On Wednesday, January 8, 2020, an intentionally set fire burned the Chamber Music House @ The West Side Strings School within the Higgs Arts District. We had been renovating the space gradually over a number of years to serve as critical teaching and chamber music rehearsal space, and to open dedicated custom built classical musician lodging. The Chamber Music house is an important piece of a thriving arts development in an underdeveloped area in the city of Greenville. Please watch this clip for a little info about this terrible happening, and hope for a brighter future.


https://wcti12.com/news/local/firefighters-dousing-hot-spots-at-vacant-greenville-home 

A few news stories about the event are listed here as well.

The Daily Reflector:
https://www.reflector.com/news/up-in-smoke-future-music-space-destroyed-by-arson/article_f530d40b-bd4c-5cf8-8d2a-0012fefb9f8b.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share&fbclid=IwAR3gWrZmPPpDNO4UbAxWTs5GlNpj_jLODqzE3v73AkHNTsgoHn99RmkRExI 

WNCT:
https://www.wnct.com/top-stories/gpd-and-gfr-respond-to-fire-at-abandoned-home-on-dickinson-avenue/?fbclid=IwAR0b2FALRf7OKPFAF4BJRmqwG9n8YJQCUiORDEB1VgNInVB30Ii1s_9sefo 

This GoFundMe campaign will allow us to start the critical Phase 1 of restoration and salvage of historic elements within the structure, provide for stabilizing the main structure of the house, restoration plans with contractors and architects, and establishing an attractive perimeter fence to protect this and other spaces within the project from further property damage while the full restoration and construction campaign is developed and implemented. (Est. cost: $10,000.00) Phase 2 will involve the rebuild (Est. cost: $150,000.00).

A bit about the project:

The broader Higgs Arts District (HAD) is a collective of arts and entertainment spaces repurposed from beautiful historic homes in the Historic Higgs Neighborhood in the City of Greenville, NC. The multifaceted aim is to preserve the important architectural heritage of our inner city, develop and foster culture in a way that does not "gentrify" and push out residents - including the creative class - from the inner city, drive foot traffic from our region into an area which struggled in the latter part of the 20th century and continues to struggle in the 21st, to promote underrepresented artists and artisans, to be an arts and ideas incubator for creatives and to-be creatives, and to generally support growth of a unique arts and culture community that our entire city and region can be proud to call our own. The funding model aims to be less dependent on patronage than traditional arts development models by having a mixture of revenue generating (below market), revenue neutral, and negative revenue spaces (the arts spaces!). Use of all of the arts and music spaces are without charge to artists in residence with the project. Artists teach, exhibit, and sell without paying a commission. With the burning of the Chamber Music House, the upstairs of which was to be a below market revenue generating piece of the project, we are left with a tremendous road block toward continued viability.

Current activated spaces within the HAD include:

The West Side Strings School (TWSSS) - Violin, Viola, and Cello. Fellowships are awarded yearly to deserving young professionals who choose to make Greenville -  Pitt County their home. Fellows receive cost-free overhead and support to grow their studio and teach youth within our community. The Chamber Music House is to be a part of this campus. 104 Manhattan Ave.


Music Empowerment @ TWSSS: Music Empowerment (ME) is a wonderful ECU Student led organization that teaches tuition free music lessons to students who exhibit need. TWSSS donates dedicated cost-free space for ME volunteers to teach, to work, and to store music education materials. 104 Manhattan Ave.

Room 108: Commission-free visual art gallery and pop up culture space. Opened in Fall 2019. Gallery awards a rotating Artist in Residence program, focused on promoting artists from groups traditionally underrepresented in the South. Participant in monthly First Friday Art Walks through Uptown Greenville. 108 Paris Ave.

The Chamber Music House was months away from opening before this fire. Getting it back online in a bigger and better way will set the stage for faster community growth in 2020. Please help us with this lift!