Stimulating the Soul
- CDA Arts & Culture Alliance is a gift to the
- Dec 10, 2015
- 5 min read
Endeavors that begin with an appreciation of the arts and a love of community tend to have life-enhancing results. The Coeur d’Alene Arts & Culture Alliance began as an enthusiastic committee of the Chamber of Commerce, gained independence as a nonprofit in 2005, and has been transforming lives ever since.
According to the insightful understanding of new manager Ali Shute, art’s effect surpasses the boundaries of picture frames, concert halls, theaters, and in fact any and every venue, and awakens the wellsprings of the human heart and spirit.
“In my research of the arts and their effects, studies find that in communities supporting the arts, a strong art presence creates a vibrant community where people are happier and healthier,” explains Shute. Then she reveals a more surprising positive outcome. “Businesses are discovering that the creative process is a valuable asset in their employees, because exposure to the creative arts enhances a person’s ability to discover new ways of looking at business methods, issues, goals and challenges. So ultimately, employers may receive more benefit from a creative employee.”
An Alliance board member for several years, Shute accepted her new role of manager in August and approaches the Alliance’s community role with a vision rooted in her childhood.
“My mother was an artist with an art degree at Ohio State, and I grew up in Virginia near Washington D.C. with the whole Smithsonian as my backyard,” she recalls. This singular privilege instilled the conviction that, “Every kid should have the opportunity to be exposed to new ideas and ways of thinking. It creates a flexibility in our own thinking that opens us up more to the way the world could be, how we could all be happy.” Although she acknowledges the arts aren’t the only path to this point, she believes “… they are a concrete way to get there. I want people to understand that the arts can be the heart of a community – a reflection of the people that live there.” She is speaking from successful experience.
Improving life skills through the arts was the reason Shute started “Art on the Edge” through St. Vincent de Paul in 1994 and continued it for 15 years. “It was a creative process program using arts as the tool for kids to discover how to problem solve and set goals,” she recalls, “and it recently evolved into a new independent program named Emerge.”
Today, the CDA Arts & Culture Alliance strives to be a one-stop shop where arts organizations and artists, performers and musicians can seek and share information and announce their events. “Our tagline says that we are the home of the arts for CDA,” says Shute. In serving the arts community, it helps tremendously to have an actively involved board of directors. “We have a very dynamic board that is very engaged,” she adds, “and their participation in producing the events is invaluable in freeing me to communicate and interact with the community on behalf of everyone involved in the arts.”
The Alliance also wants to be a place where the community can be in touch with all things artistic at any time of year. With winter frosting the world and creating a desire to get out of the house and go somewhere wonderful, what does the Alliance have planned in the next few months? Much!
Their monthly Arts Buzz meetings will continue to provide a learn-and-share environment allowing artists to network, collaborate and plan for upcoming art and culture-related events and opportunities. The meetings are held on the first Friday of every month at 9am in the CDA Chamber at 105 North First Street.
The last Artwalk of the season will be December 11, with the opportunity to stroll through the winter beauty of downtown CDA and visit galleries, shops, restaurants and businesses displaying the works of local and nationally acclaimed artists. And after that? Then the Alliance will wisely segue from outdoor strolling to the cozy indoor ambiance of Music Walk, a new endeavor where participating restaurants showcase local musicians. “We’re getting ready to launch it for January, February and March,” says Shute.
Music for the Wise will bring local musicians to assisted living facilities and nursing homes all season long, taking the joy of music to those who find it difficult to be out and about in slippery winter weather.
The fabulous CDA Symphony has prepared a musical feast in its “Realm of…” concert series. December 3 and 4 they will perform “Realm of Ice and Snow” featuring the works of Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 1, Reed: Russian Christmas Music, Holiday Pops. On January 22 and 23, they will present “Realm of Family” with these highlights: Serenade for Strings, Tchaikovsky; Premiere Rhapsodie, Debussy (featuring Merilee Updike on Clarinet); Wind Serenade, Mozart; Young Lutheran’s Guide to the Orchestra, and Garrison Keillor. And on March 11 and 12, a “Realm of Champions” concert will feature the Young Artist Winners Concert with the winners of the Symphony’s 2015 National Young Artists Competition. Details and ticket information at www.cdasymphony.org.
Just in time to celebrate the joy and wonder of Christmas, the Northwest Sacred Music Choral will present the magnificent “A Christmas Choral Spectacular” on December 18 at Trinity Lutheran Church. Details and ticket information at www.nwsmc.org.
For theater-lovers, The Modern Theatre offers two outstanding productions in the winter months in Coeur d’Alene. So when a warm theatre seems the right place to be on a chilly night, come to see the drama, “All My Sons” starting January 22. Considered by many to be playwright Arthur Miller’s greatest masterpiece, “…it is based on a true tragedy about the shadow of catastrophe hidden deep in the power known as The American Dream.” On March 4, “Maybe Baby,” a romantic comedy by resident playwright Matt Harget features a couple’s difficulties trying to conceive a child. They promise that “…This endearing production will warm your heart and perhaps give you baby fever.” Details and ticket information at www.themoderntheater.org.
For a complete listing of all Alliance events, visit their website at www.artsincda.org. The Alliance does not charge for tickets for their own events, and they provide links to websites with ticket info for sponsored events.
In addition to enjoying the events presented and/or sponsored by the Alliance, art lovers and supporters can enjoy the benefits of a CDA Arts & Culture Alliance membership as an individual, a family or an organization. (Non-profit organizations are given a reduced rate.) The Alliance is currently developing benefits for a membership card that will give members the opportunity to enjoy special promotions and events throughout the year. With one of these cards, “You’ll be a card-carrying arts supporter!” declares Shute.
No matter how one creates or experiences art, The CDA Arts & Culture Alliance will continue to be an important community resource. If brevity is the soul of wit, then participation is the soul of art. And the Alliance is committed to all-community involvement and worldwide evolvement through art.
Contact information:
208/292-1629
105 N 1st Street, Suite 100
Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814
Their Mission:
The Coeur d'Alene Arts & Culture Alliance is dedicated to promoting and establishing the Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Written Arts, Cultural Arts, and Education for the Arts in the Greater Coeur d'Alene Area, while providing valuable networking opportunities for those involved and seeking to be involved in the arts.
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