FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 15, 2014
MEDIA CONTACT: Paula Danoff, [email protected], (847) 475-5300, ext.206
EVANSTON ART CENTER IDENTIFIES AN IDEAL FACILITY IN EVANSTON FOR ITS FUTURE HOME
After a 3-year search for a new space, the Evanston Art Center is pleased to announce plans to move to 1717 Central Street in the spring of 2015
The Evanston Art Center has celebrated creativity in our communities for over 80 years. The 1717 Central Street building and its excellent location will help us take the Evanston Art Center to the next level. This is an ideal venue for our vision of expanded community arts engagement to take root. It will be a place where creativity meets community.
While the visual arts will remain our primary focus, we are adding complementary programming in the areas of culinary, design, film, movement, music, and more. A digital fabrication lab, artist-in-residence studio, and coffee bar will be included, along with light-filled, flexible gallery spaces that will accommodate large-scale and multi-media artists’ projects. A dedicated parking lot, elevator and close proximity to public transportation, shops, and restaurants will add to the appeal. This building will accommodate all our current programming, except for our Metal Sculpture and future Woodworking studios. They will operate from a satellite space, which we are searching for now.
The principal areas of our expanded impact will be youth education and creative development, lifelong learning, providing opportunity for arts professionals, and community engagement.
We have signed a contract on 1717 Central Street in Evanston and are currently in our 60-day due diligence period. Our plan is to purchase the building this fall and begin renovation work. We look forward to opening the doors of a vibrant and inclusive center for arts and culture in the spring of 2015.
Confident that our due diligence efforts will be successful, we are launching a $2,500,000 campaign for the future of the Evanston Art Center, SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE. In order to reach our goal of $2.5 million, we will ask for donations from individuals, companies, foundations and through a crowdfunding effort. Information about contributing to this important arts fundraising effort will be available through the Evanston Art Center’s web site.
If we all work together, 1717 Central Street will be rejuvenated into a thriving center of arts and culture that will contribute to the life and economy of Central Street, as well as the surrounding communities. A successful SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE campaign will sustain the future of the Evanston Art Center and solidify its new role as a place where creativity meets community.
The Evanston Art Center is dedicated to fostering the appreciation and expression of the arts among diverse audiences by offering extensive and innovative instruction in broad areas of artistic endeavor through classes, exhibitions, interactive arts activities, and community outreach initiatives.