Darien Arts Center Celebrates 40 Years of Enriching Our Community

The Darien Arts Center is proudly celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2015. Its recent production of ‘On Golden Pond’ was the first of many special events planned for the celebratory year, with others including the Annual Darien Art Show and Sale this spring, a June cocktail fundraiser, a fall Birthday Bash with entertainment by DAC talent, and a digital photo contest.

Additionally, the DAC will host several dance, music and theatre performances including the original children’s ballet, Fiona in April, a fall production from DAC Stage, and the holiday favorite, Scenes from the Nutcracker.

With over 6000 individuals attending programs and performances annually at the DAC, it is hard to believe that this center for the arts didn’t always exist. It was early in 1975 that a few determined individuals created the spark for what we have now come to know as the Darien Arts Center.

In a time that had been referenced as a ‘cultural desert’ in Darien, Fred Scharmer, Luther Thompson, Roz Emmons, Anne Perlin, Dan Dolcetti, Jeanne Fuller and Bonnie Holt were determined to fan the flame of the town’s creativity. In a now demolished building at Cherry Lawn Park, they scraped asphalt from floors, painted and made repairs, scrounged together equipment for their modest beginnings and got permission from the town selectmen to become the Darien Arts Council.

During its first year, several hundred residents became charter members of the Darien Arts Council and it offered its first visual arts classes for kids and adults. The Darien Players, its community theatre group, came into existence through the exuberance of Joanne Garraway and her enthusiastic committee. During the next decade, Anne Ernst Wright inaugurated the Darien Dance Center. Under the directorship of Val Pullman classes were created for all ages and the dance department became a pillar of the Darien Arts Council.

The Arts Council outgrew its Cherry Lawn quarters and moved to its current location in the lower level of town hall. An art studio was developed and visual arts classes were expanded. The annual Darien Art Show, which had already been in existence, came under the umbrella of the Arts Council and was moved from the Goodwives parking lot to the town hall gymnasium, where weather would no longer be a concern. Within the next few years, Bob and Cathie Lindsay began the Actors/Playwrights Workshop and the Connecticut Choraliers elected to join the Arts Council, giving birth to a new music center.

The Darien Arts Council received funds from Marion and Dennis Weatherstone in 1994 to renovate their space and create the DAC Weatherstone Studio, a large, professionally equipped mirrored room that doubles as a black box theatre and dance studio. A name change seemed appropriate in 1997, when the board of directors decided that the Darien Arts Council should be called the Darien Arts Center to better define its role of encompassing programs in dance, visual arts, music and theatre.

Another significant change came to the DAC in the form of a grant from the Darien Foundation for Technology and Community in 2012, that allowed the installation of a state-of-the-art audio-visual system in the theatre. The new technology enhances both performer and audience experience at all events.

Now in its 4th decade, the Darien Arts Center continues to grow its programs. Over 600 students benefit from their dance program, one of the largest in Connecticut; and the number of music students has recently doubled, necessitating expansion of classroom space. Hundreds of local artists showcase their work at the Annual Art Show and Sale, now in its 57th year.

The 15th Ginny Wright Scholarship will be given in honor of Virginia Wright, talented artist, dedicated volunteer and generous benefactor, to a graduating Darien High School artist. DAC Stage, its recently revamped community theatre group, continues to gain recognition for critically acclaimed shows.

Most recently, the DAC has expanded its community outreach and has developed partnerships with the Darien Library, Darien Nature Center, Atria, Maplewood and Darien After School Programs. Those with special needs are able to express themselves in art and dance classes through a newly forged relationship with Star, Inc.

The Darien Arts Center owes its future as well as its past to people like the original dedicated crew whose elbow grease and total commitment created the Darien Arts Council.

The non-profit currently depends on over 150 teen and adult volunteers to fulfill their mission and is solely funded by private donations, grants, tuition fees and ticket sales. 40 years strong, the Darien Arts Center continues to make Darien a more vibrant community. To find out more, visit darienarts.org or call (203) 655-8683. The DAC is located at 2 Renshaw Road, behind the Darien Town Hall.

Following are events planned for the 40th anniversary year of the Darien Arts Center:

April 25 & 26 Fiona, an original ballet

May 16 Junior Dance Concert

May 19 Kids’ Theatre Performance

May 29 Opening Reception of Darien Art Show & Sale and

15th Ginny Wright Scholarship Awarded

May 29-June 6 57th Annual Art Show & Sale

June 7 Senior Dance Concert

June 20 40th Anniversary Cocktail Fundraiser

June Music Department Recital

August Open House

September 40th Birthday Bash & Entertainment Revue

October Digital Photo Contest

November DAC Stage Production

December Scenes from the Nutcracker

Recently, DAC board presidents and founders gathered to discuss plans for the 40th anniversary year of the Darien Arts Center. Pictured in the front row: Nicholas Troilo, past board president, Roz Emmons, founder, and Anne Perlin, founder and first president. In the 2nd row: past board presidents Dana Fead, Pam Heckel and Frank Kemp. Back row: past presidents Lisa Thoren and Deidre Hogan with current board president Christine Bang. Presidents not pictured: William Edgerton, Joanne Garraway, David Osherow and Lew Green.