WILMINGTON — An expansion of space means an expansion of creativity in the community.
The Art House on West Sugartree Street will be expanding to the white building next to it, offering opportunities for local artists to work and grow. This is adding around 1,200 square feet to the existing local hub.
“Initially we are going to move the workshop and studio (to the expansion),” said Andrew Conarroe, owner of the Art House. “We’re hoping to start to have our first activities there in February.”
Conarroe expressed gratitude to Jason Stoops, the owner of Midnight Auto Repair, and the building Art House is expanding to.
“He has been so generous,” said Conarroe. “He’s going to allow us to keep the shop here while we get (the other building) tweaked to how we like it.”
“We’re just out of space. As much as I love the shop, it can’t just take up half of what we do. It’s such a small part of what we do,” he said.
Conarroe believes they’ll have the building completely ready by June.
Recently they’ve had a lot of programs geared toward youths which have been popular, according to Conarroe.
“We’ve been having like 15 to 20 high school and college students in here. We needed space,” he said. “We’re going to have a designated seating area with a nice big coffee table and board games. The shop will take up one corner of the facility. Over half of it is going to be studio and workshop.”
Conarroe said they’re gearing towards making a “creative community center”.
“It’s kind of in the way that you think of a YMCA … but for the arts, creatives, and quiet thinkers,” he said. “It’s really hard to have access to a wide variety of tools and just interesting things. Whereas if you go a ‘Y’, you can’t have a treadmills or stuff like that in your house, but you have someplace to go to. There’s not really some place like that for people to exercise their creative sides.”
A fundraiser was started at the beginning of the year and will finish by the end of the year. Donations can be made at Art House 937 LLC on Paypal, to their Venmo account (arthouse937), or checks written to Wilmington Art House can be dropped off at 70 W. Sugartree St. Donations can be made after the fundraising campaign as well.
