A local arts mecca marks a decade in Westbury

The mission of Westbury Arts has been to provide the community with a space for art, culture and education and the nonprofit's organizers say they don't see that changing any time soon as they prepare to mark its 10th anniversary.

Julie Lyon, a founding member and its board president, said a turning point for the organization was when it moved to a permanent home off Post Avenue after the village allocated part of a 2018 state downtown revitalization grant to acquire a building the nonprofit uses.

Among its endeavors, the organization has hosted cultural events that reflect the diversity of the community, including exhibitions for Black History Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month and Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

“I think it is a tremendous asset for the community,” Mayor Peter Cavallaro said of the nonprofit. “Its 10 years has far exceeded anything I could have projected when we were thinking about it originally."

Lyon, 62, of Westbury, said the nonprofit is gearing up to celebrate its anniversary with a gala Tuesday that is open to members of the public who buy tickets.

She recently spoke with Newsday about Westbury Arts' goals, challenges and what the future may hold for the nonprofit.

How has the arts center evolved in 10 years?

When we started, we didn’t have a building. We looked for shared local spaces where we could produce the cultural programs that we wanted. We did pop-up galleries at empty store fronts, at Hicks Nurseries. We utilized local churches, the senior center and the recreation center to put on programs and have meetings. In 2021, we were able to move into our building and now we’re able to produce more programs.

What kind of impact do you think the organization has had on the community?

I’d like to say that we’ve continued to help turn Westbury into an arts and culture destination on Long Island. We want to create an arts friendly community where people from other locations want to come and visit us and see what we’re doing. But I also think that we’ve given local artists a valuable outlet for different things — not just the visual artists but the performing artists as well. We also provide workshops and classes for people who want to learn more about art.

What are some of the challenges the nonprofit has faced?

In the first eight years, it was always a challenge to find a place to do the things we wanted to do. That has disappeared now that we have a building. The second is always money — just being able to fund the projects that we want to put on. Also, making sure we’re providing the arts and cultural programs that resonate with the community.

How does the organization engage the youth?

One of our strategic initiatives is to help support and promote emerging artists and that includes the youth. We have a free summer arts program for teenagers who want to explore creative endeavors and try their hands at different things.

What does the future look like for Westbury Arts?

What that’s going to look like is finding the artist that we haven’t found yet, reaching the people we haven’t reached yet and reaching the demographic that maybe doesn’t know we’re here.