CultureHouse Salem Pop-Up Community Center Opens Friday

SALEM, MA — The historic Old Town Hall in Salem will transform into the unique pop-up arts, creative and community space CultureHouse Salem for the next three months starting on Friday.

CultureHouse, which operated a location in Peabody for two months last spring, hosts temporary, downtown locations that provide an outlet for music, arts and other community events while gathering data that is later presented to the city to determine the viability of similar programs and businesses.

The Salem location will be open through June 30 and will host art exhibits, dance and music performances, public markets and other community-produced activities.

"Salem is known for its robust arts and culture landscape that brings residents and visitors together year after year," Salem Senior Planner of Arts & Culture Julie Barry said. "That landscape isn't static, but rather everchanging and we need to be ready to change and shift with it. We're excited to have CultureHouse onboard to help us engage with a wide range of constituents, showcase local artists, lift up and truly hear community voices, activate a beloved space, provide access to free and unique arts and culture programming and explore the possibilities and potential uses of this historic icon and asset."

Salem CultureHoue will be open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 1 to 6 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.

"We have been overwhelmed by the support and input from the community who truly wanted to be heard and represented throughout the process," CultureHouse Community LEad Rishika Dhawan said. "From a need for more diverse representation and more youth and senior programming, to access to the city's historic spaces that are often closed, we're opening the doors of Salem's Old Town Hall to the community, and with that, new and existing artists and a space where everyone can gather."

The Chagall Performance Art Collaborative Saxophone Quartet will perform from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on opening night. There will also be a photo exhibition from Ellery and Son Photography that will run for the entire month of April, and Salem Gnu Kitchen will be at the pop-up space on that day and every Friday through April.

A Black voting rights exhibit will be among those in the space in May.

Additional programming inquiries, fundraising, sponsorship and volunteer opportunities are also available can be found here.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)