This summer’s opening of the Kocen Arts Center in Prince Frederick has meant new opportunities for making and sharing art in Calvert County. The multipurpose space is available to artists and arts aficionados of all kinds, whether they’re creating work, hosting classes, learning new skills, or networking.

Managed by the Arts Council of Calvert County, which supports the county’s arts sector with grants and other resources, the center has been built out to suit all manner of creative enterprises, from visual art, to music and performing arts, to film, and more.

“There are arts everywhere,” said Katie Brinkley, outgoing executive director of the county arts council. “To be that point of contact, and offer as many opportunities as possible, is what we see our role as.”

Brinkley also noted that the center adds a much-needed arts resource in the middle of Calvert County, a shoreline region with a long north-to-south span along the peninsula of Southern Maryland. Even in its first month of operation, the center has drawn a strong community response, with photography sessions, open studio time for working artists, and children’s theater classes already having taken place, or been booked for the coming months.

“It’s a steadily growing thing. We have more people now aware of the arts council in general,” Brinkley said.

The center is a gift of Joan and Elliot Kocen, whose estate plan included funding for an accessible community arts space, as well as support for high school arts scholarships. The county arts council led the process of finding and renovating a suitable property, which coincidentally became available near another of its spaces, the CalvART Gallery.

In addition to enriching a local arts landscape that also includes the Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center at the southern edge of Calvert County, the Kocen Arts Center joins a statewide arts sector that contributes $968 million in economic impact. This figure is based on grants awarded by the Maryland State Arts Council, a unit of the Department of Commerce ensuring that every Marylander has access to the transformative power of the arts.

The Arts Council of Calvert County is among the state arts council’s grantees.

“The way it’s structured, there’s a trickle-down effect from the state arts council to the county arts council,” Brinkley said. “That has an impact by creating opportunities where people need it the most.”

Those interested in using the center can visit its schedule of upcoming events to learn more.