Illustration

The Arts Center

The Morrisville
Community Arts Center

A permanent home for performance, the visual arts, learning and gathering, planned with and for the people of Morrisville.

What it will holdWhere we are

What it will hold

One building, many ways in.

The center is planned as a multi-disciplinary cultural anchor for the borough: somewhere to see a performance on Friday, take a class on Saturday and meet a neighbor for coffee on Monday.

Performance hall

More than 300 seats for theater, music, dance and community gatherings.

Visual arts gallery

Rotating exhibitions and a showcase for local artists.

Educational studios

Dedicated space for teaching, practice and creative growth, for young people and adults.

Multipurpose rooms

Flexible rooms for classes, rehearsals, meetings and celebrations.

Café

A daily gathering place for the whole community.

A conceptual rendering of the Robert Morris Center for the Arts at dusk: a brick building with a curved glass upper floor, a tower and a small plaza Conceptual rendering
Conceptual rendering. Building name, signage, and setting are illustrative only and do not depict an actual or proposed site. Design and features are not final.
A conceptual rendering of a warm performance hall with a singer on stage Conceptual rendering
The performance hall
Four illustrations: a rehearsal hall, artist studios, a meeting room and backstage Conceptual rendering
Rehearsal, studios, meeting rooms and backstage
An illustration of a warm café space with tall windows Conceptual rendering
The café

Why it matters

Built for the people who will use it

For artists

A place to rehearse, teach, perform and show work, close to home, alongside other artists.

For families and young people

Classes, camps and performances in town, so creative life doesn’t require a drive to somewhere else.

For the borough

A reason to come downtown, day and evening, that brings people to the restaurants and shops already here.

Where we are

Careful steps, in order.

We are building this the way a lasting institution should be built: listen first, test the idea, organize, then plan the building.

  1. ✓
    Listening (since 2019)More than 150 conversations with residents, artists, small business owners and families about what Morrisville wants.
  2. ✓
    Phase 1 feasibility studyCompleted by DLR Group with support from a Commonwealth of Pennsylvania grant. The answer: the center is needed, and it can be sustained.
  3. ✓
    GovernanceA volunteer board of neighbors, aligned in a stewardship workshop on how the center will be governed, funded and cared for.
  4. →
    Phase 2 facility planning (now)DLR Group is engaged to lead facility planning, and site evaluation is underway.
  5. 5
    Next: site, design and buildingOnce a site is secured, design begins. We will share each step here as it happens.

A proven partner

Planning with people who have done this before.

DLR Group guided the Murphy Arts District in El Dorado, Arkansas, and downtown revival work in Lenoir, North Carolina. The same approach guides our work in Morrisville: phased development, clear governance and long-term accountability.

What we can and can’t say yet

  • There is no site yet. Site evaluation is underway.
  • There is no architectural design yet. Any image on this site is an illustration of the kind of place we imagine.
  • Plans will change as we learn. We would rather tell you that now than surprise you later.

The Founding Campaign

Founding supporters are helping take Morrisville from plan to building.

Every founding gift is recognized permanently, and leadership gifts are arranged in conversation, under the board’s Naming and Gift Acceptance Policy. If you would like to learn more, a member of the board would be glad to meet with you.

Talk with usWays to give