Chocolate Church: Where Art and Community Become One

“It’s not a venue. It’s an arts center.” — Matthew Glassman, Executive and Artistic Director of Chocolate Church Arts Center

What exactly does it mean for a space to be an arts center, rather than a venue? What does it mean for artists to be at the helm of such a space? And in what ways can those artists let the community lead where and how they want their imaginations to take shape?

These are the questions Matthew Glassman and his partner, Jeremy Eaton, posed when they took over direction of Chocolate Church Arts Center in Bath, Maine.

Ensemble actors, designers, and theater directors, Glassman and Eaton — who now serve as Chocolate Church’s Executive Director and Art Director, respectively — believe in the power of spaces in which people can not only experience art, but also make it. And in their first year leading the arts center, they’ve evolved the organization and its programming to become a true community-driven resource where creativity can flourish.

A Reflection of Place and People

Art ended up saving Chocolate Church. Originally dubbed Central Church in 1847, the building served as a sacred space for over a century. But in the late 1960s, it was completely vacant, only to be revitalized by theater designer Jack Doepp, who used the space to hold plays for the town of Bath. The church was officially incorporated in 1977 and has served the community well ever since.

According to Glassman, the history of the building and its location are central to the organization’s ethos: “It’s important to our mission that we understand the context and the place where we are. Art should be sensitive to the place and the people. It should be in response to them, rather than dictating to them or curating for them.”

Chocolate Church’s value of Bath and its community is evident in its different programs:

Concerts and Performances

The team offers a summer concert series at the Bath Waterfront, featuring folk music, swing music, tribute bands, and more, as well as performances on the main stage and annex of the church.

In an effort to foster greater diversity, Glassman and Eaton are actively working on expanding the types of music and performers they host at Chocolate Church. “We encourage dancing and seeing something totally unfamiliar,” says Glassman. “It’s a transmission of participation, which is fundamental to democracy and community. It’s lofty stuff, but we’ve thought about it practically and organizationally here.”

Music Education Program

For the Chocolate Church team, playing or listening to music is a transformational experience. The organization partners with local musicians, actors, and singers to run educational programming, through which participants can learn to play music and write their own songs.

The program both values students’ affordable participation in music education and uplifts music teachers, giving them a place to create and share their knowledge.

Community Art Lab

As an art designer, Eaton often found herself alone within theater spaces in her past work. “That observation was the seed for the Art Lab,” says Eaton. “I want the same feeling for artists that you get when you walk into a free library. You’re not monetizing the collaborative experience in any way.”

A free and open studio space, the Art Lab is fully stocked with materials for making art of various kinds. Whether you’re an experienced artist working on a particular project or someone who just needs a few minutes away from busy life, you can use the space to tap into your creativity.

Through the Art Lab, Eaton hosts community hours for adults and kids; art-related partnerships with schools and businesses in the Bath area; art groups that use the space for workshops; and mutual aid programs like clothing swaps, art supply swaps, and mentoring. It’s a true “third space,” a non-commercial, community-oriented place for connection and imagination.

By Artists, for Artists — and for Everyone Else

As artists themselves, Glassman and Eaton bring something unique to Chocolate Church. They’re able to fuse their knowledge with the community’s desires, allowing Bath residents to guide where the center goes next.

“We’re rejecting the idea that you can either have good art or community,” says Eaton. “We don’t just listen to the community, we encounter them. They help guide our vision and direction.”

And Glassman agrees: “We’re using art and imagination as powerful vehicles to create a sense of community togetherness, health, interdependence, and belonging. Our offerings acknowledge what people love and invite them into new things.”

With rich experience creating original, collaborative theater, Glassman and Eaton believe that artistic endeavors should be cross-disciplinary and connected to place. It extends beyond making art to impacting the world. “We invite people to see themselves as creators, as worldbuilders, as creative entities,” Glassman says. “This approach has so many social, political, and emotional implications.”

Indeed, Glassman and Eaton know firsthand the power of worldbuilding through art, and they understand what it means to be a creator. And the culture of Chocolate Church reflects that: Burgeoning artists become regulars. Participants share skills, knowledge, and resources. Art Lab groups take their work out into the community.

There’s a sense of potentiality at Chocolate Church, made possible by the by-artist-for-artist model.

An Accessible Center for All

Glassman and Eaton have made big strides in their first year as directors of Chocolate Church — and they’ve got big plans for the future.

In the fall, they’re hoping to launch the Unnameable Children’s Project, a youth arts program modeled after the innovative Black Mountain College approach to progressive education. Here, children and youth will use the arts to imagine the world they want to build.

The duo also want to start making original, collaborative theater alongside community members, and bring in interesting thinkers to share their experiences and cultures. “There’s a realm of ideas that has a home here,” says Glassman.

Accessibility is key to the future of Chocolate Church, Glassman and Eaton note. They’re committed to renovating the space to make it a fully accessible, four-season center, all while protecting the historic nature of the church itself.

Step into the church and you can feel it: the rich history of the building, the invigorating community connections, and, above all, the sense of possibility that art can develop in us all. With Glassman and Eaton leading the center, these elements aren’t going away anytime soon.