On Friday evening, the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts celebrated the grand opening of its new Art Park, a transformation of underutilized urban space into a dynamic community hub. The ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the culmination of years of planning and collaboration, and featured remarks from key community leaders, as well as a special performance by the renowned Bread and Puppet Theatre. Watch the live video.
The Art Park, part of a larger vision to reinvigorate downtown Reading, includes newly designed outdoor spaces such as The Courtyard and Thorn Alley, along with a renovated restaurant in GoggleWorks’ main building. Attendees of the grand opening were invited to explore these new spaces, designed to be welcoming, comfortable, and accessible to the community. The event also included art activities, food, and the headline performance by Bread and Puppet Theater, known for its striking large-scale puppets and political performances.
Levi Landis, President and Executive Director of GoggleWorks, set the tone for the evening, reflecting on the journey that began five years ago. “I asked the other night, and I’ll do it again—just time warp with me back to 2019,” he said. “We were thinking a lot about how we could engage the community in new ways.” He shared a touching story about a young girl, Maria, who inspired the vision for the project by asking, “Why is there no art out here?”
Landis acknowledged the collaborative effort it took to make the Art Park a reality, crediting community input and partnerships with organizations like Barrio Alegría for shaping the park’s inclusive design. He also emphasized the project’s larger purpose: “We wanted this to be about safe spaces, comfort, beauty, security, but ultimately about the way that art infects and gets into each one of us.”
Marlin Miller, a founding member of the GoggleWorks Board of Directors, shared historical insights into how the center came to be. He recalled the moment when GoggleWorks was first handed the keys to the old factory space, an event that paved the way for the art center’s creation. “After many years of work and so much support from so many people here in the community, we have what we have here tonight,” he said, expressing gratitude to the community for its support in helping the center grow over the years.
Sandy Salmon, Chair of the GoggleWorks Board, spoke to the community-driven process of designing the Art Park, emphasizing the importance of creating a welcoming and creative environment for all. “We knew we wanted to create a beautiful, park-like space with outdoor benches—a living room for our neighborhood and community,” she said. She also highlighted the deeper symbolic meaning of the park’s circular design, referencing Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man as an inspiration for the space’s unity and connection to the larger universe.
The evening also highlighted the ongoing effort to connect with Reading’s diverse communities. Edvard Philipson, Vice Chair of the GoggleWorks Board, stressed the importance of building bridges and ensuring the space serves all members of the community. “Art is the ability to create, to relax, to think in a different way,” Philipson said. “We want this space to embody innovation and transformation for all of our community.”
The celebration concluded with a performance by the world-famous Bread and Puppet Theatre, known for its innovative and politically charged productions that incorporate puppetry, music, and dance. The troupe’s presence, made possible through a partnership with Lauer’s Park Elementary School and MSH Productions, added a dynamic and interactive element to the evening.
As GoggleWorks continues to grow, the new Art Park marks a significant milestone in the center’s mission to transform lives through unique interactions with art. With a diverse array of programming, creative spaces, and community engagement initiatives, the future of GoggleWorks and downtown Reading looks brighter than ever.
As the night came to a close, attendees left not just with memories of the evening, but with excitement for what the future holds for this blossoming cultural hub.
