Nestled into a fun and vibrant looking space with big windows on the corner of East Beaver Avenue and South Pugh Street in State College, 3 Dots Downtown is an arts and community venue that wants to elevate the humanities, promote local arts, culture innovated experiences and offer an inclusive public space for civic engagement. A new grant will help it carry out its mission further.
The nonprofit was recently awarded a $16,000 Pennsylvania Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan grant from the PA Humanities. It was one of 92 recipients across the state awarded a total of $1.4M for recovery and growth.
The money will help 3 Dots hire an assistant director who will support the expansion of its Social Justice Cultural Catalyst program. This program ensures minoritized groups have access to space and resources to put in the programming free of charge.
Director Erica Quinn said one of 3 Dots goals for the space is to open the arts and humanities to people who may have felt they were inaccessible before.
“We really want people in the community to have these accidental arts and humanities experiences where you might not think that the arts are for you … but we are a space that is so open, and the walls of our space are so permeable, and we really attract an interesting array of community members who come in for different reasons,” Quinn said. “And so, what we try to do is set up these experiences that are transformative, but you are actually having an arts or humanities experience and you might not know it.”
Justice and equity are some of the tenets of 3 Dots, she said.
The grant will help provide for programing pertaining to justice and equity and support a new staff position to manage it and make partnerships in the community.
The ball is already rolling in that direction, as partnerships with other social justice programs — such as 3/20 Coalition, The Centre LGBTQA Support Network and others — have already been made.
After a January break, the programing kicks off again in February. Upcoming events include Tuesday Defrost — an open mic series with a featured activity every Tuesday night.
On Mondays, the space will host a listening night where a significant album is shared followed by a discussion. Saturdays will feature a global poetry afternoon and Quinn said, “there are just some interesting things that are starting to happen.”
She said she thinks that people throughout the community can connect and come together over the shared experiences that 3 Dots offers.
“It is such a divisive world that we live in and there is not nearly enough listening that is happening; listening to each other, spending time in observation of a piece of art or music and having those kinds of collective experiences that are unifying. Or making space for those kinds of difficult conversations to happen,” Quinn said.
She believes 3 Dots provides a “non-judgmental space where people can come together and collectively connect in this kind of way.”
3 Dots opened in the summer 2019. After closing during the pandemic, the space reopened in late spring of 2021 and since has seen a 200-percent increase in community member usage, from either attending regular programing and exhibits or simply coming in to sit and connect with others.
“It was apparent to me how critically important it is to have a space for people to come together and how badly people really needed it at that time,” said Quinn.
3 Dots is an open and collaborative space, Quinn said, and she encourages the community to become a part of it.
“It is space for belonging and it is a space where I think you can expect to have an experience that will take you outside of the everyday in a really exciting way,” Quinn said.
“So, we would just encourage people, if you don’t know what it is, come find out.”
For more information on 3 Dots programs visit 3dotsdowntown.com.
This story appears in the Jan. 27-Feb. 2, 2022 edition of the Centre County Gazette.
