Credit: R. A. Hermans
Stissing Center for Arts and Culture was born in part from a simple request of the people of Pine Plains: Save our laundromat. Brett Bernardini, who took over as the center’s executive director in December 2022, is committed to providing the community with clean clothes and so much more.
The renovations envisioned at Stissing Center are massive — Bernardini estimates that they will cost $8 million. Some $1.6 million will go to immediate repairs to keep the 109-year-old structure functional and standing. “The roof is trying to pancake flat,” Bernardini said. “The third-floor walls are now pushing out in response to the roof doing this. And now all four corners of the building are starting to push in opposite directions.”
On that top floor, the problem is clear to see: The original bricks are folding in on themselves compromising their support of the roof. The solution will be to add a staircase and an elevator to the rear of the building, providing support to the roof while creating more backstage space and another entryway for patrons.
The beauty of the building is undeniable. The classic brick is warm and charming. The remodeled performance space, now called Banning Hall, with wood walls and tin ceiling is evocative of the original idea for the building as a community gathering place. “The philosophy [behind the renovation work] was what’s new is going to look new, what’s old is going to stay old,” Bernardini said.
Courtesy of the Little Nine Partners Historical Society
Besides the roof repair, other infrastructure will need to be addressed. The current septic system has pipes that are fragile and cracked, and a sturdier and expanded system will be necessary to support the needs of the building, including its laundromat, when all floors are finished.
Bernardini’s goal is to have all three floors functioning seven days a week, but he is committed to keeping the laundromat, which is below Stissing Center’s stage, even if he has to raise more money to relocate it. He has come to appreciate its importance to Pine Plains by watching an elderly man bring his wash to the building every morning.
“He told me the story that his wife is very ill and he has to wash clothes,” Bernardini said. “He said she’s not always aware of what’s going on but he pulls out the bed sheets from underneath her and runs over here in the mornings and washes them so she can sleep. That’s the only reason I need to keep the laundromat.”
Bernardini wants the center to serve as a partner to the local community. “I’m not here and the Stissing Center for Arts and Culture is not here to tell this community anything more than, ‘we are here, the door is open, how can we help you?’” he said.
Community is the focal point of all aspects of Stissing Center’s vision. The third floor will display the work of the artist Kent Broadhurst as well as art from the community. The gallery will be surrounded by office spaces for local nonprofits.
Bernardini also wants to provide educational experiences. He wants kids to learn about art, but he also wants to create classes for senior citizens. The basement — the Cellar at the Center — which will host community events, such as fundraisers and other gatherings, will be equipped with a professional kitchen.
Courtesy of the Pine Plains Planning Board public documents
Bernardini, who is from Omaha, Neb., also hopes to highlight all that the Hudson Valley has to offer the arts and culture community. He is well-versed in the world of arts in a rural setting and has a vision of the role Stissing Center and Pine Plains can play to help cultivate the arts in rural America.
“It is the problem that rural America suffers across this country, which is rural America historically has always been seen as extractive,” he said. “It is a place where you go to take things out — I’m going to go on the weekend to get my basket of vegetables.” He wants people to see that rural communities have something that is desirable for outsiders to visit and experience.
One of Bernardini’s goals is to create a national model for an art center that uplifts the small town surrounding it. He believes that Pine Plains has something really special, not many towns with a population under 2,000 have such beautiful venues for the arts.
“Rural America has a rich history of arts and cultural traditions that, frankly, are easy to ignore because you’re not going to see them at Lincoln Center,” Bernardini said. “But the truth of the matter is, where did everybody go when COVID showed up? Oh, that’s right. They went to rural America.”
Bernardini believes in the success of the project and has large aspirations for the impact it could have: “My big goal, 20 years down the road, is to generate, by simply being here, over $10 million in income that goes directly into the town coffers.
“Everybody wants to be in rural America. I want to be in rural America, but I don’t want to fix it. It’s pretty frickin’ perfect.”