What's next for North Port Art Center?

NORTH PORT — The North Port Art Center isn’t being forced to move from its current home — but it is time to look for another headquarters.

Leadership at the 36-year-old North Port Art Guild is determined to land a larger venue.

The group has steadily grown over the decades, and an organization that once served 15,000 people now serves a community of 90,000.

Many residents are artists, and many of them use the Art Center, staff said. And some are in dire need of a studio to decompress — through painting, or perhaps sculpting.

Their confines have become too small, though, and they need help before they can grow.

The city of North Port already provides a good amount of it, staff member Karen Capotosto said. Starting in 2007, the city voted to let the center use the city-owned building next to Dallas White Park. The rent is only $1 per month.

But the guild leadership has been looking for another place for the last few years.

Art Center staff member Karen Frustereo said a proposed public-private partnership with the city of North Port — also known as a P3 — would have brought development to the property and likely forced their exit.

The P3, however, “fell by the wayside,” she said, so for now they can stay.

In fact, North Port city staff can be found in portables directly adjacent to the Art Center. So long as they remain there, the Center is locked in, staff believes.

But the Center’s leaders and its artists want a new venue.

How to get there is the ultimate question, though.

The Guild is a nonprofit and doesn’t have the funds to build or buy a new studio.

Capotosto said they are keen on securing partners to help them a finance their transition into a center better suited for a city of North Port’s size.

Their artists want it too.

Two young boys, Cole and Caleb Ibrahim recently even started a lemonade stand, trying to help the center toward raising $1 million to fund a new space.

Their efforts were rewarded with a respectable $29.44, staff said.

Some ideas they have come up with for a change in scenery to accommodate such growth include a brand new spot, perhaps on a 3-acre parcel; a move-in to somewhere no longer in use; a stretch of homes for sale near Warm Mineral Springs; or perhaps even a center built out of storage units, similar to the North Port Fire Rescue Training Center.

Staff member Gale West said she would love the new spot to be similar to the soon-to-be-demolished Port Charlotte Cultural Center.

Ideas and a vision can only take them so far, though. They need people who can help make their dreams a reality, West said.

West said, it’s about finding the right people to hire to help the organization and move forward.

Also needed are new volunteers to help run day-to-day proceedings.

“Even though we struggled all these years, we’re still here,” Frustereo said.

Capotosto laughed.

“We live paycheck to paycheck here. We would love a sponsor,” Capotosto said. One with deep pockets would be ideal, she admitted.

West then chimed in. She is confident it will all work out in the end.

“Nonprofits are messy — and right now we’re in the messiest part of it. But we have great instructors and great programs. We’re looking at how to maximize programs and minimize expenses,” she said.

The North Port Art Center is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and on Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

There are special events that occur Saturdays, too.

To learn more about volunteering for, sponsoring, or attending the North Port Art Center, visit northportartcenter.org