An arts centre (also spelled with "art" or "center") is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues for musical performance, workshop areas, educational facilities, technical equipment, etc.Evans, G. (2001) 'Amenity planning and the arts centre', Chapter 4 of Cultural Planning: an urban renaissance? London, Routledge
In the United States, "art centers" are generally either establishments geared toward exposing, generating, and making accessible art making to arts-interested individuals, or buildings that rent primarily to artists, galleries, or companies involved in art making.
In Britain, the Bluecoat Society of Arts was founded in Liverpool in 1927 following the efforts of a group of artists and art lovers who had occupied Bluecoat Chambers since 1907. Most British art centres began after World War II and gradually changed from mainly middle-class places to 1960s and 1970s trendy, alternative centres and eventually in the 1980s to serving the whole community with a programme of enabling access to wheelchair users and disabled individuals and groups.
In the rest of Europe it is common among most art centres that they are partly government funded, since they are considered to have a positive influence on society and economics according to the Rhineland model philosophy. Many of those organisations started in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s as squatted spaces and were later legalised.
List of arts centres
North America
Canada Calgary, Alberta: Arts Commons Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island: Confederation Centre of the Arts Ottawa, Ontario: National Arts Centre Toronto, Ontario: Toronto Centre for the Arts Vancouver, British Columbia: Firehall Arts Centre Winnipeg, Manitoba: Manitoba Centennial Centre
United States Alexandria, Virginia Torpedo Factory Art Center Arlington, Virginia: Artisphere Atlanta, Georgia: Eyedrum Chicago, Illinois: Hairpin Arts Center, Hyde Park Art Center, Lillstreet Art Center, South Side Community Art Center Dallas, Texas: The Dallas Contemporary Huntington, West Virginia: Marshall University Visual Arts Center Indianapolis, Indiana: Indy Art Center Lebanon, New Hampshire: AVA Gallery and Art Center Los Angeles, California: Los Angeles Music Center (officially the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County) Mesa, Arizona: Mesa Arts Center Milford, Pennsylvania: Pike County Arts and Crafts Minneapolis, Minnesota: Walker Art Center New York City, New York: Apexart, Exit Art, International Studio & Curatorial Program, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Painted Bride Art Center Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh Glass Center Raleigh, North Carolina: Pullen Park Reading, Pennsylvania: GoggleWorks Center for the Arts Williamsport, Pennsylvania: Community Arts Center
Europe
Belgium Ghent: Vooruit
Italy
France Nantes: Le Lieu unique
Netherlands Amsterdam: OT301 Nijmegen: Extrapool Rotterdam: WORM
Spain Matadero Madrid Gijón: LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial
United Kingdom Aberystwyth: Aberystwyth Arts Centre (1970–present) Belfast Metropolitan Arts Centre (2012–present) Birmingham: mac (1962–present) Bridgwater Bridgwater Arts Centre (10 October 1946 – present) Brighton and Hove: Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts (1969–2007 as Gardner Arts Centre, 2016–present) Bristol: Cube Microplex formally Bristol Arts Centre (1964–present) Arnolfini (1961–present) Cambridgeshire: Wysing Arts Centre (1989–present) Cardiff: Chapter Arts Centre (1971–present) Colchester: Colchester Arts Centre (1980–present) Coventry: Warwick Arts Centre (?–present) Derby: Quad (2008–present) Dundee: Dundee Contemporary Arts (1999–present) Edinburgh: Summerhall (as arts centre, 2011–present) Fareham: Ashcroft Arts Centre (1989–present) Glasgow: Third Eye Centre (1975–1991) Centre for Contemporary Arts (1992–present) Havant: The Spring Arts & Heritage Centre (?–present) Leicester: Attenborough Arts Centre (?–present) Liverpool: The Bluecoat (1927–present) FACT Liverpool (2003–present) London: Barbican Centre (1982–present) Camden Arts Centre (1965 (as Hampstead Arts Centre)–present) Southbank Centre (1951–present) Battersea Arts Centre (1980–present) Manchester: Cornerhouse (1985–2015) HOME (2015–present) Newcastle: Newcastle Arts Centre (founded 1980, opened 1988–present) Nottingham: Nottingham Contemporary (2009–present) Norwich: Norwich Arts Centre (1977–present) Omagh: Strule Arts Centre (?–present) Poole: Lighthouse (Poole) (1978–present; formerly Poole Arts Centre) Plymouth: Plymouth Arts Centre (1947–present) Swindon: Swindon Arts Centre (1956–present)
Asia
China Huaxia Art Centre, Shenzhen
Israel Gerard Behar Center, Jerusalem
Indonesia Ciputra Artpreneur, Jakarta
Philippines National Arts Center, Los Baños, Laguna Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex, City of Manila
Taiwan Changhua: Lukang Artist Village, National Changhua Living Art Center Chiayi City: Art Site of Chiayi Railway Warehouse, Chiayi Cultural and Creative Industries Park Hsinchu City: Hsinchu City Art Site of Railway Warehouse, National Hsinchu Living Arts Center Hualien: Hualien Cultural and Creative Industries Park Kaohsiung: Dadong Arts Center, Meinong Cultural and Creative Center, National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, Pier-2 Art Center Keelung: Embrace Cultural and Creative Park Miaoli: Wu Chuo-liu Art and Cultural Hall New Taipei: Banqiao 435 Art Zone, Xinzhuang Culture and Arts Center Pingtung: Pingtung Performing Arts Center Taichung: Taichung City Tun District Art Center, Taichung Cultural and Creative Industries Park, Taichung Shiyakusho Tainan: Blueprint Culture and Creative Park, National Tainan Living Arts Center Taipei: Huashan 1914 Creative Park, Mind Set Art Center, National Taiwan Arts Education Center, Puppetry Art Center of Taipei, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, Taipei City Arts Promotion Office Taitung: National Taitung Living Art Center, Taitung Railway Art Village Taoyuan: Taoyuan Arts Center, Zhongli Arts Hall Yilan: National Center for Traditional Arts
Thailand Bangkok Art and Culture Centre
Oceania Australia Arts Centre Melbourne, in Victoria
New Zealand Christchurch Arts Centre, in Christchurch
Papua New Guinea Creative Arts Centre (Papua New Guinea) (became National Arts Centre and merged into University of Papua New Guinea)
See also Artivism Cultural centre Infoshop Music venue Not-for-profit arts organisation Social centre
References