Please accept our invitation to attend one of six public meetings to review plans for Up Your Arts’ proposed center for the creative and performing arts in downtown Southport. The meetings will take place at the Indian Trail Meeting Hall next to the Harper Library on Moore Street during the following times:
- Tuesday, January 24 – 10am-noon and 2-4pm
- Tuesday, January 31 – 2-4pm and 6-8pm
- Thursday, February 2 – 10am-noon and 6-8pm
All are welcome. However, the seating capacity is limited to 50 people, so interested parties must register to participate.
The presentation will consider the history and feasibility of adapting the historic Brunswick County Courthouse and former city hall at 201 E. Moore Street into a state-of-the-art, community-based center. The building is owned by the City of Southport but has been vacant since 2018, when all municipal operations there ceased, due to the need for extensive repairs.
Up Your Arts will also present architectural drawings prepared by Lisle Architecture & Design to depict our recommendations for the building’s reconstruction. These renderings and other information about our efforts can be viewed at the following link on our website, along with a video tour of the building in its current state: https://www.upyourarts.org/southport-art-spaces/save-the-hall/
Prior to taking questions from the floor at the end of each meeting, we will review next steps, which include the establishment of a separate legal entity to oversee the art center’s construction and future operations. This move would wrap up a series of agreements between Up Your Arts and City of Southport elected officials since 2019 to explore and develop the possibilities for this project.
We hope you will be able to join our “Save the Hall, Y’all” efforts by attending one of these meetings. Please invite neighbors, friends, and family members to attend with you. All are welcome – don’t forget to register!
