New creativity hub offers art ‘825 different ways’

825 Arts, located at 825 University Avenue in St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood, was born out of a movement to save the old Victoria Theater. It's been reborn as a multicultural, multigenerational creativity hub.

825 Arts is merging art and culture with community history while fostering intergenerational relationships.

Formerly known as the Victoria Theater, 825 Art’s rebrand is finally complete after a decade-and-a-half-long development process. Executive Director Tyler Olson says the center was born out of a quest to save the 100-year-old building from demolition by the Frogtown Neighborhood Association. He says much of the process was spent raising funds for renovations and refining the vision.

“We've really been stewards of this space for the last 15 years. And now it just becomes a different kind of stewardship – it's the stewardship of this amazing dream, manifested. Now, it's up to us to make sure we're still living into those same values and the same approach that has gotten us this far,” said Olson.

825 Arts is located at 825 University Avenue West. Its grand opening takes place in collaboration with the Frogtown Neighborhood Association on Sunday, August 25th, from 1- 8pm, in honor of the new name (8/25). Olson says they decided to change the name to move away from the colonial legacy of Queen Victoria, in acknowledgment of the surrounding diverse community. 

825 Arts has been renovated to include multiple spaces for co-working, meetings, and cultural performances.

825 Arts offers a flex space for workshops and various intimate gatherings, a performance space with two stages for rehearsals and shows, and an office-style co-working space. 825 Arts currently has programs like “Joy of Elders,” “Speak Out and Lead,” “Hope News,” and “825 in Minecraft.” Community Engagement Director Mercedes Yarbrough says the programs are created with intergenerational input, and that the goal is to expand the idea of art to suit the experiences of the surrounding diverse communities.

“We know that the different cultures that are here don't really consider things they do as art because it is their culture,” explained Yarbrough. “And we're like, no, you can come do double dutch. You can come design sneakers. Hair is art, food is art… We really just want to showcase and honor the arts in 825 different ways,”

Yarbrough says she is excited to host a 12-week double dutch class series. She says not only will participants learn how to double dutch, but also why the activity became important in Black history. Yarbrough says this model of emphasizing the stories behind each activity is what makes 825 Arts a keeper of legacy.

“One thing that we want to do here is really honor the past, present and future of Rondo, Frogtown, Little Mekong, Little Africa; where people can come in and get the history and knowledge that was lost. We want to archive our history here,” said Yarbrough.