Community rallies to aid of Art City after funding delay threatened to cut programming
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/11/2017 (2953 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A flood of donations has restored inner city art classes and given the volunteer program which runs them a cushion against future financial shocks.
A combination of crowdsourcing and business-sponsored fundraising events saved Art City, its chief organizer said Friday.
“The response we received was so prompt and overwhelming that our goal of $50,000 was reached—and surpassed— in only two weeks,” Art City managing director Joshua Roth said Friday.
Many donations came from people who don’t have a lot of spare cash, including the studio’s army of volunteers, which deepen the studio’s sense of gratitude and its commitment.
“The S.O.S. was a complete success. We’re ecstatic. Over the moon. It’s been the wildest couple of weeks,” Roth said.
The venerable charity suspended half a dozen free art workshops last month after $86,000 in funding which the studio expected in the spring was still delayed by fall.
In addition to the hundreds of donations received from concerned individuals, several local businesses and groups stepped up to create their own fundraising efforts on Art City’s behalf. Some have already taken place, and some are still to come in November.
They include events at Handsome Daughter on Sherbrook Nov. 17, Minipeg at the Forth Gallery on McDermot on the 16th, Nu Vision Manitoba at the Grace Church on Barnes the 25th and Tallest Poppy on Sherbrook, also on the 25th.
Founded by internationally renowned artist Wanda Koop, the not-for-profit community art studio, which has kept the same address on Broadway since its inception in 1998, grew in response to needs, with a dozen outreach programs all across the city,
After five of the programs were suspended last month, the future looked pretty bleak.
“It was dire situation,” Roth said.
He said the kids were thrilled to have the programs back in the outreach areas. “It didn’t end up being as much of a disruption as we thought,” Roth said.
“The money that comes through, part of it will be set aside for an emergency fund, should anything like this ever happen again,” Roth said.
Hundreds of elementary school kids attend the programs, often run out of local neighbourhood community centres.
alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca