Consultation Project with Coyote Central in Seattle, Washington

This opportunity was made possible through a professional development grant from CUPPAD a regranting agency of  MCACA:

This consulting project began with a visit to Coyote Central in Seattle, WA. in early march of  2014. I arranged to interview the executive director of the organization, Claudia Stellar and to tour the building which the organization has built in the last 10 years. The interview consisted of questions concerning strategic planning, first, by assessing the growth needs of Liberty Children’s Art Project in regards to the rural area in which we work.  As I was familiar with this Seattle organization when it was a small organization working out of artist studios , from their current website, I knew we could learn much from their own strategic plan of the last 15 years and how it was implemented resulting in the wide variety of projects which  included public art and commissioned projects from the city,  classes which have expanded to include visual art combined with vocational training in areas such as welding, bike repair and building and cooking as well as students working out of artist studios and working with professional artists in public art projects as well as commissioned art spaces such as the show windows in various Seattle buildings.  I inquired about not only the vision and support necessary to implement such growth but equally important the raising of funds for such growth  with the help of their board (another area of inquiry pertaining to board recruitment and the  extent of  the role of the board as both advisers and fundraisers.)  According to Claudia, Coyote Central has found a successful balance of grant writing, class tuition with sponsored scholarships  and one very highly successful fundraiser supported by the Seattle art community and implemented with great effort from the members of the board. During this consultation, I was  particularly interested in how Coyote has built coalitions with other organizations including those that would allow a public art project or commission (City Works projects) to be installed on their property. These coalitions would include the professional artists that the school teamed up with to create such projects as well as organizations in Seattle such as Photographic Center Northwest where Coyote photography classes are held and  the Seattle World School where many of the workshop students are recruited for afterschool programs in the Coyote Central building.With the help of  an artist who has worked with Coyote, I was able to tour many of their public art sites which were created with professional artists and students as well as some permanent commissioned sites  in various businesses in the Seattle area.

My second trip to the Seattle area in June of 2014 involved a visit/interview with the founder and project director of Coyote Central, Marybeth Satterlee.  This is the person who had the original vision for the organization and it was very helpful to hear her speak about her inspiration and the growth and changes throughout the years- starting in a similar place as LCAP and retracing the steps needed to expand its subject offerings,  methods to create successful collaborations and  consequently ways to reach more students.   This trip included the opportunity to observe several classrooms as teachers conducted workshops in the culinary arts ,  wood sculpture and fashion design.

My vision of what is possible in an organization for youth art enrichment was educated and expanded from this consultation.   I also observed the steps necessary- fundraising with a strong board of directors, collaborations with serious like minded organizations and an wide array of interesting programs producing various kinds of art (personal, public and practical) to expand the population we serve while fulfilling our mission.  Thanks to CUPPAD and MCACA for making this consultation possible!  It was well worthwhile.