The Umbrella Community Arts Center
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About Us
The Umbrella enriches lives and builds a vibrant community through the arts. We inspire creativity, learning, and personal growth through arts education programs, performing and visual arts presentations, and community collaborations. What We Offer • Studio space for more than 50 artists • Classes and workshops for children and adults in four large teaching studios • Exhibition space in the Gallery • Community arts initiatives, including the Musketaquid Arts & Environment program • Performance space for all disciplines in the 435-seat Theater, including events under the banner Emerson Umbrella Presents Our History The Building: Built as a high school in 1929 and the town’s first steel-beamed structure, Emerson School has long been an important historic and architectural landmark in downtown Concord. The building served as a public school for more than five decades before it was deemed obsolete and insufficient for a growing student population. The Organization: In the early 1980’s, a group of Concord volunteers and visionaries realized that the aging Emerson School building, slated for demolition, could be saved and converted into a community arts center. So, in 1982, The Umbrella’s founders obtained tax-exempt status as a private non-profit organization and developed a detailed multi-use proposal for the building, which the Board of Selectmen approved in 1983. This agreement retains the spirit of the original deed, which states that the land will be used for education, and is still in place today. The Town of Concord retains ownership of the building, which it leases to The Umbrella Center for the Arts, which in turn is responsible for programming, operating, building maintenance, and capital improvement costs.
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Contact Information
40 Stow Street
Concord, MA 01742
Call 978-371-0820