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<br />Art Center Usage Subcommittee Report <br />Submitted by: Jim Pollicita, Chair <br />Art Center Usage SubcommitteelTask Force <br />August, 11,2009 <br /> <br />Introduction <br /> <br />One of the reasons Money Magazine and many others declare Louisville, <br />Colorado to be a great place to live is the dedication and commitment of <br />community volunteers. During my time on the Louisville Cultural Council (LCC), I <br />have been especially impressed with the heartfelt and enduring dedication of <br />local volunteers dedicated to encouraging, supporting, and promoting <br />involvement in the arts. The brief experience of looking into usage of the <br />Louisville Center for the Arts has reinforced that impression. <br /> <br />This report is a personal attempt to summarize recent conversations about the <br />Center for the Arts, how its space is scheduled and utilized, including views <br />about how to improve the utilization of this valued community facility. <br /> <br />Background <br /> <br />The Louisville Center for the Arts, (generally referred to as the Arts Center) <br />located at 801 Grant Avenue, Louisville, on the west side of Memory Square <br />Park, is an historic building without historic site designation. Originally a school <br />building, it has served as a center for arts, cultural, and educational programming <br />for a couple of decades. <br /> <br />The facility is owned, operated, and maintained by the City of Louisville (the City) <br />through the Parks and Recreation Department. The facility is provided free of <br />charge to local nonprofit arts organizations and is available on a rental basis to <br />the public, both individuals and organizations. A request to Parks & Recreation <br />staff for information on usage resulted in the appended spreadsheets which chart <br />reservations for July 1 - December 31,2009.1 <br /> <br />Essentially, the Q3 and Q4 reservations for 2009 display reservations by group. <br />Those data suggest that, by function, theater groups will utilize the facility for the <br />most time, including rehearsal and performance, with art exhibition and <br />competition second, and musical performance third. Parks & Recreation utilizes <br />the facility for relatively few hours for instructional programs and not at all during <br />the weekend hours prized for performances. <br /> <br />As Louisville arts groups and their programming have grown, so have demands <br />upon the facility, particularly for Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday hours <br />viewed as prime time for both performances and art exhibits. <br /> <br />1 Original spreadsheets provided by Parks & Recreation staff, the re-sorted and re-formatted for <br />this report. <br /> <br />August 11, 2009 <br /> <br />Art Center Usage Report <br /> <br />Page 1 of6 <br />