Thanks to grant, Community Fine Arts Center can now be open on Mondays

January 5, 2022 — The Community Fine Arts Center announced Tuesday that they would be resuming their Monday operating hour. This extra day of public viewing is due to a special grant awarded by the Wyoming Humanities.

The Community Fine Arts Center (CFAC) is a Sweetwater County Library System (SCLS) department. According to a press release from the CFAC, the SCLS applied for the Wyoming Humanities grant that specifically could be used for operations. Recently the library system received notification that the grant had been awarded for $10,000. The grant funds will be used to cover an additional ten hours each week to cover staff salaries and related costs for the calendar year.  

Due to county budget cuts for the SCLS this year, CFAC staff members’ hours were shortened, thus making it difficult to be open six days a week. This past September, a decision to be closed on Mondays to the public was put into place.

“General operating support funds have been made possible by the American Rescue Plan of 2021, and made available to our organization by the National Endowment for the Humanities and Wyoming Humanities,” according to the grant agreement.

“I am grateful for such organizations as Wyoming Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities recognizing the need to assist organizations such as the Community Fine Arts Center and local library system,” said Debora Soule, CFAC director. “The pandemic may have started a downturn in being open for our patrons, but the economy being affected added to our need for financial support. The arts and humanities are necessary for all of us to get through this time of uncertainty.”

The Community Fine Arts Center is now open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and Friday and Saturday from noon to 5 p.m.