Verona arts hub to hold fundraiser Friday, on track to open in 2025

A nonprofit that’s turning an historic Verona building that once housed a charter school into a regional arts hub is on track to open in early 2025 and planning a major fundraiser Friday.

Art House 360 is converting the former home of New Century Charter School into a multifaceted arts studio and teaching space. The two-story, 12,000-square-foot facility at 401 W. Verona Ave. is due to open in February or March 2025, said Karisa Johnson, one of four co-artistic directors and future anchor tenants of the property along with Jessica Lanius, AJ Juarez and Monica Cliff.

On Friday, the group is hosting its first public fundraising event, featuring a DJ, salsa band, food trucks, beer and wine tent, dance performances and live painting demonstrations from one of the artists who plan to make murals for the building.

Verona Mayor Luke Diaz and Mark Fraire, director of the Dane County Arts and Cultural Affairs for Dane Arts, are scheduled to speak at the event, which will be held at Century School Park, 309 W. Verona Ave., from 5 to 9 p.m. The fundraiser’s rain date is 5 to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

Organizers hope to raise $100,000 at Friday’s event toward a $3 million goal. The nonprofit has already amassed just under $1.6 million from the city for basic renovations, a Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. grant, a grant from the Dane County Board and private donors, Lanius said.

When completed, the hub will include not only a community space but Cliff’s Inventiva Works, which offers visual art and theater classes in Spanish; Theatre Lila, headed by Lanius, which helps train actors; Barrio Dance, a dance school headed by Juarez; and Slate Blue studios, headed by Johnson and which will offer community events, classes and co-working space for artists.

Art House 360 also plans to work with musician Asiah Aman Wagabaza Doyle to offer lessons and host a podcast in a music and sound studio, and hopes to have two more tenants by the time it opens. The nonprofit wants to have a photography studio, too.

“We are trying to use every inch of our building for more artists to participate,” Lanius said.

An additional fundraiser is being eyed for October, and the organization plans to apply for a grant from the Wisconsin Department of Administration. Individual donors can contribute by visiting arthouse360.com.

Renovations in progress

In terms of renovations so far, Johnson said, “we are revealing all the historic elements,” including the exposed brick of the former charter school.

Completed in March 1917, the Verona Graded School served students in kindergarten through eighth grade, according to the Verona Area Historical Society.

Crews are also refinishing the structure’s floors and installing a new electrical system, she said.

The nonprofit has commissioned four artists to paint several murals for the former school’s interior and exterior, Lanius said, and plans to hire three more, “but I think that number could go up to 10 more.”

“The idea is to have color throughout the whole building,” Juarez said.

“We’ve moved amazingly fast,” Johnson said. “We are feeling pretty good about early next year.”

Diaz and Faire said they were happy to support the nonprofit’s vision.

“ART House 360 is a wonderful opportunity for Verona and the surrounding areas,” Fraire said, “Every artist involved is truly passionate about their work and commitment to building access to the arts for all.”

“It is just amazing how quickly they were able to galvanize the resources needed to purchase and begin to rehab the space,” he added, crediting the organizers’ “strong vision and great leadership.”