The Fort Worth Community Arts Center will close its doors to the public at the end of the month, but that doesn’t mean the end of the nonprofit that manages the space.
Arts Fort Worth, which managed the facility at 1300 Gendy St. for 22 years, will continue to manage the city’s public art and grant programs as well as serve as a resource for artists and other arts organizations within the community. The building was first constructed in 1954 with new additions in 1966 and 1976.
“We’ve been able to do a lot of really meaningful things through this physical space,” said Wesley Gentle, executive director and president of Arts Fort Worth. “Those things have been tied to this physical space, and so much of the next step for us is taking that same energy … (and) motivation for our community and doing it in a way that isn’t rooted in one spot.”
Arts Fort Worth announced it would vacate the building in July, shortly after one of its anchor subtenants, KWC Performing Arts, abruptly announced its closure.
The city-owned building is in need of roughly $30 million in repairs, which Arts Fort Worth would be responsible for, according to its lease agreement. Continuing operations there would not be financially sustainable, Gentle said last summer.
City officials have explored different options for redeveloping the building. After issuing a request for proposals, hosting public presentations and announcing two finalists, the city ultimately decided not to move forward with either plan in May.
The future of the building is still uncertain, but Mayor Mattie Parker assured residents at a 2023 City Council meeting that the location would continue to serve the arts community.
The Fort Worth Community Arts Center sits in the heart of the Cultural District at 1300 Gendy St. (Camilo Diaz | Fort Worth Report) Several artists and longtime Fort Worth residents paid homage to the center during a Dec. 6 open house event hosted by Arts Fort Worth. Artist Val Hunnicutt hopes that the building, which once housed the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, can be preserved.
“It’s hard to think about not having it here,” she said.
The mixed media artist said she always looked forward to Historic Fort Worth Inc.’s annual show when it was still hosted in the space, often creating new work for the occasion.
Likewise, professional pianist and art collector Cynthia Ann Miller has fond memories of the space.
“I don’t think I missed any of their shows when they had the whole place filled with art, and you could walk in for free and enjoy yourself,” she said.
Miller has reverence for all of the wonderful things that happened there, she continued, but she wants people to look at this change as an opportunity.
“It will not be the same,” she said. “It will be better. We will learn and we will grow.”
During a presentation to attendees, Gentle shared how Arts Fort Worth is planning to better serve residents across the sprawling city.
By hosting an arts summit at Texas Wesleyan University in March, Arts Fort Worth hopes to reach more people from the Poly neighborhood while also highlighting the resources that recently opened on the Eastside like Easyside, TUBMAN Gallery and Kinfolk House.
“We do want to see you continue to pop up in other parts of town because then we have a different audience and it’s, you know, usually you have some people that’ll travel to find the resources they need, but oftentimes for any number of reasons, right?” Gentle said. “You just physically can’t get there. The time of day doesn’t work. When we move around, it’s easier to meet people where they are.”
The space is one where many artists made their stage debut or participated in their first gallery show, and it has many meaningful memories for Gentle as well, he said. He remains hopeful that Arts Fort Worth will continue to make an impact moving forward.
“It’s going to be a process, and I’m excited for the process. I hope more people get excited to join us and be a part of it because it’s only as good as the team that we’re working with, the partners you’re working with,” Gentle said.
Marcheta Fornoff covers the arts for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at marcheta.fornoff@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
