The Arts Center at Fountain Park - is coming to life. It will become the home for performing arts across York, Lancaster, and Chester counties in South Carolina. The Center will connect an active, engaged, and inclusive community of performing artists and arts organizations, and touch the lives, passions, and imagination of those who share a love for the performing arts.
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Plans for the center are being informed by ongoing conversation with performing artists, arts organizations, and schools and universities across the region. The new center will be a hub for the organizations to produce and present events and activities year-round for diverse and eager audiences.
We connect, educate, and inspire through shared celebration of the performing arts.
We are the region’s premier performing arts destination, a unique and vibrant gathering place for all.
Tremendous growth and progress in this area has brought more people, more jobs, more housing, and more amenities. Yet, we lack a dedicated community space for the performing arts. Positive indicators for this project include the expanding market, significant demand, deficiencies in current facility inventory, and the potential to advance local, regional and state goals.
Arts facility experts recognize that our culturally-minded residents are already immersed in a healthy and diverse arts community. They also identified very high user demand for state-of-the-art performance spaces, including studios, rehearsal rooms, and special event venues. Existing spaces belong to schools, universities or churches; modern amenities, scheduling availability, and seating capacity are limited.
Our Board has commissioned several studies to gauge the feasibility of a performing arts center in our region.
A conceptual rendering of The Arts Center at Fountain Park. Rendering produced by 505Design.
Our growing community is eager for authentic and varied performing arts programming that appeals to diverse audiences and also complements those offerings found in Charlotte.
It’s time to provide our residents with an outstanding audience experience that contributes to the economic and cultural vitality of our region. And, as the region strives to be future focused and move forward for everyone, the new Center will be a much-needed space for a more inclusive and unified community.
As the region’s premier cultural destination, The Arts Center at Fountain Park will bring a wide variety of new performances from local, regional, and national performers. A great opportunity for shared experiences and memories for generations to come. Answering a demand for creative programming, it will be the hub for artists and performing arts organizations in York, Chester, and Lancaster counties.
Performing arts enthusiasts and tourists have one more reason to consider this region as a destination of choice. The Center will attract even more visitors to a bustling Old Town Rock Hill, promoting the development of hotel, restaurant and retail activity in a safe, walkable downtown, and complementing sports tourism and other feature activities.
Along with enriching the downtown district in myriad ways, we aim to advance a more intentional focus on inclusiveness and to help ensure that all citizens find the Arts Center inspirational and meaningful to their lives. For many of our residents, access to the performing arts is challenging. We want people of all ages and backgrounds to participate in the joy of creativity, personal expression, and engagement. Making the arts accessible and relevant for everyone is central to our vision.
Every young person deserves the opportunity to experience the performing arts. Ample evidence proves that art programs impact motivation and leads to success in school, in life, and in work. Access to quality arts education programming is an essential component of The Arts Center at Fountain Park commitment to the community.
Culturally rich community offerings will create an enhanced quality of life for residents while strengthening the surrounding region. Young families, professionals, and longtime citizens will find a gathering place with a common purpose around common interest.
In recent months, The Arts Center at Fountain Park has engaged in conversations with officials in Rock Hill and the surrounding community, as well as other civic leaders and elected state representatives. Led by our 12-member board of directors and a future Executive Director, planning for the Center is also informed by ongoing conversations with regional artists and arts organizations, as well as business executives and non-profits.
Leaders from the Rock Hill School District, Clinton College, Winthrop University, and York Technical College have expressed overwhelming support for the project. And, we are engaged with the Rock Hill Symphony, the Arts Council of York County, the SC Arts Alliance, and the SC Arts Commission.
We appreciate the early support from our growing network of local partners.
The Arts Center at Fountain Park is led by a dedicated Board representing business, education, and the arts.
Executive Director
Interim Chairman
Vinyet Architecture
Board Treasurer
BNA CPAs and Advisors
ACFP Board Member
Morton & Gettys, LLC
Board Member
SC Arts Commission
Board Member
Arts Council of York County (Retired)
Board Member
Rock Hill Schools
Board Member
York Technical College
Board Member
Founders Federal Credit Union
Board Member
City of Rock Hill
Board Member
Catawba Regional Council of Governments
Board Member
Winthrop University
Board Member
Scrap Metal Partners, LLC
Board Member
Williams & Fudge
