LAKE WALES, Fla. — A beautiful Catholic Church built in the 1920s is now serving as something just as sacred to this community, the Lake Wales Arts Council.
Since 1972, the Arts Council has been a creative anchor for the city.
This historic church is their home base. It was preserved and expanded to accommodate a rental space, gallery space and classrooms.
From painting and drawing to ceramics, the Council fills a niche in Central Florida's arts scene that only a few community centers can match.
Tommy Frank, the executive director for the Lake Wales Arts Council, says locals, businesses and civic leaders have sustained the council for more than 5 decades through donations, sponsorships, and attendance.
"The power of art can help to change people's opinions about things. It can help them encounter beauty in a way that they might not necessarily expect. And I think the power of art also allows people to engage with one another, maybe with a little more empathy, but definitely with kind of a mutual appreciation of peoples standpoints and their skills, you know, and their amazing talents,"
says Frank.
That spirit extends beyond these walls. Murals now brighten historic buildings across Lake Wales, including works by local artists, adding color, civic pride and a reminder that creativity is alive here.
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