What’s in a name: Glen Arbor Art Association becomes Glen Arbor Arts Center
From staff reports
As the Glen Arbor Art Association transitions into its newly expanded facility at 6031 S. Lake St., it also embraces a new name: the Glen Arbor Arts Center [GAAC].
The name change took place in early January, and it reflects the organization’s evolution. When it was established in the late 1980s, the Art Association was a collective of studio artists living and working in Glen Arbor. It was created by this small group of practitioners to support one another’s studio work and the visual arts in Glen Arbor. The founders’ mission was to “further the arts in the Glen Lake area.” Several decades on, that philosophic foundation has made it possible to build an organization that focuses on enriching community life — not only through the visual arts, but in all the arts including theater, literature and music, said Peg McCarty, GAAC director.
“With the creation of a new building, we’ve been given the perfect opportunity to re-consider the name of the organization and to think through if it still reflects the full scope of the programs and activities that take place here,” McCarty said. “The GAAC has grown into an organization that takes a broad, comprehensive approach to contributing to the community’s cultural and creative life.”
Discussion of improving the GAAC’s building began in 2014. After nearly two years of consideration and planning, construction on the facility began in early 2016 and concluded in late 2017. The goal was to create a building that could better accommodate the GAAC’s growing programming needs and demands. Among other additions, the GAAC added a gallery and exhibitions space, and will offer year-round gallery shows and cultural programming. The GAAC’s former multipurpose room has been refreshed and is now a dedicated classroom.
“We were root bound. There wasn’t enough room here to flourish and cultivate all the new programming that had sprouted,” McCarty said.
The GAAC is open during the week from 9 a.m.-2 p.m., and on Sundays from noon-4 p.m. For more information about programs and classes, please go to www.glenarborart.org.
Read our June 2016 story about the beginnings of the Glen Arbor art scene on Lake Street.
Read our May 2016 story about the campaign to expand the Glen Arbor Art Association.
