. My immediate response was to see Montalvo as a unifying canvas, a place to draw all these ideas together, the landscape continually inspiring and directing my imagination.
For me art is about representing moments of connection to others. Montalvo is one of those keystone, unifying venues where the dance of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
— Bruce Munro, 2016
I am instinctive by nature and have taught myself to be open to new experiences, always allowing my imagination freedom to express my initial reactions. In this instance, I had a powerful literary connection; Montalvo encapsulated the essence of a house and garden that features in the third book of The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, Voyage of the Dawn Treader. My immediate response was to see Montalvo as a unifying canvas, a place to draw all these ideas together, the landscape continually inspiring and directing my imagination.
For me art is about representing moments of connection to others. Montalvo is one of those keystone, unifying venues where the dance of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
— Bruce Munro, 2016
A donor-supported, nonprofit institution, Montalvo Arts Center is dedicated to the arts. Its mission is to engage the public in the creative process, acting as a catalyst for exploring the arts, unleashing creativity, and advancing different cultural and cross-cultural perspectives. We achieve our mission by creating and presenting arts of all types, nurturing artists, and using our historic property in innovative ways.
Located in Silicon Valley’s Saratoga Hills, the Montalvo grounds include a 1912 Mediterranean-style Villa, its formal gardens, and two-acre Great Lawn; the historic Claire Loftus Carriage House Theatre and the Lilian Fontaine Garden Theatre; and 175 acres of trails through redwood trees. Works of art, ranging in style from classical to contemporary, are installed across our grounds for visitors to enjoy. Below the Villa and across the creek are hidden ten free-standing live/work studios and the Commons of the Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency Program (LAP), which hosts over 100 artists each year from diverse backgrounds across the nation and the world.
A vibrant cultural force, Montalvo provides a wealth of opportunities to visitors of all ages to enjoy opportunities to flex their creative muscles. We present concerts in a myriad of genres. We mount large-scale arts-focused festivals, as well as intimate conversations with our Lucas Artists Fellows. We bring acclaimed writers to our We keep our beautiful gardens and hiking trails open to the public to visit for free seven days a week. Every year, we touch the lives of nearly a quarter million visitors.
We believe that the arts belong to everybody, and that they vital to the health and well-being of our community and society at large.
Located in Silicon Valley’s Saratoga Hills, the Montalvo grounds include a 1912 Mediterranean-style Villa, its formal gardens, and two-acre Great Lawn; the historic Claire Loftus Carriage House Theatre and the Lilian Fontaine Garden Theatre; and 175 acres of trails through redwood trees. Works of art, ranging in style from classical to contemporary, are installed across our grounds for visitors to enjoy. Below the Villa and across the creek are hidden ten free-standing live/work studios and the Commons of the Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency Program (LAP), which hosts over 100 artists each year from diverse backgrounds across the nation and the world.
A vibrant cultural force, Montalvo provides a wealth of opportunities to visitors of all ages to enjoy opportunities to flex their creative muscles. We present concerts in a myriad of genres. We mount large-scale arts-focused festivals, as well as intimate conversations with our Lucas Artists Fellows. We bring acclaimed writers to our We keep our beautiful gardens and hiking trails open to the public to visit for free seven days a week. Every year, we touch the lives of nearly a quarter million visitors.
We believe that the arts belong to everybody, and that they vital to the health and well-being of our community and society at large.