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The Avery School Re-use Committee is working to establish a “cultural treasure” in Dedham for artists, students and residents of all ages to discover.
Selectmen unanimously voted to support the group’s proposal to transform the soon to be vacant school at 123 High St. into an inter-generational community center supporting the arts. The proposal, which took approximately one year to develop, is a culmination of feasible suggestions based on committee research and community feedback.
“This is a creative vision of something that hasn’t taken place in Dedham. It will take a lot of work, and now we start the ball rolling,” re-use committee chairman Joe Heisler said at the selectmen’s meeting on Thursday, Jan. 26. The plan now heads to Town Meeting in May.
The final Avery re-use report, given to selectmen for consideration on Jan. 5, states the mission of the proposed Mother Brook Arts and Community Center is to encourage “community enrichment” and “life-long learning” through support of the arts in all forms. If the plan is approved at Town Meeting, the approximately 39,000-square-foot structure will become a new home for artist studios, community meeting spaces and co-op offices for organizations and charities in town.
Re-use team members ventured to neighboring towns like Milton and Concord to investigate similar initiatives, and learned that community engagement in those communities grew as residents found more opportunities to be creative in the comfort of their own zip code.
Heisler said artists, musicians, civic leaders, students and senior citizens are just a few of the groups that can easily reap the benefits of a community driven center.
“This is an area that the town and organizations can tap into to create new resources for people of all ages…all incomes,” Heisler said and added that the sustainable facility would generate income through artist rentals, activity fees and community support.
He explained the benefits of bringing an arts and community center to Dedham are threefold: Artists and residents alike are interested, the facility will act as an economic anchor for the East Dedham neighborhood and the sustainable facility will cost the town “little or nothing.”
While a number of the center’s programs may be coordinated with town municipal departments, selectmen said they see great promise in a center driven by Dedham’s growing artistic community.
“It is a happy moment to be here, after working for so long,” Selectman Paul Reynolds said and thanked Heisler and the committee members for their work.
The Avery School Re-use Committee is working to establish a “cultural treasure” in Dedham for artists, students and residents of all ages to discover.
Selectmen unanimously voted to support the group’s proposal to transform the soon to be vacant school at 123 High St. into an inter-generational community center supporting the arts. The proposal, which took approximately one year to develop, is a culmination of feasible suggestions based on committee research and community feedback.
“This is a creative vision of something that hasn’t taken place in Dedham. It will take a lot of work, and now we start the ball rolling,” re-use committee chairman Joe Heisler said at the selectmen’s meeting on Thursday, Jan. 26. The plan now heads to Town Meeting in May.
The final Avery re-use report, given to selectmen for consideration on Jan. 5, states the mission of the proposed Mother Brook Arts and Community Center is to encourage “community enrichment” and “life-long learning” through support of the arts in all forms. If the plan is approved at Town Meeting, the approximately 39,000-square-foot structure will become a new home for artist studios, community meeting spaces and co-op offices for organizations and charities in town.
Re-use team members ventured to neighboring towns like Milton and Concord to investigate similar initiatives, and learned that community engagement in those communities grew as residents found more opportunities to be creative in the comfort of their own zip code.
Heisler said artists, musicians, civic leaders, students and senior citizens are just a few of the groups that can easily reap the benefits of a community driven center.
“This is an area that the town and organizations can tap into to create new resources for people of all ages…all incomes,” Heisler said and added that the sustainable facility would generate income through artist rentals, activity fees and community support.
He explained the benefits of bringing an arts and community center to Dedham are threefold: Artists and residents alike are interested, the facility will act as an economic anchor for the East Dedham neighborhood and the sustainable facility will cost the town “little or nothing.”
While a number of the center’s programs may be coordinated with town municipal departments, selectmen said they see great promise in a center driven by Dedham’s growing artistic community.
“It is a happy moment to be here, after working for so long,” Selectman Paul Reynolds said and thanked Heisler and the committee members for their work.
Reynolds was not the only supporter in the room, as nearly 20 local artists lined the walls at Town Hall to show their enthusiasm for the project. Last spring, many of the same creative residents shared their work at Dedham Open Studios, an opportunity for the once discrete creative community to reveal and sell their work to the public.
Dedham Square Artist Guild co-founder Jennifer Barsamian, who also paved the way for the open studios event, said the proposed Mother Brook center would also help to establish the town as a cultural destination.
“We are just hoping that lots of people discover Dedham, and that the town gains a stronger artistic and cultural reputation,” Barsamian said. She then introduced the Dedham Public Arts Project to the selectmen following Heisler’s presentation.
The Dedham Public Art Project was launched in January and will ultimately support the creation of the community center while simultaneously shining a light on the town’s artistic history. Barsamian said juried artists will paint 15 five-foot-long fiberglass rabbit sculptures. Residents will have an opportunity to view the completed bunnies at locations across town.
Dedham High School senior Colleen McGurty, the youngest supporter in the room, attended nine of the 10 meetings held by the re-use committee this year. She showed up each month to propose her idea for a combined senior center and youth activities center. Recently, she received a certificate of recognition from the selectmen for attending meetings and speaking her mind.
Like the majority of residents in at the selectmen’s meeting, McGurty said she is pleased with the committee’s suggestion.
“I just wanted a stronger community bond,” McGurty said. “This is the greatest opportunity ever, and I am glad this is the outcome.”
