Port Clinton “Arts Garage” provides a workspace for local artists

PORT CLINTON, Ohio (WTVG) - The City of Port Clinton is welcoming the Greater Port Clinton Area Arts Council as the newest tenant to its downtown storage garage. Thanks to a collaboration with city council members, Mayor Mike Snider, and the GPCAAC the garage has been transformed into a workspace and showroom for local artists.

“We have the walleye, we have the amusement parks, and now we can be the center of the arts for the region,” said Mayor Mike Snider. “It’s so exciting.”

Mayor Snyder explains that the city is leasing the unused space for only a dollar each month. The symbolic gesture is aimed at boosting city curb appeal, stirring economic development, and showcasing the talents of local creative minds. On Sunday, members of the GPCAAC officially signed onto the lease that runs for the next 50 years.

“On a day like today, several years ago, this space would have been filled with dump trucks full of salt and plows and now it’s involved into city beautification,” said Mayor Snider.

Local painter David Peltier and sculptor Andy Sackstender are the first two artists to occupy the space.

“This space will allow me to work with other artists around here and it will also let me see other techniques and other styles from other artists that I can learn,” says Peltier. “I look forward to meeting a lot of these artists who will share with me how they do it.”

“This has a lot of potential and this has great lighting because of all the windows. It’s perfect,” explains Sackstender. “Art is a form of entertainment. You can tell a story with it, you can get an emotion out of somebody with it, and of course, this is going to bring a lot of energy into beautifying this corner of downtown.”

The two Port Clinton artists believe the former city storage space will not only unite like-minded creators but will give locals a chance to stretch their artistic abilities for themselves with classes offered within the garage. GPCAAC board members and volunteers explain they have a long way to go before the building is complete but are relying on grant funding and private donations to renovate the existing structure.

You can donate to the Greater Port Clinton Area Arts comprehensive capital campaign aimed at funding The Arts Garage (TAG) on the group’s website.

“We’re in the second day of the lease and they already have artists and residents in the space so that’s amazing,” says Mayor Mike Snider. “I can’t wait to see what happens.”

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