Healing Newtown Seeks Support to Find a New Home

Since February, a storefront space on Queen Street has hosted a growing collection of artwork and other tributes to Newtown in the aftermath of the Dec. 14 shooting. Two months later, they need a new home -- and they're turning to crowdsourcing to help them raise funds to get one. 

The organization -- Healing Newtown, formed by members of Newtown's Cultural Arts Commission -- must leave their current location by the end of May. While the group says there are some possibilities for a new spot, they don't have the money to rent one yet. So they're using their website -- as well as online fundraising site CrowdTilt and their Facebook page -- to try to raise $10,000 in the next seven days.

"We have at the end of May, at the latest, then we have to move out of the space we're in," said Healing Newtown secretary Robert Rabinowitz, who has been instrumental in efforts to raise funds for the space. "We're looking to rent a space and we just don't have the money to do it."

Rabinowitz and other Healing Newtown members -- many from Newtown's Cultural Arts Commission -- founded the space after conversations with First Selectman Pat Llodra indicated the town had an immediate need to host artwork from well-wishers around the world.

""From Chicago to New Hampshire to Florida, people wanted to help," said director Jennifer Johnston when the space opened in February. "They wanted to donate a sculpture, or a piece of artwork, or put together a program or do a benefit concert."

Healing Newtown received 75 donations in the first weeks alone, and now holds hundreds of pieces of art. The response from the community has been strongly positive, said Rabinowitz.

"It's only been four months since the tragedy," he said. "There's been just so many people who come out to the space and get some enjoyment out of doing something artistic. People appreciate seeing all the artwork that's been sent to the town."

(Click here to see some work showcased at the gallery.)

The gallery also hosts events ranging from theatre rehearsals to art therapy for kids to open-mic concerts, and stores a host of other precious cargo as well.

"We have all the hundreds of thousands of letters sent to the town," said Rabinowitz. "People are going through the letters and scanning them. People from all over the world took the time to send that stuff and it deserves to be recognized."

Rabinowitz said if the gallery doesn't find a permanent home soon, the letters and artwork will have to go into a warehouse, at least temporarily, along with thousands of dollars worth of donated gear from Guitar Center, IKEA, Xerox and other sponsors.

"If worse comes to worse, the stuff goes into storage and we keep looking," he said. "We'd hate to close down, even for a little while ... But we won't stop trying."

Related Links:

• Healing Newtown's CrowdTilt donation page. (Donations are only collected if the fundraiser reaches the $10,000 goal.)
• Healing Newtown's website
• The group's Facebook page
• Upcomin events at Healing Newtown