Last night, artists and art lovers alike enjoyed the opening of the ArcWorks Community Art Center, located in the Heritage Industries Building on Foster Street.

Peabody officials, including Mayor Michael Bonfanti, attended the opening, which commenced with an exhibit centering around the restoration of the “Old Bull Pen” mural, which was originally completed in 1940 when the building used to be a Post Office.

“Promoting arts and culture and promoting our downtown are the keys to revitalizing our community,” said Mayor Michael Bonfanti, calling the new art center a “win-win” for all involved. 

ArcWorks is a guild for artists with physical and/or intellectual challenges. It is an initiative of Northeast Arc, an organization established in 1954 that provides services and programs that enable people living with developmental and cognitive disabilities to maximize their potential.

ArcWorks runs art workshops inside the Heritage Industries Building. In 2009, Northeast Arc helped form the Peabody Cultural Collaborative to convert the building into an art gallery and studio.

“This is a great gallery space,” said Suzanne Ryan, director of volunteer services for Northeast Arc and co-director of ArcWorks. “Our goal is for anyone in the community to enjoy and utilize the center we’ve established.”

The opening exhibit, “Visions of the Past” already shows this community focus. Two of the artists, Edward Parent and Raymond Crean, craft model ships. Their work, which includes several Civil War-era ships that were on display last night, is also featured at the USS Constitution Maritime Museum in Charlestown.

The building features two gallery rooms and lots of workshop space, which will continue to be improved as funding permits. Workshops open to the public are expected to begin in April, and ArcWorks said they already have artists interested in running workshops at the art center.

“This is about community,” said Peter Flister, Co-Director of ArcWorks. “This center will get everyone together in pursuit of what they want to do creatively.”