Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Abington Art Center


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. (non-admin closure)  Arun Kumar SINGH (Talk)  02:32, 20 June 2016 (UTC)

Abington Art Center

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Local arts center with local references. Most of the article is a quote from their own publicity.The article describes the museum as "non-collecting" ,a term I am not familiar with but which I assume means either that it takes whatever people give it, or that it doesn't even do that. The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center mentioned in the headnote as an Annex is quite notable, but it does not appear to be connected in any manner  DGG ( talk ) 01:06, 9 June 2016 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Visual arts-related deletion discussions. Shawn in Montreal (talk) 04:11, 9 June 2016 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Museums and libraries-related deletion discussions. Shawn in Montreal (talk) 04:11, 9 June 2016 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Pennsylvania-related deletion discussions. Shawn in Montreal (talk) 04:11, 9 June 2016 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Organizations-related deletion discussions. Shawn in Montreal (talk) 04:11, 9 June 2016 (UTC)


 * This is a local art center. Many references have been updated, and errors corrected. — Preceding unsigned comment added by CecilyK (talk • contribs) 18:52, 9 June 2016 (UTC)


 * (Possible) Selective Merge to Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, which presently only has a single, very short 11-word sentence about it. This will improve the merge target article, per WP:PRESERVE. North America1000 01:42, 16 June 2016 (UTC)
 * N.b. I have modified my !vote above, by adding "(Possible)" to it. North America1000 18:42, 18 June 2016 (UTC)


 * Abinton Art Center has existed for 75 years serving the Northeast cultural community through exhibitions of notable artists, educational programs, a sculpture park, performance series. It is a not-for-profit cultural institution, not a blockbuster glamorous museum. It's dedication, longevity, serious curatorial philosophy, and sheer tenacity to exist as a non-profit in the bloated money driven, post-80's art world is proof, in my opinion, of its importance and notability. Not sure if I am posting this comment in the correct place or if it should go on the talk page, nevertheless I vote to keep. The article does need much better citations, tho. Netherzone (talk) 04:13, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

Keep per the significant coverage in multiple independent reliable sources.  The book notes (my bolding): "The Abington Art Center is located at 515 Meetinghouse Road in Jenkintown. The art center is housed in the Lessing J. Rosenwald estate, and its art-deco style art gallery (one room of which has been recreated at the Library of Congress) dates from 1939. Now one of the largest fine arts centers in Pennsylvania, Abington Center features changing fine arts exhibits from the United States and abroad. In addition to its regular fine arts, dance, and crafts curricula, the center periodically holds lectures and workshops. Open Monday through Friday, 10 A.M. to 5 P.M.; Thursdays, 10 A.M. to 7 P.M. For special events, contact the center. Free admission. Charges for some tours and events, as well as for classes. Telephone: (215) 887-4882. Web site: www.abingtonartcenter.org."  The article notes: "Abington Art Center's occupancy of Alverthorpe Manor began in 1970. And what seems quite relevant as we recall its litany of consistently held, low-key group shows - and most recently, its solo shows - is Abington's proven ability to retain its diversity, exhibit formats, and professional standards. The marvel is that the center has done this through the years without losing its grip and becoming hollow. ... Amid the fast pace of gallery exhibits, the Abington Art Center is providing a welcome period of stock-taking. The occasion is the center's 70th anniversary year, highlighted in a special exhibit, 'Forever Young.'"  The article notes: "Abington Art Center is not your cookie-cutter community art hub, according Executive Director Betsy Kilkenny. For 75 years, AAC has been a staple in Abington Township with an evolving scope of programs, events and opportunities focused on its vision to allow the “benefit of cultural enrichment for individual and community life be derived from creative, artistic expression.” ... Established in 1939 as the Old York Road Art Guild, AAC became the Abington Art Center in 1965 after the guild decided to incorporate its programs under a separate nonprofit identity, according to AAC’s website. AAC moved to its current location at Alverthorpe Manor at 515 Meetinghouse Road in the Jenkintown section of the township in 1969, after rare book and print collector, Lessing Rosenwald, and his wife, Edith, donated their estate to the township for community use, it stated.  AAC serves an estimated 35,000 people a year through its five areas of focus: exhibitions, on-and-off site studio classes, community programs, the sculpture park and art programs for special needs. AAC is working to “refresh and re-energize the community art experience” thanks to a grant provided by the William Penn Foundation that has helped fund a strategic plan, Kilkenny said."  The article notes: "Talk about disappointing - the Abington Art Center spends $12,000 to make itself more physically accessible to the handicapped, the program directors work out an 'Art Sampler' class to introduce disabled people to the spectrum of visual arts - the center does all this and more to attract handicapped people to the center, and what happens? Not too much. Ronald Rothman, the center's director, says there are 'some wonderful stories' about handicapped people and their experiences at the center, 'but I can count them on two hands. I'd like to see dozens of handicapped people here.'" <li> The article notes: "Amy Lipton and the Abington Art Center met last year when both were searching for a significant other. Lipton, a freelance curator and former New York gallery owner, wanted to settle into a full-time professional relationship. The art center, with a William Penn Foundation grant under its belt, was looking to hire its first full-time curator. ... The mansion at Alverthorpe has housed the art center for more than three decades, providing an elegant home for the cooperative that began life as the Old York Road Art Guild in 1939 and evolved into the Abington Art Center in the 1960s. The center has been a mainstay of the Philadelphia-area art scene. It exhibits the work of local and national artists and offers a full range of programs and art classes."</li> <li> The article notes: "Considering the work that it has done (with the help of Rose Marcus), Abington Art Center is an appropriate site for the exhibit. Today and tomorrow, workers will put the final touches on what has been a $10,000 to $12,000 project for handicapped accessibility at the center, which is housed in the mansion once occupied by Sears, Roebuck & Co. executive Lessing J. Rosenwald. The project began in 1981 when the center, housed in one section of Alverthorpe Manor, expanded into a larger portion of the house. The manor is also home to the Jenkintown Music School and Alverthorpe Park, part of the Abington Township park system."</li> <li> The article notes: "The art center in Jenkintown handles crises well, from skunk punks to dealing with a struggling financial landscape. As a small nonprofit with a budget of less than $1 million, its finances are always in flux. 'We don't have an endowment,' says executive director Laura Burnham. 'Like most Americans, we have to live on what we earn.' The 27-acre center, celebrating its 70th anniversary, has a gallery, six studios, classrooms, and a sculpture park, and stages outdoor events year-round. Forty teachers and six full-time employees manage the complex."</li> <li> The article notes: "The Abington Art Center, however, is more than Artreach and an umbrella for handicapped artists. In its efforts to provide a viable arts center for residents in the Philadelphia suburban area, it also enrolls students of all ages and economic backgrounds who come mostly from Philadelphia, Delaware and Montgomery Counties. ... Growth there has been rapid. Since 1977, a year after Rothman became executive director, the operating budget has gone from about $65,000 to a current $300,000. Student enrollment has climbed from 445 students a week to 825 students a week, overseen by a professional staff of 36 artists and administrators. ... The center was founded in 1939 by group of local residents who wanted an arts center in the area. It didn't find a home, however, until 1965, when it moved into Briar Bush Nature Center and named itself the Old York Road Art Guild. It moved to Alverthorpe in 1972, with the permission of Lessing and Edith Rosenwald, and changed its name to Abington Art Center."</li> </ol>There is sufficient coverage in reliable sources to allow Abington Art Center to pass Notability, which requires "significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject". Cunard (talk) 05:29, 16 June 2016 (UTC) </li></ul>
 * Keep after working all of the above and the references into the article. Aoziwe (talk) 15:27, 18 June 2016 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.