Dorland Mountain Arts Through the Years
Since 1979, more than 1500 residents have found creative inspiration in Dorland's peaceful setting.
Over the years, six individual cottages, two art studios, an adobe community building, and a “Kitchen House” were created to provide studio, living, and community facilities for resident artists. Dorland’s purpose was to deepen the quality of the creative process, enabling its residents to explore their own creative resources without distraction.
Photos taken by Joel Sokolov, Resident Artist, 1990
Dorland Mountain Arts Residency is a beautiful retreat where artists, writers, musicians and composers can create in a secluded and protected natural setting. Dorland is located near Temecula Valley Wine Country, about 100 miles south of Los Angeles and sixty miles north of San Diego.
The History of Dorland Mountain Arts
In the 1930s, Ellen and Robert Dorland homesteaded 300 acres of property near Temecula in Riverside County, CA. This land would become nationally recognized as the Dorland Preserve. Ellen Babcock Dorland, a world-renowned concert pianist and gifted music teacher, dreamed of founding an artist’s colony similar to ones she had visited on the East Coast. Her friend Barbara Horton, a dedicated environmentalist, shared her dream and was instrumental in founding the colony.
In 1979, in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy, Dorland became incorporated as a nonprofit organization and began serving the local, national and international arts community, providing cultural recognition for the then small town of Temecula. What had began as a private retreat for friends evolved into Southern California’s only year-round residential artists’ colony and an internationally recognized haven for visual artists, writers, musicians and composers.
Photo by Associate Artist, Stephen Eldred
Photos taken by Board Members showing stages of rebuilding the first new Residence cottage at Dorland Mountain Arts Colony
All of the Colony's structures were completely destroyed in the devastating Eagle Mountain Fire on May 3, 2004.
In February 2006, Dorland's Board of Directors, Associate Artists, with the assistance of former Resident Artists and generous, individual supporters moved forward in rebuilding the colony. A licensed arborist hired to clear out fire-damaged trees to preserve the remaining indigenous oaks and surrounding native plants. The Board of Directors used this loss, as an opportunity to begin more sustainable building and construction practices.
In 2008, two cottages were completed and open for residents. In 2014, the process began to add two more cottages which were installed in early 2016. The Community Arts Center which serves as a community gathering place, was donated by Friends of Dorland, brought to the property in 2015.
In Fall 2017, after the construction of 2 ADA ramps, a deck, and 2 ADA parking spaces, with the help of Chuck Washington, Jeff Comerchero, and the County of Riverside the Community Arts Center and the two new cottages were opened!
Founders Ellen Babcock Dorland and Barbara Horton
Programs
The Residency Program provides a secluded working retreat for national and international artists, writers, musicians and composers.
The Associate Artists Program was created to benefit our local and regional artists. These visual artists, writers, musicians, and supporters of the arts meet to discuss, plan and implement activities that support Dorland, the regional arts community and each other. Together, with Dorland's staff and board of directors, they organize exhibits, reading and music events, set up the annual 'open house' festival and contribute to special projects at Dorland.
Friends and Volunteers support Dorland with their generous time and resources
Mailing address: P.O. Box 6, Temecula, CA 92593 ~ Physical Address: 36701 Highway 79 South, Temecula, CA 92592
(951) 302-3837 ~ www.dorlandartscolony.org ~ info@dorlandartscolony.org
A California 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
Fire and Rebuilding
Mission Statement: To provide a unique working retreat for visual artists, writers, and musicians inspiring creativity in a secluded and protected natural setting.