Wyandotte arts center set to open this week

The Wyandotte Regional Arts Center will open up its doors to the public this week with a fundraiser and its first tenant.

"It's happening," says Patt Slack, one of the organizers behind the project and owner of River's Edge Gallery.

The 
Downriver Council for the Arts is moving its offices into the historic Masonic Temple in Wyandotte. It will also host a fundraiser for the center, the Bootleggers Bash, at 6 p.m. Saturday.

The city renovated the three-story building at 81 Chestnut St. last year. The idea is to create an incubator of sorts for artists and others of the creative persuasion. It would serve as a central base for early stage artists in the downriver area.

"We're taking applications right now," says Nancy Pitel, executive director of the
Downriver Council for the Arts, adding they can be sent to 81 Chestnut, Wyandotte, MI, 48192.

The basement and first floors of the structure will become a place for visual artists, while the second and third floors, which house a stage, would be renovated to facilitate performance arts. There are a total of four studio spaces that range in size.

"We will take 2-3 artists in one studio," Pitel says.

The structure date backs to the 19th Century and originally served as a Masonic temple. More recently it was home to the Church of Many Miracles. Wyandotte purchased the building at 81 Chestnut St., just outside of downtown, in 2007.

Source: Patt Slack, owner of River's Edge Gallery
Writer: Jon Zemke
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