LEWISTON — James Parakilas has been involved in the Lewiston arts community long enough to remember when LA Arts hosted musical acts for weeklong residencies.

Parakilas, then only a few years into his career at Bates College, would host musicians at his house.

Years later, as board chairman of LA Arts, Parakilas has overseen a period of struggle and rebirth for the arts organization, from the pandemic through the development of a new downtown headquarters, which is the organization’s most versatile space yet.

While the organization has a paid director, Parakilas and the rest of the board are volunteers.

The Sun Journal spoke to Parakilas as the organization was gearing up for Art Walk LA on Friday.

The event “fosters community and celebrates the vitality of Lewiston/Auburn by turning the downtown into a bustling arts district on the final Friday of each summer month, from May to September,” according to its website. “By converting 30+ businesses and empty storefronts into galleries, creative exhibitions and special performance spaces, Art Walk LA drives thousands of people downtown, making it a staple of culture, civics, and economic development for the Twin Cities.”

“The organization gives all the board members a wonderful opportunity to be involved in the arts community,” he said. “We have a tremendous number of arts people here, and it’s an opportunity to connect them with each other, and that’s important.”

A Connecticut native, Parakilas and his wife moved to Lewiston in 1979 when Parakilas got a job teaching music at Bates College. They’ve lived in Lewiston ever since, with Parakilas retiring recently after 37 years there.

He said he was asked to join the board in 2016, and because he was planning to retire, thought it would be “a good way to stay connected to the arts in the community.”

The organization was founded by Lewiston and Auburn public libraries in 1973 as LPL + APL. It quickly became known as LA Arts and a formal move made the name official in 1988. The original mission was to bring visual and performing arts into public areas and city schools, but Parakilas said that over the decades, as other arts organizations grew, its focus changed to support local artists and arts experiences for the people of the cities.

During the pandemic, LA Arts closed its previous space at 221 Lisbon St. and went without a location for two years, he said. The space featured a gallery on the street level, and a performance space in the basement, but eventually became unusable due to mold.

Gerald Walsh, the organization’s director, was hired in August 2022.

When the time came to explore new options, Parakilas said the board wanted to maintain a presence on Lisbon Street because that’s where Art Walk LA is centered. The board chose a former print shop at 168 Lisbon St. that has since received an “overwhelming” response from the public, he said.

“It really serves our purposes beautifully, because it’s one big room so we can be flexible with how we use it,” he said.

The space can be used as an art gallery, performance or meeting space, and features a kitchen used to host receptions.

It took some work to get there. Parakilas said the walls, flooring and lighting all needed to be redone, and a new kitchen and bathrooms were added. The organization hosted a grand opening in February.

Since then, the space has been hosting an average of one concert a month, with gallery exhibits changing about every other month, he said. A new show opened Friday during the Art Walk.

Last week, the space hosted a concert that featured several punk rock bands, two of which were on tour from California.

Asked about the reaction from the public so far, Parakilas said, “It’s been overwhelming.”

“Because the place is so central and we have these big windows, people walk by and look in, and see exhibits and see us in there and walk in,” he said. “The space is very inviting, and it means a lot to us to have a place where people want to be.”

He said others involved in arts-adjacent organizations have began using the space after seeing it. The Androscoggin Historical Society hosts its monthly lectures there and a storytelling group called The Corner hosts monthly readings. It’s also hosted other one-off events.

Mayor Carl Sheline said Parakilas has “really had a hand in getting the new space underway.”

“He’s not just coming to board meetings, he’s been in the trenches getting things done,” he said. “He’s someone who has dedicated their whole life to the arts, moved here and stayed and contributed to the city, and loves it. Jim doesn’t want the credit, he just wants to help.”

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