Equipment and Facilities Improvement
Equipment and Facilities Improvement
LED Lighting Equipment Upgrade Project III
Cheryl Avenel-Navara: education, Worthington Public Arts Commission chair, SW MN Opportunity council; Judy Beckman: vocal music, Big Stone Arts Council, Big Stone County Historical Society, Big Stone Lake Area Chamber of Commerce CEO; Cheri Buzzeo: theater, music, The Barn Theatre administration, Willmar Main St participant; Jessica Welu: writing, music, SW Regional Development Commission; Anna Johannsen: fiber artist, art teacher, Remick Gallery board, president of Windom Women's Investment group, treasurer of Cottonwood County Animal Rescue, officer of Cotton Quilters; Georgette Jones: literature teacher, theatre actor/director/teacher; David KelseyBassett: visual artist, musician, Hinterland Art Crawl board; Shawn Kinsinger: theater director, actor, musician, Palace Theatre executive director, Green Earth Players vice president, Luverne Street Music board member, Luverne High School Theater artistic director; Darlene Kotelnicki: theater, city council, library board; Alison Nelson: art, music, and dance teacher, KMS Community Ed director, Kerkhoven Fire Department Auxiliary fundraiser; Michele Huggins: Granite Area Arts Council treasurer and volunteer, member of the Artisan Grain Collaborative, founding member of ACHALA; Betsy Pardick: musician, actor, Dept. of Public Transformation committees; Kristine Shelstad: visual arts, Madison Mercantile art gallery, Madison Arts Council, Lac qui Parle Players; VFW; Gillian Singler, MN West Community and Technical College chair of Humanities and English instructor, Creative Healing Space volunteer, writer, theater director; Michele Knife Sterner: theater (actor), SMSU Associate director for Access Opportunity Success program; Erica Volkir: performing arts, Pipestone Performing Arts Center board, Pipestone Area Chamber of Commerce and CVB director; Mark Wilmes: Lake Benton Opera House board president, actor/director, musician, reporter;
Mark Brodin, theater, film, music; Cheri Buzzeo, theater, SMAC board; Brett Lehman, music; Paula Nemes, theater, music; Janet Olney, visual art, arts admin; Eric Parrish, music, theater; Mark Wilmes, theater, music, SMAC board
Southwest Minnesota Arts Council, Nicole DeBoer (507) 537-1471
ACHF Arts Access
This project raises the standard of the equipment in our facility so that we are able to better meet the technical rider requirements of more high-quality arts performances. It also allows access of this equipment for use in local performances, such as dance and community theater. It helps students prepare for future experiences, as they move forward into possible careers in theater and the arts. Finally, upgrading the equipment to LED lighting truly brings us up to speed from a lighting perspective and the lifespan of LED lighting is expected at 50,000 hours, meaning that for our facility, it will last for many generations to come. LED lighting is also more energy efficient, allowing for the facility to save money in that way. We will be able to measure whether there are less hours in setting lights for shows after the new lights are put in. We will also be able to measure how often we are able to have higher quality shows that we haven't been able to bring in the past, due to being able to offer the lighting they need. The Friends of the Auditorium will be able to evaluate the cost savings for the Friends at their programmed events at MAPAC. The results will assist the Friends in making the decisions about increased future performances at MAPAC. A survey will be given to those using the new lighting, in order to evaluate their opinion about the lighting.
The impact has been significant, both for audiences who perceive our exhibition space as "leveling up" and inspiring more community pride in the space, and artists who are newly galvanized to exhibit. We have for the first time a waiting list of artists interested in exhibiting in 2024 (2023 is already full). The community can see the continuing growth and dedication to high quality work and an equivalent space to display it. The floor is also easier to clean for classes, etc. We learned quite a bit about specific renovation processes, and managing volunteer or amateur labor that has inspired us to create some new processes for future endeavors.
Other,local or private