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<br />Project Description
<br />from the Minnetonka Center for the Arts
<br />I .iiy years ago, the Minnetonka Center for the Arts was simply a good idea, bom out of the
<br />enthusiasm, confidence, creativity and determination of a small group of people who agreed to
<br />take a summer painting class and see where it might lead. By the time it was incorporated in
<br />1952, MCA already had a reputation for quality programming on a shoestring budget. For its
<br />first three decades, the Center thrived in a variety of rented spaces while it refined its mission,
<br />gained a sense of identity and enlarged its programs. In the late 1970s, the community took a
<br />leap of faith in purchasing the Center’s present home.
<br />From its beginning, the Minnetonka Center for the Arts’ purpose has been to help a diverse
<br />group of Mirmesotans - particularly families and children - make art a part of everyday life. We
<br />believe in tlie value of art making and art appreciation. Art not only transforms materials - wet
<br />clay and paint, dry canvas and dusty marble, molten bronze and gold - it can transform lives.
<br />Our mission statement is as follows:
<br />In the belief that the visual arts are indispensable to a healthy community, it is the
<br />mission of the Minnetonka Center for the Arts to provide teaching excellence,
<br />quality exhibitions and cultural enrichment for people of all ages, interests and
<br />abilities.
<br />Our current facility, built in 1950 as an elementary school and purchased/renovated in 1978 by
<br />MCA, is past its useful life. For over twenty years, the building has provided space for classes
<br />and programs twelve months a year, six days a week, twelve hours a day and has reached the
<br />point where it is literally falling apart. Unless it is replaced, MCA will have a future measured in
<br />months rather than decades. Though it may not be apparent to visitors, every structural and
<br />mechanical system - from climate and security controls, plumbing, structural integrity of the
<br />foundation and condition of the roof, to such hazards as asbestos and lead paint - has
<br />deteriorated beyond cost-effective repairs. Furthermore, emergency maintenance and high fuel
<br />costs are deflecting financial resources from programs.
<br />In recent years, MCA has experienced dramatically increased enrollments/attendance at the
<br />Center, thereby pushing our facility to its limits and forcing the Board to approve, at its March
<br />17, 1998 meeting, the Crossroads Campaign. In the past seven years, for example, class
<br />enrollments have increased by over 80% to more than 5000 per year, with students coming from
<br />as far as Aitkin, Willmar, St. Cloud and Delano. The classes include sculpture (clay, stone and
<br />bronze), ceramics, painting and drawing, photography, fiber arts, and jewelry making. MC/\ has
<br />the only publicly-accessible metal foundry in the Upper Midwest. For its part-time faculty, MCA
<br />draws from a group of approximately 100 professional artists who teach and/or conduct
<br />workshops at the Center. Our Summer Arts Camp for Children enrolled nearly 800 “campers”
<br />this past summer, an increase of nearly 200% since it began in 1990. Furthermore, professional
<br />artists, as well as advanced talents who no longer need to take classes, use the Center’s
<br />sophisticated equipment for their work.
<br />CEI1TEI^T^HT^^
<br />2240 North Shore Drive, Wayzata. MN 533919127 Til; (952) 473-736 1 Fix: (952) 473-7363
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