NOTO Arts District thriving after $100,000 gift

Despite art budget cuts around the state of Kansas this past year, the North Topeka Arts District, also known as NOTO Arts District, continues to inspire students and produce new projects ahead of time.

With a recent $100,000 gift, renovations, student projects and gallery collaborations, Anita Wolgast, the art district's current marketing coordinator and co-chair of the project, and John Hunter, Washburn theatre professor and co-chair of the project, are especially confident in what the district has to offer to students of all ages this upcoming year.

As the largest urban development since Topeka added the West Ridge Mall in 1988, the NOTO Arts District has plenty of history behind it.

"This project is huge," said Hunter. "It's not just about the two and a half streets that make up the historic North Topeka. It's about the Great Overland Station and the first riverfront park that's going in—it's incredibly multifaceted."

On Sept. 2, the NOTO Arts District received a significant combined gift of $100,000 from the Kaw Valley Bank and the Redbud Foundation.

"This gift has truly helped the NOTO project turn a corner," said Wolgast. "It has allowed us to enter phase two far ahead of schedule."

Phase two will allow the NOTO Arts District to have national marketing, which will attract more regional and national artists.

"It will also provide moving costs to those who qualify, which will allow further incentive money for the qualifying new artists and will help towards renovation costs for the buildings," said Wolgast. 

Hunter's enthusiasm matched Wolgast's completely.

"It was absolutely fabulous to receive such a gift," said Hunter. "We thought that it would take three years when we first started to end phase one but NOTO took off so quickly that, quite frankly, we blew by it at the end of  18 months. "

Timing and money is always a problem when working on a restoration project.

"So, this last summer, we were developing phase two, which would be to really kick it up a notch," said Hunter. "Receiving the $100,000 gift worked beautifully for us."

One of the important aspects of the NOTO Art District, according to Hunter, is its preservation roles.

"The district is going to play into historic preservation in a way that we haven't seen anytime before," said Hunter. "Because it's not like its one building we're trying to preserve—we're trying to preserve an area in the community that goes back to the founding."

The city of Topeka was only 10 years old when the whole development of the city was starting where the NOTO Arts District building is currently standing.

The NOTO Arts District is a project that began under the production of the Heartland Visioning process, which formed in 2008.

"Over 600 people attended the community meetings in June 2008 to provide input into what would create a vibrant community," said Wolgast. "During those discussions, one of the strategies that became a part of the Quality of Life Foundation was to establish an arts district in Topeka.

Like most community-based projects, a year was spent researching art development in multiple places around the country.

"Taking that plan to people in our community was a large part of that research," said Wolgast. "What we received as input was nothing but excitement and support, the people want us to move forward with our plans."

A collaboration between Topeka Public Schools, Washburn's Mulvane Art Museum, and the NOTO Arts District, according to Wolgast, made it possible to renovate a building and open the NOTO Arts Center where art-focused classes are being offered for persons of all ages.

Washburn University President Jerry Farley also showed his support.

"Dr. Farley has provided tremendous leadership and I can't say enough for Cindi Morrison [director of the Mulvane Art Museum] and all the work, in terms of advising, she has provided."

When looking to the NOTO Arts District, the community can tell just what the project has planned.

"We look to artists," said Hunter. "We're giving them the opportunity to become teachers as well. We're also embracing anyone in Topeka who wants to do art educational teaching, in a variety of ways: kindergarten teaching, grade school, and high school."