The Emporia Arts Center soon will celebrate one year in operation, and the future looks bright.
“The first year was very exciting,” Arts Council Director Melissa Windsor said. “There’s been lots of interest and lots of community support. A lot of people have wanted to come in and see what kind of building it is and what we’re doing, so that part of it is really exciting.”
The arts center officially opened on Jan. 28, 2011, with a celebration that featured the Kansas City Chorale. More than 200 people attended the opening, and activity at the center has remained steady throughout the year with exhibits, classes and gatherings for a variety of organizations. Other developments have helped the arts council as well.
“We had a lot of exciting things happen, such as launching our website, new photographs of the building and new promotional materials to go along with that, and that’s built a lot of excitement among our patrons and a lot of excitement around the state,” Windsor said.
Plans for the new center were unveiled in August 2008, and a fundraising drive followed that pulled in $2.8 million in grants and private donations. A groundbreaking ceremony took place in November 2009.
“We’ve had people from within the community and from outside the community comment of what a beautiful space we have, how amazing it is to see something like this that was truly designed and developed and created because of a love of the arts from people in our community,” Windsor said.
Activities at the center over the past year included a reception for the Rand McNally Most Patriotic City competition, an exhibit and classes for the Kansas division of the World China Painters organization, and exhibit for the Kansas Artisans and Craftsmen Association and a variety of classes, meetings, luncheons and other activities.
“It’s nice to be able to rent spaces out if we don’t have classes going on,” Windsor said of the center’s versatility. “We have this ability to use the space as meeting space or for party space or luncheons or whatever different organizations have a need for. So that’s been really good for the arts center because it’s a revenue stream for us, and it’s good for the community because we know there’s a need for that.”
The increased visibility of the center has been a boon as well, with it’s new location on Commercial Street next to the historic Granada Theatre.
“People tend to walk by and wonder what goes on,” Windsor said. “We still have people say they didn’t realize we had an arts center in Emporia, and so even after a year there are people in the area who are not familiar with what we do here. It’s rewarding to have these individuals stop in and go on a tour and take a look at the space.”
Though the first year in the new center has been positive, it didn’t take place without its particular hurdles.
“We’ve had some growing pains,” Windsor said. “There’s a lot of space in this new building, so of course we have a lot of things we’re learning how to manage and how to use and how to best take care of everything. But overall it’s been a rewarding year for the arts center.”
Another benefit that comes with the center is how it has enhanced the arts council’s involvement with the school district. Classroom space in the center has allowed for programming involving area schools.
“I think a lot of times people think the arts aren’t something that are essential for our community and essential for our children, and we know that they are and we see that we’ve made impacts and we can make a difference in childrens’ lives. We’ve had a lot of unique and fun opportunities this last year working with the various school districts in the area and we’re looking forward to growing that.”
After a successful first year, the arts council looks forward to the year ahead. The retail store continues to see changes every three months, and many classes will be held.
“It’s going to be bigger and better for us,” Windsor said. “We’re going to have more programming, and we’ve pretty well already got the calendar scheduled for the next year for the gallery. We’ll continue to grow and change and meet the demands and needs of our community and hopefully bring some new ideas to the area as well.”
A birthday celebration will take place next Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Emporia Arts Center. Activities will feature works by artist Richard Slimon in the Trusler Gallery.