Our Vision - To inspire, sustain and embolden our local arts ecology

Mission Statement - The Northampton Center for the Arts (NCFA) provides affordable space for artists, performers, and educators while developing programming dedicated to arts education, multidisciplinary collaborations, and community connections.

Our Values -

• We believe that the arts provide a transformative experience that delves into the complexities of the joys, sorrows, struggles and triumphs of the human spirit.

• We value our role as a nexus for the arts and artists in our community.

• We commit to making our resources available to as many artists and community members as possible.

• We prioritize creating spaces for artistic expression and community engagement that strive to challenge the status quo.

• We aspire to create a space that is accessible and instills a feeling of inclusion.

• We seek to strengthen our collaborations through increased understanding of how people and organizations with different identities use space.

• We acknowledge and work to expand who is in the room, and to notice who is missing.

• We focus on maximizing the Center’s ability to support the arts while remaining fiscally accountable to our community.

History

The Northampton Center for the Arts is a private, non-profit organization, established in 1983 as the result of a public/private partnership between the City of Northampton and the developers of the former Sullivan School in downtown Northampton. For 30 years, the Center’s ballroom and galleries served as venues for performances, exhibitions, arts-education programming and community gatherings. In July of 2013, the City of Northampton’s non-renewable lease for the space that housed the Center expired. NCFA continued its work in the community by producing First Night, sponsoring Arts Night Out, supporting its resident companies, and organizing events throughout the Valley. The Center operated out of a transitional office at 5 Strong Avenue until its September 2017 relocation to the Northampton Community Arts Trust Building at 33 Hawley Street.

our people

Managing Director: Joanna Faraby Walker

Events Director: Melissa Andrew

Program Director: Kelly Silliman

Gallery Associate: Joie Gonzalez

Operations: Steve Davis

Board of Directors:

• Ginny Mayer, President

• Carlos McBride, Vice President

• Rachel Stevens, Clerk

• Dorothy Nemetz, Treasurer

• Michael Favala Goldman

• Natania Hume

• Javier Lopez

• Maddy Neely

• Marie Roche

• Wade Wofford

The Center for the Arts has two resident performance companies: the Lisa Leizman Dance Company, and the Happy Valley Guitar Orchestra.