ABOUT THE PROJECT
Two Organizations. One Shared Vision. A Lasting Investment in Ridgway.
The Key to the Future is a collaborative capital initiative of Weehawken Creative Arts and Ridgway Chautauqua / Sherbino, two nonprofit organizations with distinct missions and a shared commitment to strengthening community through arts, culture, education, and connection.
Why This Matters for WEEHAWKEN
Creating Space to Learn, Create, and Belong
For more than 20 years, Weehawken Creative Arts has provided high-quality arts education and creative opportunities for people of all ages throughout Ouray and Montrose counties.
From dance and visual arts to theater, aerial arts, and creative workshops, Weehawken serves thousands of class enrollments annually. But delivering this depth and variety of programming requires something increasingly difficult to secure: affordable, reliable, and appropriately equipped classroom space.
In Ridgway, the Cora Street campus offers an opportunity to build upon Weehawken's existing programs while reducing dependence on rented facilities and the uncertainty that comes with them.
The planned activation of 147 N. Cora will create additional space for classes, rehearsals, workshops, and creative exploration. Its flexible design will allow the building to accommodate different activities throughout the day and evening, helping Weehawken make more efficient use of space while responding to changing community needs.
Just as importantly, being part of a connected arts and cultural campus creates new opportunities for collaboration with the Sherbino and other community partners.
For Weehawken, this project is about more than having a place to teach. It's about securing the stability and flexibility needed to keep Weehawken and arts education accessible for future generations.
Together, we own 145 and 147 N. Cora Street and the land behind the buildings, creating a unique opportunity to develop a more connected arts and cultural campus in the heart of downtown Ridgway.
With the property secured and significant progress made toward retiring its debt, our focus is now on making fuller use of these spaces, expanding opportunities for the community, and planning thoughtfully for the future.
Why This Matters for Ridgway Chautauqua/THE SHERBINO
Preserving What We Love. Creating Room for What's Next.
The Sherbino Theater has long been a beloved gathering place for live music, theater, film, literature, lifelong learning, and community celebrations.
Alongside the 610 Arts Collective and its courtyard, the Sherbino has helped create a thriving cultural presence in downtown Ridgway. But these spaces also have limitations.
The Sherbino is an intimate, historic venue with a character worth preserving. Not every workshop, rehearsal, meeting, exhibition, or gathering requires a theater—and using the theater for every activity can create scheduling conflicts and unnecessary operating expenses.
The Cora Street campus offers an opportunity to expand programming capacity without compromising the identity of the Sherbino itself.
Through the activation of 147 N. Cora, Ridgway Chautauqua / Sherbino will gain access to a flexible gallery and gathering space suitable for exhibitions, workshops, meetings, rehearsals, and smaller community events.
This creates opportunities for more diverse programming, simultaneous activities across the campus, and new partnerships while allowing the Sherbino Theater to continue serving as the heart of the organization's performance and gathering experiences.
For the Sherbino, this project is about protecting a beloved community institution while creating the flexibility and capacity to serve an evolving community.
Stronger Together: The Value of a Shared Campus
What makes Key to the Future especially meaningful is the opportunity to achieve more together than either organization could independently.
Through equal ownership and shared investment, Weehawken Creative Arts and Ridgway Chautauqua / Sherbino are building an arts and cultural ecosystem where classrooms, performance spaces, galleries, and gathering places complement one another.
A shared campus means families can participate in different activities nearby, organizations can make more efficient use of their resources, and the community benefits from a greater diversity of offerings within a walkable downtown setting.
It also creates a stronger foundation for the future. As the property debt is retired, existing buildings are activated, and the undeveloped land is considered for future use, both organizations will be better positioned to invest in their missions rather than continually navigating the challenges of securing suitable space.
Help Us Bring the Vision Fully to Life
Thanks to extraordinary community generosity, we've already accomplished something significant: we've secured the buildings and land, made substantial progress toward debt freedom, and established the foundation for a lasting arts and cultural campus.
Now we're working toward our next major milestone—transforming 147 N. Cora into a vibrant, welcoming space that serves the community in new ways.
The buildings and land are ours. The possibilities are just beginning.
Your support helps us turn those possibilities into lasting opportunities for Ridgway.
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