Waldron encourages expressive local artists

From plays to after-school programs, the John Waldron Arts Center provides a venue for community art education and for local artists to exhibit their work.

“We provide a place for the artists to display and sell their works,” Executive Director Robert J. Hanrahan III said.

The center began as a project for musicians, actors and other artists in the Bloomington Area Arts Council. During the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, the council was looking for a permanent residency.

The council decided on the original 1915 City Hall, which was dedicated in 1992 as the John Waldron Arts Center, and is open for use by any artist or community member.

Since then, the center and the council have worked together with local artists and the community.

The Waldron has performances, galleries, classes, fairs and community programs, all of which are open to the public.

There are more than 350 classes offered every year for people of all ages that range from jewelry-making to ceramics.

Artists and community members are encouraged to use the center for a wide variety
of events.

The center houses three venues: multipurpose rooms, the Waldron Auditorium and the Rose Firebay.

“In the past, we have had memorial services, weddings and other types of performances,” Hanrahan said. “We have space that is for performances and rehearsals. We help the local artists by providing a place that is affordable and accessible.”

The Waldron has also worked with other Bloomington organizations, such as the Cardinal Stage Company.

There will be a meeting Thursday that will discuss the ways in which performing arts companies and venues such as the Waldron will be working together and will issue a statement after this meeting, said Katie Becker, director of administration for the Cardinal Stage Company.

Recently, the council has been working on a three-fold program to make the center more readily available and affordable for Bloomington residents and artists. The center’s building spaces will be available for meetings and performances, and it has been working to create price breaks.

Nonprofit organizations will also be charged 50 percent less for renting space for rehearsals. The council is also giving members a discount for renting venues. The discounts are based on the amount of their donations.

The regional council has programs in six counties: Brown, Greene, Lawrence, Monroe, Morgan and Owen, Hanrahan said.

He said the council is also beginning a program that educates students about operas. It will be a two-fold process that will begin by teaching the kids about the opera genre and its history. Kids will then get to witness their first opera at the Waldron.

Beginning in January, the Waldron Venue Grant Program will allow more Bloomington artists and community members to take advantage of this venue.

“The grant will help the artists by making the venue more affordable and accessible,” Hanrahan said. “We will gear it more toward the grassroots efforts of artists.”

The program will subsidize the daily rental fee during certain dates in 2010 for a single use of the theater, and the grant will reduce the rate of events and therefore allow more significant community events to take place at the Waldron.

“I think any time you create a center point for people to go and express their artistic energy, it is a good thing for the community,” Hanrahan said.