YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Loop Youngstown Arts and Culture Center on Sunday will give the public a chance to check out its new home.
The event will start at 1 p.m., with a dedication ceremony at 2 p.m. The building is at 805 Mahoning Ave., in the city’s Spring Common neighborhood, near downtown.
Guests can attend the dedication, tour the building and meet members of Loop’s board and advisory council.
The open house will spotlight Loop’s success in fulfilling its mission, which is to create and sustain a permanent space for local artists, creative businesses and public programming, said Karen Schubert, chairwoman.
It will include remarks from several speakers connected to the building’s history and future mission.
Dave Mirkin, whose grandfather built the structure as a car showroom in 1946, will share stories about the building’s connection to his family history. Angelo Lo Castro of Bridgeway Capital will discuss the economic and social impact of supporting the arts. Vaughn Wascovich, coordinator of Loop’s 2026 Emerging Artist Fellowship program, will introduce this year’s fellowship cohort: Willem Schreiber, who works in large-scale installations, and Deidre Bilunka, an abstract painter.
For information or to RSVP for the event, go to LoopYoungstown.org.
The arts group purchased the building in March for $325,000, and it is already at full capacity. A total of 28 artists have rented all 32 rooms, Schubert said.
“The artists are now in the process of moving in,” she said.
The interior of the building needed little work to make it ready. It had already been subdivided into studio-size rooms – arranged door after door on long hallways – by the previous owner, Comfort Keepers.
The exterior of the building will soon be painted in an artful way by Michael Staaf of Steel Valley Signs, Schubert said. Loop will seek a facade grant from the city to help pay for the paint job.
The building is just a few blocks away from the Ward Bakery Building, which once served a similar purpose as a collection of art studios. When that building was sold a couple years ago and the artists were evicted, Loop stepped up its plan to find a building to take its place.
Most of the artists who once had a studio in the Ward Bakery Building have already found alternate locations, but a few have rented spaces in the new building, Schubert said.
She is expecting a solid turnout at Sunday’s open house. “We feel the support of the community all the time,” she said.
Visitors can also park in the Calvin Center lot, the eastern half of the Maennerchor parking lot and on side streets.
The group is launching an online fundraising campaign that can be accessed at its website.
“We’re seeking donations of all sizes,” Schubert said. Those who make substantial gifts could be honored with a plaque that honors them as the sponsor of a room and also be placed in a drawing for a major piece of art.
Loop Youngstown is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to incubating arts and artists.
Pictured at top: Karen Schubert, chairwoman of Loop Youngstown, inside the organization’s new home.