Steve Thomas (1950-2022) passed peacefully on November 24, 2022. During his incredible life, he shared his passion for people and photography during a long professional career in the arts. With over 30 years of teaching, curating and exhibiting in Southern California, Steve was also a generous mentor and volunteer for causes he deeply cared about.

Steve worked as the Curator of Collections at the UCR/California Museum of Photography at the University of California Riverside (1995-2006). In 2006 after retirement from UCR, Steve accepted the position of Curator of Education at the Riverside Art Museum and in 2007 he jumped at the opportunity to become a hometown Museum Curator at the Ontario Museum of History and Art. Steve was a long-standing board member for Arts Connection, helping to found the Arts Innovator Micro Grant program, in addition to dedicated efforts to be an ambassador for the arts in the entire region. He faihfully attended almost every event and rolled up his sleeves to help hang shows, staple info packets and, most importantly, build bridges.

As a board member for Chaffey Community Museum of Art, he also sat on the steering committee for the City of Ontario Community Life and Culture Agency. Steve was one of the many organizers for the inaugural 2018 Ontario Arts Festival. He co-lead the effort to re-establish art exhibitions at Ontario International Airport, displaying artwork by artists who live and work within the region that is served by airport. He also founded the popular First Artist program, giving regional artists a way to connect during COVID and beyond. We will miss Steve deeply and are incredibly grateful to his guidance and support of our work for close to 5 years.