Arts in Long Beach look toward a permanent home

Long Beach artists, whose projects are regularly scattered about the city, at Kennedy Plaza and in churches and synagogues, have longed for a permanent home for their paintings and photographs and dance and theater performances.

Last Friday afternoon, a group of artists announced that they had found a spot for a permanent home for the arts in the city — a vacant lot at the southwest corner of Long Beach Boulevard and Park Avenue once occupied by Nu-Clean Drive-In Cleaners, which has been demolished. The property, now fenced off, is owned by Paul Grossman, of Lido Beach.

Artists in Partnership, the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce and the Professional Youth Theatre/Dance Loft have spent the past few years collaborating on plans for a facility dedicated to the arts. According to Johanna Mathieson-Ellmer, executive director of Artists in Partnership, plans are to construct a two-story building on the site. The ground floor would be composed of retail stores, and the second floor by the Professional Youth Theatre/Dance Loft.

“We want this to be Long Beach’s cultural arts center,” Mathieson-Ellmer said on Friday at a pop-up photography show at the fenced-off site. About a half-dozen Long Beach photographers displayed their work, which was pinned up on the fence. The show was held in conjunction with the arts groups’ announcement.

Mathieson-Ellmer and other arts officials said that for too long, Long Beach art functions have been held at different locations, including the public library, houses of worship and the Martin Luther King Jr. Center. “This will be a wonderful way to display art in the city,” Mathieson-Ellmer said.

She and others said they were unsure when the building will be constructed. Mathieson-Ellmer and a woman who answered the phone at Grossman’s home, who declined to be identified, said that the state Department of Environmental Conservation was conducting a review of the site. DEC officials did not immediately return calls requesting comment.

The arts facility would be managed by Brooke Robyn Dairman and Lisa Bronshteyn, who took over the Professional Youth Theatre/Dance Loft, at 160 W. Park Ave., in 2019. It had been operating under different ownership for over 30 years. Bronshteyn and Dairman are co-directors of the Dance Loft, and Dairman owns the Youth Theatre.

Bronshteyn appeared on Broadway in the revival of “Gypsy” in which Patti LuPone starred, and was a cast member in the national touring companies of “White Christmas” and “Hello, Dolly!” Dairman played Tiger Lilly and understudied Peter in a touring company of “Peter Pan.” She also performed as Minnie Fay opposite Sally Struthers in the 50th-anniversary national tour of “Hello, Dolly!”

“We are hopeful this will be a destination center” for the arts in Long Beach, Bronshteyn said.

The plan is for the facility to stage theatrical performances and dance recitals. It would also host Studio Noir, a music school owned by Bruce Metzger. “We’re definitely excited about this,” Metzger said.

“When this will happen we don’t know,” Bronshteyn said. “There’s been a lot of holdups,” including the DEC review and the coronavirus pandemic, which delayed planning sessions. Construction could be a year or more off, arts officials say.

Dairman said that according to the original plan, the opening already would have taken place, but, she added, “We’re hopeful for next year.”

“There’s a couple of hoops to jump through before the first shovel hits the ground,” Mathieson-Ellmer said.

The photographers who displayed their work last Friday said they were looking forward to a permanent home for their work. “I love Long Beach, and I love being a contributor to its arts projects,” said one, Scott Ferrone, who likes shooting sunrises and sunsets.

Leah Tozer, co-chair of the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, said the organization would support a home for the arts in the city. In the meantime, the chamber, Tozer said, is pushing the City Council to require that all fenced-in construction sites be decorated with artwork, as a way of beautifying the city.

Tozer said that some European cities routinely decorate construction sites with artwork. “That’s what we want,” she said. “And we want to feature Long Beach artists.”