The Arkansas Arts Center is "evaluating options" for its future, including a possible new facility, but no decisions have been made, the center's executive director said in a prepared statement released Thursday afternoon.
In an email to members of the Arts Center's board of trustees, Executive Director Todd Herman wrote that the statement summarizing the processes taken to evaluate the center's facility in Little Rock was being issued in response to recent articles regarding the Arts Center.
A telephone survey in North Little Rock last month about a possible 1 percent city sales tax to support an unannounced public-private project that would include an arts center or museum led to media reports that the Arts Center might relocate to North Little Rock with the assistance of private financial backing.
Herman said in his email that the foundation is "in the very early stages of evaluating options" and that "no decisions have been made."
Little Rock owns the Arts Center's building.
Herman's written statement said the Arts Center's ongoing strategic planning process that began last year "helped us shape our goals of expanding arts education and encouraging creativity through the fine and performing arts for the next five years. To achieve our mission and meet the goals identified in the planning process, it was clear that our current city owned facility needed substantial renovation, upgrades, and expansion. In particular, the growth of the collection had rendered the current storage space woefully inadequate."
He noted that "the facility no longer functions optimally in terms of efficiency and staff/visitor experience," and so "the Arts Center Foundation felt we had a duty to evaluate our physical facility options, including consideration of a new facility."
The foundation, he continued, "is exploring these options and ways to ensure adequate and secure funding sources" to create a more modern facility.
Robert Tucker, the Arkansas Arts Center Foundation board chairman, issued a statement last week that denied any "current plans" to relocate the Arts Center, though he confirmed that the foundation had been in discussions with both cities to "identify potential opportunities." The foundation is a separate nonprofit that owns and maintains the center's art collection.
North Little Rock Mayor Joe Smith also released a statement last week that acknowledged "conversations" with the foundation and said the city would continue supporting the Arts Center "no matter any decisions they make regarding location." North Little Rock contributes $40,000 annually to the Art Center.
Metro on 02/13/2015