While working toward creative district designation, a group of volunteers has founded the Mancos School of the West, the Fall Harvest Festival and brought in $26,700 in grant funds.

Now the Mancos Creative District is looking to graduate from a steering committee to its own board and bring more artist space to town, said Rena Wilson, a member of the steering committee.

Recently, the group was informed that its letter of intent was accepted, and it was invited to apply for state program that could help revamp a building to turn it into housing and studio space for artists, Wilson said.

This could help meet a need for housing in the community.

“There’s really a lack of rentals in Mancos,” she said.

The community could receive $35,000 for a feasibility study and arts market survey. But it would have to matched dollar for dollar, according to town documents.

The group also has a grant pending to fund a mural on the west side of the Visitor Center, said Town Manager Andrea Phillips.

With many efforts underway, in June the Mancos Creative District will come to the end of its two-year candidacy with Colorado Creative Industries.

Forming a board will help the group become more independent from the town, which has been its fiscal agent.

The group is leaning toward a five-person executive board and a larger advisory committee, Phillips said.

The group plans to apply to be a board under Mancos Valley Resources, an umbrella nonprofit that serves many organizations in the area.

The group also wants to hire an employee, Wilson said.

The Mancos School of the West, a spin-off from the creative district, also plans to expand.

“We feel it did really well in its first year,” Wilson said.

This year, the school will host artists from Oregon, Santa Fe and New York.

It is also open to artists from Cortez and Durango hosting classes this year, Wilson said.

mshinn@durangoherald.com