VisArts at Rockville in the Arts and Innovation Center
Arts and Crafts Shop, Galleries, Conference Space Planned for Downtown Rockville

Details on plans for a portion of the five-story, mixed-use building in Rockville Town Square, now being called the Arts and Innovation Center, are becoming clearer as construction continues on the new Rockville Town Square development. The center, which will be the home of the Metropolitan Center for the Visual Arts at Rockville, a business incubator and street-level retail, will be on the corner of the Town Square plaza and Gibbs Street, adjacent to the new Rockville Library.

The Metropolitan Center for the Visual Arts at Rockville, which will be informally known as VisArts at Rockville (formerly Rockville Arts Place), is leasing from the City the second and third floors of the building. It will also lease a small portion of space on the first level to create a museum quality retail galleria.

The retail store will feature original artwork and fine crafts from artists across the country, as well as objects and books related to the exhibits in three unique art galleries on the second floor. Those galleries will be a main gallery featuring national and international quality works, a community gallery for local and regional artists and a children’s gallery for hands-on discovery. The galleries will be free and open to the public during normal business hours, evenings and weekends.

The second floor will feature artists’ studios, housing between 13 and 18 artists and a visiting artist who will create on site, give presentations and teach classes. Another highlight of the space is a 2,500-foot events room that will include an open area for lectures, meetings and a catering kitchen to support special events. The space also can accommodate small conferences with breakout rooms and the latest technology.

The third floor will include teaching studios for ceramics, glass, print making, wood turning, painting, drawing, photography and children’s art. There also will be a digital lab for film and animation, a darkroom for black and white printing and administrative offices. VisArts will host a wide variety of interactive programs, classes and exhibits to interest people of all ages and backgrounds. It is gearing the building to be a “hub” for art in Montgomery County through both its offerings and partnerships with area arts organizations.

“There is a lot of glass in this building,” said Debra Moser, executive director of VisArts. “It is designed with the idea that the community can easily look in, and that the artists can easily look out into the community. We will create new connections for the people of Rockville and Montgomery County through unique hands-on art experiences and a wide-variety of learning opportunities.”

Construction began in December. The schedule calls for construction to be completed by the spring of 2007.

VisArts must raise $3.5 million for its portion of the building. For more information, or to support the project, visit www.visartscenter.org or call 301-315-8200.