Special to Clay Today
GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Fisher Koppenhafer Architecture and Interior Design is designing the Augusta Savage Cultural and Community Arts Center, a Green Cove Springs community redevelopment and restoration project.
The facility will be a vibrant gathering place dedicated to the cultural arts, education and outreach services, and will honor the memory of Augusta Savage, a renowned sculptor and Green Cove Springs native who found success in Harlem during the 1920s and 30s.
“Our vision is to transform a historic site and create a thriving center for the community,” said Mike Koppenhafer, AIA and president of Fisher Koppenhafer Architecture and Interior Design. “In addition to honoring one of the luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance, the new center will infuse the community with energy and life.”
Fisher Koppenhafer is the architect, interior designer and land planner for the Augusta Savage Community Arts and Cultural Center. The City of Green Cove Springs owns the 4.5-acre site, which currently contains the old Dunbar High School complex and T.R. Marie Auditorium on Martin Luther King Boulevard.
The land was originally donated by Savage, who died in 1962, to the City of Green Cove Springs to create the first and only black high school, Dunbar, which was built in 1942.
Five buildings encompassing approximately 40,000 square feet on the site will be renovated in a historic Florida coastal vernacular style and include the addition of unique Cracker-era porches. The classroom building will be redeveloped into a mixed-use facility with a day care, medical clinic, food bank and other services. There also will be an educational museum recognizing Savage’s contributions and achievements.
The former cafetorium, which has a kitchen, stage and seating for 300, will evolve into a multi-purpose community hall to be used for community gatherings and functions. The industrial arts building will provide working classroom space for the arts and the gymnasium will accommodate sporting events and fitness activities. An interior courtyard to these buildings will serve as a gathering space for art shows, a farmer’s market and other community events. There also will be designated outdoor art spaces for sculptures reflecting Savage’s trademark style and design.
City officials are working to secure state and federal grant monies to support the project. They also have applied for federal government stimulus funding.
Savage was born in Green Cove Springs in 1892. As a child, she would often skip school to mold clay in Green Cove Springs’ brickyards. In 1920, the self-taught sculptor moved from Florida to New York City, where she went on to become an acclaimed studio artist, instructor and political activist. Throughout her life, Savage remained committed to advancing educational opportunities for blacks and providing art education to both children and adults.
Nearly all of Savage’s art in some way reflects African-American culture. Her most famous sculptures include “The Harp,” which was created to honor James Weldon Johnson, and “The Choir,” which was designed with life-size choir singers and commissioned for the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City. Savage was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in April 2008.
June 26th 2009 - 12:17PM