Summer Plans (for the next decade)
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I'm taking a board position with Workhouse Arts Center. https://www.workhousearts.org/
It's a prison that grew to national prominence when it was used to primarily house the suffragists during the early 1900s but became one of the worst state penitentiaries you could imagine. We have a wing of the museum used just to show all of the shivs that have been discovered in the various buildings and during excavation of different parts of the grounds...
Fairfax County bought the grounds in 2001 and decided to turn it into a Community Arts Center with the very broad directive of engaging the community in the visual and performing arts... They've actually done a decent job on the visual arts side with some nice galleries and a score of talented artists on staff. They've not done so well on the performing arts side... So last year they hired Leon Scioscia away from The Strathmore Foundation (Leon was one of the "Big 3" pillars that built Strathmore Hall and The Amp in Rockville, MD.
I had worked with Leon on a few projects for Strathmore, and he approached us about taking over the Music Education programs at Workhouse. This led to several other discussions which ultimately led to me accepting a position on the board. Over the next ten years, we plan on:
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Opening a new coffeehouse, a brew pub, and a restaurant with a small outdoor performance area between the three with live local musicians performing throughout the day, every day...
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Building a 3500 seat Amphitheater and Stage that will rival any outdoor performance venue in the country
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Building a 500 seat professional theater and recital hall
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Building a new Music and Theater Arts Education Center that will be the envy of many colleges...
I'm really looking forward to this challenge!
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That sounds awesome. Congrats all around!
