Liberty Arts Sculpture Studio and Foundry is expanding its services and moving to a larger facility that it hopes will become its permanent home.
By mid-September Liberty Arts’ sculpture studio will be located at 918 Pearl Street in the Cleveland-Holloway neighborhood of East Durham, in the space previously occupied by Triangle Brewing Company near SEEDS and Counter Culture Coffee. Our foundry will remain at its current Durham Central Park location on Foster Street.
Following the collapse of the Liberty Warehouse roof in 2011, Liberty Artists have been working out of the Cordoba Center behind Golden Belt.
“We are thrilled to be moving to a much larger space at Pearl Street," said Diane Amato, co-president of the Liberty Arts Board. "This will allow us to increase the number of artists, showcase their art, and at the same time enable us to expand our sculpture arts education programs which will now include glassblowing”.
“The addition of glassblowing enhances our ‘Fire Arts’ brand”, says Leigh Hayes, co-president of the Board and a glass artist himself. “We believe the making of fine, hand-blown art glass deserves to be a more prominent part of the local art scene, and our new studio will attract world class glass artists to Durham while offering students and glass artists a state-of- the-art experience”.
Along with glassblowing, Liberty Arts will be adding more and diversified classes, as well as private instruction in welding, metal fabrication and casting, and wood turning.
Early next year, Liberty Arts also plans to offer hourly studio and equipment rentals to students and the public. “Our students will now be able to practice what they’ve learned with expert craftspeople just steps away” points out Executive Director Nicholas Verna, “and knowledgeable home enthusiasts will have a resource for projects awaiting completion”.
