NEWS CENTER
Church Merger Leaves Community Art Space With No Home
The Westville Performing Arts Center (WPAC)—a community art space run by the nonprofit organization Arts in CT—is now homeless.
After three years running drama, music, dance, and visual arts classes on the second floor of the former Saint Aedan’s Parish school building, Arts in CT Executive Director Barbara Alexander turned in the keys on Jan. 17 following what she said was a prolonged and frustrating attempt to secure a rental agreement with the church.
WPAC has been forced to halt programming for the foreseeable future because it no longer has anywhere to host events. Arts in CT, which runs arts programs across the state, also had their administrative offices in the church; now, employees are working from home.
“We are a large, viable presence in our community, and we are looking to raise funds so we can transition into a new home,” Alexander said. “The church was very affordable. We are very disheartened about leaving that location. I’m just unsure about everything at this point.”
“I was surprised they weren’t gonna let us stay there,” said Sue Barstein, an administrator at Arts in CT. “I feel that what we do is helping the community, and I think it would only be beneficial to them, too. It’s their church and here we are holding programs for kids and helping out the community. I would have thought it was a win-win for them.”
Read the full article, here.
Posted January 31, 2024
By Kapp Singer
Arts Council of Greater New Haven
