Edmond's Fine Arts Institute may have a new home. Here's where
EDMOND — A dream of transforming a former pasture on Edmond's east side into a showplace for outdoor art hasn't been corralled just yet.
Discussions are underway between Edmond's Fine Arts Institute and city officials to see if a sizeable chunk of 62 acres of land known as "Valle del Caballo," or, Valley of the Horse, could be the nonprofit's new home.
The arts institute initiated those talks late last year after Hal French, who proposed turning the land into a new park with community gathering spaces and dozens of pieces of outdoor art, abandoned those plans after taking them through a lengthy review and approval process involving numerous city boards and Edmond's city council.
Institute representatives hope French's vision for the future, while certainly downscaled, could still become a reality on the property.
"We see ourselves as the driving force behind creating a new, vibrant cultural space that aligns with our longstanding commitment to the arts and the community of Edmond," said Shannon Price, the institute's executive director.
What did Hal French want to do with the former horse ranch on Edmond's east side?
The 62-acre piece of land, bordered by Second Street on the south, Coltrane Road on the east and Vista Drive on the west, was acquired for $4.5 million in December 2021 by French, a longtime Edmond oil, gas and real estate entrepreneur.
With the help of former Edmond Mayor Randel Shadid and others, French obtained a couple of donations of adjacent properties, placed the land into a charitable trust and worked on plans to donate it to Edmond as a future gathering place he called The Uncommon Ground Sculpture Park.
Had French's plans been followed, the park would have been like no other in Edmond or central Oklahoma.
In May, 42 sculptures proposed for the park had been commissioned, with some already completed.
His Uncommon Ground plans also called for both indoor and outdoor spaces where events could be held, including a $5 million small-events center with adjacent parking capable of hosting up to 250 guests, outdoor gathering spaces for musical performances and other activities, an indoor-outdoor restaurant, a fitness course, dog parks for both large and small breeds, a playground and more.
In June, French announced he was abandoning his plans because of numerous delays that had "drained our energy, vanished our enthusiasm and ended our dream."
The institute's plan for the property is not yet fully developed, but it would like at least to build itself a new home on the land.
From borrowed space to a permanent home, Edmond's Fine Arts Institute continued to grow
The Edmond Fine Arts Institute is supported today by a strong base of generous corporate sponsors, community donors and grants.
It also is financially supported by the Oklahoma Arts Council, the Kirkpatrick Family Fund, the city of Edmond, and other local businesses and organizations, and through fundraising events and membership drives.
A wide network of community partners made up of educational institutions, civic groups, corporate leaders and influencers help keep the institute at the forefront of arts education in Oklahoma, its representatives say.
But its beginnings were humble.
The institute began in 1985 when four mothers discussed how their daughters, who were participating in a gymnastics meet at the time, were not getting enough art in their elementary school classes.
Nancy Effron, June McCoy, Gae Rees and Bonnie Smith created the institute that same year, and began teaching art and music at a borrowed classroom at an Edmond-area church, storing needed art supplies in the trunks of their cars.
Despite those challenges, they were able to provide arts-related instruction to 90 children that first year, taking enrollments through messages left on an answering machine in Rees' home.
In 1990, the institute moved into space inside of a strip mall at Second Street and Kelly Avenue, where it provided arts and music instruction to 850 enrollees the same year.
By 1995, the number of enrollees receiving on-site or outside programming through the Institute reached 1,350 as it operated out of a converted home on E 15th Street between Broadway and Boulevard. Just four years later, more than 1,800 people received on-site or outside programming through the institute.
In 2004, land on E Edwards located near Edmond Public Schools' original high school was donated to the institute, which built an 8,000-square-foot art building it has used as its home ever since.
In 2023, the institute provided either in-house or outside programming involving drawing, painting, ceramics, theater, mixed media, jewelry design, photography, seasonal art and film making to more than 5,200 people of all ages.
Institute's interest in the land fits its mission, executive director says
A signature sculpture piece for the proposed park — "Valle del Caballo," Spanish for "Valley of the Horse" — already had been bought using $470,000 of private donations and $180,000 of city funds.
It was installed on the southeast corner of the proposed park's land in early January, and today stands as a symbolic reminder of what the property could've become.
Meanwhile, a presentation on the institute's idea about how the property could be used in the future was presented to Edmond's Park Conservancy Trust later the same month.
"All the parties are still talking and we are pleased by that," said Edmond Councilwoman Christin Mugg, who serves as a member of the trust.
Price described the institute's role moving forward and one where it explores how to keep French's dream alive and to get done what it can.
Right now, the institute needs a larger building to support programming for a growing list of it provides to a population of enrollees.
"This led us to explore potential opportunities for development, which naturally evolved into the current project," said Price, adding, "our conversations and collaborations with various stakeholders have been instrumental in shaping the direction of this initiative."
Preserving the land for the potential use as a future gathering space where people can enjoy art remains a goal for the institute, she said.
"We are focusing on the bigger picture and its potential for the community. The details are in the works," Price said.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Edmond Fine Arts Institute could have new home on east side
