SVVSD could use a center for the arts

The St. Vrain Valley School District’s Innovation Center is on the cutting edge of learning for students in our area. A similar center/institute is needed for all our citizens that would include music, dance, theatre and the fine arts. Not all of us thrive in the world of athletics and technology. We need a place where we can find “our people” and thrive. It would be a home with a rich tapestry for all ages, backgrounds and disciplines to share learned skills, exchange ideas and show off the talent that calls Longmont home.

There are adults who remember choir, band, orchestra, the art class that saved them from dropping out of school. Even shop class, before it was discarded, gave some students a reason to show up every day. After graduation, we could all use a similar space to gather, learn, inspire and create. The pieces are already here. The diversity of talent in a town the size of Longmont is envied by other communities of similar size.

The arts are of prime importance for people to be happy and complete human beings. We dance, sing and create before we learn to walk and talk. Watch any toddler move to music or use a crayon to decorate a wall.

They pound on the pots and pans to create “music.” Archeologists have known and proven this for years by studying the cave drawings in France and recording bushmen as they perform their dances and rites.

Even bees do it. We are born with the arts in our DNA. It is just pure joy to witness and makes us smile.

Alzheimer’s patients remember music from their past but not much else. It matters greatly that we continue to nurture this trait given the complexity of today’s world. Such a center would help.