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Winthrop Arts seeks funding for Arts Factory

 
Winthrop Arts is seeking to expand to allow the program to serve more students and be able to hold more classes.
Winthrop Arts is seeking to expand to allow the program to serve more students and be able to hold more classes.
Published July 13, 2016

RIVERVIEW — Winthrop Arts, a nonprofit organization that seeks to create a bridge between arts and the community, is seeking the public's financial assistance in completing its "Arts Factory."

Winthrop Arts wants to expand the facility in the Winthrop Town Centre to allow the program to serve more students and to be able to hold more classes. The current space, two shipping containers converted into a classroom, doesn't have air conditioning and classes get canceled when it rains.

The new art space will feature more than 2,000 square feet of usable space, including eight classrooms, a gallery space, handicap-accessible restrooms and an artistic garden space.

We've learned that eastern Hillsborough County, like so many suburbs in America, is desperate for more arts and more options for their children," Winthrop Arts director of everything Katharine Sullivan-Dawes said. "This real need infuses our mission with a sense of duty and expediency.

"It provides an alternative for parents that want to give their children something more than just a babysitter. It will be a space of creative imagination and a safe place for children to learn a new artistic skill and in the process, gain confidence in themselves."

A crowdfunding campaign (tbtim.es/137c) has been created in hopes of meeting their fundraising goal of $80,000.

The building will be re-opening in the fall. Once complete, the Factory will be able to house 60 kids in the after-school hours between 3 and 6 p.m. and will provide an alternative for parents to traditional after-school care.

For more information, visit winthroparts.org.