Hartford Business Journal

14 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JANUARY 31, 2022 Arts Biz From modest beginnings, Real Art Ways' $14.7M expansion aims to create major center of contemporary art By Robert Storace rstorace@hartfordbusiness.com W hile many Hartford arts organizations have come and gone over the years, Real Art Ways has had staying power. The 47-year-old contemporary arts nonprofit has been able to withstand the test of time due to a variety of factors, including the opening of an art house cinema that added a key revenue stream over the years, according to Gregg Rohde, Real Art Ways' board chair since 2019 and director of corporate reinsurance placement at property and casualty insurer Travelers Cos. Now the organization is eyeing a new chapter of growth. Real Art Ways, which has called 56 Arbor St. in the Capital City's Parkville neighborhood home for 32 years, purchased the property in late December for $4 million, and is planning an ambitious two- year, $14.7 million expansion and renovation of the 83,000-square-foot building that's expected to begin this fall. The project includes increasing the number of cinemas from one to four and adding: educational space for classes and workshops; a theatrical area for performing arts events; a cafe and gathering space; additional galleries; rental space for events, offices and studios; and a video room. The expansion will also help the local economy. In total, officials said, 25 full- and part-time staff will be hired and 120 temporary construction jobs will be available during the renovation phase. Real Art Ways currently employs nine full-time staff and 15 part-time workers. "Real Art Ways has been a vital center of arts, culture, and community in the city of Hartford for decades, and it's an anchor institution in the Parkville neighborhood," said Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin. "Real Art Ways is already an oasis for artists, creators, lovers of art, and just a whole lot of interesting people, and this expansion will establish Real Art Ways as a major center of contemporary art, arts education, music, film, and creative enterprise – not just for Connecticut, but for New England." Rohde said Real Art Ways is able to expand now because of its fiscally- conservative approach under the leadership of longtime Executive Director Will K. Wilkins. According to its 990 form for the tax year ending Sept. 30, 2020, Real Art Ways posted a $255,040 surplus and $1.4 million in revenues. "This is a really well-run organization," Rohde said. "Every year when we have our books audited, the feedback is the same — Real Art Ways does this better than the nonprofits our auditors work with … . They are nimble when required and we make well-informed, rational decisions about how to keep the programming fresh and alive and the doors open." A social space Wilkins, Real Art Ways' leader for 32 years, said there have been eight strategic plans during his tenure with the last two focused on buying the Arbor Street building and expanding. The project will be paid via different sources, including donations from its 3,000 supporters, corporate funding and a $3 million state grant approved in December by the state Bond Commission. "Travelers [Cos.] has been very generous to us, especially around the building," Wilkins said. The addition of new cinemas comes at an interesting time, as the pandemic severely hampered the movie theater industry. Overall, North American box offices recorded $4.5 billion in ticket sales Gregg Rohde Executive Director Will Wilkins stands in front of Real Art Ways' 56 Arbor St. home, which it recently purchased and will renovate as part of a $14.7 million expansion. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER

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