Brewery Arts tries to find footing

Mark Tompkins has been teaching art classes at the Brewery Arts Center for 11 years.

“I’m very happy here, and we always fill the classes,” he said.

And he wants to see that continue.

“We need an outlet for creative people,” he said. “People who can teach and allow others to express themselves. This has been a unique place for that.”

As Kyle Horvath takes the reins as president of the board of directors, he said, he is taking careful analysis of what has been working well and what needs to change for the center to operate efficiently.

“The classes are the shining light of our operations,” Horvath said. “They’re full. The teachers are happy and the students are happy.”

The center offers an array of community arts classes, including theater, art, pottery, poetry and children’s classes. Horvath said he would like to see them expand to include weekends and after business hours.

Horvath, who was elected president of the board last month, said the classes and the Nevada Artists Association Art Gallery, featuring the work of local visual artists, are the stalwarts of the center, and his board is looking at other ways to generate revenue after the center has fallen into the red over the past years.

“If the community want to come together to save the Brewery Arts Center, rent our facility,” Horvath said. “That is the most effective way we can pay off the debt we’ve inherited.”

He said the historic ballroom in the main building is ideal for weddings, receptions and other party events like quinceaneras. The Black Box Theater serves as a venue for plays and larger shows. The Performing Arts Center has space that works as a secondary theater and is wired into the media center downstairs.

“It would be a perfect place for business lectures,” Horvath said. “The fact that the business community is not utilizing this space is a missed opportunity. This place could be so cool.”

He said the board is in the process of evaluating all the programs offered at the Brewery Arts Center to determine how they best utilize space and resources, considering turning breezeways and storage closets into small galleries.

“We’re going to put a fresh coat of paint on everything and change the vibe into something that is fresh, new and creative,” Horvath said.

Horvath said that new vibe will be showcased during the Winter, Wine and all that Jazz when the center’s campus will be filled with an assortment of wines and entertainers in every venue.

Every room will feature different performances, including dance and music, with the professional circus company Le Cirque Vagabond performing in the

“This place is going to be popping,” he said.