The Voorhees Arts Center (VAC) opened its doors in the township for the first time on June 29, 2018. Three years later, the center has organized a party to celebrate its third year at the Voorhees Town Center.
On June 29, locals are invited to celebrate the arts center’s birthday in the town center mall’s food court from 5 to 7 p.m. There will be refreshments and new art will be on display featuring the Healing Art for the Healthcare Hero’s Heart pieces.
“We’re so ready to be back together as artists,” said the arts center Executive Director Marianne Leone, who also planned the party. ” … It’s a gathering as much for the artist community as it is for the community at large.”
Since the center opened, a lot has changed. Last year, COVID pushed staff in new and unexpected directions. The physical space was closed from April to July, and the center was unable to hold in person events for the community or celebrate its second birthday. But during those uncertain times, new programs and ways to connect with the community were born.
During the past year, the center added a fourth exhibit to its Virtual Art Museum, held daily interviews in the month leading up to the new installment with artists for the Storytelling With the Storytellers segment, and reopened its doors.
“COVID had a great impact on our art gallery, our art center and our ability to expand our art programs in the community,” Leone reflected. “We’re grateful that we’re able to resume and still be alive and thrive in Voorhees, but we had hoped that by now, we would have grown more programming, particularly the summer programming with the kids.”
As things slowly return to normal, the arts center is bringing back old and new programs. It has resumed the monthly miniature painting class by Kim Clay, and two weeks ago, brought back the weekly watercolor class with Ann Kelly.
The center’s most recent endeavor is Healing Art for the Healthcare Hero’s Heart, a celebration of health-care heroes that Leone describes as a spinoff of the Healing Art for the Hero’s Heart honoring the military and veterans.
Looking ahead, Leone shared that the center is expanding the Virtual Art Museum by adding more exhibits and bringing back children’s summer art programs.
A full list of the Voorhees Arts Center’s events can be found at https://voorheesartscouncil.org/upcoming-events/.
