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Lancaster announces grand opening of restored Cedar Center for the Arts

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The city of Lancaster has announced the grand opening of the newly restored Cedar Center for the Arts, which has undergone major restoration over the past nine months. The new facility is comprised of several distinct areas including the MOAH: CEDAR Art Gallery, Memorial Hall, and numerous arts classroom spaces. Many of these unique spaces can be rented for private events.

“The Cedar Center for the Arts is a quintessential piece of Lancaster history and a cornerstone of our cultural legacy,” said Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris. “To restore this center is to breathe new life into an artistic and cultural institution which has served our community well since the Great Depression.”

As such, the city introduced its brand new gallery space, MOAH: CEDAR. Together with the Museum of Art & History, MOAH: CEDAR is a catalyst for engaging a diverse audience through captivating exhibitions, innovative artists and dynamic programming. The gallery will encourage progressive ideas as well as new and experimental genres of artwork, which highlight performance, education and studio practice. Through its inaugural exhibitions, MOAH: CEDAR expands on the Museum of Art & History’s Spirit of Summer theme by presenting the surf and beach related paintings of Marc Kolodziejczyk. In the Northwest gallery, local artist Tesla Gold utilizes various media to create haunting and textural portraits in keeping with the themes of individuality and the pioneering spirit of summer. Rounding out MOAH: CEDAR’s exhibitions are photographer Sol Saucedo-Butzke and artist Gary Lambert.

The Cedar Center for the Arts now has multiple classroom spaces on the building’s second floor where performance, art and music classes will take place throughout the year. Cedar Center will also hold numerous community events including a weekly “Open Mic Night,” as well as host a free Young Artist Workshop on the second Thursday of each month. The drop-in style Young Artist Workshop, open to youth 17 years and younger, will be based on one of the current exhibitions featured in the gallery.

The Cedar Center for the Arts will host an open house tomorrow from 3 to 7 p.m., inviting the public to visit and tour the restored center. Throughout the afternoon, spoken-word poets and local bands will offer special performances in the Cedar Memorial Hall. Local entertainers, including Fayleen, an acoustic solo guitarist, Paisley and Sticks and Stacks Bagpipe and Drum Corps will perform to showcase the Memorial Hall’s restoration and re-establish the venue as a performing arts facility in the Antelope Valley.

In addition, It’s Only Tuesday Productions will offer various classes, including Shakespeare performances, Kidz 4 Stage and Voice for Live Performance. Local instructors will also offer Hawaiian Dance and Introduction to Guitar classes. On-site class registrations will be available for upcoming classes. A special Young Artist Workshop will also be held on Saturday to coincide with the open house. This first workshop is inspired by the silhouettes in Marc Kolodziejczyk’s paintings. The project will utilize the art of kirigami, or paper-cutting, to explore the concept of reflection. In addition, two of the gallery’s exhibiting arts, including Marc Kolodziejczyk, will be painting live during the open house.

MOAH:CEDAR Gallery is located at 44857 Cedar Ave., Lancaster. Additional information and donation support opportunities are available on MOAH’s website, www.lancastermoah.org. Information on the Cedar Center for the Arts complex and Cedar Memorial Hall can be obtained through the Parks, Recreation & Arts department, (661) 723-6077.

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