The Murray Art Guild recently announced the launch of a new campaign to raise funds for the completion of a new Community Art Center.
The group announced the BRICK BY BRICK capital campaign earlier this month with the goal of garnering funds to work towards providing a “forever home” for the guild and its members.
MAG Executive Director Debi Danielson said that while construction is taking place on the new facility, the guild will be moving to a temporary home on 403 Maple Street, where the group will continue to carry out community programming.
“We have a plan for an opening day there on the [court] square for the first weekend in May,” Danielson said.
The idea for the new center emerged around five years ago, when longtime guild member Mary Jane Littleton made a donation of $100,000. Her only instructions were to use the money to “dream and plan.” Thus, Danielson said the guild’s board began hatching plans for some facility upgrades.
Initially, MAG had elected to use the money to upgrade its existing headquarters, which had been its home for the past sixteen years. However, Danielson said the board concluded that it would likely be better to build an entirely new facility rather than renovate the old one, which she said had accessibility challenges that renovations could not fix.
“We took a couple of years to do a survey for the community asking them what they thought we needed. And…most feedback that we got from that survey was that our programming far outweighed our facility,” Danielson said. “So we knew that we were on the right track that we needed, we did indeed, need a new facility. And it was like the community felt like they saw the same need.”
MAG estimates that it will need $1.5 million to replace its existing facility. Last summer, the art guild received a $750,000 Community Development Block Grant from the state to put toward the cost of demolishing the old space and building a new one. Additionally, the group has around $250,000 in savings and prior gifts to put toward the project.
Danielson stressed the importance of creative arts resources being accessible to local communities – especially those who would otherwise not have easy access to such resources. She said the arts can round out a community and make it feel more complete.
“I think it's especially important for rural communities to have access to the arts here at home because it's not always easy for folks to travel to Nashville, St. Louis or Louisville to have a quality art experience,” she said. “I think that a community that is showing growth and is thriving also has a thriving cultural community.”
The plans for the new building includes spaces for adult, children’s and family arts programming. Additionally, the facility will also house a small, open art market, where local artisans can show off and sell their works.
Danielson said the new building is expected to be completed by late 2025.
More information about the Murray Art Guild and the BRICK BY BRICK campaign can be found at murrayartguild.org.
