In this month’s blog, we are highlighting the Christina Cultural Arts Center Inc. (CCAC). Located at 705 N Market Street, the mission of CCAC is to “change the trajectory of a child’s life by making affordable arts education, career pathways, gallery exhibitions and live performances accessible to all in a welcoming environment.”
Executive Director, James “Ray” Rhodes discusses the history of the Christina Cultural Arts Center and its importance to our community.
James “Ray” Rhodes, Executive Director of the Christina Cultural Arts Center
The Arts should propel Wilmington to Greater Heights
With the whisper of a fleeting spirit, the Women’s Club of Trinity Episcopal Church
founded Christina Cultural Arts Center, Inc. (CCAC) in 1945. Originally, the Center served as a
refuge for Polish and Swedish settlers to gather and experience the divine and hospitable
community of Wilmington’s Eastside near the shores of the Christina River. As the settlers and
indigenous residents grew and embraced each other’s culture. Despite the many social,
economic and political challenges, a warm sense of belonging was evident. Today, CCAC
serves as one of the premier cultural arts and educational institutions in the region. In addition to
a full-service School of the Arts providing instruction in dance, music, drama, and literature,
CCAC has an award-winning, 5-star, full-day Early Learning Center where 3-5-year-olds receive
regular instruction in the arts and technology. CCAC has an afterschool program that assists 8-
13-year-olds address many of the social challenges they face in school and in their communities;
and we provide internships for 18-24-year-olds seeking entry into creative industries. Finally,
but certainly not least, we serve as a display gallery for many of New Castle County’s thriving
visual artists and our Clifford Brown Performance Center hosts local, regional, and national
singers, musicians, poets, and dramatical performers. Christina also continues to be on the front
lines as a voice for advocacy and equity from all who have a love and passion for the arts.
Despite the persistent and at times, seemingly insurmountable challenges, coupled with the
paralyzing inability to aggressively engage and embrace the arts by some, the arts continue to be
a refuge for diverse groups of all ages. For those in their developing years, the arts help with
connections to their history, aligning their personal passions with the sounds, prose or visuals
that art provides and as a healing mechanism that touches souls like no other medium. Even in its
rawest form, the arts motivate and inspire others and soften the blow of life’s everyday traumas.
As Wilmington continues to evolve, grow and in some cases heal, the importance of the arts is
even more critical now than at any other time in our history. Our City should aggressively move
toward inclusion of all ages, backgrounds and economic strata using the arts (music, visual arts,
dance, drama, literature and the spoken word) as a foundation to inspire, move, motivate and
encourage our City to recover from the many years and decades of brokenness. “A Place to be
Somebody” should include the arts as the premier mechanism to catapult us into ‘being.’ Earth,
Wind & Fire reminds us all to ‘Be ever Wonderful.’ “The time is right for you tonight, find your
place among the broad daylight.” As Wilmington continues to navigate the inevitable changes
that come with growth, embracing the universal language of music and the arts should be on the
agenda of every conversation concerning what will propel us to be the premier city in our nation.
For more information on the Christina Cultural Arts Center Inc. events, programming,
classes, and resources visit their website.