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A Contemporary Approach

TACAW Prepares to Unveil Its Permanent Home in Summer 2021, Bringing World-Class Live Entertainment to Willits

The lights will soon be going up on the midvalley’s sleek new performance space, The Contemporary. The Arts Campus at Willits (TACAW) team is hopeful that its new venue will be able to begin offering Covid-smart programming by this summer. 

“The building is scheduled to be completed in June, and we are in a strong position to hold a grand opening at that time, pending any public health restrictions,” says Ryan Honey, TACAW executive director. “But our objective, first and foremost, is to help keep the community safe. When we do eventually open to the public, we will assess how to use our spaces with safety in mind.”

When it opens, The Contemporary will be unlike any other arts facility in the valley—and with its accessible location in Willits, the center is poised to become a hive of cultural connection for both downvalley and upvalley residents. Performance and gathering spaces include a 275-seat theater with standing room for 400, a commons area for smaller events, a community room, a covered outdoor terrace, an outdoor amphitheater with room for 50-60, plus a listening lawn for large events.

“And further out, we also have the ability to close down Market Street for block parties,” Honey adds. “The Contemporary was designed with a fantastic amount of flexibility in mind. We wanted a building that could adapt to a wide variety of art, cultural, civic, and educational needs now and in the future.”

TACAW previously operated an interim events space in Willits called The Temporary, from September 2017 to April 2019, before beginning a capital campaign to build its permanent home. The Temporary played host to more than 240 performances during that time, ranging from improv shows to film festivals to music performances, dance recitals, storytelling events, and more. Honey and his team hope to bring that same richness of offerings to The Contemporary, and then some. New programming director Kendall Smith was hired in January after a national search, and will work to expand the organization’s connections with regional, national, and international artistic collaborators.

Fortunately, Covid-19 has not impacted TACAW as acutely as many other performing arts entities around the valley. Over the past year the nonprofit was already operating with only essential staff, and had not been planning any revenue-generating events while The Contemporary’s construction got underway last summer.

“We’re one of the lucky ones,” Honey says. “The timing of Covid was sheer luck on our part.”

Still, TACAW developed creative ways to connect with the community during the pandemic. Its drive-in movie series at Crown Mountain Park was a hit last summer, along with its Wednesday Night Live street performer series in Basalt.

“We’re really proud of what we were able to accomplish during the warm months last year,” Honey notes. “It was such an isolating time for so many people, so we wanted to help get locals out of the house and safely engage with the arts together.”

When The Contemporary opens this summer, Honey envisions that its events will help the valley regain a sense of normalcy after the pandemic. He also knows that where there is an arts and entertainment venue, there is economic gain—and that patrons’ ancillary spending at restaurants, shops, and other locally-owned midvalley establishments will be sorely needed after Covid settles down.

“There are fascinating metrics that are very well documented about how a cultural facility can produce numerous social and economic benefits. Community engagement, civic activism, student learning—it all goes up,” Honey says. “The midvalley will be seeing that true vibrancy and connectedness. People are ready for it, even hungry for it, especially after getting through the pandemic.”

Watch for news about The Contemporary’s grand opening at TACAW.org, or follow The Arts Campus at Willits on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

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