After 22 years of incubating arts initiatives and empowering local artists and performers in Fort Worth’s historic Cultural District, Arts Fort Worth will wind down its management of the Fort Worth Community Arts Center at 1300 Gendy Street.
For those two decades, the Arts Center has been a cornerstone of the Fort Worth arts community and impacted the arts far beyond. Nevertheless, repairing, maintaining, and managing this important 77,000 square foot public facility has presented a significant challenge, and the cost of continuing its operations has become unsustainable.
The circumstances that make managing the building untenable do not signal the end of Arts Fort Worth’s mission. Instead, the organization is making this transition to ensure long-term sustainability for Arts Fort Worth’s mission and commitment to creating belonging through advocacy, strengthening community partnerships, and developing resources that can meet the real and evolving needs of the community. The organization plans to continue incentivizing arts and culture programs through grants, engaging neighborhoods in producing one-of-a-kind works of art through the Fort Worth Public Art program.
“I, the board and the staff are so grateful to the people who visited the Arts Center, the artists who shaped its legacy, the City of Fort Worth for granting us stewardship of this facility, and the donors who supported bold new ideas here. I am so appreciative of the staff who made each experience possible. I hope that each of you will join us in the next phase, as we redirect the energy and dedication we gave the Arts Center into expanding opportunities so that every individual in our city can see themselves through the arts,” said Wesley Gentle, Executive Director and President of Arts Fort Worth.
Beginning in August, Arts Fort Worth will suspend programming that was slated for production at the Arts Center. These include the Biennial exhibition and the remaining exhibitions selected through the Solo Curatorial (SoCur) submission process, as well as the upcoming Art Aid workshop and world premiere theater production selected through the Original Works Series program.
All of the clients who are under contract to rent facilities will still have a place to present at the Arts Center until December 31st, at which time the building will need to close to the public in order to support transitions for the nonprofits who have offices and storage at 1300 Gendy.
source: press release