Culture

New Albany community planners’ vision of a Chautauqua-like community with intellectually stimulating educational and cultural programming year round for all ages has become a reality. A commitment to culture is among the guiding principles designed to engage both residents and businesses and build a stronger sense of community. From concerts by internationally acclaimed artists and lectures by Pulitzer Prize winning authors, that focus brings the community together and sets it apart from the rest.

Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts
A treasure for the community and a triumph for the public-private partnership that spearheaded the effort, the Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts is a 35,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art facility that features a proscenium theatre seating 786, space for an art gallery and ballet and orchestra practice rooms. Anchoring the northeast quadrant of the 200-acre learning campus, the center serves as both a school auditorium and community cultural center. It has attracted tens of thousands of visitors with an eclectic range of international artists and entertainers from country music star Sara Evans and the St. Petersburg Ballet to comedian Martin Short, author John Irving and Tony Award-winning singers Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin. And shaping artistic aspirations as part of its arts-integrated model, New Albany school students perform on the very same stage as the world-renowned artists.