Lancaster County Launches Strategic Arts Initiative

March 11, 2026 by Cori Jackson

Lancaster County Strategic Arts Initiative

Lancaster, PA – The Foundation of the Lancaster Chamber, in partnership with the Ware Center for the Arts, community leaders and arts organizations across the county, has launched the Lancaster County Strategic Arts Initiative, a collaborative effort designed to better understand, strengthen, and invest in Lancaster County’s vibrant arts and culture sector.

As a first step in the initiative, the Foundation has engaged Fourth Economy, a nationally recognized community and economic development consulting firm, to conduct a countywide Economic & Community Impact Study of Lancaster County’s arts and culture ecosystem.

The study will provide a comprehensive analysis of the arts sector’s economic contributions, community impact, and future opportunities. The findings will help inform the development of a long-term strategic plan for the arts in Lancaster County, led by a community-based task force that will guide the initiative following completion of the study.

The last countywide arts impact study was conducted in 2010. Since that time, Lancaster County’s arts ecosystem has grown significantly, with expanded cultural institutions, creative businesses, festivals, educational programs, and individual artists contributing to the region’s economic vitality, civic identity, and quality of life.

“Lancaster County has become an extraordinary example of what can happen when a community believes in the power of the arts,” said John Gerdy, founder of Music For Everyone and a co-leader of the initiative. “The arts help shape who we are as a community. They strengthen our economy, enrich our schools, and bring people together in meaningful ways. This initiative gives us an opportunity to better understand that impact and to work collectively to ensure the arts continue to thrive across Lancaster County.”

Fourth Economy will conduct extensive community engagement throughout the study, including stakeholder interviews, surveys, and focus groups with artists, arts organizations, educators, businesses, and community leaders. The final report will analyze the sector’s economic and community impact while outlining strategic opportunities that can guide future investment and coordination.

Following completion of the study, a community-based Task Force will work together to review the findings and develop a long-term strategic plan for the arts in Lancaster County. Building on the study’s data and recommendations, the group will help identify priorities, strategies, and opportunities to strengthen the county’s creative ecosystem. The initiative will also support the formation of a Lancaster County Arts Alliance, a collaborative network designed to increase communication and partnership among artists, arts organizations, and community stakeholders. In addition, leaders will explore the development of an entity dedicated to advocating for the arts and coordinating efforts to ensure the long-term sustainability and growth of Lancaster County’s creative sector.

“This initiative is about ensuring that Lancaster County continues to be a place where the creative arts industry can thrive,” said Justin Johnson, Director of Communications at the Lancaster Chamber. “By gathering new data, listening to the voices of artists and organizations, and working collaboratively as a community, we can better understand the role the arts play in our economy and identify the strategies needed to support the sector for the future.”

To launch the initiative and begin the community conversation, organizers will host a public event on Tuesday, March 25, bringing together artists, cultural organizations, civic leaders, and community members interested in the future of the arts in Lancaster County.

State of the Arts: A Community Conversation on the Future of the Creative Arts in Lancaster County

March 25, 2026
Ware Center for the Arts

Doors Open: 5:30 PM
Networking: 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM
Program: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM

The evening will include an introduction to the Strategic Arts Initiative, a presentation from Fourth Economy on the upcoming study process, and opportunities for attendees to share their perspectives and feedback.

Community participation will play a critical role in shaping the study and the strategic recommendations that follow. Organizers encourage artists, arts supporters, business leaders, educators, and residents to attend and help contribute to the conversation.

The Lancaster County Strategic Arts Initiative is being organized through The Foundation of the Lancaster Chamber, in partnership with The Ware Center for the Arts and in collaboration with regional arts organizations, cultural institutions, and community partners. The initiative aims to strengthen collaboration across the arts community, shift the public narrative around the impact of the arts, and position the creative sector as a key driver of Lancaster County’s economic and community future.

Our Journeys exhibition opens with a celebration of the resilience of Vietnamese refugees

February 10, 2026February 2, 2026 by Cori Jackson

Maian McCauley speaks to friends during the Our Journeys opening event.

LANCASTER,PA—On Saturday, January 31, 2026, over 200 people from every corner of Lancaster and beyond gathered at the Ware Center for the Arts to honor the stories of the Vietnamese refugees who have helped to shape our community and our nation.

This country’s collective memory of the Vietnam War is often shaped by American military involvement. It is easy to forget that over 2 million refugees fled Vietnam after the war, and that many of them, after harrowing and dangerous journeys across the ocean, began new lives in local communities. Their resilience is woven into the fabric of the nation, and their stories deserve to be told—in their own words.

Our Journeys: A Traveling Exhibition, created by Vietnamese Boat People (VBP), brings these forgotten stories to life through oral histories, personal artifacts, photographs, and interactive elements. The exhibition invites visitors to slow down, look, listen, and even breathe in scents that evoke powerful memories of migration, loss, and hope that continue to shape Vietnamese American families across generations.

Attendees at the Our Journeys opening event

A visitor stops by the Vietnamese Boat People table at the Our Journeys opening event

Photographer Bri Nguyen stands besides the art gallery that features his photos at the Our Journeys opening event

Visitors hang New Year's wishes on a tree at the Our Journeys opening event

A family takes in the art gallery at the Our Journeys opening event

VBP Founder Tracey Nguyen Mang speaks at the Our Journeys opening event

Sophia Ma and her partner listen to VBP Founder Tracey Nguyen Mang at the Our Journeys opening event

Joyce Hu sits at the Vietnamese Boat People table at the Our Journeys opening event

Ahn Parisi, board member of VBP, speaks at the Our Journeys opening event

A visitor applauds at the Our Journeys opening event

Local singer Panda performs a song at the Our Journeys opening event

Visitors to the event become emotional during Panda's song

Maian McCauley speaks at the Our Journeys opening event

Fran Rodriguez of the Lancaster County Community Foundation speaks at the Our Journeys opening event

Members of the Sprout/Rice & Noodles family stand by the exhibit panel that tells their family's story

The Our Journeys map shows visitors' own personal journeys

Visitors write their families' stories on cards to add to the Our Journeys map

Photos by Taylor Ann Photography

The opening night of Our Journeys was hailed as both “heartbreaking and inspiring,” honoring both collective history and local voices. Stories contributed by Alys Truong, Mai Nguyen Yeager, Ho-Thanh Nguyen, and Thuat Nham grounded the nationally touring exhibition in lived experiences from the region, reminding guests that these stories are alive and present in their communities today, while powerful remarks by VBP Founder Tracey Nguyen Mang emphasized the importance of reclaiming one’s own narrative.

The reception also celebrated community through artwork by local Asian American artists Libby Etheridge, Wendy Li yuen-Ting, Yen Elizabeth Keener, Aron Rook, Vu Quoc Nguyen, and Bri Nguyen, traditional Vietnamese dresses curated by Julia Cao, Vietnamese cuisine from the Sprout of Rice & Noodles family, a moving musical performance by Lê Thanh Trúc (Panda), and an emotional story of family legacy and sacrifice told by Maian McCauley.

“The opening reception set the tone for what the exhibition continues to offer throughout its run,” said Bri Nguyen in a social media post about the event. “Not spectacle, but presence. Not distance, but connection.”

Our Journeys: A Traveling Exhibition is on display at the Ware Center for the Arts through February 28, weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., offered free and open to the public. All are invited to come sit with these powerful memories, to reflect on their family’s journey, and to add their own stories to this important conversation.

Our Journeys is presented in partnership with the Lancaster County Community Foundation and the Lancaster Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders – LAAPI.

Photos by Bri Nguyen

Ware Center to Host Traveling Exhibition Presented by Vietnamese Boat People in February

January 9, 2026 by Cori Jackson

"Our Journeys" interactive world map. Design and rendering by Thinc Design. Image courtesy of Vietnamese Boat People.

Join the Ware Center in honoring the courage, sacrifice and resilience of a community shaped by loss — and in celebrating the power of storytelling to connect, heal and inspire.

The Ware Center for the Arts will present “Our Journeys,” a powerful multimedia exhibition created by Vietnamese Boat People, from Feb. 2 to 28. The exhibition, which can be viewed weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., is free and open to the public, as is a special exhibit opening event on Jan. 31 at 7 p.m.

Centering the voices of Vietnamese Americans, “Our Journeys” brings to life deeply personal stories of migration, memory and resilience. Through oral histories, cherished artifacts and interactive elements, the exhibition invites visitors to explore the emotional and historical threads that connect generations across the diaspora.

The exhibit will include local Vietnam diaspora stories by Alys Truong, Mai Nguyen Yeager, Ho-Thanh Nguyen and Thuat Nham ’81, the first Vietnamese woman to attend and graduate from Millersville University.

Exhibit Opening Event

The Jan. 31 opening event will feature artwork by local Asian American visual artists, including Libby Etheridge, Wendy Li yuen-Ting, Yen Elizabeth Keener, Aron Rook, Vu Quoc Nguyen and Baldwin Fellow Bri Nguyen. There will also be a display of traditional Vietnamese dresses curated by Julia Cao, delicious Vietnamese finger foods provided by the Rice & Noodles/Sprout family and a performance by Vietnamese American singer Lê Thanh Trúc (“Panda”). Maian McCauley, whose mother’s story will be featured in the “Our Journeys” exhibit, will share the poignant story of her family’s diaspora experience.

VBP Founder Tracey Nguyễn Mang will share ways to participate in the organization’s oral history project and offer book signings for the “Our Journeys” book, an exhibition accompaniment.

*Our Journeys interactive world map for sharing your journey. Design and rendering by Thinc Design. Image courtesy of Vietnamese Boat People.*

Vietnamese Boat People’s “Our Journeys” Exhibit

Since 2018, VBP has documented the untold stories of the Vietnamese refugee experience through its award-winning podcast, educational workshops, and grassroots storytelling initiatives. Our Journeys is the culmination of this work — transforming audio into a deeply human, visual and participatory experience.

The exhibition invites visitors through a self-guided collection of personal narratives and objects contributed by storytellers — each one carrying the weight of history, loss and hope. In the final section of the show, a global map invites guests to pause and chart their own journeys of migration, weaving together a collective story of displacement and homecoming. Guests are also invited to engage with conversation cards that prompt dialogue and personal storytelling.

“At the heart of ‘Our Journeys’ is the belief that storytelling is both inheritance and offering,” says Mang. “This exhibition isn’t just about where we’ve come from — it’s about where we’re going, and how sharing our stories can guide others forward.”

This exhibition was made possible with generous support from the Henry Luce Foundation, New Jersey Council for the Humanities, the Asian Women Giving Circle, and community donors, as acknowledged on the exhibition’s Wall of Hope. Local support for this installation provided by the Lancaster County Community Foundation.

Join us in honoring the courage, sacrifice, and resilience of a community shaped by loss—and in celebrating the power of storytelling to connect, heal, and inspire.

Ware Center for the Arts Celebrates 15th Anniversary

September 24, 2025September 23, 2025 by Cori Jackson

The Ware Center for the Arts is more than a visual and performing arts center — it is the cultural cornerstone of Lancaster’s diverse, vibrant, creative community.

In recognition of its 15th Anniversary Season, the Ware Center held an evening of celebration on Saturday, September 20, 2025, for its community partners, supporters, and local artists.

Guests enjoyed hors d’oeuvres by Taste & Toast while the smooth jazz sounds of the Ryan Kauffman Quartet—led by a member of Millersville University’s music faculty—set the tone for an evening filled with the best of Lancaster’s local arts scene.

Photos by Taylor Ann Photography

The event featured the grand unveiling of the Ware Center’s refreshed new name and logo (created by Lancaster design agency Goodthree), marking its continued growth and commitment to the community, as well as the reading of a formal citation recognizing the mark the Ware Center has made on the region, presented by Pennsylvania State Representatives Ismail Smith-Wade-El and Jordan Harris.

Photos by Taylor Ann Photography

Throughout the evening, guests contributed to a collaborative mural project led by artist Keisha Finnie. The 15 canvases, which were based on themes like Community, Connection, Dance, Music, and other pillars of the Ware Center’s mission, vision, and values, were brought together at the end of the night into a honeycomb “mosaic.” The finished artwork will remain on display throughout the 2025-2026 season, serving as a reminder of the power of the arts to bring people together from all walks of life.

Photos by Taylor Ann Photography

After a dinner that was accompanied by original music from pianist Brad Minnig, an eclectic lineup of local artists highlighted the Ware Center’s mission to create space for all voices, cultures, and genres—including a demonstration of African drumming by Imani Edu-tainers African Dance Company, an original poem crafted for the event by Lancaster City Poet Laureate Dana Kinsey, a series of photos and stories by photographer Bri Nguyen, and musical performances by Julia Kamanda and Ever Sandoval. ASL interpreter Nancy Abreu made each performance more accessible and engaging for those in attendance.

Photos by Taylor Ann Photography

A range of speakers provided insights into the Ware Center’s history, legacy, and its place in the community, including Jerry Eckert, Millersville University’s Vice President of Advancement Emeritus. In a pre-recorded video statement, Paul and Judy Ware voiced their disbelief at how quickly the time had passed and related that while Millersville University owns the Ware Center, Lancastrians see the venue as their performing arts center. (The Wares were unable to attend in person, as they were being honored the very same night by Franklin & Marshall College. As the Ware Center’s Barry Kornhauser quipped, “We don’t mind sharing the Wares—or their generosity!”)

To culminate an already incredible evening, featured guest speaker Deborah Rutter, former president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the current Vice Provost for the Arts at Duke University, spoke about the role of the arts in civic life, the lessons she had learned in her decades as an arts administrator, and, when asked, her reason for hope—”the performances I saw tonight.”

Photos by Taylor Ann Photography

Reflecting on its accomplishments of the past 15 years and the community it has built around the arts, the Ware Center looks ahead to the next 15 years—and beyond—with hope, joy, and excitement for the artists who will one day bring their voices, their hearts, and their art to its stages.

Photos by Bri Nguyen