SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Community Arts Center is moving forward with a revitalization project to further provide a visually vibrant and sonically enhanced experience for creatives of all kinds in the region.
“We have set a robust plan of renovation and revitalization to bring this building and the services offered to meet the demands for top-notch arts and culture in a central hub,” said Saratoga Arts Executive Director Louise Kerr.
During the past three years, the organization engaged in talks with the Department of Public Works and the Office of the Mayor that have resulted in “friendly, and sometimes … spirited discussions,” Kerr said, with a laugh, adding that both city offices have been “incredible partners.”
In 1996, Saratoga Arts signed its first lease with the city for 320 Broadway. Located at the edge of Congress Park, the building had served as the former home of the Saratoga Springs Public Library. By 2000, the organization raised more than a half-million dollars through a capital campaign and invested in the building.
“Dee Sarno transformed the old library into an interdisciplinary arts center,” Kerr said. The funding allowed the specialization of spaces conducive to creating and presenting art across all genres.
Last year, the organization embarked on a fundraising campaign to stabilize and upgrade the entire building with an eye to energy conservation and efficiency. It would replace old redundant ineffective systems, install energy-efficient windows, and address numerous drainage and roofing issues as well as upgrade power and internal wiring systems.
“In November, when we announced that we needed to raise $2 million, Stewart’s Shops and the Dake Family Foundation immediately stepped up,” Kerr said. Earlier this month, Saratoga Arts announced it was awarded a grant totaling $766,000 from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) to help support the Saratoga Community Arts Center Revitalization.
“We’re thrilled to have received this grant from the New York Council on the Arts. It helps us get close to closing that gap in funding needed for the major structural, technological and desperately overdue rejuvenation of the community arts center,” Kerr said. “We do have a little bit of a gap still, but incredibly it’s much smaller than I anticipated it to be at this juncture. We’re looking to raise an additional $266,000. But that means that this Phase One of this project will be fully funded.”
Plans call for the reconfigure of classroom spaces at the arts center to provide indoor/outdoor access, specializing some spaces and creating flexibility in others to better serve artists of all genres and skill levels; renovating the gallery spaces to be energy efficient; upgrading the 100+ capacity black box theater to enable a flexible space for performing artists of all levels, film, music, exhibitions, artist talks and lectures.
The action plan for moving into the future includes the potential addition of an exterior patio space adjacent to Congress Park to be used for performances and classes, and the modification of interior classrooms to include a digital creative lab, print shop, rehearsal studio and a recording studio – open to all and providing musicians access to the space on a secure, 24/7 basis.
Currently, Saratoga Arts welcomes more than 30,000 visitors and appreciators of art annually. It hires local artists and teachers who engage over 500 students in all levels of arts education, and hosts over 70 exhibitions and special events allowing more than 700 artists to showcase and sell their work. As a regrant site, it also distributes over $140,000 dollars in direct funding from the New York Council on the Arts to Fulton, Montgomery, and Saratoga Counties.
In all, Saratoga Arts has brought the arts to over 1 million people through its programs and provided performing and visual artists opportunities to earn more than $3 million in art sales and performance fees.
“A round of applause to Saratoga Arts, your transformative project will ensure that our vibrant arts and cultural anchors continue to grow and thrive.” NYSCA Chair Katherine Nicholls said, in a statement. “These capital project grants are an investment from the people of New York to the people of New York and will have positive impact on our communities for many years to come. I congratulate Saratoga Arts and look forward to seeing all that will flourish from this project.”
For more information about Saratoga Arts, visit saratoga-arts.org
