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A group of local teenagers will take the stage tonight, playing their music for adoring fans. And if Kristin Fox and the Fairfield Arts Center get their way, many more of Fairfield's teens will have a venue for performing in the future. Tonight's Kicking Daisies concert at the Fairfield Theatre Company is the first major fundraiser for their latest endeavor: a new teen music center for Fairfield's youth.
"We couldn't be more pleased to be working with Kicking Daisies and [manager] Michael Mangini," said Fox, the FAC's executive director. "It's great to see a local band giving back to their community."
The Fairfield Arts Center, formerly the Fairfield Arts Council, was commissioned 14 years ago to promote the art and artists of Fairfield and to integrate the arts into the lives of its residents.
For adults, the FAC works to gain exposure for local artists, with displays at its Sanford Street headquarters and other galleries. It also hosts art classes for grownups looking to express their creativity.
For younger kids, the FAC hosts an annual art show for Fairfield Public Schools, displays kids' artwork on banners downtown in the summer and works to encourage art in the classroom.
But Fox said the teen center would go a long way toward making sure that the FAC meets its mission of reaching everyone in Fairfield.
"Our job is to serve the entire community," she says. "And we realized we were not targeting a segment that we could be, and that is teenage population."
The center, ideally located in downtown Fairfield, would act as a "safe hang" for teens to go after school. They would be able to use it as a rehearsal space and put on shows of their own on weekends. Through the center, more local bands may get the experience they need to strike it big.
For more information on how to donate to the FAC or the teen arts center, visit the Fairfield Arts Council website.
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