Friday, beneath the rehabbed beams and belted fans in an old mine building on Three Kings Drive, a crowd toasted the arrival of a new cultural exchange program that will bring artists to Park City.

“Given the state of where this building was neglected for 30 years and to see where it is now, hosting a party with all of you fine people, I can’t tell you what that means to me,” beamed Rory Murphy, the lead Silver Star developer and a member of the city’s Planning Commission. “I’m at a loss for words It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears.”

The gala hailed the coming of eight artists to the new Spiro Arts Artist-in-Residence Workshop and Cultural Center at Silver Star Resort beginning next month and in May. From poets to mixed-media artists to writers and painters from around the U.S. and the world, the creative minds will share their talents with the community.

The idea for the program originated long before construction began on the site five years ago, according to Murphy. On a business trip to Santa Fe 15 years ago, Park City artist Peg Bodell suggested the idea of studios in Park City and Murphy started scheming. Later, he would team up with Chris Conabee to revive mine building near the Spiro Tunnel that had been neglected for nearly 30 years. The site had previously been a portal for a mine, and the mine tunnel, in the mid-1960s, was transformed into a skier transport to the top of what was then known as the Park City Resort.

“I’m really proud of the way this project progressed,” he said. “The character of this site, with its mining and ski history really demanded we do something very special with these buildings and it was important to us to have a strong cultural element.”

Kathryn Stedham, the executive director of Spiro Arts, and alumnus of artists-in-residencies, taught the audience at the celebration about what a community of artist means.

“If you’ve ever been moved by music, captivated by a piece of art, inspired by a book, swept away by a movie, you’ve probably been touched by an artist community,” she said, listing director Quentin Tarantino, poet Allen Ginsburg, musical pop icon John Lennon, and author of the film “The Hours” Michael Cunningham as among her peers.

“An artist in residency supports artists in the creation of new works by offering a supportive environment that encourages risk-taking in the arts and ideas essential to human progress and innovation,” she continued.

According to Stedham, Spiro Arts is be one of 250 artist communities in the United States and 450 residency programs worldwide that welcome the likes of composers, choreographers, visual artists, architects, designers, scientists and historians.

Spiro Arts will be a paid-in-full program where four to five artists, chosen by the board of directors, engage the community in workshops and special presentations for one month at a time. April’s artists include Jun Ishida, an installation and earthworks artist form Brooklyn, N.Y.; Louise Gurin, a painter from Brooklyn, N.Y.; and Lauren Mantecon, a mixed media artist from Sausalito, Calif. May’s artists include Nancy Reisman, a fiction writer from Nashville, Tenn.; Rick Hilles, a poet from Nashville, Tenn.; Sarah Hewitt, a fiber sculptor from Santa Fe; Duane McDiarmid, an installation artist from Coolville, Ohio; and Joshua Reiman, a sculptor and photography from Ithaca, N.Y.

Karen Terzian, owner of Main Street’s Terzian Galleries and current Spiro Arts board member, sponsored the event Friday and participated in selecting the inaugural group of artists for the program.

Terzian, who represents 20 painters, four sculptors and more than a dozen mixed-media artists at her Old Town galleries, said that among her artists, at least 12 have graduated from artist-in-residence programs. “It gives artists great exposure and the chance to develop work,” she said.

Terzian added that she looks forward to learning about the forward-thinking ideas that new artists

“I think it will be an inspiring place (for these artists in residence), not only because of the natural beauty, but because of the growing appreciation here for the arts by local residents All you have to do is look at the increase in art galleries to know that Park City is definitely becoming an art-minded town.”

For more information about opportunities to work with artists or to join future Artist-in-Resident Workshops, visit spiroarts.org.