about

Healing Through Art

Mission

The mission of the St. Francis Arts Center is to affirm and nurture the human creative spirit through art education in a welcoming atmosphere for at-risk youth and all who strive for artistic self-expression in our community.

The Arts Center accomplishes this mission through the “Healing Through Art” outreach to at-risk youth, a comprehensive schedule of art classes and workshops, open studio time, and community art shows. In the true spirit of St. Francis, the Arts Center welcomes artists from all experience levels and backgrounds to learn and create together.

History

The Arts Center is located in part of a building owned by St. Francis Episcopal Church. This building originally housed the Appleton Church Home, an orphanage for girls, in the 1800s. The Episcopal Church moved onto the property in the 1970s, and from 1991 until 2012 a Montessori school occupied this wing.

A group of parishioners at St. Francis Episcopal Church, along with the rector, envisioned repurposing this unused space as a community arts center. With a lot of time, effort, and love, the St. Francis Arts Center was born in 2013. It functioned under the auspices of St. Francis Church until 2015, when it became a 501(c)3. It is led by a Board of Directors and runs on volunteer energy.

“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher