Classes at the Dream Machine Education and Entertainment Center will start Oct. 10 in Cortez.
The center, at 100 N. Piñon Drive, will feature music and arts classes for kids and adults, led by a collective of professional artists and musicians, founder and director Simone Sanchez said.
“We want to be an artistic and creative hub,” Sanchez said.
The Dream Machine philosophy is influenced by the Arthur O’Shaughnessy quote, “We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams,” Sanchez said.
“That statement is the driving force for everything we do,” she said.
When she moved to the area, she realized there were limited options for after-school programs for kids, so she wanted to start offering more activities.
Current class offerings may be found at dreammachinecortez.com. There are classes for toddlers through adults, Sanchez said.
People will be able to take classes in guitar and piano instruction, as well as in visual art subjects such as wire wrapping, Sanchez said. Other subjects that will be offered include flute, ukelele, rock band, drawing, painting and early childhood art, she said. All instructors are professional artists or musicians, she said.
“It’s about the joy of music and art,” Sanchez said.
The Dream Machine building formerly was a gas station, and Sanchez is revamping the interior with a steampunk theme, to emphasize the “machine” part of the center’s name. All the decorations in the building will be artistic in some way, she said. The space also will be available for rent, she said.
People who need to book a band for a performance can do that at Dream Machine, too, Sanchez said.
Cortez has a wealth of artists and creative people, Sanchez said, and she hopes to showcase them through Dream Machine. She welcomes collaboration from artists in the area.
“We want to make artists welcome here,” she said. “Whatever makes you a creative person, please do it here.”
jklopfenstein@the-journal.com