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Winner Arts Center Prepares for Gala Opening
SHARON, Pa. – Principals involved with the James E. Winner Arts & Culture Center envision it as a focal point for the community in more ways than one.
The grand opening gala for the center takes place tomorrow evening, an event that will feature entertainment, food and cocktails, dancing, and an art sale. Among the items to be auctioned are an attributed Van Gogh pencil study and work by American impressionist landscape painter John Lawrence Lloyd.
The center is “the first visual representation” of an overall strategy to position Sharon as a “cultural destination” to spur economic development, said Dayna Shaw Sear, executive director of the Penn Ohio Arts & Industry Innovation Initiative.
This week workers were putting the finishing touches on the former Wilson's Furniture Store, working from the ground floor to the newly minted "Theatre on 3" on the third level. The center is named for the late James. E. Winner Jr., the Sharon entrepreneur who launched The Club line of auto security products.
"After my father's accident nearly three years ago, we wanted to have a special place to hang his name, a place he would be proud of," said Karen Winner Sed, CEO of the Winner Companies. "We had this building and we wanted to make it part of the community, where artists would feel a part of and also something that my dad would be proud to put his name on for our family’s legacy.”
Sed described her father as a "big benefactor" for the entire community; the arts and culture center ties in with his beliefs and philanthropy. "He invested sometimes in people, in programs, but in things that better everyone -- not just someone but everyone," she said. The center “enhances the artists’ lifestyle because they have a place they can call their own and show their works.” At the same time, it enhances the community because people will be able see “some really fabulous art” in addition to the shows and other special events.
Saturday’s art auction and sale will feature works from $60 to $23,000, “something for everyone, from the beginning collector to the serious professional collector,” Sed observed.
“There’s a transformation to make this place into a focal point of downtown Sharon and to attract not only the local artists but also national artists,” said Doug DiPreta, executive director of the center. He envisions the three-story property as “a focal point for artists young and old,” and for art that includes paintings, sculpture and music.
“We have some special things tied into the WaterFire events which are coming up through the summer” and involve the community at large, DiPreta noted.
WaterFire Sharon is a series of entertainment festivals set for this summer and fall tied into the Shenango River downtown. The concept is based on a similar event held in Providence, R.I. Dates for the Sharon events are Aug. 3, Sept. 14 and Oct. 12.
“What we plan to do is involve the entire community, and make it as a focal point for the whole Shenango Valley to come downtown, spend time, see great art, hear great music and see great shows,” DiPreta said.
The music series launches May 18 with singer George Bugatti performing Restrospectfully Yours, a tribute to his mentor, Tony Bennett. The theatre series kicks off June 20 with My Way, A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra.
Sed sees the Arts & Culture Center as an anchor for the downtown, and she points out that healthy downtowns have a strong arts representation. “We’d like it to be the anchor for educational arts initiatives and entertainment as well, and that’s not just for downtown,” she remarked. “When we talk about developing things or doing things, we think about the whole region. As you know, economic development is thinking regionally.”
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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