The movement toward a world-class performing arts complex at the north end of Mizner Park hit another stride this week. Philanthropist, board member and longtime arts patron Elizabeth Dudley has donated a capital gift of $1 million toward the construction of the Boca Raton Center for Arts & Innovation. The donation comes just a week after the project’s parent company, the Boca Raton Arts District Exploratory Corporation (BRADEC), announced its rst seven- gure pledge of $5 million
from the Edith and Martin Stein Family Foundation.
“On behalf of BRADEC, we are very grateful to Liz for not only her service on the Board but for this generous donation that has helped kickstart our campaign to cement this region of the Gold Coast as a place that exempli es cultural excellence,” said Andrea Virgin, President of BRADEC, in a press release Tuesday. “In advance of a signed ground lease, these early capital gifts highlight the swelling momentum and support that continues to build daily for the Center.” The donors’ lounge at the Boca Raton Center for Arts & Innovation will be christened after Elizabeth Dudley and her late husband Richard.
Dudley has been an in uential force behind the scenes of numerous arts institutions in the city, including Boca Ballet Theatre, the Boca Pops and the National Society of Arts and Letters, alongside non-arts-related institutions such as the Louis and Anne Green Memory & Wellness Center and Caring Hearts Auxiliary. Her donation to BRADEC will directly support the arts center’s design, programming and community engagement.
When it opens—still about ve years down the road—the arts center is expected to be a game-changer for arts and culture in Boca Raton, bringing a multi-pronged venue akin to the Kravis or Broward Centers to a city that has long lacked one. It will include a re-imagined Mizner Park Amphitheater nestled among six diverse spaces for performances and events, ranging from 3,500 to 99 seats. To learn more about the project, visit bocaratonartscenter.org.