Hello, we invite you to participate and give Artspace and the City of Chaska your insights. Please read below…

Please RSVP to info@artsofcarvercounty.org with the subject FOCUS GROUP, and reach out if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you, and thanks in advance!

The City of Chaska has invited Artspace, the nation’s leading nonprofit developer of affordable space for artists and arts organizations, to help the City of Chaska assess the feasibility of a local arts/artist development.

Artspace would like to better understand how artist spaces fit into the community’s current priorities and hear from locals. We invite you to participate and give your insight. With your help, we hope to gather ideas about what the creative sector is missing, collect feedback about potential sites, and look at fresh ideas to serve the needs of the City of Chaska. Potential ideas can include live/work housing, co-working spaces, shared spaces, gallery space, and whatever else you can think of.

We would greatly appreciate your participation at the Public Forum held at the Chaska Event Center on Tuesday August 7th at 6:30- 8:30pm and the Artspace Focus Group on Wednesday August 8th at 11:30 -1pm (space is limited, RSVP required).

The Public Forum is to inform and allow discovery and the Focus Group is an early discussion to gather input from stakeholders about current and new creative spaces and needs that will benefit greatly from your input.

Please come to both opportunities. We request an RSVP for the Focus Group so we can insure a diverse group, see below. Refreshments will be provided.

11:30am – 1:00 pm Focus Group – Artists/Creatives
(Artspace, City Staff & Volunteers @ Chaska City Hall)

Purpose: to understand the space needs of artists and arts organizations, including: current space situation, space needs, economic considerations, and representative arts disciplines.

Possible Participants (15-30): Local and regional artists representing a diversity of: artistic disciplines, career phase/prominence, homeowners/renters, family size, ethnic background, and age. Emphasis on emerging and young artists. Local and regional arts organizations, creative businesses, artist service organizations, and educational institutions/arts schools, all representing a cross-section of services, sizes, operating budgets, artistic disciplines served, for-profit and nonprofit.

Please take a minute to learn more about Artspace prior to the meeting http://www.artspace.org/

The Artspace team will be in Chaska on Tuesday, August 7th and Wednesday, August 8th. Below is a draft Agenda for their visit, if you have any questions or comments – please feel free to contact Kevin Ringwald, AICP, Community Development Director, City of Chaska 952-227-7526 KRingwald@chaskamn.com or Cindy Anderson, ACCC President 612-386-6156 candersonabf@gmail.com.

Link to Agenda for the full 2-day event