Lionheart Theatre, Kudzu Gain Community Support in Bid Race

Since the city announced Kudzu Art Zone and Lionheart Theatre Co. are part of an open bid for its current buildings, the arts community in Norcross has been up in arms.

Last week, the art gallery and theatre company, in addition to the Latin American Association and the vacant Norcross Arts Center, had notices placed on their buildings announcing that their spaces were up for bid. This means that the current tenants could lose those spaces if other bids are chosen. (Click here to read more about the issue.)

In the Norcross Patch article concerning the topic, many have spoken out in support of the two art organizations. Here are some of the responses:

As a member of Kudzu, this action feels like a kick in the stomach! I guess the saying 'no good deed ever goes unpunished' is true! To me it is unnecessary bureaucracy at the highest level.

The loss of these creative venues would cause Norcross to fall behind surrounding cities who are embracing the arts. Let's place our efforts to encourage the artistic community in Norcross - not discourage it.

I can't tell you how much the activities of Kudzu Art Zone help the whole Norcross community! The workshops they sponsor there bring in people from Norcross and all over the place.

Both Lionheart and Kudzu have gone to social media, email and other lengths to spread the word about the open bids. The theatre company placed an insert explaining the situation in its show brochure for last weekend's "Second Samuel" production, and Kudzu held a town hall meeting Monday to a group of 30-plus people on what's happening and what they should do to move forward.

One of the major pushes the organization is asking of its supporters is to email the city members on how important these organizations are to Norcross. As of Wednesday, the city council, mayor and other city employees have received more than 200 responses regarding the issue, according to councilman Charlie Riehm at this week's PDC meeting.

At the Kudzu meeting, many expressed that they've already emailed the councilmen but are still concerned with the future of their gallery.

Artist Mikki Dillon pointed out that 40 participants are coming to a multiple-day workshop at Kudzu in May. Since many are out-of-towners, airline tickets have been purchased and hotels have been booked.

"Should we panic and find another venue?" she said, adding that this event is only one of the many workshops planned for the rest of the year. Lionheart has expressed the same concern with its upcoming shows and events.

Although he's not an artist, Lilburn resident Dennis Thompson expressed his thoughts at Kudzu, too.

"I think Kudzu is a really impressive group, and they're certainly doing the right things, but it's hard to know what to do when you don't know what the motivation is of the city or the mayor," he said.

Regardless of what happens, President of Kudzu's Broad of Trustees David Raderstorf believes that the gallery will be able to tackle anything.

"The bottom line is that Kudzu will survive," he said. "Kudzu will move on, and Kudzu will grow, and if it's not here, then too bad for the city because they will lose out on hundreds of thousands of dollars. We already have other cities that we're talking to already about finding a home."

Next Monday the city council and mayor will hold an executive session to discuss the issue further, according to Councilman Riehm. The meeting is not open to the public.

What do you think about the open bid process? Tell us in the comments.

See also:

• Do the Arts Need More City Support in Norcross?
• City Accepting Bids on Three Norcross Arts Spaces

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