The Commons: a special place in Vernon County
Built in 1897, originally housing the Congregational Church, a historic building on the corner of North Washington and East Jefferson streets in Viroqua, Wisconsin, has evolved over its 123-year history.
Having been home to a few different congregations over the years, the building now serves as a type of art mecca called ‘The Commons’.
In 2012, a group of local people came together who wanted to start a local art center. At that time, the building was for sale. The group managed to pull the funds together with the help of the benefactor who had established help for some of the other large projects in town, and ‘The Ark Center for the Arts’, as it was called then, was established.
“The building was in pretty rough shape at that point. It had not been used as a church for several years, and there was mold throughout the basement. It was falling apart and dilapidated. It was a lot of community effort apart of a few individuals, to go through and pull out thousands of carpet staples, rip out old carpet, restore floors, re-mediate the mold situation and the building,” said Gavain U’prichard, Chair of the Board of Directors of Artists and Friends, a non-profit organization.
U’prichard said it came together pretty quickly where the organization could start having some public events in the space and concerts featuring local people. “That’s what it’s always been primarily about, building the local arts and featuring people doing art here. We are pretty blessed here in Viroqua to have some pretty class, top-notch musicians. We have a vibrant art theatre scene here, so there have been plays here from the beginning and concerts,” he acknowledged.
The theatre came together after the first few years, and the initial remediation with the building of the stage and the back-wall to create a theatre space and acquiring the stadium seating from up in La Crosse. U’prichard stressed it was all volunteer work.
Last summer, there was a complete change-over of the board as the previous board members all wanted to step away. That’s when U’prichard became the Chairperson, and Barbara Andree Secretary Treasure of the Board got involved. “We recruited artist Natalie Hainahara and LeMont McPheron as board members. At that time, there was some controversy about how The Ark had been managed and morphed their perception of what it was. We decided to make a clean break of that reputation and restructure and broaden. That is when ‘The Ark’ became ‘The Commons’. People asked why we changed the name, but it was to let the community know that we were going off in a slightly different direction, mainly broaden what we are doing. We wanted to have a common place in Viroqua to serve a variety of needs,” Andree said.
You would be far-fetched to find any space in the building that is not detailed in art. “There are friends of the place who were established fine artists. They created a mural of galleries in the basement. We have a couple of permanent exhibitions down there that feature portraits and mandala artwork. It’s a total collage of different influences from the community. We have someone who is really fascinated by creation stories of the world and put a gallery in the basement,” U’prichard said.
That gallery features Cave art, a Native American origin story, and an Australian origin story. In addition, The Commons has several galleries that rotate a variety of exhibitions.
On the midlevel, The Commons has the ‘Tea Room’. The past few months, lunches and tea have been offered for a nominal fee, with a cuisine that highlights organic and wholesome foods. The area also serves as a communal space for guests to read, play games, or just visit.
The upstairs of the building was another collaborative project that now houses a movement (dance) studio. “We have dance classes, Jiu Jitsu, and martial arts. People also use it as a meditation room. We have a songa that meets here and a choir that meets here,” he said.
U’prichard noted that in the past year, The Commons has broadened their mission from being strictly arts focused, to becoming a general community center, and expanding the arts participatory option.
The board, looking to the future, has a committee that is working on establishing a membership program, where people can contribute online on an ongoing basis, a monthly amount. “We are putting together perks for that, either free meals or tickets to events. I want to make a bumper sticker with our rising sun logo, so everyone would get a bumper sticker if they are a member. Like Gavain said, we are trying to offer a broader offering for the community. One of those ways we want people to become more ongoing and involved is to become a member, so we have perks that will draw people in and give back to them,” she said.
The Commons is also home to a theatre. ‘The Operating Theatre’, which is the name of the theatre group within The Commons, is to have four big major productions throughout the year and be able to advertise them on an ongoing basis. Andree admitted though, in the past, it’s been more loosely scheduled. “Things slide forward or backward depending on the availability of people, but we are trying to become more established as to what people can expect. That’s one of the things we are doing in the theatre. Maybe they don’t ever want to come in for whatever reason, but they feel this is a valuable asset to the City of Viroqua, and want to support us.”
Overtime, board members may come and go, and Andree said the organization is trying to establish more organizational structure. “When people come to us and say they want to help out, we can say these are the kind of things you can do. We had a woman approach us and say she wanted to open a free store in the basement. Anyone can take what they need or want and anybody can contribute if they have clothes, jewelry, toys, or books for that to be recirculated, re-purposed, reused. We have the local Yellow Cello Youth Orchestra perform their concerts at the end of the semester. That’s what we looking to do, have enough variety of things appeal to people who are looking for things to do.”
In the past, The Commons has hosted the puppet making people for the ‘Harvest Parade’. Back in the theatre, you will see an array of puppets hanging that are used for the parade.
Andree said there is a wide range of people and skills that come to The Commons. “The Driftless Folk School does a spoon carving class here periodically as well. We are open to people coming and saying, ‘I’m interested in doing such and such, could I get on the schedule?’ Yes, you could. We ask for a small portion of the collection for whatever they are doing.”
As with any non-profit, fundraising is paramount. This past December saw what Andree referred to as, “a very successful fundraising event”. “There were a couple of DJs who played their music in the theatre, a lot of people danced, and there was a potluck beforehand. We are looking for creative ideas as well, not that we are just living off of donations. That’s the thing with memberships, is that you can plan for on-going budgetary reasons as well. That’s the thing we are working on, trying to get more established. We have been around for a while, but there is a lot of people in Viroqua who don’t know why we painted The Commons on the Washington Street side of the building. There was a group of students who partnered with the Thoreau College. They are the ones that did that as a service project.”
Stressing the organization has their ears to the ground, have a Facebook page, and are on Instagram. They also, as Andree put it, “email blast at least once a month telling people what’s going on here”.
“We had a traveling duo, husband and wife team, who did an original play on Walt Whitman. It was fabulous! It was out of this world. The man himself becomes Walt Whitman and speaks Walt Whitman’s words and tells his story. I had no idea. He really went in-depth with that man’s life, times, and spirit. We are not only local acts. That’s part of what this community likes, a variety, and a different angle. We would like to have a local yoga teacher come in every week. We want to offer things to the community, whatever your interests are,” she said with a smile.
Editor’s note: Last week, The Commons, due to reduced demand has suspended the lunch service and are not sure when it will resume. However, the Free Store and the Tea Room (which is what the cafe space is called) is open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Visit The Commons on the web or Facebook.
