THE VISION

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”

- Pablo Picasso

Marvel at its exterior and then wander inside. Englewood’s Cultural Arts Center is a beehive of activity. There, on most mornings, rows of bright yellow school busses are parked outside.

The first floor resounds with a maelstrom of sounds: the cacophony of a rhythm band of elementary school children, the bass beat of a jazz dance, the sweet tones of violins and the sound of joyful voices.

The second floor hosts a group, in hushed discussion of the artwork exhibited along the halls, while artists busily apply paint to canvas, sculpt and converse in studios and classrooms.

A local business group arrives for a monthly luncheon meeting in the Conference Center. A line forms at the box office to purchase tickets for upcoming performances.

At 3:30 p.m. the lobby fills with children and teens carrying books, backpacks and musical instruments. They sign-in then disburse to classrooms for a full palette of arts and education activities, music practice, rehearsal and instruction. At 6:00 the driveway is lined with cars of waiting parents and public transportation is overrun with artistic teens homeward bound.

All day and into the evening, the Center’s education facility is holding classes for artists of all ages and abilities. The day is complete when the last theatre patrons wind their way home, humming.

 

ENGLEWOOD CULTURAL ARTS CENTER

Enriching Lives Through Arts Education and Performance

The City of Englewood has a unique opportunity
to build a firm foundation for the arts.

The recent redevelopment of the former Cinderella City site into the Englewood CityCenter and the proximity of the RTD Light Rail line have generated renewed interest in revitalizing the Downtown.

As a Special Committee of the Cultural Arts Commission, the Exploratory Committee was formed in 1999 to study the feasibility of creating an arts and education facility and to develop a business plan for a cultural arts center.

The Exploratory Committee has identified a need for a resource that honors and embraces the belief that creative thinking is as vital to a society’s health and growth as adequate housing and a clean environment. One that will be a friendly, secure place where anyone can explore and discover the power of communication through the arts; a place where the creative spirit is permitted to soar to amazing heights. One that offers to our young people an abundance of constructive events and activities that teach, that are wholesome, and that are safe and affordable.

The Englewood Cultural Arts Center will focus on arts education and performances by combining three exciting elements – an innovative education center, a multi-stage performance venue and convenient conference spaces.

The Center will collaborate with other arts organizations to deliver a rich curriculum. Active partnerships will be established with the Englewood School District, Englewood Parks and Recreation, the Museum of Outdoor Arts and the David Taylor Dance Theatre. Through these partnerships the Center will be a milieu in which practicing artists share their talents with aspiring students in space designed for that purpose.

The proposed Englewood Cultural Arts Center will offer a broad choice of classes to the public. The Center aspires not only to higher levels of education but also to levels that offer greater personal growth for participants. The Center will be a facility that offers enlightenment, education and entertainment.

A number of area arts organizations have indicated an interest in a new facility.

Many performing arts organizations throughout the Metro area have a need for properly sized theatre venues that are not currently available.

Englewood is geographically in the center of an area that is currently lacking a major arts facility, especially for performing arts.

Dance, theatre, music and popular, family-oriented programming should have a successful future in Englewood if new facilities become available. A population that is young, relatively affluent and well-educated surrounds the City of Englewood.

The Cultural Arts Center will take advantage of the proximity of the RTD Light Rail to draw participants to arts programs and performances.

The Metro Denver area is large and well populated. The importance and impact of cultural activities came to the fore when the six-county Metro Denver area created the SCFD in 1988. According to statistics compiled for 1995 by the SCFD, the attendance at performances and opportunities provided by SCFD member organizations exceeded the combined home game attendance for Denver’s professional sports teams by 2.4 million visitors. During the same period, 144,000 people enrolled in courses offered by these organizations.

Arts instruction currently available throughout the Metro area indicates that there is a strong interest in the arts. Community Recreation Departments and community schools offer classes that meet certain needs – usually basic in the most common media aimed at the hobbyist. There will always be people who want to become involved in arts activities at the recreational level. The Metro area also has two expensive art schools and art instruction at college levels.

Collaboration to secure the funds necessary to build and, when built, to operate the Englewood Cultural Arts Center.

Since its inception, the effort of the Exploratory Committee to develop a business plan for the Englewood Cultural Arts Center has been a joint endeavor between community representatives, City officials, both elected and staff, and representatives of arts organizations.

The Capital Investment Schedule (Exhibit D) provides a full breakdown of the capital costs in current year dollars to construct and equip the Center, including the Education facilities, the Performance Venues and the Conference Center. Based on comparisons with similar facilities, the project’s capital requirement is $ 30,089,000 for the building and grounds, and $ 875,765 for the initial complement of equipment, a total of $ 30,964,765. If land acquisition is required, this could add $3,000,000 to the total. To construct a close-in parking garage with 600 spaces, an additional $6,600,000 will be required.

Income will be generated from ticket sales for theater performances; from rentals of the theater stages, conference rooms and public spaces; and from class fees. Special projects with Center partners may provide additional earned income.

The Englewood Cultural Arts Center Association will be responsible for conducting on-going fundraising for operating funds, for securing grants from foundations and corporations, and for securing partnerships and sponsorships from the business community and individuals for both educational and performing arts activities.

The Englewood Cultural Arts Center Association expects to qualify for regular funding grants from the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) and the Colorado Council on the Arts (CCA). Every effort will be made to have the Center qualify as an SCFD Tier II organization by the time of its opening in 2004. In addition, as the Center will be a primary community service to residents, annual support funds from the Englewood City General Funds are expected.

Several organizations will be engaged in the management the Cultural Arts Center

The governance and management structure of the proposed Center should accomplish a number of important objectives that are key to its successful operation:

Direct relationship between the Center and existing City of Englewood management structures, to provide operating efficiencies;

Broad community representation, to ensure public support for its activities and to reinforce the Center’s wide audience reach;

Representation from arts leadership, to enable understanding of artists’ needs; and

Fund raising leadership and capability, to ensure the Center’s stable operations.

The Cultural Arts Commission is a body created and chartered by the Englewood City Council. The Commission has been mandated to define the desired cultural environment of the community, to set specific goals, and to develop a strategic plan for achieving those goals. These efforts are to include studies of the community by communicating with organizations within the City and the Metro area, with individuals knowledgeable and interested in the arts, and with the City Council. The plan thus established will be reviewed periodically by the City Council, and by the other organizations involved, to ensure a comprehensive and complementary cultural view of the community.

The Cultural Arts Commission will initiate the creation of the Englewood Cultural Arts Center Association as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. The Association under contract with the City, will manage the Cultural Arts Center and act as its Governing Board. The Board of Trustees will:

Oversee the operations of the Center including programming, scheduling and issues with artistic implications;

Direct fund raising efforts and ensure fiscal responsibility;

Involve a wide range of constituents, including representatives of the community’s ethnic groups, in its organizational structure to provide input on Center operating policies;

Include representation with special emphasis on financial and management expertise, as well as fund raising capability;

Include artistic leaders and management representatives of resident organizations and of leading community groups;

Include high-level volunteer leadership from arts groups, resident organizations and civic constituencies; and

Include representation from the Englewood School District.