PAR Projects recently purchased the parcel of land at 1622 Hoffner St. in Northside. Plans are currently underway to create an art and education center for the community.
The future home of PAR Projects is being constructed out of repurposed shipping containers, two of which you may have seen around Northside. All of the programming will be geared toward practical arts training, including teaching the elements of graphic design and video editing.
“Lots of different places offer painting and drawing classes, but there aren’t a lot that offer access to digital media and things that are valuable in creative workplaces,” says Jonathan Sears, executive director of PAR Projects.
The building will have three floors of usable space, or about 2,000 square feet. The first phase of the building will be five shipping containers joined together, with others stacked on top to form different floors.
The first step won’t actually be building, but rather creating a community space in the form of an open, outdoor movie theater. It will feature community screenings every two weeks or so; and the theater will actually be two containers stacked on top of each other near the front of the future building.
“We want to give the neighborhood a little more hope,” Sears says. “We plan to reach out to at-risk youth and provide more direction for them, as well as educate older people who need new skill sets.”
PAR Projects is partnering with the
Apple Street Market Co-op initiative to host Northside Rising, a 50/50 fundraiser to benefit access to food and the arts. The event is Aug. 30, and will feature food, music and family activities.
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