Organizers hope Newark Organization for the Creative Arts will serve as hub for artists

Organizers hope a nonprofit organization aimed at art education will serve as a home for artists in central Ohio and Licking County.

On Wednesday, the Newark Organization for the Creative Arts officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 33 W. Church St. in downtown Newark.

A project that has been in the works for two years, the location offers a retail location for items including vinyl records and art supplies, a space for private music lessons, a box office for live events, and their in the future, an IDEALab (Interactive Digital Education and Arts Laboratory).

NOCA board president and managing partner of neighboring Thirty One West Tom Atha said the core of the nonprofit's inspiration came from his own path. About 15 years ago, Atha said he opened a recording studio and found in the journey to opening and its first 10 years, that he didn't have the contacts he needed nor resources that could've been helpful.

"For me, this is a way to build an arts community that can thrive in Newark. To parallel all of that with what's happening in the industry, more and more artists are making a living independently, and they could live anywhere...," Atha said. "So (this will) better prepare the next generation of creative people with the skills they need, not only as artists but entrepreneurs."

Having grown up in Newark, NOCA director Angela Smith found herself questioning why as an artist she couldn't find success at home, why artists had to move to places like New York or Nashville.

"I think it's important to have a hub here so creatives in this town don't feel like they have to leave," she said. "I want them to have a home...so no one has to feel the only way they can succeed is to leave."

NOCA's opening was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, but Atha said it ended up being an opportunity for their group to do better planning about their goals for the space.

NOCA board member Kirk Homrighouse agreed, saying after two years of planning and purposeful decision making, the project was one of the greatest things he's been part of and provided him the opportunity to pay back the town that brought him in and did so much for him.

Having recently retired from Highlights Magazine, Homrighouse said he turned his attention to ways he could make a difference. Noting the importance of art education, he said NOCA will give people skills in not only playing music, but also running lights and sound for concerts, how to record a concert and run one, and more.

According to Atha, some music instructors from Martin Music, which closed in 2019 after over 70 years in Newark, moved into NOCA to teach music lessons. Atha noted the store used to be on the same block in the 1950's, so he thought it was a cool return of the store's legacy. In addition to music lessons, Atha said their retail store is also open.

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"Access to real, tangible music has declined with streaming and all of those things," Atha said. "To say music is important enough to have a storefront, that's an important short-term goal for us."

A long-term goal of NOCA's, Atha explained, will be launching programming for their computer lab. He added they'll make the classroom available during the day for those who want access to production and creative software.

"In the longer term, this project is really about building up and becoming a hub for creative arts and making sure that Newark is the place that's friendly for artists to live," Atha said.

During Wednesday's ribbon cutting ceremony, Newark Mayor Jeff Hall said when downtown Newark was being reinvented, officials pondered the arts in the area. He said the first block of West Church Street now looks much different than it did many years ago and they're excited for NOCA's addition to the community.

For more information about NOCA and its services, visit their website at NOCAPresents.org or their social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram at @NOCAPresents.

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Organizers hope Newark nonprofit will serve as hub for artists