Central School Project



The CSP is a non-profit arts and cultural organization that was started to provide appreciation for arts throughout the Bisbee community. This organization includes programs such as art exhibits, poetry readings, plays, concerts, dances, and films. Part of the CSP mission is to provide local artists with working space and also to preserve the Central School building as a cultural center. This elementary school was built in 1905 and stopped being used in 1975 due to the shutdown of underground mining. The organization started out as a tenants’ association of artists in 1982 before CSP was incorporated in 1985. They then placed a bid on and later received the building in 1994 from the local school district (Central School Project, 2012).

III. The Central School Project is an organization located in Bisbee, Arizona. Bisbee is a rural community consisting of 5, 900 people (City-data, 2012). The city of Bisbee started out as a small mining town but has now been transformed into a small artistic hub (Bisbee Daily Review, 2010). Mina Tang Kan is a painter and printmaker in Bisbee that owns her own gallery. She says, “What people come for, besides the art, is the alternative lifestyle. It’s very liberal. There are a lot of democrats” (Tucson Weekly, 2012).

IV. The Central School Project has created vibrancy in the Bisbee community in a variety of ways. They have multiple exhibitions every year for regional, professional, and amateur artists. They also have provided multiple themes of film series throughout their existence and are currently doing an international film series. CSP also does performances each year. The most recent ones have been “The Tempest” and “The Belle of Amhersl”. International poets also read at these programs, they include: Patricia Smith, Alice Notley, and Robert Haas. In 2009, CSP held a Pilot Visiting Artist program where artists visit to help bring vibrancy to the Bisbee community. They do this by engaging in workshops and lectures. Some pilots have included Noah Saterstrom and Paul Catanese. There are also Students in Studios programs put on by CSP member Danielle Winter. Weekly art education classes are taught during the school year. Finally, historic preservation is an important part of the Central School Project. The building has already been re-roofed thanks to grants and future preservation includes restoring the foundation and refinishing of the exterior walls (Central School Project, 2012). This shows how volunteers and support for this organization in the community allowed them to receive the grant from Lowes. Lowe’s Human Resource Manager in Sierra Vista, Stella Burke, states that CSP is not just receiving cash but also over 100 members from Lowe’s help with the project and in the community. CSP has put on annual MAKE festivals for the past five years in which over 200 kids and their families have attended. They get to watch performances and do arts and crafts at these festivals (Bisbee Daily Review, 2010). Irene, the new Assistant Director of the CSP, also told me in our phone interview that all of these programs and festivals have been “well-received” by the community and that these events continue to grow each and every year (Irene, personal communication, December 4, 2012).



Average household size in the Bisbee community is 2.0 people. The percentage of family households in Bisbee is 47.6 %. The percentage of households with unmarried partners is 6.3 %.



Republican candidates won the presidential election in 2004 and 2008 in Bisbee by getting 60 percent of votes while the democrat received 39 percent of votes and 1 percent voted for another candidate.

 VI. The city of Bisbee is located in Cochise County. This city was founded in 1880 and named after Judge Dewitt Bisbee, a financial backer of the Copper Queen Mine. Bisbee used to be known as “the Queen of the Copper Camps” and was one of the richest mineral sites in the world. By the early 1900s Bisbee was the biggest city between St. Louis and San Francisco (nearly 20,000 people). In 1908, a fire burnt most of Bisbee’s downtown to the ground but by 1910 the community had already built back the city that stands today. Bisbee was a prosperous community until the 1970s when mining was no longer seen as profitable. As employees left to go elsewhere, many artistic spirits saw Bisbee as an ideal, attractive, and inexpensive place to settle. (Discover Bisbee)

VII. The continuation of the Central school project renovations will be a cost of about 1,000,000 dollars. This initial cost was nothing because the building was given to the Central School Project members, which at this time was a tenants association of artists in 1982 (Irene, personal communication, December 4, 2012). This organization was then incorporated in 1985 and received 501(c) (3) status from the IRS in 1986. The organization then bid on and purchased the old school building in 1994 from the local school district (Central School Project, 2012). The Central School Project is a non-profit organization that also has received federal grants to renovate the old school they purchased. One of these grants came from the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation through the National Trust for Historic Preservation. This was a 50,000 dollar federal grant (Bisbee Daily Review, 2010). The other grant was a 100,000 dollar grant from Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Foundation. This grant is to be carried out over the next three years to also help preserve the central school building (Central School Project, 2012). According to Irene, the new Assistant Director of the Central School Project, fundraisers were also done by the artists in the organization to help pay for operations. She also stated that a grant was received from Southwestern Foundation along with two or three other smaller grants (Irene, personal communication, December 4, 2012).This final large grant from the Southwestern Foundation was for 20,000 dollars (Central School Project Press, 2011). The ongoing operational costs are providing local artists with space to work, maintaining their facilities, and being able to pay for festivals and showings. The organization takes in rental costs to help pay for these things. To rent the community room in this building is 5 dollars an hour and is a 20 dollar minimum fee. There is also a theater that can be used by the community. The cost to rent the theater is 35 dollars for 1 hour, 55 dollars for 2 hours, 65 dollars for 3-4 hours, and 100 dollars from 5-8 hours. There is also an additional 15 dollar per hour fee for using any audio or visual equipment in the theater. Gallery space for local artists costs 20 dollars an hour with a 50 dollar minimum charge. The community must also pay to use the parking lot at the central school. The daily fee for 1 vehicle is 10 dollars and monthly fee for 1 vehicle is 25 dollars. To use the parking lot for outdoor events costs 20 dollars an hour with a 50 dollar minimum (Central School Project, 2012).

VIII. The Central School Project artists promoted the beginning of the project. This community non-profit organization had not worked on similar projects in this area before because Bisbee had just started to become an artistic community after coal miners moved out of the area (Irene, personal communication, December 4, 2012). These artists saw this as an opportunity to take advantage of the low costs of purchasing buildings in this “dying” area where nobody wanted to live. Their motivation was so they could have a building to perform their work in and also provide other locals interested in different forms of art a place to express themselves. They wanted to turn this “dead” city into new expression of art (Tucson Weekly, 2012).



IX. The Central School Project staff and board members first supported the idea of this project (Irene, personal communication, December 4, 2012). These people include the following and are headed by Melissa Holden; the Executive Director. The Central School Project Board is composed of the 20 artist members of the organization. The Board officers include David Sherman, President; Monte Surratt, Vice-President; Jennifer Harris, Treasurer; and Laurie McKenna, Secretary. The 20 artist members are Pamela Blunt (intermodal expressive arts therapist), Paul Bovee (painter), Gretchen Baer (painter), June Cabat (textile artist), Michael Cadieux (painter), Gail Campbell (sculptor), Pete Goldlust (sculptor, public artist), Ed Briggs (painter), Jennifer Harris (painter, sculptor, printmaker), Manny Martinez (sculptor, painter), Laurie McKenna (mixed media artist, film maker, digital media), Pam Rodrigues (jewelry artist), Rena Santa Cruz (painter), Jan Searle (painter), Richard Shemanski (mixed media, multisensory artist), David Sherman (filmmaker), Jeffry Shriver (furniture maker, fine woodwork), Monte Surratt (painter), Danielle Winter (painter, sculptor), and Same Woolcott (painter). Other supporters of the project include Lowe’s and Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Foundation, which both gave grants to help preserve and remodel the old central school building. Southwestern Foundation for Education and Historical Preservation also provided a grant to help operate this project and maintain the building. Arizona Commission of the Arts also supports this organization and project along with Bisbee Foundation and the Bisbee Arts Commission. All of these members and organizations have maintained support for this project and the Central School Project organization (Central School Project, 2012).

X. There was no political opposition to my knowledge based on research and also because Irene, the new Assistant Director of the Central School Project, said there was no opposition (Irene, personal communication, December 4, 2012). This was likely due to there not being many people left in this area after all of the coal miners and their families moved away. These artists just seemed to pick up this territory that was deserted and left behind. They wanted to give this place a new meaning for themselves and other coming into the community.



XI. This project is still not complete as far as preservation of the school building but it took the starting organization about 12 years to finally be given the building and use it to benefit themselves and the community. This project has evolved over time because more people in the community are becoming involved with this organization and more people are attending the festivals and activities that the Central School Project is providing. In my phone interview with Irene I found out that the preservation for the building started over three years ago and the plan to renovate the building is a ten year project plan. Mini-projects such as festivals, exhibitions, and other programs have been started within the Central School Project (Irene, personal communication, December 4, 2012).

XII. There were some things that had to be passed before the project could happen. According to the Assistant Director of the Central School Project, “Bi-laws and other operations had to be passed and created in order to legitimize the project” (Irene, personal communication, December 4, 2012).

<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:26.666667938232422px;">XIII. The general reaction from the public is excitement. Irene also told me that the project has been “well-received” from the people within the community. The Tucson Weekly news included in an article, “The Central School Project is one communal enterprise that still survives. Opened in 1985 in a historic elementary school, it provides studio space to some 14 artist members” (Tucson Weekly, 2012). The survival of this project for almost twenty seven years proves that the community has enjoyed and benefited from this project.