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While it’s still in its conceptual phase, a group of artists and advocates have joined forces to imagine a permanent art center in San Mateo County aimed at fostering community engagement through classes, exhibitions, and shared studios.
At the Monday, Jan. 22, Redwood City City Council meeting, Lisa Preville, Center for Creativity Steering Committee member, said community members need a place to create, experience, and learn about art through classes.
“The problem, unfortunately, has been years in the making. Art education within public schools has been severely cut since Prop. 13 in 1978,” Preville said. ”Community colleges have reduced or eliminated life-long arts courses. Combined with the unsustainable cost of living on the Peninsula, this has led to the disappearance of visual and performing art forms in our community.”
The project’s mission is to create an inclusive and accessible space that nurtures creativity, strengthens community connections, and promotes artistic collaboration within San Mateo County, according to Preville.
A grassroots organization that started in 2010, ARTS RWC, comprised of local artists, city and county officials, advocates, and nonprofit organizations, led a three-year study to identify the challenges in the art community.
The committee surveyed 2,300 people, 1,301 of whom were adults. Kent Manske, a Center for Creativity Steering Committee member, said data from the research shows the majority of the community surveyed wants accessible classes and workshops. The survey respondents agreed that art can be healing and therapeutic and improve cross-cultural understanding.
The presentation outlined the feasibility of running a not-for-profit business in the city. However, she added that it didn’t include the cost of constructing a building or renting an existing building, which still needs funding.
The committee worked with AMS Planning and Research, a consulting firm that conducted market analysis for the proposed center. The results from the study showed the center could provide around 480 classroom sessions, offer 200 members the ability to share the space and equipment and provide rental equipment for about 254 days a year. The center could offer art sales, food and beverages. It would require five full-time staff members, according to the presentation.
“This type of space should accommodate a range of classroom and community arty needs,” Preville said. “You can expect to see pottery studios, youth classrooms, a main community gallery space where exhibitions and the work of the folks creating at this space and a visual arts studio space for members to access at their leisure.”
Redwood City-based artist Jose Castro, the Center for Creativity, would be a milestone for Redwood City.
“It would be like a center that is the equivalent of the Pacific Art League Center in Palo Alto,” Castro said. “It’s an opportunity for artists to have a space, and just to have that space open to the community to make new things happen, and everybody has a chance to gain a new perspective.”
The study included comparable centers in the Bay Area and across the country, and the organization found these centers offer classes for 46 dollars on average. Additionally, camp tuition is around $57 on average.
Redwood City-based artist Elizabeth Gomez, Center for Creativity Steering Committee member, said that as part of the research, the committee reached out to more than a hundred art centers and businesses ranging from dancing, visual art, and music and found the majority of studios are impacted and have wait lists.
“I helped with the feasibility study, and we found there is a big need for a place to make art for children, adults and seniors,” Gomez said. “It’s clear that we don’t have what we need to serve the community.”
While the vision is to offer affordable and accessible art classes, ARTS RWC found that local competitors’ average prices are too expensive.
During the presentation, Preville said the annual budget for the projected facility would be around $1.3 million, which was calculated at a 76% recovery cost. There would be a shortfall of about $300,000. The committee is looking for additional ways to subsidize funding to provide accessible classes, she said.
Plans for revenue generation are still in the developmental stages.
Council members aligned by suggesting the committee explore partnerships with county and city services.
Vice Mayor Lisette Espinoza-Garnica said the organization could benefit from therapeutic uses for art and suggested the organization partner with the county’s behavioral services.
“School children who are suspended are going through an expulsion, etcetera. Maybe that can bring in more partners who are from the medical field,” Espinoza-Garnica said.
Council member Kaia Eakin said it could be a good idea to partner with the community college district with resources and a need for art space.
Memberships
Preville also said the center is looking into different ways to fund its classes. One option would be to offer a membership that would work similarly to a gym membership, adding that people would pay to use the facility and its equipment.
For instance, the proposed cost for membership providing access to a shared studio space, complete with secure storage lockers and equipment, is estimated at about $100 per month.
The center is also considering renting out studios for rehearsals or events, with a studio potentially costing around $180 for a few hours and event spaces bringing in approximately $3,000.
The goal is to make them more affordable and open to more community members.
Next steps
The center seeks additional community feedback to gauge investment interest from civic leaders, nonprofits, and art organizations across the county.
In February, the organization will meet with County Executive Mike Callagy and County Supervisor Warren Slocum to review the feasibility study’s plans and results. The organization also applied for Measure K funding and works with Casa Circulo, their committed fiscal sponsor, until the organization figures out its next step in formal operations. It also seeks to work with interested developers who want to engage with a community-benefit-listed project.
