Dancing Spirit Dream Maker Campaign

Summary

The heartbeat of Dancing Spirit Community Arts Center is our amazing little tri-ethnic community of Ignacio, Colorado. We focus on building connections, facilitating healing, and touching lives through creativity at all ages and stages of life. We have students that started with us in our preschool art programs who are in high school now and still not only remember us, but remember the lessons we taught them and who stop by just to say hello. We have teens and adults, who came across our program because they were required to complete community service, that now willingly volunteer with us to be a help to others in the community. We have adults who started with us as students who are now helping teach classes. These are connections in our community that are critical for its health. According to the National Endowment for the Arts, "The arts' impacts on health and well-being can be seen at all stages of life. From early childhood through adolescence and youth, arts education can support students' social and emotional needs, helping them better cope with their feelings, bounce back from adversity, and show tolerance and compassion for others. For older adults, a greater frequency of arts participation is linked to positive health outcomes. Creative arts therapies and arts-in-health programs can help address specific physical and mental health conditions and improve the quality of life for patients and their caregivers. In cities, towns, and neighborhoods, meanwhile, arts-based strategies can contribute to greater social cohesion, health equity, and community well-being." 

Dancing Spirit Center for the Arts not only offers art education, appreciation, and opportunities to be creative, but we also offer real-world professional skills through an incubator program that teaches community members how to make art and run their very own businesses. According to the Economic Development Department of New Mexico," businesses that start in an incubator are twice as likely to succeed as those that do not. " The incubator program is good for the economy of Ignacio, and increasing the number of entrepreneurs in the art field will also increase cultural tourism in the area, which directly aligns with the town of Ignacio's Strategic Plan Strategy 2: Downtown Community Revitalization & Business Development. More importantly, it invests in our community members and gives them the chance to make their dreams a reality while learning skills to support themselves, their family and ultimately, the community.

Dancing Spirit wants to continue to build our community’s resilience, to encourage entrepreneurship, to revitalize our town and to touch lives through creativity, but the only way we can make our goals happen is with the support of our donors, grantors and volunteers.

Please help us raise $270,000 to build our permanent home and Ignacio's very own community arts center as we strive to continue touching lives through creativity.