Struggling Dexter Arts Center Forced to Close Doors

After months of dwindling revenue, the officially closed its doors to the public on June 20.

"We just wanted to let everyone know that we have never heard from the Internal Revenue Service on our 501(c)3 status. As a result, we have lost our lease, since we were unable to raise enough operating funds," DAC board president Pam O'Hara said in an email to members. "We want to thank the board for their hard work in trying to get the art center off the ground and a big thank you for all of those who took the classes we offered."

In March, DAC board members announced that the center had roughly and was waiting on the status of its nonprofit application in order to move forward with classes. The application was filed in June 2011 and would've allowed the DAC to apply for state and federal grants otherwise unavailable, as well as provide tax write-offs for patrons' donations.

O'Hara said in the last communication with the IRS, a letter dated Feb. 27, the group needed to answer several questions by March 12, which they did.

"The communication has stopped," she said. "We tried several times to reach out to the IRS for help, but we've exhausted all of our options short of contacting Sen. Debbie Stabenow's Office.

"It's pretty sad. We can't pay the rent, so there's nothing left to do but close the arts center," she said.

With class attendance dipping in the single digits since January, O'Hara said it has been difficult to target what the Dexter community wants from the center. Initially, the group offered mostly children's classes, including clay sculpting and decoupage.

"We found (in a survey) they wanted more adult classes, but they're not responding to those now either," O'Hara said.

Artist Lisa Wandres took over the center's lease in April, operating while the board waited for response from the IRS, but has since moved out.

"Our summer classes went well last year. It seems like interest in an arts center comes and goes. We have more than 300 people on our email list, so it's not like people weren't in favor of what we were trying to do," O'Hara said.

She said there are no plans in the foreseeable future to resurrect the center.