The Visual Arts Center is located in downtown Punta Gorda across from Fishermen’s Village. Executive Director Lisa Gallucci tells us what visitors will find inside.
“We are a 12,000-square-foot building with six classrooms, including a pottery and glass studio. We have three galleries, where we show exhibits of our local artists’ art. We have a gift shop and we love to have our kids in year-round art classes here, and as well in summer camp.”
The Center traces its lineage to 1961.
“There was about 10 or 12 artists back in 1961who wanted to put on an art show in Punta Gorda,” Gallucci recounted. “They did so and they weren’t sure how many would show up, but an astonishing 3,000 people came to the show, and they thought, hey, we have something here. So they created the Charlotte County Art Guild, and then the dba, which is now the Visual Arts Center is where we are, and the building opened in 1989 for classes.”
Today, the Visual Arts Center serves all of Charlotte County, and beyond. It has become a vibrant community gathering place.
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Artist Henry Lohse led the charge to get a brick-and-mortar Visual Arts Center in Charlotte County.
The Guild secured a long-term lease of Punta Gorda City property at the corner of Maud Street and Marion Avenue.
Fred Babcock was the first Patron of the Arts and contributed greatly to the building fund.
The Center was built in phases as money was raised by the community. The Guild received two matching capital grants from the State of Florida’s Division of Cultural Affairs in 1985 and 1987, respectively. The ground-breaking ceremony occurred in February of 1988 and the Center’s doors officially opened in 1989. In 2018, the Visual Arts Center partnered with the Patterson Foundation for its Margin & Mission Ignition Initiative and began construction of a new brick-and-mortar Art & Supply Store to strengthen the Center's entrepreneurial capacity and become sustainable for greater community impact. In addition to Art for sale by Visual Arts Center member artists, art supplies and class kits are available along with VAC logo items, snacks and rental storage lockers for students.
The entire facility is wheelchair accessible including restrooms, water fountains, sinks, parking, curbing, main entry and exit.
Exhibitions are free and open to the public. Shows take place in the Main Gallery, Goff Gallery and Rebecca Hall.
The Visual Arts Center is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday and Friday; from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.
The Center is supported in part by membership dues.
The Visual Arts Center is a member of the North American Reciprocal Museum Program (NARM), providing members who join the added benefit of free or low-cost entry to over 1,200 participating facilities nationwide.
For more information, visit https://visualartcenter.org.
