Black Hills Energy announced today it awarded a $25,000 donation to the Lawrence Arts Center to support a renovation in Downtown Lawrence for new dance and performing arts studios at 1000 Massachusetts St., Ste. D. The gift will help the Arts Center reach another 4,000 people once the building’s renovations are complete.

“It’s our honor and our continued promise to be an advocate for what makes Lawrence great,” said Jerry Watkins, Black Hills Energy Kansas general manager. “The Lawrence Arts Center is a key puzzle piece to our community’s success. They are attracting and retaining talent in Lawrence, and they are building a sense of community.”

Upon completion in early 2022, the renovated space will allow the Lawrence Arts Center the opportunity to deliver an increased variety of programming to a greater number and diversity of people. The proximity to downtown Lawrence will provide increased visibility and accessibility to the arts and the space will include state-of-the art dance and performing arts studios. Located around the corner from the Arts Center’s main building at 940 New Hampshire, this unique space with tall ceilings, brick walls, and proximity to a 500-car parking garage is the ideal location for supplemental Arts Center space.

“Black Hills Energy’s support of this project will go a long way to helping us build this new resource for the community and bring the joy of the arts to so many people,” states Margaret Weisbrod Morris, Lawrence Arts Center CEO. “We are so grateful for the incredible support and for the shared belief that art is for everyone.”

Black Hills Energy previously awarded the center an $8,700 grant to support its Black Box Theater, which helps people of all ages discover the arts thanks to the room’s flexibility as a welcoming space for multiple uses.w

“Whether it’s the Lawrence Arts Center’s new performing arts and dance studios, helping the Lied Center bring in a national treasure like Wynton Marsalis, or partnering with the Lawrence Chamber to help Lawrencians shop local, Black Hills Energy is committed to seeing Lawrence succeed,” Watkins added. “Our community depends on us to deliver the energy that fuels their success. We have an obligation to be there when our community needs us.”