Volunteer Brings Artist’s Touch to City Hall Exhibits

Eileen Hunt-Schilz puts together monthly art exhibits for Alhambra City Hall. She’s done it for six years, working more than 2,000 hours a year.

“I guess that’s why they gave me that volunteer of the year (award),” she said, adding that the award came as a complete surprise.

Hunt-Schilz, 75, was honored Aug. 5 for her work in selecting art and arranging publicity for the exhibits. This month’s show is “Images of My Heart,” featuring paintings by two artists--Galiliah and Luis Bojorquez.

An artist herself, Hunt-Schilz, 75, crafts alabaster sculptures. She belongs to three art clubs in the area, and she schedules them to do shows periodically. She started her volunteer work with the city in 1984 by putting together “The Winner’s Circle,” a yearly exhibit of blue-ribbon art contest winners. She continued to compile “The Winner’s Circle” annually, supplementing exhibits put together by Jerrie Clapp. After Clapp died in 1987, Hunt-Schilz took over.

When artists call City Hall inquiring about exhibits, they are referred to Hunt-Schilz. Galiliah and Bojorquez were referred this way, with Galiliah’s husband, Hector Hernandez, making the first contact more than a year ago.

“I told them to meet me in the parking lot at City Hall,” Hunt-Schilz said.

Hunt-Schilz schedules artists up to a year and a half in advance, but she has been known to scramble at the last minute when a scheduled artist decides not to show.

“The hard part is when I’ve had to take over a show myself,” she said. “It’s hard to line up enough people to fill the 26 spaces (in the City Hall), and then to get all the paperwork and all the publicity. That’s the part I don’t like.”

“Images of the Heart” features oil paintings that reflect the artists’ memories and are an expression of their subconscious minds, including a painting of calla lilies, a woman in a chair and a church. The paintings will be exhibited through Aug. 27, in the lobby, 111 S. 1st St. Admission is free.