
The old Newberry Observer building will soon become the home of the Newberry Arts Center. A groundbreaking is scheduled for October 23 at 3 p.m.
Courtesy photo
NEWBERRY — The vision of the Newberry Arts Center (NAC) will soon become reality with the groundbreaking of its new home at 1716 Main Street in Newberry.
A groundbreaking ceremony will be held on Wednesday, October 23 at 3 p.m. and is open to the community.
Formerly the Newberry Observer building, Marquerite Palmer, the arts center’s program manager, said it checked all the boxes on being the right fit for the new arts center.
“It was easy to see it as the permanent home of the Newberry Arts Center after having to move and expand so many times,” Palmer said. “The space has good parking and easy access to the building, is one-story with everything on the main floor, plenty of room for classes and is the gateway to downtown Newberry with room for growth.”
The 15,685 square foot facility will house an expanded pottery studio with over 12 clay wheels, three kilns, storage areas and two clay classrooms. The building will also include administrative areas, three 400 square foot classrooms, three private studios and a large meeting area designed to accommodate the annual South Carolina Clay Conference of which the arts center hosts.
Construction is anticipated to be completed in the fall of 2025.
Parks, Recreation and Tourism Director Collin Shealy said incredible growth continued to blossom at the Newberry Arts Center, fueled by the passion of its dedicated staff and the steadfast support of City Council.
“Together, they ensure that this renovation is not just a project, but a promise to elevate our community’s creative spirit for generations to come,” Shealy said. “I couldn’t be more thrilled for Marquerite, who envisioned this a decade ago with a kids summer camp and an adult watercolor class. This renovation is a testament to the city’s commitment to the community and the community’s desire for the arts.”
The Vision
In September 2013, Palmer began working for the City of Newberry’s Parks, Recreation and Tourism (PRT) department. She and former director, Scott Sawyer discussed the idea of an arts program.
“City Manager at the time, Al Harvey liked the idea and plan for the start of an arts program and gave his blessing to proceed,” Palmer said.
The following summer of 2014, four weeks of summer art camp were offered to the community and held at 1328 College Street, an old PRT office building. Also offered that August and quickly filled was a watercolor class.
“The response from the community was very positive and it was clear that the arts program needed more space,” Palmer said.
It was at this time, Palmer said that Harvey began to look for new space for the arts center where pottery classes could be offered for all ages. In October 2014, the Newberry Arts Center (NAC) opened in a new location at 1105 Caldwell Street and began offering more classes including pottery. This location is part of the Old Newberry Hotel.
In February 2015, two respected South Carolina potters and staff of the Newberry Arts Center began the South Carolina Clay Conference. It is offered each year featuring internationally recognized clay artists. In addition to the conference is a large pottery sale that attracted 600 shoppers last year and featured the work of 50 clay artists from all over the Southeast region.
Presently, the Newberry Arts Center has expanded to occupy three spaces on Main Street in Newberry:
- 1200 Main Street – administrative offices and artisan shop
- 1202 Main Street – classroom and gallery space
- 1206 Main Street – temporary clay studio
In 2019, the arts center began offering free art programs called Art in the Park on Fridays during the summer. The arts center provides free art activities through this program in different city parks to children and their families.
CREATE Newberry was established in 2020 as a 501(c)3 non-profit to provide scholarships to children and adults for classes and workshops offered at the arts center. CREATE also offsets the price of some arts opportunities to make them more affordable for our rural community. CREATE has partnered with the arts center as well as the Newberry Opera House to offer cultural programs for the community. CREATE works in partnership with the City of Newberry to make sure the community has access to arts programming.
Comes to Reality
Palmer said the artisan shop located at 1200 Main Street will remain in its currently location for the community even following the new home for NAC.
“Visitors love to shop in this space and the local businesses also want the artisan shop to stay at 1200 Main,” she said.
The new space available at the arts center, Palmer said will allow more classrooms, larger studio spaces, and allow multiple classes and camps to be held at the same time.
Individual artists will have the opportunity to rent studio space or have it used for artists in residence programs.
The South Carolina Clay Conference will be held at the new facility, offering more space for participants and break out sessions, Palmer said.
“The renovation of the old Newberry Observer building into the new arts center will have a big impact on the community,” she said. “A larger variety of arts can be explored by participants and the programs will attract many visitors from outside of Newberry.”
Mayor Foster Senn said the new home for the Newberry Arts Center would be a great addition to Newberry.
“When City Manager Al Harvey told City Council he wanted to hire Marquerite Palmer to start a new arts program, we did not know it would grow to be such an outstanding success and now recognized as one of the best art centers in South Carolina,” Senn said. “That’s a credit to Marquerite, her colleagues and the outstanding grassroots support the arts center has built.”
Senn said that City Council greatly appreciated Senator Ronnie Cromer for obtaining the first funding to give this project momentum and that the city had been able to add to that. He added CREATE had also been an important part of building momentum for this project and council thanked them for their efforts.