PRIME photo by Liz O’Donoghue
By Debbie Gardner
debbieg@thereminder.com
It may be Springfield’s best-kept cultural secret.
On June 13, the Bing Arts Center – located on Sumner Avenue in the city’s Forest Park neighborhood – will celebrate five years of offering an eclectic mix of music, local and classic films, spoken and theatrical performances and gallery shows – a total of 300 events – in the converted lobby and storefront spaces of the former movie theater
“We were doing some programming the year before [we opened],” Bing Executive Director Brian Hale told PRIME. “We had a lot of details to get our certificate of occupancy finished but the city let us do some programming once a month.”
Looking back, Hale said it’s “astounding” what the Bing has hosted in just five years.
Among those early events was a party featuring music by the Eric Bascom Trio, exactly one year before the Bings’ official opening date. Hale said he’s invited Bascom back to help the arts space celebrate this year’s important milestone.
“We thought it would be good to get Eric back for this our fifth anniversary,” Hale said. “He will be appearing with his band, Eric Bascom and Blue – it’s a little bigger ensemble than he usually works with … there’s another guitarist, Billy Arnold on drums and Vinnie Roam on sax; he teaches at Westfield State and he’s toured all around the world. It will be a nice party.”
‘Art’ for everyone
The fifth anniversary fete is but an example of what the Bing is all about, Hale noted.
“Our mission, really, is to bring arts access for the community and thereby strengthen the community,” Hale said. “If there are positive things to do in the community, then the community benefits.”
Home to countless artists, musicians and performers – “There’s a lot of talent in this neighborhood,” Hale said – as well as a mix of ethnically-inspired restaurants and shops, the Forest Park neighborhood surrounding the Bing has a population of nearly 26,000.
“That’s what makes a city cool – it has interesting food and interesting cultures,” Hale noted.
In contrast Northampton – known for its cultural vibe – is home to 28,495, according to the 2013 census.
The goal of the programming at the Bing, Hale said, is to encourage both locals and visitors to come and experience what Forest Park has to offer.
“If you have an arts center, the neighborhood is definitely cooler,” Hale added. “[And] there’s some pretty good restaurants around here.”
A great arts space
The Bing’s repurposed theater lobby – a muli-use black-and-white walled space easily reconfigured for meetings, music, spoken word, indie film debuts or artistic performances – is the epitome of minimalist cool.
“The sound is really good in here,” Hale said. “Jazz players, acoustic players, small ensembles, it’s really good for that.”
It seats 50 comfortably, though Hale said he’s had as many as 150 for an artist’s reception and up to 75 for jazz performances by Jeremy Turgeon – a former student from the High School of Science and Technology – and his Quartet. It’s not uncommon to see a lot of back-and forth between performers and audience members during an event in the intimate space, Hale added.
“There’s something about hearing music in an open space,” he said. “We really stress the sociability.”
The converted storefronts on either side of the entrance are ideal galleries – offering defined spaces and plenty of natural light to showcase the work of area artists. Through June 13 those spaces host “Competitive Landscapes” by painter Sally Curcio and a whimsical exhibit titled “Playful Things” by mixed media artist Darlene Duncan.
“It’s alternative programming,” Hale said of the roster of events that keep the Bing open several nights each week. “We offer programs that are not available anywhere else in the city.”
In June those programs include a First Friday concert with Amy Porchelli on June 5, a Jazz Club evening with the Jeremy Turgeon Quartetand the Sci-Tech Jazz Ensemble on June 6, a lecture on art in the Jazz age on June 11, the Anniversary Party on June 13, a reception for the Gandara Center ArtSong Exhibit on June 19, a teen/young adult open mic night on June 24 and a house concert with Don Bikoff on June 27. For more information on these events, visit www.BingArtsCenter.org.
In terms of upcoming programming, Hale said the Bing plans to repeat last year’s popular Bing Comic Con – which took place at Trinity Methodist Church, also on Sumner Avenue, again this year.
The Big Lebowski festival, another 2014 hit, is also returning in 2015.
“We try to do one really special thing each season,” Hale said. “[And] we try to not do anything that costs more than $20. For the cost of going to the multiplex you can hear live music and look at art in a social atmosphere [here at the Bing].”
There’s more to come
Hale is working on potential grants, hoping the money can kick off an end-of-year capital campaign to sustain the Bing and expand its programming. A recent and “very generous” $50,000 grant from Mass Mutual allowed the nonprofit to stabilize the building’s roof, Hale said, but more funding is needed to remove the seats and remediate water damage in the still-closed auditorium.
“We’d like to have a 350-seat space for programming with a [dedicated area] quite possibly for after-school programming,” Hale said. ”There are a lot of things we could do if we had the space.”
His first priority however, is sponsorships to support programming.
“We had 1,800 people in here last year,” Hale said. “When I look back at the end of every year, I’m amazed at how much we’ve done.”
Once the basics are covered, he’ll be pushing for the funds to finish the project. Whatever the outcome, Hale said he’d be at the helm, and in the lobby overseeing volunteers and making sure the Bing keeps its promise to the community.
“When I started [with The Bing] I didn’t realize I’d be dedicating 12 years of my life to this,” he said. “We’ve renovated a blighted building to serve the public.
“We’re trying to do something for the community that didn’t exist before we started this.”
The Bing’s Fifth Anniversary Party – featuring music, food and beverages – starts at 8 p.m. on June 13. Tickets for the evening, which are available in advance or at the door, are $20 per person.
