Photos courtesy of Teton Art Council
Interior of the Teton Arts Center under construction

Teton’s first Art Center to open Saturday at 4 p.m.

by Tawyna Kauer KAU04001@BYUI.EDU Scroll Staff

The city of Teton will be receiving its first community arts center for teaching and developing arts within their small community.

The Arts Center will be having a grand opening on Saturday at 4 p.m. There will be a free barbecue for those who attend. Also there will be arts and crafts and other activities for those who are present. It will be held at 8 Rodeo Drive in Teton.

The Center will be available for teachers or anyone who wants to use it for the purposes of art or education.

“The main function of this new Arts Center is to keep the arts alive” Siovhan Dodge, member of the Teton Art’s Council said. Community members can now have the space they need to do just that, keep the arts alive through teaching.

The building consists of an office and two classrooms; one is the sloppy room and the other, the clean room.

The name “sloppy” is fitting for the first room since it is made for Art that can get messy, such as ceramics, painting, and drawing.

The clean room will be used for the arts such as dance, drama, and musicals.

The idea for an Arts Center was first developed in the home of one of Teton’s own community members. Chairman of the Art Center Ari Kotler says that it all started with a woman in Driggs named Stacy Smith. “[she] had paintings, crafts, and slide shows in her own home. She would even have some small concerts. It was a hit, and when she moved, it sparked the concept for an arts center,” Kotler said.

That spark has grown into the opening of the new arts center. Hopefully the needed community support will keep the spark growing and the center functioning.

Referring to the Art Center, Siovhan Dodge said that the center is welcomed warmly.

“The original intent and what I’d like to focus on is to soften the cultural lines that divide this community through the arts. The arts are very safe grounds to do that,” Dodge said.

For three years now Siovhan Dodge has been working to raise money for an art center in Teton. Her husband Tony Dodge donated the land on which the building was built.

“It was designed to be totally affordable and low maintenance,” Tony Dodge said.

The community anticipates the Art Center will be a resource everyone can benefit from.

“We really hope that everyone in the region will come visit and utilize this new Arts Center” Siovhan Dodge said.