Springville Center for the Arts is a non-profit community multi-arts center located at Springville

Springville, New York

Springville is a village in the southeast part of the town of Concord in Erie County, New York, United States. Springville is the principal community in the town and a major business location in south Erie County. The population was 4,252 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara...

 in Erie County, New York

Erie County, New York

Erie County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 919,040. The county seat is Buffalo. The county's name comes from Lake Erie, which in turn comes from the Erie tribe of American Indians who lived south and east of the lake before 1654.Erie...

. It is housed in the historic The Baptist Church of Springville, a historic Baptist

Baptist

Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

 church. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

in 2008.

History

Springville Center for the Arts opened in a store front location in 1998. The organization grew out of the long standing community theater organization, the Springville Players, after a series of town hall meetings with interested artists and actors. The former Brown's Shoe Store was converted into a black box theater with adjoining gallery and reception space. Initial programming quickly expanded to include youth theater productions, a cinema program, workshops, a writers workshop and concerts.

In June 2007, the organization purchased a Baptist Church dating to the 1860s. All programming is currently done at an interim setup at the site with extensive exterior restoration and interior renovations planned.

Springville Players

The Springville Players began producing live community theater in the 1966 with "Mr. Roberts". For the first thirty-two years, theater events took place at the Springville Griffith High School auditorium, Bluemont, and Springville Griffith Elementary School amongst other temporary locations before moving to a rented space at 35 East Main Street. Programming typically includes one drama, comedy and a musical per season and is coordinated by a volunteer committee. Starting in 2003 with Les Mis, an additional summer youth production was added.

Harold L. Olmsted Gallery

With the creation of an Arts Center in 1998, Springville Players, later Springville Center for the Arts, Inc., added a community gallery. Volunteers curated approximately twelve exhibits per year. The Harold L. Olmsted Gallery, named after a local notable architect, landscape architect and artist, was dedicated at the new facility on August 10, 2010 and continues to exhibit work by local artists.

External links

• Springville Center for the Arts website