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2008 has been a very productive and revitalizing year for The James Gang, Iowa City’s 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization aimed at encouraging arts and the community. 2008 has also been a very challenging year for the Iowa City area and the nation as a whole. In these times it is important to help all individuals find their community and it is here that we seek your financial support for Public Space One.

Public Space One is a comprehensive forum for artistic creations and their display that is focused on helping amateur, emerging, and avant-garde artists in all disciplines find an audience and a stage. After a temporary closure in 2004 turned into a long-term hiatus, we finally found a new, stable, long-term home in the basement of the Jefferson Building in downtown Iowa City (the former Eve Dolch Gallery), thanks to the generous support of the University of Iowa Foundation. Public Space One has hosted a variety of visual, performance, and intermedia art events including nationally known musicians like Cassiotone for the Painfully Alone, the Iowa City Documentary Festival, No Shame Theater, and a host of other art and community events.

This school year, The James Gang has extended Public Space One to provide an artistic home to the many displaced members of the University of Iowa arts campus. The experience has been a rewarding expansion of the programming at Public Space One, as well as an opportunity to interact with an even larger community of talented friends.

As enjoyable as the experience has been, we know it can be better. The space has been an adequate home the past year but is in desperate need of capital improvements and renovation for continued success in the future. The planned renovation includes opening a new art gallery space for national and local artists, procuring a projector for a new film series, replacing our beat-up carpet with new, durable flooring, upgrading our lighting for stage productions, and building a new stage. These projects will enable us to accommodate our ever-growing family and the community. While the improvements will be significant to Public Space One, their cost is relatively low. With a total projected budget of only $5,000 we will be able to realize our goal. We are able to keep our costs so low thanks to the support of volunteer labor from both our volunteer staff as well as community members at large. We are also proud to announce that through a generous donation of a benefactor and volunteer, every dollar raised in December will be matched, fifty-cents on the dollar.

We humbly request a donation for the purpose of improving Public Space One. We ask you because of our earnest belief in the value of Public Space One and the potential benefits the improvements will have toward the greater Iowa City community. We understand that these are tough economic times, and we are grateful for any donation we receive.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely, The James Gang Board of Directors
Jared Bazzell
Anne Craig
Carson Eggland
Zach Hoyt
Joe Mrkonich
Aaron Schaefer

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