Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA (November 24, 2025)
An Open Letter from CAA Artist Member and Board President Jeffrey Becom
Dear Friends,
Whether you are a longtime fan or new to the Carmel Art Association family, we desperately need your support. For only the second time in CAA's entire 98-year history, the Association is forced to launch a Capital Campaign. Here's why:
For nearly seven years, our historic home and garden have been suffering from damage by Carmel's largest public nuisance, locally known as “The Pit.” This half-block-long project utilized unsound construction practices when preparing to excavate for a below-ground garage. The resulting gigantic hole next door was ultimately abandoned without adequate reinforcement.
CAA's current structural problems are none of our doing. Keep in mind that Carmel by the Sea is built on sand. CAA sits upon the highest sand dune in our Village. What would you expect to happen if for a solid week, enormous steel I-beams were pounded into the sand along our property line?
CAA's north gallery—a room built-to-last in the 1930s with poured-in-place concrete walls—has sunken by up to two inches. The violent shaking of our building has also resulted in shifting of our new roof and cracks in our floors, walls and ceilings. All of this occurred despite CAA's conscientious stewardship of its gallery for nearly a century.
I am regularly asked by visitors and community members alike why the Art Association did not act earlier to hold those responsible to account. But the cost of litigation is well beyond our nonprofit's means. In addition, CAA was told not to worry because we would be “made whole again.” And so we held back, trusting in a neighborly resolution.
Unfortunately, everyone involved in the damage refuses to accept responsibility. The Art Association and the entire community rightfully feel betrayed. Now it is time to set things right.
The damage must be repaired before construction next door makes access to our foundation work impossible. CAA has taken action and hired a team of structural engineers, soils engineers, and a commercial contractor to provide a workable plan to restore our building to a stable and level condition. This plan now holds an approved building permit. But the estimated cost for repairs is $400,000. This amounts to an entire year's budget for our Association.
You can be part of the solution. Please help CAA if you can. Beginning today through December 31, Monterey County Gives in tandem with the Community Foundation for Monterey County is accepting donations as we launch our crucial fundraising campaign. With your assistance the Carmel Art Association will still be here, fulfilling its Mission “to advance the knowledge of and interest in art, and to create a spirit of cooperation and fellowship between artists…and the public,” for the next 100 years.
To Learn More About CAA's Plight, please read recent news articles at the following links:
Monterey County Weekly, October 23, 2025
Carmel Pine Cone, October 10, 2025 (scroll to page 17, headline Art Association Raising Funds to Fix Pit Damage, by Mary Schley, then continue on page 24-A)
For Additional Information:
The Association is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, so all donations are tax deductible. For more details, contact Brian Thayer at the Community Foundation for Monterey County, briant@cfmco.org or Jeffrey Becom, President of the CAA Board of Directors, jeffreybecom@comcast.net
An Added Incentive: Become Part of Carmel Art Association's History! The names of the first 250 donors who gift $1,000 or more to this campaign will be included in an original mosaic tile panel to be permanently displayed in the Carmel Art Association's historic garden.
Give today by clicking the button below, scanning the QR code, or by visiting https://www.montereycountygives.com/nonprofit/carmel-art-association/