MASON, Ohio — The Mason Arts Council is moving forward with plans for a regional performing arts center on 16 acres of city-donated land along State Route 741 and US 42.
The council, which formed in 2019 to grow the arts in Mason, needs to raise $13 million to fulfill its agreement with the city. Fundraising is set to kick off at the beginning of 2027, with a number of advisory committees meeting in the lead-up, starting Oct. 1.
Karen Kilgore, president of the Mason Arts Council, said the project has been years in the making.
"It's very exciting. It's been over 10 years, and it has ebbed and flowed," she said.
The council has faced a number of setbacks since its founding, including the loss of Tom Huff, the council's first president. Kilgore has since taken over in his honor.
WATCH: Mason arts council plans regional performing arts center
She said local theatre companies currently have no dedicated performance venues outside of Mason High School.
"This is not for anyone for one purpose. It's for the community. It's to allow people opportunity to go somewhere to express themselves," Kilgore said.
Kilgore shared renderings of the planned center and spoke to the importance of arts programs within a community. Ian Gregory Hill, an alumnus of Royale Theatre Company, shared his own testimony.
"I was diagnosed with autism at the age of 29. When I was a child, I was different. I had different needs, and my parents put me in the theatre not because I liked it or wanted to, but because it was my therapy."
WCPO 9 first learned of the project at a 'Let's Talk Event' in Mason.
"Mason is so advanced for so many things. We have sports. We have recreation. We have aquatic centers. We have parks. We have recreation, but the one thing we really cannot offer is a venue for arts of any kind," Kilgore said.
For more information and updates, visit the Mason Arts Council website.
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