Maroon Arts Group is back this weekend with an exciting live theatre production. Read about it below! (Photo courtesy of Maroon Arts Group.)

Maroon Arts Group, in a unique partnership with the City of Columbus, is set to open a new shipping container arts space in the King-Lincoln District. The group will celebrate the space’s opening with a day-long festival featuring vendors and family-friendly activities on Sunday, May 20 at 11:30 a.m., at 925 Mt. Vernon Ave.

The new arts space, called Movement Pursuing Arts, Commerce & Community (MPACC), consists of two repurposed shipping containers, with a third owned and operated by vegetarian soul food restaurant Willowbeez SoulVeg.

With the MPACC space’s opening, Maroon Arts Group will celebrate the launch of its 2018-2019 programming season. The group hosts monthly programs and events, including open expression and poetry readings, and mural paint nights held by local artists at venues across the city. This summer and fall, Maroon Arts Group will host two community festivals, in addition to art shows to engage the King-Lincoln District.

Sheri Neale, creative director and founding member of Maroon Arts Group, says the arts space will allow the group to host even more events.

“The group of artists and community leaders who have come together to make Maroon Arts Group a platform for black artists in Columbus want to see the city continue to innovate with artists of color,” Neale says. “MPACC is the first of its kind in central Ohio. We want to continue to partner with businesses to push the black arts and partner with local artists to bring their work to the forefront.”

The space is the result of a special collaboration between the City of Columbus and Maroon Arts Group, who were the 2016 winners of the City of Columbus’ Parcels to Places grant competition to “create affordable and sustainable spaces for culture and arts in the inner city.”

Other sponsors of the arts space include Miles McClellan Construction, Ohio Arts Council, Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing, and the Columbus Foundation.

For more information on Maroon Arts Group, visit maroonartsgroup.com.