Coral Springs Center for the Arts facts for kids
The Coral Springs Center for the Arts is a cool place in Coral Springs, Florida, where you can enjoy both live shows and amazing art! It has a big theater with 1,471 seats, which is like a giant movie theater but for live performances. This theater often hosts famous broadway shows and is also home to a performing arts studio called Next Stop Broadway. The studio even helps young performers with audition workshops. Besides the theater, the building also has the Coral Springs Museum of Art. This museum shows off different art pieces by artists from all over the country and especially from Florida.
How It All Started
Back in the early 1980s, people in Coral Springs thought it would be great to have a community center. They wanted a place for meetings, events, and fun activities. So, the city decided to spend $8 million to build one. They even added a gym because people also wanted a place for sports.
A famous local architect named Donald Singer designed the building. It was a bit tricky because they needed space for both basketball courts and a theater. So, they came up with a clever idea: the gym could open right into the theater! This meant that the bleachers (seats for sports) could also be used as the balcony seats for the theater. Pretty smart, right?
During the three years it took to build, they ran into some challenges. They had to make some smart choices to save money, like making the stage a bit smaller. But the main shape of the building stayed the same.
The center first opened in 1989. At first, it was mostly for sports and recreation. But soon, people realized that there was a much bigger need for cultural events like plays and art shows.
By 1990, the City Centre, as it was called then, became its own special department. Experts in theater and arts were brought in to run the place. In 1994, the city decided to improve the sound and space in the building. Around the same time, a wealthy artist wanted to help build an art museum with the city. These two ideas fit together perfectly! So, $4.5 million was put into the project, with $1.5 million coming from the artist.
The improved building reopened in 1996 and was given its new name: The Coral Springs Center for the Arts.
Coral Springs Museum of Art
The Coral Springs Museum of Art opened in 1997. Its main goal is to show art by artists who are working today, especially those from Florida. You can see all kinds of art here, from traditional paintings to digital art. Every year, the museum also features an exhibition by local artists from the Coral Springs Artist Guild.
Some famous artists whose works have been shown here include Pablo Cano, Scott Draves, Clyde Butcher, William Glackens, and Charles Mills.
On May 9, 2015, the museum hosted its first ever comic book convention, called Comics Fest Coral Springs. It was a super fun event with talks about making costumes and comics, a drawing competition, and even lessons on how to cartoon! There were also many vendors and an area where you could meet artists.
The Coral Springs Museum of Art also offers art classes for all ages, from kids to adults. You can learn about ceramics, painting, illustration, and mixed media. They even have a special art camp during the summer!
