What's Next for Healing Newtown?

A wide-open white room lined with paintings, dotted by sculptures, with a stage in one back corner and stacks of letters in the other. In front, a sculpture of a woman and child.

Soon all this will need to find a new home.

The Healing Newtown Arts Space, operated in part by the Newtown Cultural Arts Commission, has been here on Queen Street next to Caraluzzi's since February. They formed in the aftermath of the Dec. 14 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting as a home for artwork, letters and other tributes to Newtown. But a new tenant -- a wine shop -- plans to move in soon, and members say they could be leaving in as soon as two weeks.

"We're going to look into all possibilities," said secretary Robert Rabinowitz. "There are town organizations and available spaces. There's beautiful weather and parks. There are a whole bunch of options."

It may not be a six-day-a-week storefront location in the future -- Rabinowitz says he's not sure what form Healing Newtown's art space will take. It's possible the letters and artwork could end up going into storage for a time. They could also be housed in town buildings. Or the group could find a new space.

"Unfortunately, [it] may have to be rented space," said Rabinowitz. "And that just eats into money we're trying to save in order to get our own permanent space."

Their landlords provided the property for free -- a deal they're not likely to get in the future. But Rabinowitz and others in Healing Newtown say they're hopeful they can find a space they can afford. The group recently launched a Set for ten days, the campaign raised only $1,730 when it ended Monday. (Since the fundraiser did not reach its goal, no donations were charged.)

Healing Newtown opened in February with a Since then it has hosted the Charlotte Bacon Act of Kindness Awards, as well as a variety of events from dance classes to musical performances.

"You know, there's isn't an event that happened here that I didn't enjoy," said Rabinowitz. He says he loved coming in to see events for kids -- like a recent Animal Embassy program -- as well as the first shows, when families gathered to hear performances from local bands.

"It was sort of like when the U.S. was smaller hundreds of years ago," he said. "These small communities would have regular get-togethers, and everyone would bring food. It was kind of like that: everyone brought extra to share. And people just had a really nice time."

There's still plenty on the schedule for HealingNewtown. See their calendar and check Patch's calendar for more events.

Eventually, Rabinowitz says, he envisions a Healing Newtown arts space that could transform into a cultural arts center for the town, possibly at Fairfield Hills. He cites the original Fairfield Hills master plan: "A rich assortment of cultural and artistic events awaits residents visiting the campus. These events may include both indoor and outdoor exhibits and performances, [a]s well as arts education classes tailored to diverse age groups."

 "Are we going to need a Healing Newtown arts space five years in future? Probably not," he says, suggesting a permanent cultural arts space could eventually replace it. "Two to three years? Maybe ... Some people already talk about moving on, getting past the concept of healing. Not everybody's ready for that. People have their own needs within their own times. It hasn't been as long as some people seem to think it's been. I see it as a slow evolution from where we are today to where we might be in the future."

Related Links:

• Healing Newtown's website
• The group's Facebook page
• Upcoming events at Healing Newtown