Ten years ago, a group of visionary artists and activists looked past the boarded-up vacant buildings of Waterloo Road and saw the promise of a great urban neighborhood. They believed the arts contribute to a meaningful life and could be a catalyst for community building and economic development.
They were right.
A creative hub, founded as Arts Collinwood and now known as Waterloo Arts, helped transform a dilapidated neighborhood into a thriving arts district.For the past decade Waterloo Arts has…
- Presented the work of local, national and international artists in over 100 gallery exhibits of thought provoking art and design.
- Provided arts education opportunities for hundreds of children to work with professional artists.
- Presented a wide-range of performances, from rockabilly to classical, poetry readings and film screenings.
- Visually defined a burgeoning arts district with 20 murals painted by world-renowned street artists.
- Created an “artist friendly” neighborhood by providing affordable artist studio space and connecting artists to other neighborhood resources.
- Developed the Waterloo Arts Fest into a seven stage, city-wide attraction, drawing thousands of visitors to the neighborhood each year.
Today the District is newly decorated with a 5.5 million dollar streetscape and is home to numerous arts related businesses, merchants and restaurants-with cool new places slated to open in the coming year!
We can’t do it without YOU!
The story of the Waterloo Arts and Entertainment District is a testament to the visionaries who planted a small seed years ago and to the many individuals who have contributed their time and resources helping that seed grow. We are grateful to our past donors for their support and we invite you to join these community leaders by donating to the 2014 Waterloo Arts Annual Fund today.
There are no comments published yet.