ABOUT US
2008 Annual Report
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Creative Spirit Center (now Creative 360)
Creative 360 is a nonprofit, community-based organization dedicated to the creative process, celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2009.
In summer 1994, Midland arts educators Cynthia Keefe and Linda Z. Smith were awarded Alden B. Dow Creativity Center Fellowships through Northwood University. The objective of their project was to study the benefits of interrelated arts experiences in relation to the enhancement of emotional and physical wellness.
After doing so, they conceived the idea of a community-based arts organization where these benefits could be realized. A pilot program confirmed that given a secure, supportive environment, the uncreative become artists, the immobile become dancers, and the inexpressive become poets, writers, and storytellers. From there, Keefe and Smith developed a plan for a center that would integrate programming in art and wellness.
In September 1995, Creative Spirit Center opened its doors in downtown Midland, Michigan, a visionary organizationn launched with the goal of providing a nurturing environment in which people of all ages and all temperaments would have the opportunity to directly experience the creative process. In the first year, it offered 15 classes from 7 instructors. By 1999, the Center was offering 270 classes with 59 instructors. Currently over 180 instructors are on Creative Spirit Center's roster. But as a result of changing interests and needs in the community, we seek to recruit even more. Click HERE to read our current Invitation to Instruct.
Creative 360 in 2009 enters a new phase of development, looking beyond its own doors to discover how it can become a community resource of even greater benefit to Midland and the Tri-Cities area of Michigan. Assisted by the financial support of local foundations and generous individuals, Creative 360 pursues its mission with integrity through community collaborations and ongoing conversations with stakeholders. Creative 360 invites you into an environment where creativity flourishes and the benefits of creativity are realized.
In 2007, Linda Z. Smith received national recognition for her work in co-founding Creative Spirit Center. Martha Stewart and Martha Stewart Living named Smith one of 11 "Dreamers into Doers," exceptional women who won a national contest for their ability to make their dreams into reality.