Architect recruited for arts center
"I have no political baggage in this town… yet.
I think this puts me in a unique situation to help."
Harry Teague, of Harry Teague Architects
By PETER BOLTZ
Express Staff Writer
The City of Sun Valley has five acres of land it wants to
dedicate to an arts center, but three months after Mayor Dave Wilson
announced the city’s intention, an arts center is still in dreamland.
Enter Harry Teague of Harry Teague Architects.
If the name doesn’t ring a bell, maybe his work does.
The Benedict Music Tent. The Harris Concert Hall. The
Anderson Ranch Arts Center. The Aspen Center for Physics. The Carbondale
Community School.
Teague has been hired by Sun Valley to do what he has done
in Aspen—bring the diverse interests of Sun Valley’s arts community
together for the purpose of building an arts center.
On Friday afternoon, Teague made a presentation to a group
of art patrons, artists and city officials.
Introducing Teague, Wilson said he realized "we’re
going to face problems," but he felt Teague would help the city and
arts community through them.
Teague said, "I have no political baggage in this
town… yet. I think this puts me in a unique situation to help."
He said he recognized the problem of joining a diverse
arts community together because "as artists, we’re individualists;
we’re do-it-yourselfers."
Glenn Janss asked what the next step was.
"I know your work," she said, "and we’re
fortunate to have you here, but before you leave, we need advice. What do
we do next?"
Mayor Wilson answered her question.
"The next step is to bring Harry back in June for a
series of meetings with the different arts groups," he said. "At
some point, the city has to step out of it and the arts community moves
in."
He said the city had hired Teague for a short time to get
the arts community to a point where it would pick up the process and the
costs.