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Creative Arts Center at the Salem YMCA
These days, all kids are “at-risk”. The choices that our kids have during out-of-school time are critical in keeping kids out of trouble and engaged in positive behaviors. All kids make choices with their time, but how they decide to fill that time depends on the options available. There are always viable choices for young people who are passionate about sports and physical activity. Schools, towns, even our YMCAs, offer hundreds of programs for those who love sports. But for those kids interested in the creative arts, choices are extremely and increasingly limited, especially for kids without financial resources. The need for constructive out-of-school-time programs that meet all interests, including the arts, are essential for a child’s successful development into adulthood.
Our Solution
The Creative Arts Center at the Salem YMCA. The historic restoration of Ames Memorial Hall will give all kids a chance to explore their passion for the arts. This project is anticipated to cost approximately $3.5 million.
The Program
With an already thriving YMCA Theatre Company our YMCA is involving children in all aspects of theater – scripting, performing, production, stage setup, set design, music, marketing and promotion, business, and even box-office sales. The campaign for a Creative Arts Center will allow the YMCA to expand arts education programs to include a wide variety of visual arts that interest today’s youth. This project will allow kids to explore their passion for: dance, theater, vocal, video and film, painting, sculpture, pottery, staging, literary presentations, musical arts, and more. Find out more...
The Venue
With the historic restoration of Ames Memorial Hall to its “turn of the century” vision as a performance venue, the Salem YMCA will give our budding artists a new and renewed home. Ames Memorial Hall would provide a multi-purpose performance space to showcase the learning that will occur in all areas of the Y’s creative arts programs. The venue, with direct access from the Essex Street entrance, would be ideally positioned to enhance Salem’s downtown businesses and restaurants before, during, and after performances, art shows, etc. This campaign will provide handicapped accessibility and air-conditioning to Ames Memorial Hall making this new home a state-of-the-art venue. Find out more...
The Mission - Arts For All
Creative arts can be expensive and aren’t always readily available for kids and families. A YMCA Creative Arts Center would offer an affordable option to families who could not otherwise afford quality arts programming. Together, we can make the Salem YMCA the focal point of youth arts on the North Shore for all kids. Find out more...
How You Can Help: