BUDA — Sinéad Whiteside and Susan Guerra opened the doors of Inspired Minds Art Center in the heart of Buda’s Main Street in January 2020, with a vision to support both the local artists and the community. Despite setbacks during the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization is preparing to celebrate its fifth anniversary.

“We opened in January 2020. Jan. 25 was our grand opening and we held classes for the first time in February — at the beginning of February -— and then, we had to shut down six weeks later, which was really hard for a brand-new business … [We just had an art opening in the gallery]. It was great and then, everything shut down for COVID,” Guerra recalled. “Sinéad and I didn’t know what to do. I thought we were done … We were like, ‘Okay, well now, we go get a real job and we pay off our loans for the next seven years.’ We sat on the gallery floor in the semi-dark. It was during the day, but we just sat there stupefied. What do we do now? How do we fix this? How do we make this viable? Like, we’ve got bills and obligations and things that we have to pay. Is this really the end? That was fast.”

Whiteside and Guerra did not allow for creativity and love for the arts to be stifled. By June 2020, the co-owners found a way to safely reopen Inspired Minds with hybrid summer camps to offer both in-person and online experiences, as well as virtual gallery exhibitions. Later that fall, the center expanded in-person classes for all ages and launched live performances at The Chambers Theatre while continuing free outdoor events.

“With all of the heaviness in the world right now, art is really important,” Whiteside said in June 2020. “It’s a great way for kids to communicate, express themselves, get their emotions out and have a voice where words just don’t work. Being able to offer that to the community is really important to us.”

Now, Inspired Minds is celebrating its five-year anniversary of fulfilling its mission: to support both local artists and the community by joining the two together to inspire a dialogue of creativity, passion, fine art and a celebration of culture.

“Inspired Minds is multifaceted. Its mission is connect community creatively and awaken inspiration. So, the whole purpose of it was to connect local artists with the community, so both can thrive … We saw that there were artists who felt the lack of community, weren’t able to support themselves with their art [and] didn’t have the resources to sell their art full-time. And then, we had a community that was looking for the arts, looking for classes and ways to be engaged and ways to connect with each other through creative outlets,” Whiteside explained.

Along with supporting the local artists, Inspired Minds Art Center has done the following since its founding.

• Offer a wide variety of programs for adults, teens and children, all taught by professional artists. These classes and camps emphasize critical thinking, creative problem-solving and a process-focused approach, according to Inspired Minds. Students not only learn essential techniques in mediums like painting, ceramics, fiber arts and theatre, but also build a sense of community within the classes, connecting with others who share their creative interests.

• Host free events like the Buda Arts Festival and the Buda Summer Musical. Additionally, events such as the “Buy a Bowl, Feed 100 People” fundraiser showcased the power of art to support important causes. Inspired Minds also hosts free weekly and monthly classes and meet-ups, ensuring that everyone in the community has access to creative opportunities.

• Ensure that the arts are available to everyone. The facility has been updated to be fully ADA accessible, providing an inclusive space for people of all abilities. Inspired Minds hosts classes, theatre programs and art events featuring the creativity of community members with disabilities and bring arts education to senior centers and local libraries. The instructors receive specialized training on working with individuals with autism, ensuring that the programs are welcoming and supportive for neurodiverse students. Additionally, it provides ASL support for the deaf community, making the arts more accessible to all.

Inspired Minds has also included theatre as an aspect of art and exploring creativity. The Chambers Theatre, an intimate performance space within the art center, has also become home to diverse theatrical productions.

“We have what used to be the city council chambers is now, we named it, The Chambers Theatre,” Whiteside explained. “That is a space of about 1,500 square feet [with] really tall, beautiful ceilings, fantastic sounds.”

From the space, The Chambers Theatre Company was born — a thriving community theatre group that invites the public to audition for its four annual live productions. The theatre is also home to Gravy Shakes Improv, a local troupe featuring professional actors known for their humerous performances. Additionally, the theatre hosts two high-quality musicals each year produced by the teen musical theatre production class, as well as guest theatre groups and directors bringing unique performances to the community.

Also, since 2020, Whiteside shared that they have been able to bring on five managers — all artists and instructors — who have their own art businesses and they get to bring their own insight and creativity into Inspired Minds. Before now, Whiteside and Guerra were doing everything themselves.

“Sinéad and I did everything from listing the classes to all of the marketing to being out at the front entrance. So, being able to bring on managers to take one of the aspects that we do, expand it, make it more efficient and make it work better and find creative ways to bring their own spin on it that has been really cool to see,” Guerra said. “It’s been hard to step back because we think that we’re doing it the right way or the best way or the only way, but that’s not necessarily true and so, being able to let someone else take some ownership of a lot of these aspects has been really impressive to see it grow the way it has.”

Looking to the future, Whiteside explained that they are working to develop a curation program. Because one of the missions is to support local artists, and there is growing development in the area, Whiteside said they want to be able to expand the curation so that “we can go into corporations and businesses and get our local artists up in the spaces. That helps, of course, the people who work there because art is very important to your environment and your atmosphere when you’re at work. But also it helps get our local artists’ work out in the community and help get their work sold.”

While, right now, there is not another brick-and-mortar location slated, Whiteside and Guerra want to bring their classes to other places that need them, including schools, businesses for team-building workshops, libraries and senior centers or senior living communities.

“We’re really grateful to our community. That’s why we are still here because of the support of the city, the community members who come out and engage in the arts and our art opening and our theater shows and our festivals and our classes and then, for all the artists who put work into this place,” Whiteside said. “It’s impressive how many people walk into our space and they feel so at home. They love it and it’s pretty cool to see.”

“I’ve had people tell me this place feels safe, which is an interesting view. Things have been difficult at best over the past five years, just politically and socially in all the ways and people come into the place, not necessarily knowing or maybe feeling a little beat up, that is welcoming and inclusive and they feel safe and that’s nice to hear,” Guerra said. “That’s really what we want. We want to be a welcoming place where you can express yourself and you feel safe to express yourself.”

More information about Inspired Minds Art Center, including details about the various upcoming summer camps, can be found at www.inspiredminds.art.