Statements
Mission
Willow Oak Center for Arts & Learning at Robertson County provides experiences in the arts and humanities to all people.
Willow Oak offers educational opportunities in the arts and humanities to children, youth, and adults, in Robertson County and surrounding areas. Willow Oak promotes cultural development, global awareness, and the well-being of the community and planet through a variety of educational venues offering quality instruction and opportunities for self-growth and discovery in the performing, visual, folk, and expressive arts for men, women, and children from all walks of life who are lifetime learners open to exploration and growth.
Willow Oak is about inspiring and nurturing the creative spirit in a welcoming environment, whether in our onsite classes or the outreach programs we offer to the community.
Willow Oak's Vision Statement:
Setting the standard for inspiring and nurturing artistic expression throughout the region.
Background
Willow Oak was founded July 16, 2007 in Springfield, TN. Muzetta Swann Miller founded Willow Oak to provide quality instruction in the arts to a rural county with little access to the arts.
For the first five years, Central Christian and First Presbyterian Churches offered space for classes and events. The Stokes Brown Charitable Foundation, which provided seed money in 2007, and the Jacquelyn D. Guthrie Foundation became annual donors. In 2010, Willow Oak began renting a 17x50 sq. ft. space at 726 South Main Street with adjacent space added in 2011. Since our inception, Willow Oak has offered classes/workshops in the performing and visual arts (art, music, drama, dance); folk arts (fiber spinning, knitting, crocheting, cheese-making, beekeeping); culinary arts (beginner to gourmet); and the humanities (languages and creative writing). In 2012, Artistic Director Roger Bunch formed the Willow Oak Chorale. These singers performed at Carnegie Hall in 2013 and 2015. Also in 2012, performers presented a musical production to middle school students which was funded by United Way.
In 2009, Willow Oak began presenting a free annual multicultural arts festival, now titled "ArtFest." Tennessee Arts Commission grants fund ArtFest, performers, and free classes. Other grantors are the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, United Way, the Memorial Foundation, the US Bank Foundation, and the Robertson County Economic Development Board. In 2019, Art in the Park, which attracts 3,000 guests each year, came under Willow Oak's domain.
When things shut down in March 2020 due to COVID-19, Willow Oak provided 900 free art kits to families. The kits were funded by grants from the Tennessee Arts Commission and United Way. From August 2020 to December 2021, Willow Oak offered a Tutorial and Enrichment Program. This served parents with a place for children to receive tutoring and enjoy enrichment activities. In September 2020, Willow Oak moved to 700 South Main Street, a 2,000 sq. ft. space that accommodated this program.
Willow Oak was gifted a 9,500 sq. ft. building by Central Christian Church in December 2022. This location provides an extraordinary opportunity to increase our offerings to the community. It allows us to expand our music and theatre programs and offer concerts and events in the Roger Bunch Concert and Event Hall. The hall provides a performance home to our chorale and children's choruses and a shared space for local arts organizations.
Impact
1) Willow Oak was gifted a 9,500 sq. ft. church building by Central Christian Church in December 2022. Moving from a 2,000 sq. ft. facility to one with over four times the space provides an extraordinary opportunity to expand our offerings to the community.
2) With the larger space, more classes and workshops are being offered in the arts and humanities. The music and theatre programs are being developed to offer children's choruses once again and drama workshops.
3) The newly renovated sanctuary has been named the Roger Bunch Concert and Event Hall in honor of Willow Oak's beloved artistic director who started the chorale in 2010. The chorale and children's choruses can now have their own performance venue instead of holding concerts in the public schools. This space allows us to offer concerts, lecture series, exhibits and talks, and history roundtables. It will be able to generate revenue through rentals for weddings and other events.
4) Willow Oak offers two FREE festivals to the public each year. ArtFest (multicultural arts festival), held every May, has grown into an exciting, colorful FREE festival which now partners with OzArts of Nashville and the Global Education Center to provide world dance, music, interactive performances, food, and vendors. 400 public school students attend at no cost and experience African dance and art. Art in the Park, held in September, partners with the City of Springfield to have the event at J. Travis Price Park. Artists/artisans sell their artwork. Face painting, art activities, and live music are part of the event which attracts approximately 4,000 people each year.
5) Working with Lighthouse Counsel, a 5-year strategic plan as been created. A planning committee of community leaders, board members, and staff were part of the process.
6) Scholarships are offered to any child or adult requesting financial assistance. In 2022-23, 31 scholarships were awarded to 19 children and 1 adult in the amount $3,835. Designated donations are made by individuals and local businesses to the scholarship fund each year.
7) In fiscal year 2022-23, 667 students participated in 86 onsite classes in the arts and humanities (120 children and 547 adults). Children and adults also attended 13 private parties. Our outreach program had 31 adults participating in 3 classes.
Our students come from not only Robertson County, but all counties adjacent to Robertson (Sumner, Davidson, Cheatham, Montgomery, and Logan and Todd in Kentucky). Students have travelled from other states to attend art camps, workshops, and painting parties.
8) A Tennessee Arts Commission "Arts Build Communities" grant funded free sewing kits that were given to 300 children and adults. 93 children and adults participated in free fiber classes that included Shibori dyeing, quilting, an introductory sewing class for children, and classes using fabric in creating art.
Needs
We are so grateful for the donation of the church building! What an incredible gift! We are able to use the building in its current state, but some high-priced renovations are necessary.
Roof - replacement of 40-year roof $35,000
Windows - replacement of 37 windows $30,000
Elevator - elevator to make all classrooms accessible $135,000
Bathrooms - 4 bathrooms need to be made handicapped accessible $25,000
Two additions to our staff are needed as our programs grow.
Staff additions - receptionist $25,000 and programs assistant $25,000
CEO Statement
Willow Oak offers all the arts under one roof, visual and performing arts, expressive arts, folk, fiber, and culinary arts, as well as the humanities. To our knowledge, Willow Oak is the only arts center in this region that offers all the arts in one place. Classes are offered for children (starting at 18 months) through senior adults. Students travel from all counties adjacent to Robertson County as well as within our community. Willow Oak submits several grants each year in order to offer two FREE festivals and weekly classes to the community. We strive to support other arts and nonprofit organizations in our community by promoting their programs and inviting them to use our event hall. Willow Oak is active in community groups such as Springfield Real, Experience Robertson County, First Friday Market, and the Robertson and White House Chambers of Commerce. The executive director serves on the advisory board of Volunteer State Community College's Highland Crest Campus in Springfield and is a member of the Springfield Kiwanis Club. I am very grateful and humbled to have been awarded the 2022 Mayor Impact Award by City Mayor Ann Schneider in August 2022 for the impact Willow Oak has in the community.
Board Chair Statement
Imagine a modern Arts and Learning Center with educational and teaching staff providing daily exposure to arts and learning. Visualize a small performance venue drawing attendees to the downtown area regularly. Picture the home of folk art in Robertson County preserving the best traditions of our fathers and mothers born and raised here.
In 2022, the Willow Oak Center for Arts and Learning engaged in a strategic planning process to establish our priorities through 2027. This was a dynamic process included the insight of the over 170 members of our community who shared their thoughts during this process. Lighthouse Counsel a leading non-profit fundraising consultancy led our Strategic Planning Committee who reviewed constituency insight as well as background information as a part of their deliberations. The committee endorsed this strategic plan
and it was formally approved by our board in April 2022.
Our plans accelerated when Central Christian Church in Springfield determined they would federate with another church and gifted their building to Willow Oak. We have been in the facility since January 2023 and have completed cosmetic upgrades to render the facility a brighter, more welcoming place where art and learning in more pleasurable. This transition with the help of board and staff has been transformational. Our location on the edge of the historic district and within a block of the historic downtown Springfield will make future endeavors easily accessible and more frequently visited.
I began my association with Willow Oak as a Chorale member at the suggestion of a neighbor. It was a wonderful experience to participate with like-minded individuals to bring music to the city and county. I learned of the depth and breadth of the artistic activity at Willow Oak and was impressed with their professionalism and creativity. When our family reunion met near Springfield we invited the family to Willow Oak for a painting class. Many family members swore they couldn't paint, but as our time finished all agreed it was one of the best activities we had ever done at a family reunion. Experiences such as this are commonplace at Willow Oak which is why I wanted to be part of the current activity and to assist in its growth and maturation as a regional center for arts and learning. We are expanding our board to include more diversity in every sense - racial, geographical, age and experience.
Our hope is to remain a part of the fabric of this small community, but to grow to be an uncommon artistic experience for the region. The Willow Oak experience as a one stop arts and learning center and as small venue performance center is designed to be a unique and pleasing encounter with artistic activities both many and varied. Our Board of Directors is grounded and supportive of our mission:
Willow Oak Center for Arts and Learning provides experiences in the arts and humanities to all people.
To that end they volunteer countless hours to see that we exceed this standard daily.
Our hope is that the activity in and around Willow Oak opens an avenue of joy and beauty to everyone. Aristotle said it best: "The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance."
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Arts, Culture & Humanities - Arts,Culture & Humanities NEC |
| Secondary Category: | Education - Educational Services |
| Tertiary Category: | Arts, Culture & Humanities - Arts,Culture & Humanities NEC |
Areas Served
Willow Oak offer arts and educational programs to children, youth, adults, and seniors in Robertson County (TN) and surrounding counties in middle Tennessee (Cheatham, Montgomery, Sumner and Davidson) and Logan, Simpson, and Todd counties in Kentucky.
| TN - Robertson |
| KY |
| TN |
