CASA grew from a practical need and a shared belief: artists need room to work, learn and exchange what they know.
2001
The first idea
A group taking Mary Weisgram’s clay class at the Octagon Art Center realized that their work needed continuing access to a studio more than additional instruction. At the same time, one participant learned that his church had purchased a building and was seeking nonprofit tenants.
A shared home
The artists formed a nonprofit corporation and rented space in a former Baptist church owned by Collegiate United Methodist Church—creating a permanent place to work alongside one another.
January 1, 2001
For its first six months, CASA occupied the top floor: two large rooms and seven smaller studios that gradually welcomed painters and fiber artists. The larger rooms supported shared work, exhibitions and, for a time, a small shop.
Summer 2001
CASA expanded into the building’s basement and established its clay studios. Later that year, the organization released the top-floor space and continued building a multidisciplinary home for artists in Ames.
2001—today
CASA’s history is a living story, shaped by the artists, teachers, volunteers and neighbors who make it what it is. A fuller year-by-year chronology will grow here as CASA provides milestones, memories and historical photographs from the past 25 years.
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