TheaterWorks, downtown Hartford’s home for contemporary theater, and the New Britain Museum of American Art jointly announced today a gift for the entire Metro Hartford community. The culmination of several months of intensive groundwork, the two arts institutions have unveiled plans for a re-envisioned arts center located at TheaterWorks’ historic building located at 233 Pearl Street in downtown Hartford. Rechristened City Arts on Pearl, the 1927 Moorish Revival structure will now house the Gallery of American Art, a rotating exhibition space featuring artworks from the expansive collection of the New Britain Museum of American Art. In addition, City Arts on Pearl will feature permanent installations of large works in the building’s majestic lobby, new exterior and interior signage, a reconfigured TheaterWorks box office, and a lounge/bistro operated by bin228 Café and Wine Bar. Announced on Christmas Day, 2008, the gift will be officially “unwrapped” and open on Friday, January 23rd.

TheaterWorks Executive Director Steve Campo states, “Over the last several months I’ve guided TheaterWorks in an investment of effort and resources to make our historic 233 Pearl Street facility an inviting, invigorating place for our audiences and friends. We have painstakingly worked to revive this architectural gem, and are now just weeks away from activating a reconfigured and exuberantly enhanced arts center which will showcase our exciting new collaboration with the New Britain Museum of American Art.”

Douglas Hyland, director of the New Britain Museum of American Art, adds, “We are pleased that a substantial portion of our over 8,000 art works will be shown on a rotating basis at City Arts on Pearl, in its Gallery of American Art. Our installations will change with TheaterWorks’ offerings. This partnership brings together two of our area’s most innovative and outstanding arts organizations.”

Visitors to City Arts on Pearl (C.A.P.) will be immediately greeted by new exterior signage and a richly theatrical grand mural by artist John Defeo in the building’s foyer. Upon entering the soaring lobby, patrons will see large-scale paintings from the New Britain Museum of American Art’s impressive collection, as well as a restored “Lion of Pearl Fountain,” which is original to the building and operational for the first time in decades. To the immediate right of the main lobby, guests will enter the Gallery of American Art, which will house a new box office for TheaterWorks audiences, a café featuring wines and delicious edibles from bin228, and rotating exhibitions curated by NBMAA.

The first exhibition will include over 20 paintings culled from NBMAA’s recent exhibition Pulp Art: The Robert Lesser Collection. Robert Lesser began collecting pulp paintings, comic books, and comic-character toys in the 1950s. As a student at the University of Chicago, Lesser’s literature studies combined with his fascination with popular culture kindled his interest in studying and collecting pulp art and comic memorabilia. Lesser now owns 750 pulp paintings and an extensive collection of robots and space toys. In 1975 he wrote A Celebration of Comic Art and Memorabilia, an informational collectors’ guide; in 1997 he published Pulp Art: Original Cover Paintings for the Great American Pulp Magazines, a full-color collection of pulp paintings and history that includes expert interpretation.

The grand opening of City Arts on Pearl and the Gallery of American Art will be held on Friday, January 23, 2009. More details will be forthcoming. New Britain Museum of American Art is located at 56 Lexington Street in New Britain and can be visited online at www.nbmaa.org. TheaterWorks can be found online at www.theaterworkshartford.org.