Mission:

The Addison Center for the Arts is a not-for-profit 501c3 organization created to advance the arts as an integral part of life in Addison and the surrounding communities. We are committed to providing a home for performing and visual arts. We are dedicated to creating quality art programs in order to provide self-exploration, skill development and aesthetic awareness. We strive to Empower the creator, performer, audience or consumer as a way to Enhance and Enrich the world around us.

History :

For many years, civic and cultural groups, as well as involved citizens of Addison, have recognized the need for a home for cultural arts and civic activities. In 1986, these groups joined together to form the Addison Cultural Arts Development Commission to fully explore the need and feasibility of building a cultural arts center in Addison.

With support from local and state agencies, like the Village of Addison and the Illinois Arts Council, the Commission was able to prepare the first stage of development of what would become the Addison Center for the Arts. In September 1994, the Center was incorporated as a not-for-profit organization with the purpose of advancing the arts as an integral part of like in Addison and its surrounding communities.

While working toward making the Addison Center for the Arts a physical reality, the Center partnered with numerous organizations, like the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Fantasia Ballet Company of Russia and the Mexican Folkloric Dance Company of Chicago, to bring culturally diverse arts programs to our ethnically diverse population.

In the fall of 2010, after a successful capital campaign and equally successful partnerships with the Village of Addison and School District 88, the Addison Center for the Arts opened the doors of its new home in Addison Trail High School. That home features an art gallery, a studio theater, a 1,200-seat auditorium and shared classrooms.