Operating Support
ACHF Arts Education ACHF Cultural Heritage
Our goal is to expand classes for 2017 by 20 - 25% by attracting high-quality classes with high-quality instructors. A new class will only be introduced if the school is confident of attracting sufficient students. Another goal is not only to consolidate, but also expand our artist studio program. A third goal is to further develop the Spoon Gathering and seek the development of other community arts events. Milan Village Arts School has created a unique woodworking event that has reignited the interest in Spoon Carving in both the US, Canada and Europe. We plan to learn from the process and develop similar arts festivals. Class evaluation is made by the number of classes successfully run, the total number of students registered and student feedback. The Artist's Studio program is evaluated through the number of studios, the students attending and student feedback. The success of the Spoon Gathering is evaluated through attendee numbers and student feedback.
1) Class numbers have been stable over the last year rather than increasing by 25%. The school lost several key classes over the last 12 months and is looking for replacement instructors. 2) An expansion of artist studios: The school currently has 4 studios: Silversmithing, Framing, Weaving, and Woodworking. All 4 are solid, well equipped, operational, and well patronized. 3) The seed for a new Youth Scholarship Program was initiated in 2017. In 2018, MVAS will launch a new Youth Scholarship Program for teenagers. Students will be able to either apply for tuition for a particular class or join a special youth art class. Tuition will be fully funded. The seed money came from the Fondell Family and money donated in Dan Fondell's name. Dan was a long term board member who passed away in late 2017. The school currently has $2,700 in the fund. 4) Along with the NeDA facility in St. Paul, MVAS will hold classes in a new second facility in St. Paul - http://www.schafferfineartservices.com. 5) A new event has been put on the back burner due to an expanded Spoon Gathering. Additionally, the school's membership has grown substantially during 2017 to approx. 200. As many of these memberships are Household memberships, the number of actual supporters is much greater. The expanded membership has been the result of a year end membership/donation drive. Available funds were moved upstairs to complete work on the original building. The main room was completely rebuilt in late 2017. This included insulating the walls, sheet rocking, installing new heater fans and painting. The rebuild has created a more comfortable environment for students to take classes.
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