Newly formed commission to advance arts in south Valley city
BY MARIA PREKEGES
The Wood River Valley is home to many art galleries and artists from all aspects of the art world, a fact that is readily apparent in Ketchum and the north Wood River Valley, which is generally viewed as the area’s center for artistic endeavors.
However, a new movement has started in Bellevue to extend the reputation for the arts to the south Valley. This movement was strengthened earlier this month by the unanimous approval of the Bellevue Common Council to form a new Bellevue Arts Commission.
Why Bellevue and why the groundswell for the arts? The movement started with two local artists, Suzanne Hazlett and Anne Jeffrey, and a special annual event, the Wood River Valley Studio Tour, which Hazlett and Jeffrey founded in 2013.
Since its launch, the studio tour, using the acronym WRVST, has became the largest artist-open-studio event in the state of Idaho. Hazlett and Jeffrey noted that while the overall visitor count for the event has grown 100 percent year after year, many of the artists who maintain studios in Bellevue have experienced a decline in their audience. Despite year-round marketing efforts, there was no real improvement in the south Valley.
Hazlett said she and Jeffrey recognized that these efforts were focused only on the symptoms, and not the source of the problem, which is that the Bellevue community has not realized its potential in presenting an environment of cultural vitality that draws in visitors.
“The Wood River Valley Studio Tour is currently one of a very few arts events that extends to the Bellevue community,” Hazlett said. “This is a reality Anne Jeffery and I aspire to change.”
Recognizing an opportunity for more, Hazlett, who lives in Sun Valley, began working with Jeffrey, who lives in Bellevue and is an accomplished photographer with prior experience in public relations. The two joined forces and their venture started with forming and gaining city approval for the Bellevue Arts Commission. Hazlett and Jeffrey are now the commission’s first members and have been appointed co-chairs.
Hazlett and Jeffrey explained that Bellevue has a variety of different artists currently working in the city, who typically prefer a more quiet, rural setting for inspiration. And, although Bellevue has a more rural community feel, it is still close enough to Ketchum, Sun Valley, and Hailey and what those cities have to offer in the artistic world.
“We are looking forward to working with the Bellevue community in developing a strategic and feasible plan for bringing art in all its different forms to the city,” said Jeffrey.
In a press release, Hazlett and Jeffrey jointly explained the advantage of forming an arts commission:
“A Bellevue Arts Commission can seek grants for projects and/or events, provide a focus to involve and inspire volunteers and promote the recognition and development of local Bellevue artists. Arts and culture are useful agents for invigoration and restoring character to downtown cores, rekindling pride and belief in a community and attracting visitors. Bellevue is the gateway to the Wood River Valley and growing the art and culture of Bellevue will benefit the whole Wood River Valley arts community.”
Now that the arts commission has been approved, Hazlett and Jeffrey are anxious to “take this dream and turn it into something tangible.”
They are currently pursing a matching grant through the Idaho Commission on the Arts and are trying to raise the $1,500 local match as soon as possible. According to Hazlett and Jeffrey, the “funds will help underwrite the cost for a cultural planning consultant to assess the Bellevue community and help identify the most impactful and feasible path to embark upon.”
DONATIONS
Donations for the newly formed Bellevue Arts Commission can be mailed to the commission in care of Bellevue City Hall at 115 E. Pine St., P.O. Box 825, Bellevue, ID 83318. For more information or to become involved with the commission, contact co-chairs Suzanne Hazlett at suzanne@wrvstudiotour.org or Anne Jeffrey at jeffanne@earthlink.net.