Spy Newspapers of Maryland's video: John Schratwieser: Kent Cultural Alliance Building Update

As the pandemic continues to mute much of Chestertown’s arts and cultural life, Kent Cultural Alliance moves forward with the renovation of the Vincent and Leslie Prince Raimond Cultural Center on Spring Avenue in Chestertown. Formerly known as the Mansfield/Eliasson house, c. 1800, the building is undergoing three phases of restoration: foundation, exterior, and interior. The project is on track to finish the exterior phase by late Spring and total completion, depending on funding, is slated for 2022. Upon completion, the building will serve as a multifunction hub for Kent arts with space for exhibits, small-scale dramatic presentations and readings. It’s open first-floor area will be able to seat an audience of 99.  “We want the Center to feel welcoming as a community gathering place,” KCA Director John Schratwieser says. The building also has another mission: to launch a Visiting Artist Residency Program, the first program of its kind in Maryland. Four mid-career artists will be offered a one to three month residency at the site where they can work in their particular genres and also engage directly with community themes. “The artists will be doing work in the public schools and in community organizations using art to tell the story of what our local organizations are doing on the environment, history, healthcare, race relations. It will be an immersive socially and civically oriented artists residency,” Schratwieser says. As luck would have it, the historical building also comes with a fascinating pedigree. During the 1800s the Mansfield family had a house slave, Isaac Mason, who eventually escaped the brutality of his life but went on to write a narrative about it. But let’s let John Schratwieser tell the story.