WILTON – A 20-year journey of creative learning and exploration will come to an end April 30 when the Foothills Arts Center closes its doors.

“Since we have not been able to acquire the long-term funding from the community to pay for my replacement and the center’s operating costs, the Foothills Arts Center and I must say goodbye to the community,” Executive Director Anne Geller said.

It takes a minimum of $101,500 in local donations each year to operate the center, she said. Last year, it moved from a small Farmington office to the Bass Building in Wilton.

The organization has needed a full-time director, Geller said, and planned to have one in the next few years. The center has also lacked space, and many programs have been held in schools and churches while the board searched for a larger area.

Serving an area from Rangeley to Livermore and Rumford, the organization was started by a group of 200 people, who established the community arts center in 1989, Geller said. It offers workshops, performances, a summer arts program and local productions. Its first was “Voices of the River.”

The center has become a place to watch artists and craftspeople at work, take classes or give them, join performances and share stories, Geller said.

Four school districts have benefited from Foothills’ visiting artist-teachers. Geller, who was raised in an artistic family, devoted untold volunteered h.ours to creating productions

She said she enjoys “empowering people to do things they never thought they would be able to do.” Participants and students have had the chance to explore their own creative abilities, she said.

“Hundreds of children and adults over the past 20 years have told me how our work has opened their eyes and minds to new ideas and possibilities,” she said.

Geller said she has no specific plans but knows she’ll continue to be an active member of the community, working on causes in which she believes.

“I’d like to work in public policy and politics,” said the former campaigner for President John F. Kennedy. She also plans to visit grandchildren and travel, she said.