Sharing toys and playing well with others are values people learn in kindergarten that stick for life. For example, two of the main things Kristen Densmore loved while enrolled in art classes at Prescott College and the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia were having access to all the equipment and a collaborative community.
The Milagro Arts Center, located just off the square in downtown Prescott, is building on these concepts. Their shared studios will soon become an adult art educational space for the town.
“We’re trying to create a space that gives access to equipment and creates and deepens community,” said Densmore, executive director of Milagro Arts Center. “We’re aiming to be a creative community hub.”
Densmore and Ty Fitzmorris are co-founders of the Milagro Arts Center. After two years of planning, their goal is to have all the spaces open on a part-time basis by January 2016. The co-founders based their program on similar models that provide workshops to the community, such as Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass, Colorado; Penland School of Crafts in Bakersville, North Carolina; and the Santa Fe Workshops in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Like these places, they will have national and international artists come to teach.
The Milagro Arts Center also joins the nationwide trend of “makerspaces.” A makerspace is a physical location where people gather to share resources and knowledge, work on projects, network and build. Makerspaces can range from electronic do-it-yourself centers to more hands-on craft spaces that are informal places for self-directed learning. Many, like the Milagro Arts Center, provide workspace for tinkering, trying out solutions and collaborating with others who have similar interests.
The makerspace concept started almost 10 years ago in San Francisco with TechShop, which opened on Oct. 1, 2006. Now, there are more than 1,500 makerspaces in the United States.
Densmore mentions that collaborative workspaces are a trend for artists, makers and small businesses, as well. Entrepreneurs and independent artists can save money, make contacts within their field, get energized and gain many other benefits from working together.
“It’s such a digital age and being on the computer is a solo endeavor, but most people crave community,” said Densmore. “We want to be a part of people and ideas that we believe in and are connected to. People are reaching out and trying to create something new.”
The studio spaces at Milagro Arts Center will focus on printmaking with a letter press and machines for mono-prints and etching; book and paper-making; a ceramic studio with 12-15 wheels and a gas kiln and two electric kilns outside; dark rooms for analog photography, including black and white development; a digital media area with Adobe Creative Cloud and printing capabilities; and a professional recording studio. There will also be room for painting and drawing, a stage for performing arts, and workshops with visiting artists.
“We’ve focused on acquiring equipment that’s very expensive, cost-prohibitive and takes up a lot of space. It works better as shared equipment,” says Densmore.
The professional recording studio and letterpress studio are both complete and available for use. Other studios are scheduled to be finished by the end of 2015. Community members are required take an Introduction to Letterpress workshop to learn how to use the printing equipment.
The multi-level structure that the studios are housed in was originally built in 1927 and was once a Mormon church. With an 8,000-square-foot floorplan, it has recently been renovated to preserve and restore its historic integrity by ripping up carpet that revealed the original wood floors and knocking out drywall that had covered the proscenium since the 1980s. The non-profit has been and will be funded by grants, private donations, memberships and workshops.
Densmore is most excited about the community aspect of the Milagro Arts Center.
“When you get a bunch of like-minded folks in the same space, you share ideas and vision,” she explained. “Ten people talking about things can really make something happen. You help each other grow and learn more.”
The Milagro Arts Center is designed for citizens of the Quad Cities area to mix technology and hand work in an affordable and innovative environment.
“This will be a nexus for the arts that every community should have,” said Densmore.
Patrons can purchase a day pass, attend a workshop or become members of Milagro Arts Center for $50 a month and up. It is located at 126 North Marina Street. For more information call 928-237-9402, visit Milagroarts.com or email info@milagroarts.org. Q
Non-profits, real estate professionals and foundations across the country are implementing coworking spaces that are similar to makerspaces; they leverage limited resources through spreading the cost of the building, share expensive tools and create a sense of community at a time when start-up businesses can be isolated. Those coworking together are not usually employed by the same organization.
Entrepreneurs, freelance professionals and small businesses alike find the communal atmospheres invigorating for brainstorming and networking. It also helps professionals avoid the at-home distractions of a home office and provides structured work time.
Like makerspaces, coworking spaces were developed in San Francisco around 10 years ago. In 2005, writer Brad Neuberg organized a coworking site called the San Francisco Coworking Space at Spiral Muse. Neuberg also helped found Citizen Space. More than 700 coworking locations exist in the United States today. FBN
By Elizabeth Hellstern