a comprehensive arts
plan for Westlake
Summary
In October 2006 our
organization completed a comprehensive community arts study and plan that was conducted
over the course of 16 months. The study
was funded by the Ohio Arts Council,
the City of Westlake, the Westlake/Westshore Arts Council and the
Westlake Junior Women’s Club and employed
the assistance of non-profit management consultant Janus Small. In this study we surveyed our residents,
measured Westlake’s current arts climate, evaluated comparable communities,
completed case studies of arts centers throughout Ohio and outlined building,
operational and fundraising plans.
The findings of our study
demonstrated that:
·
There is a clear and measurable need to
improve upon the amount of arts education, programming and facilities in
Westlake.
·
Existing local performance facilities are
under-utilized.
·
Westlake is falling behind comparable
communities when it comes to providing arts education and programming to its
citizens.
·
The community supports the idea of a local
arts center. 86% of those surveyed, said
they would pay for classes and/or programming at a Westlake-based arts center.
·
Local residents are discouraged from
visiting many of Northeast Ohio’s arts institutions and programs because of
time limitations, distance and a lack of effective marketing.
·
An arts center will improve upon the
quality of life of Westshore residents and could positively impact our region’s
struggling economy.
Our plans are to:
·
Establish
an arts center in Westlake
This
arts center will provide venues for art presentation, classes and space for
dance, music and the visual arts, including: painting, ceramics, photography,
sculpture and digital art.
·
Renovate the
“Old Red Brick” Schoolhouse.
We will
renovate this historic building and create in it an affordable and sustainable
non-profit community arts center.
·
Utilize
Existing Arts Facilities
We
will help the community better utilize the arts facilities that already exist
in or near Westlake, including our own Westlake Performing Arts Center.
We
will facilitate the creation of an arts consortium, providing a way for local
non-profit arts organizations to network, cooperatively program and pool their
marketing resources.
·
Help the
city consider an outdoor performance venue at Crocker Park
In our report, we recommended that the City of Westlake develop an amphitheatre or some type of outdoor performance venue in the green-space designated for civic use at Crocker Park. We also detailed questions to be considered in what we feel is needed further study. The city is now considering possibilities for this space, with the help of a committee of residents, the planning department and the staff of Crocker Park and Stark Enterprises.
establish a new
non-profit arts center
We plan to create a dynamic center of arts education that provides classes and programming for people of all ages in music, dance, visual art and theatre. In addition, the center will produce two or three special arts events each year.
Music, dance and visual art will be immediate and primary offerings. Theatre education and programming will eventually be offered as is needed to fill gaps in the offerings of other organizations. Also, we plan to encourage area residents to participate in theatre education and programming offered by other organizations.
The center will house visual art facilities, including exhibition spaces, general purpose classrooms and a ceramics studio. Music facilities will include private lesson studios, equipment storage, and the use of multi-purpose classrooms for group instruction. Two dance studios will also be created
We want to provide the
very highest caliber of arts education, programming and events to our
community. We also see that there is a “disconnect” between
the residents of our area and the many fine arts institutions in
In order to provide the very best, to connect our community with the greater community of artists and arts organizations, we intend to partner with respected institutions from the region and beyond.
To facilitate this, we have begun discussions with several regional arts, cultural and educational organizations who are expressly interested in expanding their audiences, reaching west-siders, and engaging us with all they have to offer.
We are also very excited to be partnering with the Westlake Porter Public Library, allowing RBCA to offer digital arts education in the library’s computer lab.
renovate the “Red
Brick” schoolhouse
part 1: raise a lot of money
We find ourselves in an unusual situation. Most non-profit organizations begin operations, for at least a couple of years, before they raise capital for their facilities. As our organization launches itself, raising $5 million in capital in order to create a facility as well as beginning to fund an annual budget makes our group’s fundraising needs somewhat unique.
Although this will present some challenges, we anticipate raising the majority of the needed $5 million ($2.9 million for construction, fixtures, furnishings and equipment and $2 million for an endowment that will subsidize the art center’s annual operating budget) in an 18 to 24 month timeframe.
Our report details the sources of expected funding, based on a funding feasibility study, provides timelines, and outlines the strategies we will use to accomplish our goals.
Part 2: renovate and restore the
“Old Red Brick”
The
Among the historic features that are to be carefully preserved are the exterior masonry, which will be cleaned and repointed as required; the original wood windows, which will be repaired and have appropriate new storms or insulated glazing (if possible); interior trim and elements such as blackboards, that convey the history of this as a school, to the extent practical; the broad and spacious corridors and stairways; and the classrooms themselves.
This project will involve necessary careful updating of the building to address functional and safety issues. These include installation of a new elevator to provide for handicapped accessibility, plus a new grade-level entrance convenient to a new parking lot. The building will have modern and energy-efficient heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems that are unobtrusively planned such that dropped ceilings and obstructed windows are avoided. New electrical systems and lighting shall make the spaces functional and efficient for arts use.
We are investigating the possibility of addressing energy efficiency and design standards as embodied in LEED, and should we pursue these standards, will solicit the help and support of the Cleveland Green Building Coalition.
The end result will be an innovative, efficient and highly functional facility that carefully preserves one of the city's most important landmarks.
Our report includes a thorough site and building review, building plan, and construction cost estimate.
utilize existing arts
facilities
Located within
Four out of these five
buildings are theatres, and two of them (the
Why are these facilities important?
They’re important for two distinct reasons. First, because of their size, location and availability, it makes sense that any new arts center in our area should make use of these existing spaces. Because of them, there are an ample amount of stages, seating and other multi-purpose arts spaces available to teach theatre and some performance arts classes, as well as present music, dance and theatre productions.
Secondly, it’s clear that because of this existing performance capacity, our new arts center does not require a theatre or other performance venue. This reinforces the fact that the Red Brick is the right shape and size to house an arts center in our community.
Because of its location (the Red Brick is located somewhat centrally to all of these facilities), and because of our desire to coordinate with these local venues and organizations, RBCA can act as a sort of “hub” of arts activity throughout the Westshore area.
We feel that making better
use of existing arts facilities is a responsible use of our community’s
resources and is a smart, well rounded approach to providing arts education and
programming to
create an arts
consortium
We propose the formation
of a consortium of non-profit arts organizations located in the “Westshore”
suburbs of
By working in cooperation, participating organizations could produce marketing materials that would promote individual organizations’ classes and events, could promote our region as an arts destination, and could offer ticket packages that would allow people to “sample” the offerings of specific types of activities. Organizations could reach a broader audience, by sharing their mailing lists, and could invite more “trial” consumers by offering reciprocal memberships.
There are examples of this type of cooperation emerging throughout the country and foundation giving trends benefit organizations that work together this way.
help the city develop
an amphitheatre at Crocker
Park
One thing that’s missing
in
The idea of an
amphitheatre at
Many communities have
benefited from like facilities such as: the Akron Civic Theatre and Lock 3
Amphitheatre Complex in
We feel the City of
There are a number of important issues to consider. The size and configuration of the space should be determined based on information gathered around these issues. Our report provided a list that is not exhaustive, but is representative of these issues, and should give community leaders a good idea of what they will need to think about.
Click here to view a sketch of a proposed amphitheatre, created by Van Dyke Architects, LLC.