THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 19, 1995 TAG: 9502170237
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 26 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY XIAOHONG ZHANG SWAIN, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
A new fine arts center, where local artists could learn new skills and exhibit their work, is the dream of members of the Chesapeake Fine Arts Commission.
``Every time we talk about it, we get more excited,'' said Randy Harrison, the city's arts coordinator.
Meanwhile, the commission has begun what Harrison terms as ``the first bite of the pie.''
The commission hopes to come up with a design for the center to show potential donors before it begins to solicit money for the project.
In collaboration with Tidewater Community College, the commission has submitted an application to the National Endowment for the Arts, asking for a grant to design the project.
The facility would include a 1,000-seat theater, classrooms for students and corporate training, gallery spaces and studios for WFOS, the city's public radio station, and WCTV-23, the city's cable TV station, Harrison said.
``It will be a unique building, not just another entertainment facility,'' said Harrison. ``It will benefit all Hampton Roads.''
Harrison said a 40,000- to 50,000-square-foot site on the Chesapeake campus of Tidewater Community College is the commission's first choice for the location of the building. The land would be donated by the college.
``It's nice that we don't have to look for a site,'' Harrison said. ``I think it's a good marriage (between the city and TCC).''
The design grant could range from $10,000 to $50,000, Harrison said. A matching fund from the city is needed if the application is approved.
``To hire a professional to do the design will probably cost more than $100,000,'' said Harrison.
``If we don't have matching funds, we won't receive the grant,'' emphasized Beatrix Zak Thomas, a member of the commission. ``And the next time we apply for it, the National Endowment won't want to consider us again.''
Harrison said the commission is hoping for support from the City Council to provide a matching fund from the city's capital improvement budget.
Thomas said members of the commission plan to bring the issue to the attention of the Council at its meeting next Tuesday.
Commission members recruited U.S. Sen. John W. Warner to write to the National Endowment for the Arts, supporting the city's application for the grant.
``This facility is needed to serve a rapidly growing city of over 175,000 residents and 1.5 million citizens in the Hampton Roads area,'' wrote Warner. ``Location at the Tidewater Community College campus provides ideal accessibility as well as educational expertise for design and construction.''
Harrison and Thomas say the new building would showcase the talents of Chesapeake citizens.
``The quality of arts talent here is mind-boggling,'' Harrison said.
Thomas said local talent has been forced to disperse to other cities because there is no arts facility here.
``We're diluted to non-existence,'' she said.
The dream of having a fine arts building has been around for almost a decade. Back in 1986, the city paid for a feasibility study, which indicated the need of a fine arts facility, Harrison said.
``If there was a need then, the need now would be greater,'' Harrison said.
Thomas disagrees with those who say that the new auditorium at Oscar F. Smith High School could be used to satisfy the need for an arts center.
``The auditorium's calendar is so full we can't get in,'' Thomas said. ``And the auditorium is really for the school anyway. It's not for the city.''
Harrison said the result of the grant application will be known in early June. Even if the city doesn't get the grant, Harrison said, the application process will raise the community's awareness of the need for a fine arts building.
``We want everyone to be involved,'' she said. ``There should be money from everywhere. It may come from the city, the state, the corporations or individuals.''
It's even possible a benefactor can be found who would finance a large portion of the cost, Harrison and Thomas said.
``You know, I am really a pessimist,'' said Thomas. ``When they were talking about building the Harrison Opera House, I was wondering where they would get the money. But all of sudden, the opera house is there.''
``Who knows?'' Harrison agreed. ``We're dreamers.'' by CNB