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July 28, 2025 |  By: Mark Moran - Public News Service

Students, architects transform historic Nebraska church into arts space

Demand for arts programs in Nebraska and nationwide has skyrocketed since the pandemic (Adobe Stock)

                                  Demand for arts programs in Nebraska and nationwide has skyrocketed since the pandemic (Adobe Stock)

Mark Moran - Public News Service

Students and architects in Nebraska have created a new space for up-and-coming artists in Lincoln.

Demand has grown in the state for spaces where young artists can learn their craft and display their projects. The F Street Neighborhood Church is the oldest in the state and demand prompted the University of Nebraska to work with architects and students to transform the historic building into an arts center.

Jeff Day, professor of architecture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said the team designed the center with the community in mind.

"We basically converted it into a large art studio that can also acts a gallery," Day explained. "Added a restroom some storage a deck out front to create a public space connected to a sidewalk."

Students were also involved in the transformation. They designed and installed new cabinetry and shelving and built tables, including outlets to plug in equipment like sewing machines and other tools. The finished project was several years in the making.

In perhaps the most dramatic enhancement, the team cut a hole in the wall of the historic church and installed a rolling wall which, Day said, allows artists to engage the community.

"We really thought his merging of kind of public and private spaces was quite interesting and thought that it would serve this arts space quite well," Day observed. "It serves a neighborhood, a community or people that have been dealing with some difficult circumstances, whether it's substance abuse or domestic violence, homelessness."

Neighborhood organizers said they hope the new church-turned-arts center will help community members discover their creativity.