Center for Creativity Receives $1.35 Million Boost

The campaign by Plains Art Museum to construct the Center for Creativity and Lifelong Learning received $1.35 million in December 2009 thanks to grants from two charitable foundations, The Kresge Foundation, based in Grand Rapids, Mich., approved an $800,000 grant award; and The Bush Foundation of St. Paul, Minn., awarded a $555,000 grant to the campaign. “The Museum’s ambitious goals to be a creative thought leader in the community and to offer civic spaces that allow for the safe exploration of ideas and learning are admirable and have the potential to improve the quality of life in the Fargo-Moorhead community,” said Pamela Wheelock, Bush Foundation vice president. Funding for the $7.3 million capital and endowment campaign is now 71 percent complete. In December 2008, the Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Charitable Lead Unitrust propelled campaign momentum with a $200,000 grant. Additional campaign and community support includes $368,807 from corporate gifts and $1.5 million from individual donors. Museum Director and CEO Colleen Sheehy acknowledged the momentum these gifts gave the campaign, and said the boost by the two recent grants was well-received given current economic conditions. When completed, the Center for Creativity will house four classrooms, a ceramics studio, working artist studios and a gallery space. The center will serve preschool, K-12 and university students in addition to adults of all ages, providing an environment and central location for lifelong art education. For more information, visit plainsart.org.