Sustainer Update for PS1: summer starts with a new chapter
Dear PS1 sustaining members!
Almost two months have passed since our first (May 1st) supporting member celebration and we wanted to touch base with organizational plans that have evolved since then as well as welcome our new supporting members. Thank you for joining us!
503(c)3
The big news is that we officially submitted our Streamlined Application for 501(c)3 status. If all goes according to plan, by August we will be federal-tax exempt charitable nonprofit (of our own, not under anyone's umbrella) for the first time in our organization's 12 year history. A tremendous effort was put forth by our board to make this happen and it is certainly a milestone. I want to acknowledge and congratulate them on this accomplishment. It was the dedication of: Adam Burke, Jeremy Chen, Lauren Evans, Loren Glass, Sarah Kanouse, Matthew Steele, and Kalmia Strong that have brought us to this next sustainable level. Please contact us if you would like more information on how this effects your contribution to our org and congratulate our art workers in person next time you see them!
Space
We are a few days away from signing a lease for three more years as the entire lower level of the Wesley Student Center (120 N. Dubuque St). With this renewal comes a re-imagining of the space and we have already started to make some changes. We added a new 10x16' gallery wall in early June, opened up 200 sq ft more for the print shop (former PS1 office space, now for community use), and added another 72 sq. ft. studio for rent. This summer we plan for more additions to the gallery as well as a transformation of the stage/performance area. We are working with a great local theatre company, Dreamwell, and are in talks to host their entire '15/'16 season at our venue. We have several interesting exhibitions in the plans for early fall including a group show showcasing the past 7 years of PS1-showing artists (from all over the world) and a two-person collaborative installation from Gyan Shrosbree & Surya Gied.
Kitchen
Our large kitchen is one of the best resources we have in our space at Wesley, and this summer we are working to make it more active and community-accessible. Thanks to the efforts of one of our summer interns, Hannah Muellerleile, we'll be offering a series of food-related workshops, but we are also looking for ideas and connections to make it a multifaceted culinary-use space (think Conflict Kitchen or Gordon Matta-Clark's FOOD). We look forward to the metaphorical (and hopefully literal as well) fruits of collaboration with Iowa City's great food community.
IC Press Co-op
As many of you are aware, Zenzic Press is the print shop we operate out of our studio space (opposite the gallery/performance rooms). We have a suite of 10 printmaking workshops offered this summer (please feel free to spread the word... many are yet to come and have space!) but the bigger news is that Zenzic will merge and become one with IC Press Co-op in August. IC Press Co-op is a Public Space One and Paper Nest joint project. We are working hard to fundraise and secure a new level of (and new space for) printmaking/book arts resources for the Iowa City community. This initiative touches on three major components of the PS1 mission: accessibility of resources to artists, independent cultural production, and partnerships that strengthen the arts ecosystem in Iowa City.
Future Plans & Ongoing Gratitude
We have high hopes and large aspirations for what our organization will do in the next 5 years. We hope to come full circle with our sustainability efforts and bridge the funding gap that will allow our unique organization to thrive with artists and organizers being adequately compensated for their efforts. We thank you for continuing to believe in our mission on a monthly basis through participation, feedback, volunteering, and membership contributions. As we build capacity, please know that we are building it together and your involvement, advice, and ideas are an integral part of what we are doing. Your continued support is recognized and we are truly humbled every time we receive a donation. Together, we are creating an utterly unique organization supporting a bright future of possibilities for "small a artists" and audiences in Iowa City.
Day to Day
To keep up on a more regularly basis, there is always our our newsletter, our social media outlets (fb, instagram, youtube, and twitter, which we will be increasing use of via their Periscope app) as well as our websites (publicspaceone.org & icpresscoop.com). And of course, we especially welcome you to come by the space -- there's often something exciting happening that we didn't have the room to mention here!
Sincerely,
John E
ps A few pictures from last night's video-game, live score event, 121 by Hubol Gordon & Megan Reiland:
