Be a part of Strengthening Minds through Arts and Music 

The Courthouse Center for the Arts, located in the original Washington County Courthouse building in West Kingston, RI.  This glorious courthouse, built in 1893, is rich with history and stories and serves as an arts and music educational organization and community arts center.   The Courthouse Center for the Arts provides theater, music, art, and child development programs for children of all ages and abilities with inclusion programs for, what we call differently-abled children.

Year-round and summer camp programs offer children of all abilities the opportunity to learn music, art, and theater, thereby increasing cognitive learning skills, self-esteem, speaking abilities, and so many more positive, growth attributes are reached through these music programs.  We also host year-round, local, national, and internationally known musicians and events. Monthly art gallery openings are provided for local artists to showcase and sell their creations.  We have a full-service bar, plentiful parking on the premises and handicapped-accessible.

The Courthouse Center for the Arts is the perfect venue for weddings, corporate events and parties, fundraising events, networking and social events, and more.  We offer music from all genres, a traveling chorus to entertain you, summer day camps for local schools, senior day centers and groups, which include an art or music class, and a tour of our historic building.

Our Chimes Chorus and senior chorus groups provide entertainment at assisted living facilities, senior housing events, festivals, and more.

MISSION AND PURPOSE

The Courthouse Center for the Arts, a non-profit community-based arts organization is located in West Kingston, R.I., was founded in 1988.  Our mission is to enhance the lives of the community and its children by providing educational enhancement and enrichment through arts and music, and providing quality programs to the community.

Our goal is to provide free, quality, life-changing arts and music programs for children of all ages and abilities with inclusion programs for differently abled children. Our instructors offer their craft to benefit our organization and work toward teaching children how to develop their musical and theatrical abilities, thereby increasing their vocabulary, lessening anxiety, teaching sentence structure, increasing speaking abilities, and motor skills, and most importantly, for all children, increasing their cognitive learning abilities.

The Courthouse Center for the Arts also provides work readiness programs for differently abled children and adults. Contact us for more information. Educational Advocacy referrals allow us to work with the best professionals in the area. Dedicated volunteers and instructors as well as musicians, keep us at the forefront of our goals.

We also offer weekly concert events featuring local and international artists that will entertain you and get you dancing or swaying and singing in the audience. Don’t be surprised if the band brings you up on stage to sing along. An intimate, unique experience for concerts and always a meet and greet after the shows. We strive to provide the best musicians from all over to entertain you and have you returning for more.

In addition, we offer low/no cost programs for adults including arts programs, creative writing, photography, exercise programs, self-defense classes, and other exciting opportunities.

We are committed to providing accessible, affordable programming for adults and free programs for children, all while our valued volunteers help to preserve the coolest, historical building and happenings in all of South County.

Our dedicated local sponsors and extremely kind donors support these life-enriching opportunities to the children of our community. Community unity is part of what we do.

 OUR VISION

Our vision is to enhance the lives of children through creative thinking, music, theatre, and arts.  We strive to provide programs that improve learning skills for children of all ages and abilities and change not only their lives but the lives of their families and their communities.

For over 35 years we have focused on providing services not offered by other nearby facilities. Excellence in education, fine entertainment, community outreach, and increased community involvement are our goals and aspirations.  Join us and help us grow by attending an event, becoming a member, volunteering, becoming a corporate sponsor, participating in programs or teaching programs to help those served by The Courthouse.

 Be a part of Strengthening Minds Through

                               Arts and Music  

VOLUNTEERING

The Courthouse Center for the Arts is proud to serve Rhode Island and New England and is open to new programming and events. If you have experience in these areas and are interested in volunteering to teach a class, please feel free to contact us at 401.782.1018 and help enrich the lives of children. It’s truly amazing what music and the arts can do.

We are a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization. All monetary donations are 100% tax deductible.

How can participation in the arts benefit health?

The benefits to all ages are miraculous for overall well-being. The arts provide a holistic approach to health and well-being, addressing not only physical, but also emotional, social, and cognitive aspects of human health. These include the following: stress reduction, improved mood, enhanced cognitive function, increased self-expression, social connection, promotion of mindfulness, increased focus and concentration, pain management, improved motor skills, enhancing fine motor skills, and emotional healing. The arts are particularly beneficial for individuals dealing with trauma, grief, or emotional challenges, providing a safe space for exploration and healing,  and lastly, a sense of accomplishment. Extensive studies have shown 89 physical, emotional, cognitive, and social well-being attributes that help quickly produce what are viewed as miracles in small classes or settings. It’s a shame the arts are the first classes cut in the school systems, and or are offered the least of all classes. In closing, it is truly astounding what the arts do to achieve transformation in rapid and miraculous ways. Mariann Almonte, Executive Director, Courthouse Center for the Arts 

                                                          BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President: Steve A Lopez                          Vice President: Michael DeGiulio

Treasurer: Craig A Pickell                          Secretary: Sarah Renee Martin

Director: Vincent Carlone                          Director: Joseph Welch

Executive Director: Mariann Almonte