Spotlight FRONT’n About

Gene Marrano photos

Arts of all sorts Pop! >

The Taubman Museum of Art was a busy place over the first weekend in March with a free multi-discipline event called Roanoke Arts Pop! - featuring dance, author readings, hands-on creative activities for families and Grandin Film Lab videos. Douglas Jackson is the Arts and Culture Coordinator for the City of Roanoke: “what [Arts Pop] says about is that we care about art, we want to create these welcoming public spaces. It takes it to another level.” Jackson also calls 2022-23 "The Year of the Artist" and says the city is taking applications for NEA-funded grants it will issue to local artists later this year. of the short features that students at the Grandin Theatre based lab had put together as Roanoke Arts Pop! wrapped up a threeday run at the Taubman Museum: “it brings together all these different disciplines that you don’t necessarily think about in the same vein that are all part of the arts and culture scene – whether that’s live theater, movie making, fine art, painting, sculpting, music, graffiti, it’s all here under one roof. Lyon says he hopes events like Roanoke Arts Pop! will lead to more collaborations among cultural organizations in the valley.

The second Arts Pop! (2020 was the first) featured some 30 participants in all. Lyon also said some Film Lab high school students have gone on to study various aspects of filmmaking in college or have used that experience for their work.

Gene Marrano photos

Restoring southeast Roanoke housing one step at a time >

The non-profit Restoration Housing has embarked on their third project in the Southeast Roanoke Belmont Neighborhood. In this case a 115-year-old (circa) house on Stewart Avenue that had sat vacant for at least a year (except for the occasional squatters) will be renovated and turned into a two-family, affordable rental property. Isabel Thornton is executive director for Restoration Housing: “the city is really directing a lot of funding to this neighborhood, and they are giving competitive grants to non-profits, [including] REACH, Habitat, Renovation Alliance – they’re all starting to do more work in this neighborhood.”

Historic tax credits will also offset some of the $260,000 it will take to renovate the house on Stewart Avenue Southeast. It’s the 6th project in all Restoration Housing has taken on, focused mainly on turning blighted homes into affordable rental properties. “It is actually in better shape than some of our properties have been,” said Thornton at the ribbon cutting last month as renovations got underway, “it doesn’t have any giant holes in the roof. The structural stability is pretty good. The previous owner had done a lot of preventive maintenance.” That means it should be ready to be rented sometime this summer says Thornton. A grant from Roanoke City - which is targeting the historic Belmont neighborhood - and tax credits will help offset the investment Restoration Housing will make during the renovation.