The seat of the North Country’s artistic community has finally moved to its new home. The North Country Cultural Center for the Arts, founded in 2000, has moved from its original location, into the federal building on Brinkerhoff Street in downtown Plattsburgh.

Inside the stately, vine-covered building, bright colors catch the eye. Canvases and photographs hang on the walls, displaying pieces teeming with life and expressions of emotion through color. Indeed, the artwork displayed at the NCCCA is a celebration of the North Country’s talent and culture.

With the new move, the Center, which is celebrating its ninth year, is expanding. As the renovation project at the Strand Theater enters the second of its three phases, the board members seized the opportunity to occupy the neighboring Federal Building.

“The move was a long time coming,” said Leigh Mundy, president of the NCCCA board of trustees. “The old building we rented was beautiful, but we needed classroom space.”

The center was able to acquire the government surplus building through the Board of Education.

“Our goal is to become an accredited Education Center,” Mundy said, “so we can offer the highest-quality education in all modalities.”

The center intends on using the new two-story building to build a dedicated pottery lab, a dance studio, stone carving workshop, and a theater space.

Heath Powers, a theater instructor for the Center, is excited about the developments. “Schools seem to be cutting arts in every direction,” Powers said. “Having an arts center in every city is important for mental development.”
The theater classes, filled with students from eight to 18, are full of creativity. Power’s classroom is like its own private community. Older teens, 17 and 18 year-olds, play games with the elementary kids, throwing themselves into acting games where kids are encouraged to be imaginative and silly.

“Classes are separated into levels, not ages, and each class learns very specific skills together,” Powers said. “We’ll put on an Improv Show with the advanced students, and short skits with the fundamentals class. But the class is not ‘about’ the performance. It’s about learning”

The structure of the theater classroom reflects the goals of the NCCCA. Other programs, such as Kindermusic, are for parents to take with their children.

“We’re trying to build something the community can be proud of,” Mundy said.

This is reflected in the work being put into the new center, according to Mundy.

Since their move in August, renovations, done mainly by volunteers, have begun to transform the building into a haven for artistic and community development. Fred Keil, who is the architect on record for the Strand theater project, is assisting to make the federal building functional. Walls were taken down in order to make a large gallery for events, and more plans, converting offices into classrooms, are in the works.

“Eventually, we’ll build a partnership between the Strand and the federal building, linking them for functionality with a corridor,” Keil said. “There will also be a loading dock for when shows come through with their trailers.”

Money continues to be raised for programming and renovation costs through the support of members, grants, and at events like the Arms and Legs auction and the Halloween Masquerade. The Center has also applied for a grant in order to create art-based after-school programs.

“It’s hard to work with grants,” Keil said. “We can only go as fast as the money comes in.”

But for the community, the end result should be worth the wait. When asked why the arts center was important, one eightyear old boy smiled and summed it up: “It’s fun.”