Participants of the fine arts won’t have to wait any longer for a place to hone their expertise.
ARTS/West, an Athens community center and space for local artists, has been situated in an abandoned church on West State Street since 2005.
“We’re really making the place more of a genuine performance space instead of just an old church, which is what it was,” said Chelsa Peterson, Program Specialist at ARTS/West. “We’ll be taking out the old pews and adding more moveable seating, as well as adding a new stage and lighting. I think this will be very transformative.”
The Department of Arts, Parks and Recreation was looking to provide a more professional home for local artists and, thanks to funding through the Athens Municipal Art Commission, it was able to do so.
“The whole point of the building is for people to be able to come and experience all kinds of arts, whether it be visual, musical, or whatever,” said Andrew Chikli, assistant director at Athens Parks and Recreation. “We had state-of-the-art equipment, but the audience experience had to be updated to match that.” Peterson said that the renovations might bring more artists into the space, but the main goal of the changes was to improve the experience for regular users.
“I would love for the renovations to increase the amount of people we get here,” said Peterson. “But it is important we improve this space for the people who use it all the time.”
Jim Shirey, a local photographer, is one such regular. The facility’s first show after the completion of the renovations will be Sept. 6 and will feature Shirey’s work. Shirey, who has had shows throughout Athens for years, will be the first artist to have had a show in both the old and new versions of ARTS/West.
“It used to be really difficult to hang around there,” said Shirey. “The pews and other things left-over from the old church would get in the way. Hopefully, this will make the place more usable as an art venue.”
Shirey’s show and ARTS/West’s public post-renovation unveiling will be free for everyone, and the following week, the venue will return to its regular schedule of classes and shows.
de155710@ohiou.edu
