RedLine is a proud partner and administrator of the Arts in Society grant. This collaborative program provides grants to both individuals and organizations that use art as a vehicle to promote social justice and community welfare.
We love highlighting our Arts in Society (AiS) grant recipients and all the unique and impactful projects made possible by their grant. And we’re excited continue this series with the 2024 Arts in Society Grantee: The Church Project & Rural Journalism Institute of the San Luis Valley!
Learn more about 2024 Arts is Society Grantee The Church Project and how their grant helps them continue to support RJISLV to have a professional learning space in Rio Grande County.
Tell us about your organization
The Church Project (TCP) is a community art center located in the rural city of Monte Vista Colorado in the 114-year-old First Baptist Church that the lead artist, Madeleine Ahlborn purchased with this vision in mind.
The idea to transform an old church into a creative community space is not original, Ahlborn read an article by The National Trust for Historic Preservation titled, “Losing my religion, but not the building” in September of 2023 and made the decision to follow her decade-long + dream to open an art center, as a love letter to the San Luis Valley.
Ahlborn believes it’s important that all people understand a creative spirit is embedded in all of us, even if some of us don’t own the title “artist.” To further this exploration, residents don’t have adequate space to fail without embarrassment.
Pulling from her own experience, Ahlborn wanted to provide an opportunity for people to shift their perspective without the physical or financial barrier of a daunting track in higher education. Ahlborn truly believes, “you can be a great artist anywhere.”
TCP has a mission to provide the space and freedom for all people to unlock their creative potential. In partnership with the Rural Journalism Institute of the San Luis Valley (RJISLV) and The Alamosa Citizen (AC), TCP is working to be a revenue stream for the RJISLV non-profit and be another space for AC to operate its news and media outlets.
Tell us about your first project that will utilize your Arts in Society Grant
TCP has utilized an Arts in Society grant funding to build a recording studio and narration booth to support RJISLV and to have a professional learning space in Rio Grande County. This space has been built with a lot of intention and holds the physical setting of a closet space because every amateur voice actor and podcaster begins a recording career in a closet since clothes provide natural sound dampening.
This learning environment exposes RJISLV summer interns to the diverse nature of what a recording studio can look like and what kinds of materials can be used to control sound; egg cartons, books, carpet, clothes, and industry standard sound panels.
The Closet at TCP has already hosted the 2ooth episode of the ValleyPod with host Chris Lopez and will be home to Ahlborn’s podcast “The Creative Citizen: The Unexpected Artist,” where she invites seemingly unexpected guests into The Closet to share their creative practice, be vulnerable, and the experience allows each guest to come out of the closet renewed.
Not only does the closet hold clothing for sound dampening, but Ahlborn invites podcast guests to bring an article of clothing to donate to the space as a physical archive, similar to the Tiny Desk Concert series hosted by NPR which has a similar tradition.
AiS support has also allowed TCP to hire local artists/creatives to host free workshops in the medium of their choice. Jean, a local author, hosts a monthly “Playful Writing” series, Tim and Emily, Monte Vista residents, host “Dance Church” a bi-monthly event for Ecstatic Dance practice (a free-form movement-based practice to disconnect from the day-to-day and reconnect with our bodies).
AiS has also allowed TCP to develop a part-time position, Assistant Program Coordinator (APC), who assists Ahlborn in the planning and implementation of Sunday School Specials, a weekly three-hour long workshop that is open and free for the community. TCP also offers Open Studio every Friday from 3-6pm which the APC runs with the support of the local LOR Foundation.
What’s next in the pipeline for your organization? What other projects are you dreaming up for next year, and how will your Arts in Society grant help to support these efforts?
TCP is currently remodeling the ground floor restrooms with support from the Gates Family Foundation, and once this gender-inclusive restroom is complete, Ahlborn will begin to frame out a photography space for wet-darkroom practices. With two enlargers already donated and plumbing in place, she says, “the framing and drywall and painting will go fast.
The goal is to print our first 35mm prints on New Year's Day 2025.” TCP is also be working in collaboration with Kevin Hernandez and his “L8gacy Project” in monthly open mic series that is also free and open to the community, they call it, “Second Sunday Series.”
Through the Arts in Society learning cohort, Ahlborn has connected with Warm Cookies of the Revolution, and there are plans for 2025 to host various community engagement sessions around building a Horno on the Church Grounds (a large concrete pad on the east side of the building that used to be a basketball court).
Ahlborn will also be building an outdoor stage for summer concert events, community gatherings, and “feeds” when the Horno is built. TCP is ecstatic to be collaborating with Warm Cookies of the Revolution and how they operate as a Civic Health Club.
There are a lot of ideas bubbling up about the next year, if it all comes together, TCP has space allocated for a community gallery, “Yes, Oui, Si”, and an artist-in-residence program. This residency will initially be geared toward locals who are looking for the space, freedom, and time to dedicate to a project.
Included in the residency is an opportunity for an artist talk, exhibition space in “Yes, Oui, Si” Community Gallery, and recording an episode on the Creative Citizen Podcast in The Closet with Ahlborn.
What was your experience like when applying for an Arts in Society Grant? What tips would you share with artists looking to apply?
The City of Monte Vista manager, Gigi Dennis, was the person who sent Ahlborn the link to apply. Ahlborn toured Dennis around the Church before she agreed to purchase, she wanted to ensure that the City would support these community-focused efforts. Since then Dennis has been on the lookout for funding opportunities and there is mutual benefits for the city and residents who come to explore TCP programs.
The best way to describe grant opportunities is to say that it is a platform to share your story, with a little bit of a formula by answering the questions posed. Thing big first, have conversations with your friends, family, and colleagues, and flush out every possible idea.
Then try to simplify the idea to the bare essence of what you think it means. Then make it big again. Repeat the process. This may sound hard to do, but like anything, it takes practice. This type of shift from big ideas to simplicity is a practice in shifting perspective, and ultimately what Ahlborn hopes to accomplish through The Church Project.
Arts in Society 2024 Grantee Highlight: The Word
Learn all about their Arts in Society project [margins.] Literary Conference and Book Festival, and how The Word explores and builds collective, equitable models for writing, publishing, and bookselling.
Administered by RedLine, Arts in Society (AiS) is a grant program supporting cross-sector work through the arts across Colorado.
