After serving as a military facility for over 80 years, the Old Armory building on the Eastside of Olympia has entered a new chapter. It’s embarking on a transformation to become a dynamic community art center. This space is sure to be an amazing addition to the local creative community.
The art community in Olympia has long needed a space that can be fulfilled by the Armory Creative Campus. Whether it’s a craft fair full of artistic goods, an event space, or a creators’ den, the Armory will hopefully be able to have what the community needs.
Valerie Roberts, the current building manager, said that she joined because “The option to get onto the ground floor of an art center (and) to be able to help create a welcoming and positive space for people to come in and feel as if it’s their own, was irresistible.”
One exciting aspect of the Old Armory is the active involvement of students and young people. Angel Nava, a long-time contributor to the project, said that “community involvement is a high priority for us…the committee will have students…having students on board is great.”
Before major changes start rolling out, there are multiple events at the Armory that anyone would enjoy. Some highlights of these events are a Halloween art show on October 28th hosted by the art gallery known as “Gallery Boom” and even a Motorcycle show put on by the Ton Magazine. “The project so far has been mainly conceptual. So the community projects that happened this summer were a big catalyst both for the Armory as well as those organizations,” said Nava.
This project’s goal is a long and difficult journey with many challenges to overcome. As an older building, the Armory is in desperate need of accessibility and safety features before it can be fully open to the public.
Roberts states that “Essential upgrades are very expensive and in order to make this the art center of the community’s dreams, (we) will continue having to fund-raise for these things.” As somewhat of a surprise gift from the military, there was no fundraising to prepare for the project at large. Without all the proper funds and resources at the moment, it will be several years before the Armory becomes the community center the people want.
Anyone interested in the project can email Valeria Roberts at [email protected]. She is happy to answer any questions and feedback to help make the Armory the art center the community needs.