History of Cultural Arts Council, Inc.
The Coffeyville Cultural Arts Council, Inc. began in 1959 under the auspices of the community were not being met. A concert by the Kansas City Philharmonic Orchestra was the first activity offered by the Council. Gradually the Council enlarged its offerings to a series of concerts each year. National artists like Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians, the King Sisters adn Family, and Dallas Symphony, Joffrey II Ballet, James Whitmore in "Will Rogers U.S.A.", Jose Greco, Norman Luboff Choir, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Dizzy Gillespie and others appeared in Coffeyville. International companies like the Royal Tahitian dance Company, Bayanihans, Broln Dance Company, Mummenschanz, The Chieftans and the Vienna Boys Choir also appeared in various years. In 1971, the Council incorporated and became a separate entity with its own by-laws and board and for the purpose of providing a concert series to the community and areas. Gradually, the Council moved into other areas and, in cooperation with the Recreation Commission, the Coffeyville Community College, and the public school district offered artists-in-resident, began the arts and crafts festival now know as New Beginnings, presented art exhibits in local banks, and occasionally offered art classes. In the recent years it was very evident that the concert series and other efforts of the Council were not addressing all the cultural needs of the community, the group needed a facility to focus the community's attention and needs. The first step was hiring a full-time executive director through the salary assistance program of the Kansas Arts Commission with help from the National Endowment for the Arts.