I’m thrilled to help build an art center by the community and for the community in Stanwood, my hometown I love. The Meyer Art Center is to big of a project and to beautiful of a dream to be accomplished by any one person or organization. It will take all of us!
Here’s the dream of the Meyer Art Center, how it will help our region flourish, and how you can help.
The Dream of the Meyer Art Center
The Meyer Art Center, on the old brick road and just off of 532 across from Twin City Foods, will be an epicenter of art, creativity and community and the hub of a new Creative District in West Stanwood. Think of it like the heart of our region of artists, through pumping blood to the artists, art organizations, and local businesses helping them flourish economically.
Long has Stanwood-Camano been known as a mecca for artists. I call Camano an “island of artists.” But we don’t have a center to showcase our region of artists, or a hub for people with spokes going out to discover all the art that’s happening, or a place to raise up the next generation of artists. Now we will!
I’m a firm believer that we need art as much as we need athletics. I love the new Y in Stanwood. It’s built on the Sather Poultry Farm where my pastoral mentor Otto Sather and his brother Palmer lived and worked so many years ago. I enjoy playing basketball and pickleball there, lifting weights, and sitting in the hot tub. The Y anchors our community with athletic exercises and builds community in that way. The Meyer Art Center will do the same with art. It will be the artistic anchor in Stanwood-Camano and build community by art. It will help our local economy flourish. It will build relational bridges between people. It will celebrate the natural beauty and rich history of this place we call home.
Capital Campaign
We are in the midst of a Capital Campaign to raise money for building the Meyer Art Center. The total cost of is 13 Million. Sometimes people ask my “why does it cost so much?” That’s a great question. Let me start with this analogy. In 2016, I was able to build a long-dreamed of studio to showcase my family of artists. Sunnyshore Studio on Camano Island has a gallery and studio downstairs, and an apartment upstairs. It cost my 360K to build. Every year a few thousand people come through its doors for our quarterly art shows. It has supported my family economically, and built relational bridges. In other words, its had a positive impact on our community. If I were to build it today I imagine it might cost me closer to 500K (this includes all the infrastructure like septic system, building pad, etc).
Put in that context, 13 million dollars for an art center that will be so much more and do so much more than our little creative studio can do doesn’t seem that much after all. The costs of building the Meyer Art Center are detailed and I’d be happy to share them with you if you are interested. Let me give just one example. Because we are building in a flood plan, we will be putting down 60 (I think) pilings to create a stable foundation.
The good news is that we aren’t starting from ZERO! We have already made great progress on our fund-raising. We have raised or had pledged over 1/2 of the funds needed to build the Meyer Art Center. When we hit 75% funded we will pull permits, which we are poised to do.
We have a great capital campaign team that is setting up meetings with potential donors. We are reaching out to potential high capacity donors for gifts and/or pledges to help us reach the 75% funded so we can get started. We have a number of gatherings scheduled over the next couple of months. If you’d like to be invited to a gathering to learn more please reach out to me at Jason Dorsey: 317.209.6768.
How Can You Help?
We can’t do this alone. We need your help. It will take our community rallying together to make this dream of an art center by the community and for the community come true. Here are some specific ways that you can help us:
I will have an area set up at Sunnyshore Studio during the upcoming Camano Art Association Studio Tour with more information on the Meyer Art Center. I’d be happy to discuss this with you and answer any questions you may have.
