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Park City's Kimball Art Center has found a new place to call home for now, and the Sundance Film Festival is looking for a new Main Street event space.
The arts center announced Monday it has signed a lease for a location in the Bonanza Park at 1401 Kearns Blvd., about a mile from its long-standing home on Heber Avenue between Old Main and Park Avenue.
Kimball Art Center will reside in Bonanza Park for about three years, while a permanent art center is designed and built.
The Bonanza Park location most recently was home to a church, The Branch. The phone number for The Branch, listed on the church's website, has been disconnected.
The old site was a venue for the Sundance Film Festival for most of the past 20 years. It was festival headquarters from 1995 to 1997. Since 2003, it has been "Sundance House," playing host to panel discussions, private parties and concerts (including this year's BMI Snowball). Since 2010, it also has been a demonstration space for one of Sundance's presenting sponsors, the technology company HP.
"This is the time of year where we are exploring venue options for next year's Sundance Film Festival," a representative of the Sundance Institute said in an email. "Though we have had a very positive experience with the Kimball Art Center in previous years, it's too early to confirm which spaces will be used next year."
Kimball Art Center announced last fall it would move from its Heber Avenue location, where it has been a landmark since 1976. This came after the Park City government rejected efforts to renovate the current site, because the plans were deemed incompatible with the historic area.
The art center recently sold the building, once the Kimball Brothers Garage, to a developer, The Park Record reported.
Kimball officials say the art center will move into the Bonanza Park space in September. In the interim, the center will maintain its class schedules and gallery exhibitions and will oversee the 46th annual Park City Kimball Art Festival, starting July 31 on Old Main.
In a statement, Kimball's executive director, Robin Marrouche, said building a new center "is hands down the best way for us to continue to cultivate an arts culture here in Park City and beyond." She added that the temporary location is "the first step toward realizing that exciting goal."
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