Write a commentAfter nearly 18 months of renovation, CNY Arts Center is excited to finally present the new Community Arts Center to the public.
A Holiday Open House will welcome the public from noon to 3pm on Saturday, December 5th, with tours and a take home sampling of treats from the kitchen.
The Arts Center, located at 121 Cayuga St in downtown Fulton, was purchased in June 2018 and months of conversion are finally complete including an 80 seat theatre, classrooms, two art galleries, a cabaret theatre, with art supply storage and a theatre shop on the lower level.
A mosaic feature wall adorns the exterior of the building designed and completed by Stained Glass Artist Leslie Paice with a team of volunteers. An etched glass Recognition Wall also designed and created by Leslie Paice will be unveiled at the Grand Opening on Friday evening.
An elevator was installed for access to the lower level event space with an electric chair lift for access to the upper mezzanine level classrooms. The building boasts 7 restrooms with 3 of those handicap accessible and 2 Green Rooms, dressing rooms for actors.
A state-of-the-art fire suppression system costing almost as much as the building itself covers all three floors and provides ample protection in the event of an emergency.
A commercial kitchen was the last space to be completed and is the home of Arty’s Cookie Jar, proving a source of income for the nonprofit. The teaching kitchen is used for cooking classes and will host special dinners and receptions for the Center activities as well as farm-to-table events in the summer.
The theatre, although currently sequestered for Covid-19 health guidelines, will see new life as an art movie house in the coming months with the installation of a movie projection system. The theatre will balance live productions with monthly movie event weekends as limits on public gathering attendance is eased.
“We have had a wonderful journey filled with lots of excitement, adventure, and support from the community,” Said Nancy Fox, Founder and Executive Director. “From day one, we eagerly looked forward to opening the doors and saying thank you to the many wonderful donors and supporters.
“We have so many people to say thank you to that we’ve divided the group into 3 separate gatherings starting Friday night and spread over the weekend to keep attendance low and socially distanced,” Fox continued. “We tried to think of every extended measure we can take for safety during the weekend. We, of course, ask folks to wear masks while in the center and we’re providing take home bags of treats rather than serve from open platters of food.
“We’re been deep cleaning and making arrangements for a smooth flow of activities and people. We understand the risks and respect everyone’s individual decision to attend or not. We look forward to offering tours and more visits throughout the year as we move into a healthier future.
“We just couldn’t miss this opportunity to say thank you”, Fox said. “Everyone everywhere has lost so much during this pandemic, we just wanted to focus on the accomplishments and the better future we have to look forward to. The Arts Center is a testament to this wonderful community and we just want to say thank you!”
For more information about the organization, visit CNYArtsCenter.com or call 315-598-ARTS (2787).
