Drawing for CAC

We're asking for your support

• introducing new community members to CAC’s wonderful array of enrichment opportunities
• reaching out to underserved audiences of all ages
• strengthening one of the most vibrant and growing artist and learner communities in the region
• restoring and maintaining CAC’s facilities on our remarkable historic estate  

Here are some of the many ways CAC “brings art to life”:

The Community Arts Center (CAC) was founded in 1948 by artists committed to providing a broad spectrum of cultural experiences for our community.  CAC now serves as an anchor institution within our extended community, offering more than 18,000 people each year stimulating arts and cultural experiences, through core programs, scholarships, long-term arts outreach partnerships, festival and tourism partnerships, and service to other nonprofits.

CAC enrolls over 2,800 students of all ages annually in classes and workshops.  CAC’s spacious gallery hosts a wide variety of exhibits and also hosts concerts, special events, and workshops. 

Education and enrichment opportunities for children include SUMMER SPREE art camp and after-school classes for ages 5-17.  CAC’s ART-to-go outreach serves those with limited arts access in Chester, South Media and other communities, reaching 1,800 people each year. CAC also sponsors special events, concerts, fine art sales, and creative family activities, fulfilling its mission to encourage broad participation in the arts.

Significant Features

• CAC secured GuideStar/Candid’s 2025 Platinum Seal of Transparency, achieving a top performance standard for nonprofits nationwide
• Primary partner with Potters Guild, professional association of ceramic artists housed on-site.  Substantially strengthens CAC’s arts-based sense of community.
• Nationally and internationally significant wood-fired pottery program and exhibitions
• Largest, most diverse gathering of kilns for firing ceramics in region
• Broad programmatic scope, from ceramics and visual arts through concerts, movement, and poetry.
• Extensive gallery space, with numerous free exhibitions
• Dynamic, arts-based sense of community – with teamwork visible, for example, in CAC’s effective COVID response and ability to address multiple large goals during the pandemic.
• Nationally recognized in-residence artists
• Long-established outreach program with customized offerings
• Scope of partnerships; long history of purposeful collaboration and community service
• Lead partner in visibility and tourism partnerships for large festivals
• Anchor institution in extended community
• Tri-state reach