Jon Artigo is the new education director with an ambitious vision at Arts Bonita. ARTS BONITA/COURTESY PHOTO

Arts Bonita has a new education director with a challenging mission. Jon Artigo was hired to build on the current success of the arts organization and take it to the next level as a full-fledged school for the arts.

Artigo has been on the job for a few weeks now and Alyona Ushe, Arts Bonita’s executive director, likes what she sees.

“I think Jon is absolutely amazing,” Ushe said. “He is a visionary. He’s one of those people who just draws others to himself. After I worked with him for a month and a half, I’ve learned even more about him that I appreciate and admire.”

Arts Bonita is growing rapidly, with a flourishing visual arts program, developing dance program and burgeoning theater program. Taking it to the next level will include expanding the curriculum to include digital art and film, exploring accreditation and the ability to offer AP classes, and further develop programming for student artists, professionals and community hobbyists.

Jon Artigo, new Arts Bonita education director, shares a laugh with Renee Preston, (left) and Carol Broman, the Arts Bonita Atelier faculty chair (right). ARTS BONITA/COURTESY PHOTOS

Arts Bonita has two venues, a center at 26100 Old 41 Road and a performing arts venue at 10150 Bonita Beach Road. Besides diverse art classes and exhibits, it offers live concerts, lectures, film showings, theater performances and other events.

The center on Old 41 Road is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Also marking its 25th anniversary is the national art festival Arts Bonita holds three times a year in January, February and March in downtown Bonita Springs, featuring artists from around the country.

Artigo was hired after a national search and brings over 18 years of experience in arts education coupled with over 25 years as a professional filmmaker, writer, director and media designer. His career includes a tenure at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, where he collaborated with all arts departments to build a cinematic arts program that won national awards, according to a press release announcing his hiring.

He also worked in the film industry as a writer and director and developed relationships with Warner Brothers, Sony Pictures, Hallmark and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. His most recent film, “Letters to Santa,” premiered on the Hallmark channel in November 2023.

Jon Artigo, new Arts Bonita education director, chats with Gillian Cardec, marketing associate (left) and Kathy Saldivar, operations director (right).

Artigo created an indie film company and also contributed to media projects with Apple and Universal Studios.

He was previously in Bonita Springs in 2005 to direct the movie “Still Green,” shot locally.

“It’s funny,” Artigo said. “When I was younger, I was definitely all about getting my films written and getting them financed and going out and making movies, and I did that all the way up until I was about 35.”

Then he found an opportunity at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and started teaching digital editing or just editing films.

“I immediately fell in love with the whole educational mentorship aspect of working with people who have an interest in art,” he said.

Jon Artigo, new Arts Bonita education director, watches Linda Edwards as she paints with Carol Broman, the Arts Bonita Atelier faculty chair, in the background.

Then he started teaching more classes, became chair of the program and started a cinematic arts program that won awards and national recognition, he said. Artigo left the school because of an opportunity to work with Universal Studios Japan to develop virtual reality attractions for theme parks in Hollywood, Orlando and Osaka.

But Artigo said he missed the opportunity to work with teachers and students in education.

“I hope the reason why he came to us is the potential of growth, vision, ability to make a real difference, the ability to implement his own ideas,” Ushe said.

When Artigo thinks about building the future, it’s a lot about digital arts opportunities, he said. That means social media, content creation, digital filmmaking, acting for the camera, game design, “all this art that happens in a computer that I think a lot of younger people might be interested in,” he said. “And I know because I have kids and they’re interested in those things and they want to learn those skills. And it is very much art. So, finding ways to build out new programs is definitely big on the list of goals. And then just continuing to support the already strong visual arts courses that we have currently.”

It sounds like Artigo has a lot on his plate.

“Well, we have a team,” Ushe said. “He’s not going to be implementing everything himself. We hired him for his vision, his ability to put certain pieces in place to get us where we need to be. And then the rest of the team is going to support him to make sure that that comes about. And we also don’t anticipate that’s going to happen tomorrow.”

Artigo said he likes coming into places that are looking to grow and expand. “I love that challenge. I’ve only been here for about six weeks and I am over the moon excited about the energy of the people that I work with, the instructors that I’ve been talking to, and even just the few students that I’ve had an opportunity to interact with,” he said. “The energy is just so good there, and I’m just really excited to take that energy and to help build and grow and just see where we can go into the future.” ¦