Small towns can have great performance arts centers

Some good information on how a small (but wealthy) ski town was able to build a state-of-the-art performance center.

Jackson Hole Guide News & Guide, 2/28/07 - Jackson Hole center for the arts opens: "Off Square Theatre Company, one of the Center for the Arts’ 17 resident organizations, will rent the pavilion’s rehearsal hall, adjacent to the lobby, as its own space for classes, auditions, rehearsals and more. It currently pays $16,000 a year for its offices in the Arts and Education Pavilion, and will pay $15,000 a year for the rehearsal hall. Charges for nonprofit use of the Center Theater for ticketed events amount to $500 a night for rehearsals and technical run-throughs and $1,000 a night for performances. The center charges slightly more for non-ticketed events as it will lose revenue if not handling ticket sales, for which it charges a 10 percent surcharge. For ticketed events, the facility provides box office and marketing services, concessions and ushers.

Commercial renters of the Center Theater will pay $2,500 a night. ...

The Center for the Arts’ capital campaign to raise $35 million completely paid for the Arts and Education Pavilion and for the design, engineering, construction and equipment in the Performing Arts Pavilion – 'everything down to the piano,' Berry said proudly of the newly acquired 9-foot Steinway grand. ...

The Center for the Arts’ project started as an ad hoc collection of Jackson Hole arts organizations in 1991. Following several years of feasibility studies, the center incorporated in 1995 and embarked on the design and fundraising process. A dedicated board and staff were assembled and, through a public/private partnership, the center was funded by its $35 million, seven-year private capital campaign. In total, the Center for the Arts encompasses 15 studios, 21 administrative offices, three classrooms, three conference rooms, two galleries, five outdoor public spaces, two lobbies, six theater support rooms, one darkroom lab and one theater."

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Boom Times in Jackson Hole for Art and Music

From Cowtown to Art Hub: "'Even though there has supposedly been a downturn in the economy, it hasn't affected the galleries,' said Pamela Flores, president of the Jackson Hole Gallery Association and a fine art consultant at Trailside Galleries. 'If anything, I've noticed a definite rise in street traffic.'

"As incredible as it sounds, Flores says Jackson Hole is the fifth largest art market in the country. 'It's incredible,' she said. 'If people only knew the figures of each gallery and the amount of art that went out of here...

"The trend isn't limited to the visual arts. Performing artists have been enjoying the upturn in business, too. Calder rattled off a list of nearly a dozen musicians he knew of who were making a sustainable or even comfortable living off making music full time - including himself.

"'I've been in Jackson since 1992, and I cannot remember a time that it was so cool to be a musician here,' he said. 'There are more opportunities to play, people are into different kinds of music, and there's broader variety.'"