The City of New Haven transformed a vacant lot into a community arts space, and then invited the entire city over for a party.
The project is called Arts on the Avenue. Each Friday during the summer from 2pm to 6pm, a lot on Winchester Avenue near Starr Street will feature a live band, host an open mic, and provide media training. All events are free and open to the public.
New Haven’s Arts, Culture, and Tourism Department runs the program, but relied on help from several key players at City Hall to execute a successful launch Friday afternoon.
“We really all partnered together to figure out how can we use this lot so it’s not sitting here vacant,” said Vivian Nabeta. “Let’s take these spaces that aren’t doing anything and activate them, make the neighborhood exciting.”
Arts on the Avenue will run each Friday until August 23.