On Thursday evening, the front room of the The ArtsCenter in Carrboro was full of community members chatting, enjoying snacks and admiring the art of celebrating the centre fiftieth anniversaryfounder Jacques Menaches The self-portrait was on display in the gallery and on T-shirts of participants and organizers.
During the event, the mayor of Carrboro said Barbara Foushee read a proclamation from the city declaring August 15th as ArtsCenter Day in Carrboro, “To We honor their 50 years of service to the people of Carrboro and recognize their contributions to our community.”
The managing director of the organization Wendy Smith said Menaches’ vision of Carrboro as a creative community has been a part of the Center’s founding in 1974.
“Since then, we have grown from a one-class art school to a 1,600 square meter, multidisciplinary facility,” she said. “We serve people of all ages – we have an art camp, we have afterschool programs, we have an adult art school, we do performances, we do social outreach with local schools. We’ve started doing social outreach with some senior living communities, so we really try to offer something for everyone.”
Some of the courses offered by ArtsCenter, Smith said, contain traditional classes such as ceramics, painting and sewing, while others incorporate newer technologies such as 3D printing.
Taryn Revoir, The Ceramics Studio Coordinator in the ArtsCenter, said that it is a priority for the organization to continually find new ways to engage with the community.
“I find it really exciting and difficult for a nonprofit to survive in the world, especially after 50 years,” Revoir said“I think it just speaks to the commitment of the people who work here when it comes to providing arts organizations to the public, and experiential education is so important, especially for adults. And that’s what we offer, and that’s so cool.”
As part of the anniversary ceremony, an angel sculpture was also unveiled to honor the ArtsCenter’s new facility at 400 Roberson Street, where the non-profit relocated last year. The sculpture was designed by Bob Gaston for a production of “Look Homeward Angel” at UNC before we the ArtsCenter. Since then, it has embodied the creative spirit of the center.
Lane WursterCo-founder of the marketing and design agency Carrboro The splinter group, said that the unveiling of the angel is significant both for the history of the ArtsCenter and for its future.
