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Expanding the arts in Woodland Park
  
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Kate Kettler
When the first explorers ventured out West, they returned to the East Coast with sketches of magnificent mountains and raging rivers. Those explorers wrote stories to go with their drawings that captured the public imagination and ignited the drive out West.
“When Lewis and Clark brought back their drawings of flora and fauna, people said, ‘I’ve got to see that for myself,’” said Ralph Holloway, owner of the Seven Arrows Gallery in Woodland Park. “This area started with art, it needs to continue with art.”
As executive director of the Woodland Park Arts Alliance, Holloway is helping to make sure that the arts flourish in the Pikes Peak Region. The goal of the arts alliance is to connect artists and provide a voice for all art mediums. Whether visual art, performing art, digital or graphic art, the alliance hopes to unite artists and cultivate culture in this area.
Its vision statement reads that the group’s aim is to “foster an environment where art and culture strengthen our community’s image, economic vitality, and quality of life.”
“Woodland Park has the potential to be an art mecca. Just look at what we’re looking at,” Holloway said while gesturing toward a snow-covered Pikes Peak.
In addition to the region’s natural beauty, the city’s proximity to a major highway and the number of talented artists already living here validate the city’s possibilities, Holloway said.
Although Holloway believes it is realistic to envision Woodland Park as the next Santa Fe or Taos, N.M., he knows it will take many years of hard work and dedication to see it become a reality.
“The children of the artists who are now members of the WPAA are the ones who are going to benefit,” he said. “But already we are seeing the economic benefits of the arts.”
In the past nine months, the arts alliance has made a difference to the vitality of downtown Woodland Park. First, the alliance has started Art Walks every third Friday that coordinate with the Woodland Retail Alliance’s Woodland Weekend.
Next, the old gas building on the corner of Center Street and U.S. Highway 24 has been transformed into the WPAA School Building. The large windows show a buzz of activity inside to everyone who drives by. The WPAA School Building hosts photography workshops, pastel, water color and drawing classes and children’s art classes. The classes are all taught by local instructors. The arts alliance is also developing classical violin, viola and ensemble lessons.
In addition, the Greenhouse Arts group hosts a monthly open mic night called Out of the Bedroom, featuring original songs and poetry by local artists. This event is every first Friday and open to the public. Greenhouse Arts has also hosted multiple concerts.
In the future, WPAA School House hopes to host literary and poetry groups as well.
For more information on all the activities provided by the arts alliance, visit www.woodlandparkarts.com.
“Before I moved to Woodland Park in 1997, I used to attend symphonies, theater, art openings. When I came up here I missed really truly missed those things,” Holloway said. “WPAA is going to everything it can to promote every kind of art and culture in this area. We want to promote the arts for the general public whether they are members of WPAA or not.”
Thanks to owner Arden Weatherford, the arts alliance is allowed to use the WPAA School House building free.
“He has been a Godsend to the town of Woodland Park and he understands what the arts can do. Nothing brings the economy in faster than developing the arts,” Holloway said.
The alliance is open to any participation in building a foundation for art and culture in the Pikes Peak region. Whether from artists or people who appreciate the arts, Holloway wants to expand the arts alliance.
“If you think, “Yes, I would like to see this,’ you can support it,” Holloway said. “Woodland Park is such a tremendous location in the heart of one of the most beautiful areas in the United States. We have such talented artists up here, who are already appearing on a national level. WPAA is not just for artists. It’s for anyone who wants to make arts and culture available to the whole community.”
When the first explorers ventured out West, they returned to the East Coast with sketches of magnificent mountains and raging rivers. Those explorers wrote stories to go with their drawings that captured the public imagination and ignited the drive out West.
“When Lewis and Clark brought back their drawings of flora and fauna, people said, ‘I’ve got to see that for myself,’” said Ralph Holloway, owner of the Seven Arrows Gallery in Woodland Park. “This area started with art, it needs to continue with art.”
As executive director of the Woodland Park Arts Alliance, Holloway is helping to make sure that the arts flourish in the Pikes Peak Region. The goal of the arts alliance is to connect artists and provide a voice for all art mediums. Whether visual art, performing art, digital or graphic art, the alliance hopes to unite artists and cultivate culture in this area.
Its vision statement reads that the group’s aim is to “foster an environment where art and culture strengthen our community’s image, economic vitality, and quality of life.”
“Woodland Park has the potential to be an art mecca. Just look at what we’re looking at,” Holloway said while gesturing toward a snow-covered Pikes Peak.
In addition to the region’s natural beauty, the city’s proximity to a major highway and the number of talented artists already living here validate the city’s possibilities, Holloway said.
Although Holloway believes it is realistic to envision Woodland Park as the next Santa Fe or Taos, N.M., he knows it will take many years of hard work and dedication to see it become a reality.
“The children of the artists who are now members of the WPAA are the ones who are going to benefit,” he said. “But already we are seeing the economic benefits of the arts.”
In the past nine months, the arts alliance has made a difference to the vitality of downtown Woodland Park. First, the alliance has started Art Walks every third Friday that coordinate with the Woodland Retail Alliance’s Woodland Weekend.
Next, the old gas building on the corner of Center Street and U.S. Highway 24 has been transformed into the WPAA School Building. The large windows show a buzz of activity inside to everyone who drives by. The WPAA School Building hosts photography workshops, pastel, water color and drawing classes and children’s art classes. The classes are all taught by local instructors. The arts alliance is also developing classical violin, viola and ensemble lessons.
In addition, the Greenhouse Arts group hosts a monthly open mic night called Out of the Bedroom, featuring original songs and poetry by local artists. This event is every first Friday and open to the public. Greenhouse Arts has also hosted multiple concerts.
In the future, WPAA School House hopes to host literary and poetry groups as well.
For more information on all the activities provided by the arts alliance, visit www.woodlandparkarts.com.
“Before I moved to Woodland Park in 1997, I used to attend symphonies, theater, art openings. When I came up here I missed really truly missed those things,” Holloway said. “WPAA is going to everything it can to promote every kind of art and culture in this area. We want to promote the arts for the general public whether they are members of WPAA or not.”
Thanks to owner Arden Weatherford, the arts alliance is allowed to use the WPAA School House building free.
“He has been a Godsend to the town of Woodland Park and he understands what the arts can do. Nothing brings the economy in faster than developing the arts,” Holloway said.
The alliance is open to any participation in building a foundation for art and culture in the Pikes Peak region. Whether from artists or people who appreciate the arts, Holloway wants to expand the arts alliance.
“If you think, “Yes, I would like to see this,’ you can support it,” Holloway said. “Woodland Park is such a tremendous location in the heart of one of the most beautiful areas in the United States. We have such talented artists up here, who are already appearing on a national level. WPAA is not just for artists. It’s for anyone who wants to make arts and culture available to the whole community.”
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