Happy Hour with The Art League on Thursday, April 20

The Art League will celebrate its 70th anniversary in 2024, and the big question is: Where will it be celebrated? Will the League remain in Old Town North, its home for the past 70 years, or move to some other location?

You can get an update, and enjoy happy hour, at the League’s next FAQ Salon on Thursday, April 20 at Chadwicks Old Town, from 5-7 pm. 

Suzanne Bethel shared a preview of the dilemma facing the League. They currently lease nearly 20,000 square feet of space on Madison Street in the Montgomery Center, a rambling, quirky structure that has been sold for redevelopment. Their use of the space includes an art gallery and an art school. There is instruction in just about every form of the visual arts, encompassing ceramics, sculpture, weaving, painting, and more.

The League has until the end of 2023 to find a new space, fit it out to their specifications, and move. Their specifications are not easy, as they require venting for kilns, more akin to a restaurant space than an office. The outfitting cost estimate has nearly doubled in the past few years, to approximately $1.2 million. Meanwhile, the pandemic shutdown caused the League to spend down its reserve funds.

All this presents quite a challenge. The spaces required to be set aside for arts uses by Alexandria’s Old Town North Arts and Cultural District are only 5,000 square feet. Trying to split up into several spaces is not a good option, as it would generate much higher up-front construction costs, and would increase staffing demands, and operating costs, in the future. 

Suzanne feels the perfect solution would be to negotiate space in a yet-to-be-built new development in Old Town North, and to make an interim move to a space that could be outfitted at less expense, such as an industrial warehouse. They have a team of professionals working on the situation, composed of an architect, real estate agent and the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership.

Join the League on April 20 to learn about their situation, and perhaps how you might be part of their solution to keeping the Arts League in Old Town North.