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Erie Arts & Culture

The Erie Art Museum is a non-profit, community organization located in the Old Customs House, a beautiful and historic 1839 Greek Revival building. The Museum's ambitious, year-round programming schedule includes art exhibitions, classes, workshops, concerts, group tours, children's programs, lectures, artists' services, traveling exhibits, publications, and more.

Visitors to the Museum see changing exhibits of painting, folk art, photography, sculpture and more in the main galleries, ground floor galleries and Frame Shop Gallery. In addition, the Museum presents several concerts each year including a free, two-day blues and jazz festival at Frontier Park held the first weekend in August.

Take Interstate 90 to Interstate 79 to the Bayfront Highway. Follow the Bayfront Highway to State Street. Take a right onto State Street. The Museum is located in the historic Old Customs House, an 1839 Greek Revival building, at 411 State Street.

Guided group tours for students or adults are available for all major exhibits. There is no additional charge for guided tours with regular admission. Please call two weeks in advance to schedule a group tour.

Metered parking is available on all nearby streets. There is also a parking garage and a large public lot on East Third Street between State and French Streets.

The Museum is handicapped-accessible. Visitors may enter through the east door and take the elevator to the main gallery.

The Erie Art Museum's collections includes over 4,000 objects. The collections include fine examples of American ceramics, Japanese prints, Tibetan thangkas, Chinese porcelains, Indian bronzes, and more. New gallery space, made possible through the development of the Discovery Square complex, will allow the Museum to show both permanent and temporary exhibits, allowing visitors to experience some of the seldom-seen treasures from the collections.

Dafmark Dance Theater and Academy

Dance is a language and a means of interaction with our times. It asks involvement of both performer and audience. Following this premise, Dafmark Dance Theater and Academy was founded in September of 1990 by Jean-Marc and Dafna Baier. Dafmark Dance Theater became a non-profit organization two years later. Dafmark's repertory has been performed in Israel by the renowned Kibbutz Dance Company and works closely with "Atalanta Fugiens", Dafmark's sister company, in Spain.

Dafmark Dance Academy offers a classical Ballet curriculum for all ages supplemented with training in Modern, Jazz and Tap. Our teaching methods emphasize respect for the pupil/dancer, for the art of dance as well as the importance of human growth and responsibility. We believe in providing our dancers with the means of furthering their full potential while extending thier inner confidence and self esteem. At the end of each school year, Dafmark Academy produces a stage performance which highlights the progress of our students. Eventually, Dafmark's dancers are invited to perform with Dafmark Dance Theater, which offers a professional approach to the art of choreography.

Lake Erie Ballet

Now in its forty-second year, the Lake Erie Ballet is a non-profit organization that consists of both a ballet school and a professional ballet company. The school offers classes for everyone from preschool children to adults and enrolls approximately 150 students. The professional company consists of three professional dancers (all of international acclaim) and 8 apprentices. We produce five events totaling ten performances each year, including numerous lecture demonstrations, exhibitions, workshops, outreach, and an arts-in-education program.

The mission is to provide professional-quality ballet performances and introduction to ballet through collaboration, education, lectures, master classes, ballet seminars and performance venues for Erie and surrounding communities, thereby being recognized as a professional ballet company as well as a network of ballet and arts supporters. One of the strengths of the company has been its cooperation and collaboration with other arts organizations and the institution for its children's series. For example, in collaboration with the Erie Bayfront Ballet, Enchanted Forest, and musicians Armor and Sturtevant, the Lake Erie Ballet presented "Jungle Book", "Little Mermaid" and "Alice in Wonderland". Special efforts to increase awareness and participation in the arts include an open "Nutcracker" audition, which involves the community, and collaborating with area dance organizations to present master classes with guest choreographers.

The Lake Erie Ballet continues its educational outreach programs by targeting special schools which serve youth at risk. The "Just Us Friends" program at Burton Elementary and at GECAC's Charter School is helping to develop a strong cultural community. Both programs are successful and the Lake Erie Ballet is trying to institute this program at Diehl Elementary. In addition, the school provides scholarships to talented, yet economically disadvantages students.

Maintaining a commitment to presenting new ballets each year is primary to the Lake Erie Ballet mission and vital to achieving continued audience growth. It also allows dancers the ability to explore new ideas and movements and encourages choreographers to continue exploring their craft. With each new production we will be able to provide more education and outreach activities, i.e. pre-performance lectures, workshops, etc., as well as touring opportunities thereby building audience constituency and enhancing the quality of life for Erie area residents and surrounding communities.

Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center

From its opening in March of 1996 with a dazzling performance by internationally-acclaimed pianist Andre Watts, the $3.7 million Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center has received glowing reviews for its stunning design, superb acoustics, and cosmopolitan ambiance. In 1997, the center was further enhanced with a new $60,000 Steinway concert grand and the installation of a $35,000, 35-mm projector and three-way, full-range stereo speakers and surround-sound used for the Big Screen Film Series. Home of the world-famous D'Angelo Young Artists Competition, the center is widely regarded as a bold statement on the importance of the arts at Mercyhurst, the health of the college as a whole, and the cultural aspirations of northwestern Pennsylvania. The D'Angelo Center connects to the D'Angelo School of Music located to the east of the center and to Zurn Hall on the south.

Erie Chamber Orchestra

The Erie Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Bruce Morton Wright, serves as a vital cultural resource for the Erie, Pennsylvania and surrounding communities. The Erie Chamber Orchestra has been very successful in its mission of presenting "free admission" concerts to the community it serves. Founded in 1978 through the financial support of Mr. Clarence E. Beyers, the orchestra has filled a musical void and allows many disadvantaged members of the Erie community to attend concerts. Many of these participants would not be able to afford ticketed concerts. Audience members are often include first-time concert goers, families with smaller children, school students, and the physically and mentally challenged. We also encourage the attendance of the minority population with events such as the annual tribute concerts to Dr. Martin Luther King.

The Erie Chamber Orchestra moved into residency at Gannon University in 1982. Under the leadership of Acting Gannon University President Thomas S Ostrowski, Ph.D, the orchestra has become part of the the University's cultural service to the Erie community. Gannon University provides a major sponsorship for the activities of the Erie Chamber Orchestra.

It is the premise of the organization that anyone can learn to enjoy classical music if they have the opportunity to have contact with it. The Erie Chamber Orchestra reaches out to the community with performances in concert halls, churches, schools, synagogues, and parks. Over the years, the audience has continued to grow with an ever-increasing number of families with younger children. The orchestra performs a diverse repertoire of music and often premieres works or presents seldom-performed works in our area. The Erie Chamber Orchestra has become the reality of its financial founder's dream, "to serve all of the residents of this community."