FARMINGTON – The Foothills Arts Center invites people to offer program and facility ideas for a community arts center for Western Maine. The Arts Center Alive initiative will kick off with a public planning meeting from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, April 26, at the Foothills Arts Center office and studio, Pleasant Street, downtown Farmington.

The board of directors is planning a center that would provide studio, workshop, gallery and retail space for artisans and artists.

People renting the spaces could offer classes and demonstrations throughout the year. In addition, Foothills would present classes, workshops and training sessions that would provide the local workforce with new job skills in creative fields such as graphic design and the production of high-end niche-market crafts.

In addition to the new plan to serve artisans, the Foothills Arts Center will be a place where adults and children of all ages can take classes in art, music, dance, creative writing and theater.

The new facility will enable Foothills to expand its current offerings, which include after-school programs, Foothills Summer Arts (for children in grades one to 12), community chorus and original musical productions written and performed by adults and children.

The mission of the Foothills Arts Center, a nonprofit organization founded in 1989, is to bring together children and adults, artists and audiences to share the arts in an atmosphere that encourages learning, exploration and collaboration. Foothills welcomes experienced artists and artisans as well as folks who have never before had the opportunity to share the joys of creative expression.

For more information about the Foothills Arts Center, contact Director Anne Geller at 778-0448 or [email protected] or visit foothillsarts.org.