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The Arts Center of St. Petersburg Receives $1 Million Grant From The Bank of America Charitable Foundation,
Announces September 2008 Groundbreaking For Redevelopment
St. Petersburg Florida, January 10, 2008 — Bernie Craig, Pinellas County Market President for Bank of America, today presented a $1 million donation from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation to support expansion and redevelopment at The Arts Center. Craig made the presentation at a reception celebrating The Arts Center's plans to break ground on their new facility in September 2008.
The grant will help fund expansion and reconstruction of The Arts Center's facilities, to include a new space for the Chihuly Collection, a glassblowing hotshop and a Children's Learning Center. All gallery and educational spaces at The Arts Center will comply with current museum standards as part of the Center's museum accreditation process with the America Association of Museums. Exhibition space for member artists also will be created and current studio spaces will be improved to better serve adult students.
On hand for the event were St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker, Bank of America Charitable Foundation President Andrew Plepler, The Arts Center Executive Director Evelyn Craft, and Board of Trustees Chairman Terry Brett. Bank of America's donation is the largest corporate contribution The Arts Center has received toward a phased building and renovation plan designed to better accommodate an expanding array of programs, exhibits and patrons.
"We are honored to support The Arts Center's expansion plans, particularly the Children's Learning Center," said Craig. "Research indicates that participation in arts education increases student engagement, literacy and critical thinking skills. Through this grant we know we're helping to make a positive impact on the lives of all children, in addition to helping The Arts Center expand their ability to attract visitors and spur economic and cultural growth in St. Petersburg."
The Children's Learning Center will include dedicated gallery space for the work of the many talented young artists who participate in the Center's programs, as well as educational spaces specifically designed for children's needs. Currently serving more than 20,000 children annually, the new Children's Learning Center will enable The Arts Center to double the number of children served each year. The Arts Center's youth programming is available to all children within the community, with a particular focus on underserved populations.
In addition to announcing a September 2008 groundbreaking date, Brett also announced revised plans to consolidate redevelopment of The Arts Center's current campus on Central Avenue in downtown St. Petersburg. These plans will allow the Center to achieve its goal of opening the Chihuly Collection at The Arts Center by early 2010.
"These exciting new plans, combined with this generous gift from Bank of America, enable us to move forward more quickly with our expansion," said Brett. "We are tremendously thankful to Bank of America for their long-standing support and look forward to delivering all of these exciting elements to our community."
The Bank of America Charitable Foundation grant to The Arts Center is the latest in the company's philanthropic support of local nonprofit organizations, including those that provide a variety of educational, arts and cultural service in the Tampa Bay area. In 2005, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation awarded The Arts Center a $200,000 unrestricted grant through the company's Neighborhood Excellence Initiative™ and also has provided funding for summer camp programs and youth arts scholarships at The Arts Center since 1999. Each summer, these camps draw more than 1,700 youth participants.
Mayor Baker thanked Bank of America for its contribution. "This is an exciting chapter in the story of economic development and neighborhood revitalization in St. Petersburg," said Mayor Baker. "While The Arts Center's expansion plans play a critical role as an economic, cultural, arts and educational engine downtown, financial support from corporations like Bank of America plays an equally important part, demonstrating the power and value of public-private partnerships."
During the reception, sixteen third-grade students from John M. Sexton Elementary School thanked Craig and Plepler for the bank's support for the Children's Learning Center by presenting them with a collaborative artwork titled "What would you find in an art classroom?"
The students were accompanied by their teacher Brian Piscalko and the school's artist-in-residence Pam Miles. The artist-in-residence program, which puts teachers directly inside classrooms, was developed by The Arts Center in collaboration with the Pinellas County Cultural Affairs Department to give children consistent, in-depth art instruction, supplementing the stretched resources of schools' existing art programs.
About The Arts Center
The Arts Center is a member supported community based not-for-profit organization. The Arts Center inspires, educates, and engages a diverse population in the creation of contemporary visual art by providing a dynamic, professional environment to foster the creative process. The Arts Center will continue to build on its strong rotating exhibition program showcasing the work of established, mid-career, emerging and student artists working in all media, as well as its extensive studio art classes in painting, drawing, photography, digital media, sculpture, clay, glass and other mixed media for adults and children. The Arts Center's exhibitions and programs are supported in part by grants from the City of St. Petersburg; the Pinellas County Commission through the Pinellas County Department of Cultural Affairs; St. Petersburg /Clearwater Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
About Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy
Building on a long-standing tradition of investing in the communities it serves, Bank of America is in its fourth year of achieving an unprecedented 10-year goal to donate $1.5 billion to nonprofit organizations engaged in improving the health and vitality of their neighborhoods. Funded by Bank of America, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation will give more than $225 million in 2008, making the bank the most generous financial institution in the world and the second largest donor of all U.S. corporations in cash contributions. Bank of America approaches giving through a national strategy called "neighborhood excellence" under which it works with local leaders to identify and meet the most pressing needs of individual communities. Through Team Bank of America, bank associate volunteers contributed more than 625,000 hours in 2007 to enhance the quality of life in their communities nationwide. For more information about Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy, please visit www.bankofamerica.com/foundation.
View a Slideshow of the Future Beth Ann Morean Arts Center
Contact Info
Donna Fletcher
Community Relations Director
727.822.7872 x 14
Contact Info
Donna Fletcher
Community Relations Director
727.822.7872 x 14
