Instead of demolishing buildings, make them into arts center

Friday, July 24, 2009

Over the past several years, I have driven by these properties and imagined what I would do if I owned this property (particularly the old Mobil station). One particular recurring dream is the thought of being able to renovate one of the buildings into a recording studio — a lofty dream which I will probably never realize (for numerous reasons).

Your article, however, implanted a new dream in my mind — instead of just demolishing these buildings and putting in yet another convenience store or strip mall, why not instead bring the local community together to support the development of a community arts center? Not just a place where a kid can go to take a painting lesson once or twice a month, but a place that is open to people's hopes and dreams of being something more than what life generally offers.

I think this could go a long way in bringing positive development not just to Great Mills and Lexington Park, but the county as a whole.

We could give children a place where they can not only learn about great artists in various fields — painters like Cézanne, poets like Langston Hughes, composers like Stravinsky — but also a place where they can learn to artistically express themselves. I would love to see a place where children can learn not just about how to draw a picture or play a trumpet, but where they can also learn about the history of the arts and how, for example, music has developed and changed over the past millennium.

It would be important for a place like this to not have teachers who are just teaching curriculum by rote, but teachers who really want to inspire others to come to a better understanding of themselves and the world around them through art. Why not give local children opportunities for personal growth that aren't generally afforded to them?

Great Mills and Lexington Park are two areas within the county that are often singled out for scorn and ridicule. I've heard countless people refer to these areas as "the ghetto," often being highly critical of the mere existence of low-income tenements and trailer parks as well as the economic and structural decay prevalent in the area. And even beyond Great Mills and Lexington Park, I've heard many new arrivals to the area expressing frustration because of the lack of opportunities in the county. Maybe a community arts center wouldn't solve all of the problems in this area, but I think it would be a wonderful start.

I can only hope that others in the county would be supportive of a project like this.

Kevin Loy, Lexington Park