Update
for the Community January 2009 In 2009, the Yellow Springs
Center for the Arts Steering Committee is embarking on the third
phase of its project and we would like to update the community with
a review of where we have been, where we are now, and what we plan
to do next. To assist with this task, the YSCA engaged consultants Tom Borrup and George Sutton, who have expertise in community cultural planning and cultural facility development. The group process has been deliberate and has proceeded at a measured pace that has been able to adapt to changes in the community. The first phase of the process, which took place in 2007, was a period of discovery and visioning. Through meetings, interviews, and research an "inventory" of Yellow Springs' cultural assets was created, which includes our history of creative entrepreneurship, a large artist population, a breadth of cultural activities unusual for a community this size, an extraordinarily high level of volunteer commitment to these activities, educational institutions with the arts infused in their curriculum, and a strong desire to do something unique that sets us apart as a community of choice. In March 2007, a three-day community meeting brought more than 300 people together to envision an arts center for Yellow Springs, and a set of core values emerged. These included the need for both financial and environmental sustainability, keeping and improving Yellow Springs as a good place for artists to live and work, supporting existing arts organizations, producing festivals that celebrate and promote the arts, and "raising" artists with both arts education and immersion in a community that values the arts. Toward the end of the first phase, a new idea began to emerge: rather than focus on creating a single structure or new organization, a holistic plan was established that envisioned Yellow Springs itself as a "center for art" that engages not only artistic disciplines and cultures but social, commercial, civic, environmental, and educational interests of the community as well. There was a need for a community-wide strategic investment in creative people, organizations, and the spaces in which they work. In 2008, the YSCA Steering Committee moved into the second phase of its work by developing and testing a three-pronged approach:
This year, the YSCA Steering Committee is moving forward with its facilities initiatives and development of a public art plan. We will continue to work with the Arts Council, the Little Art, and YSKP to build their capacity. We plan to complement and be a resource to the activities at McGregor and the Nonstop Institute, and also the efforts to revive Antioch College. We believe in Yellow Springs' future as a creative community with vital business and educational assets and a lively downtown district. By this time next year, we will also have a site purchase option and a preliminary design and business plan for a performing arts facility, and be ready for a capital fundraising campaign. The YSCA Steering Committee is looking forward to sharing more details of its plans with the Yellow Springs community in 2009. Community input has provided the focus to our vision and work and it is the community that continues to motivate our efforts. We appreciate your continued interest and support.
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Visit and contribute to the Yellow Springs Arts Wiki Read about the Yellow Springs Center for the Arts in the Yellow Springs News:
Check out the YS Center for the Arts Timeline:
Other Voices, YS News 07/30/09 By Jerome Borchers and Jane Baker Unite Toward Arts Goals The strong turnout at
our July 22 gathering is evidence of our community’s passion
for the arts and the amount of interest around the Yellow Springs
Center for the Arts project. We extend our thanks to all who attended
and/or submitted a completed Potential User Questionnaire, and we
are particularly pleased that so many artists were in attendance.
We have been meeting with artists, listening, and A measured pace is appropriate for any undertaking of this magnitude (some may remember that it took the village many years to come to agreement about building the bike trail!). A process that is seeking this degree of community input will not be a quick one, and we are being very careful to ensure the economic sustainability of any facility. The reality of our situation is that we have seen, during the course of our project, the closure of Antioch College, several rounds of negotiations between Antioch University and Antioch College alumni over the assets of the College, and an imminent agreement between the ACCC and Antioch University, not to mention a major economic downturn.
The pace of our work may be regarded as slow by those who focus
solely on the creation of a facility. During this time, however,
as we have continued to explore the idea of building and/or renovating
a facility or facilities, we have been working very hard to build
up the capacity
The YSCA’s Facilities Task Force considered many locations,
and many sites were visited and assessed: the Antioch Area Theatre,
the South
As criteria for comparison were established by the Facilities Task
Force, other sites began to receive more consideration from the
task force, in particular a downtown location that was an empty
lot. The YSCA Steering Committee saw that synergies are possible
with a downtown location that could not be realized either on the
campus or on the edge of the village in the Creative Memories building.
There YSCA Steering Committee members have been meeting with Lee Morgan and Matt Derr for the past year, keeping them up-to-date about our project. Lee Morgan, Chair of the ACCC Board Pro Tem, has stated that “the new Antioch College looks forward to a collaborative performing arts program with the community that will focus energy in the village center.” We believe our relationship with any possible future college is one of collaboration, not competition.
We have a site purchase option on the lot at the corner of Dayton
and Railroad Streets. The property owner, with very generous terms,
is
Along with the rest of the community, we are excited and hopeful
about the revival of Antioch College. We are mindful, however, that
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