July 27, 2007
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Janice Gouldthorpe
Executive Director
585-244-1730
A matching grant for $10,000 from the Davenport-Hatch Foundation will be used to support renovations to the Genesee Center for the Arts & Education. The 100+ year old firehouse arts center is updating its structure with an elevator and other accessibility improvements to allow more people to use more of the facilities.
The Genesee Center for the Arts and Education provides classes, workshops, lectures, galleries and studio space to visual artists in photography, ceramics and printing and book arts. Over 1400 adults and youth each year benefit from the services at the Genesee Center.
Funds to match NYS grant
The Davenport-Hatch Foundation funds will be used in conjunction with a grant from the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. State Senator Joseph Robach helped secure $50,000 in funding for the project in the 2007 budget.
By improving accessibility for the physically-challenged members of our community, we are truly moving forward on our mission of Art For All People. Additional funding is still needed for the complete project.
About The Genesee Center for the Arts and Education
At the Genesee Center for the Arts & Education, we believe that a positive art experience can change a person's life. We are a community-based not-for-profit that educates, encourages and inspires all people to create and enjoy the visual arts.
Established in 1972 and Center incorporated in 1973 as a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit educational institution, the Genesee Center for the Arts & Education is the only community visual arts center located within the City of Rochester. Committed to the residents of the city, the Center owns and is located in an historic firehouse in the city, built in 1895 and 1905.
The Genesee Center for the Arts & Education is really three organizations in one: a photography center, a pottery studio, and a new printing and book arts center. Our studios occupy over 12,000 square feet in our historic building. We offer over 140 classes to the general public, allow access to our facilities for over 1400 individuals each year to create their work and display work in our exhibition galleries throughout the facility, provide opportunities for 100 city youth each in the arts through our grant-supported Urban Youth Arts Education programs and offer internships to advanced area art students.
The Genesee Center for the Arts & Education is proud of the collaborative programs that we have produced with RIT, SUNY Brockport, The Center for Disability Rights, Southwest Area Neighborhood Association, Right-on-School, RCSD, Wilson Commencement Park and many other community organizations and schools. We are truly committed to our cause of "Art For All People". As a member-supported organization, our membership fees, support from individual donors, businesses, and charitable foundations help us keep the classes diverse, affordable, and open to the community.
For more information, see our website: www.geneseearts.org or contact us at:
Genesee Center for the Arts & Education
713 Monroe Avenue
Rochester, NY 14607
(585)244-1730