With spring comes...

Why does The Winter seem so long while it's happening, but in retrospect it's like hardly any time has passed at all?

It's been nearly three months since our last update. At that time we were all doing a lot of talking, a lot of planning and a lot of dreaming. Now, at the cusp of spring, it seems it's finally time for action. With word from the house owners that property taxes are due, we've undertaken a fundraising campaign since it was decided in the fall that as part of our lease agreement we would cover that cost each year. The lease is still not signed. We're waiting on legal paperwork that will allow us to call the Arts Alliance an incorporated not-for-profit entity, and sign binding contracts as such. At the risk of inviting a "famous last words" scenario, this stuff is all just a formality, and should be taken care of within the next 30 days.

Now that the weather is warmer (in our experience it's usually 4 or 5 degrees colder inside the house than it is outside) we're all very eager to get started. What does that involve, you ask? Good question. A few months ago we essentially finalized our vision for the house interior. It includes a small retail area, a large, open gallery and performance space, mixed artist workspace--including a full darkroom, printing press and rental units, living space (both permanent and temporary), a communal catering kitchen, and designated space for future expansion (like for, say, a community radio station!).

The first step will be presenting an expanded and detailed version of this plan to the owners of the house for their approval, which we aren't anticipating will be a problem since they are seriously cool people with a vision very much in line with ours. The next step, or rather a step taken simultaneously with the first (making for a very odd, but effective, walk) will be to locate and procure support. This support will need to come in three forms: monetary support, material support, and manual--as in labour--support. For this project to fly it will have to involve the entire community, and the community has to want it. I happen to think that the community not only wants it, but needs it. The creative-types in this area have been without a home for long enough, and we want to give them one. We not only want to give our artists a home, we want to give their supporters a place where they come to commune with local art, and to get involved with their community. We think it could change the dynamic of this place. Maybe it already has?

At the same time, we are moving ahead on our summer arts festival in a big way. We are aiming for something of a nature of which this area has never seen before -- a multimedia visual, culinary, literary, and performance event that will showcase two of our most under appreciated resources: our artists and our downtown. Among the venues for music and theatre performances, art shows and dance parties will, we hope, be a grand old Victorian on Main Street, having had new life breathed into her by our disparate committee of dreamers.