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Neighborhood Art Center expanding, celebrating with grand reopening

By Genelle Pugmire - | Dec 3, 2021

Courtesy Neighborhood Art Center

Neighborhood Art Center in Provo Towne Centre is expanding to meet the needs of the community.

Four years ago, a new venture opened in the Provo Towne Centre. Right away, it was different than anything already in the mall.

On Monday, the Neighborhood Art Center announced a major expansion of its community workshop space.

The popular art center, which is a nonprofit 501(c)3, will hold a free grand re-opening Dec. 10 at 6:30 p.m. in the Provo Towne Centre.

During the past four years, the Neighborhood Art Center has been dedicated to providing the people of Provo with affordable access to hands-on art exploration.

In March 2017, Tallia Feltis identified the need for an accessible and creative community space. Feltis quickly developed the Neighborhood Art Center concept, repurposed a former mall portrait studio and opened doors later that summer.

Courtesy Neighborhood Art Center

Tallia Feltis, founder and director of the Neighborhood Art Center.

“I wanted to create a space that kids and families could come to in Utah County,” said Feltis, founder and executive director. “Kids connect with art so I decided to make it. The mall was an awesome spot. It is gratifying so many families can come here.”

Since then, the nonprofit has welcomed over a thousand children and their families to the Neighborhood Art Center studio and at offsite community events including Art in the Park, Downtown Provo Art Stroll and a Tiny Art Show.

The COVID-19 pandemic nearly shut them down, but they made it through and now more people are showing up to have fun and develop their artistic skills.

“I always have loved taking my kids to creative places and missed doing it here in Provo,” Feltis said. “There are so many kids in Provo, I felt like it was important to have.”

The center’s popularity is obvious as the need to expand has be there for a while.

“We have outgrown our old space. This expansion will open up new possibilities for the Neighborhood Art Center and give us more opportunities to bring art to our community in a fun and accessible way,” Feltis said in announcing the grand reopening.

For just a $5 entrance fee, patrons have full access to the open studio space, tools and supplies. They can then explore new art mediums like screen printing, wall painting, paper crafts and textile art.

Individuals and families can also enjoy specialty art classes and courses, like a six-week hands-on art history course, or the weekly “KinderArten” sensory art class for ages 2-6.

The new expansion will almost triple the previous space and will allow for additional art exploration offerings such as an art library, clay art station, seasonal crafts, and the space to accommodate art shows, additional classes and bigger groups.

The reopening event includes a special holiday craft activity, catered pizza, treats, interactive booths, a fundraising raffle, silent auction, art book drive and allow people to explore the new expanded space.

As a nonprofit, the Neighborhood Art Center puts 100% of its donations into continuation of the art programs and keeps admission prices at a discounted rate for the public.

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