Presentation Arts Center (PAC) is a community outreach ministry of St. Ann Parish in Normandy, MO. Our communities of Overland and Normandy are richly diverse in age, culture, economics, education and faith traditions. Our mission is to promote creativity and community through affordable visual and performing arts education. PAC strives to achieve this through beauty, creativity and ingenuity. Children are discovering their innate artistic abilities and they are learning life lessons – one note and one brush stroke at a time under the tutelage of volunteer professionals. Older adults realize their hidden talents and forge friendships through drawing, painting, pottery and quilting groups. All children’s programming is free; there is no cost for music lessons books; practice instruments are loaned at no cost. The fees for adult art classes cover supplies. PAC prioritizes the needs of vulnerable people, recognizing and respecting each person’s dignity and promoting solidarity among people of differing races, faith backgrounds, ethnicities and zip codes. PAC is located in the Ritenour School district, which is witnessing a demographic shift to a more ethnically diverse population including families from Mexico and Central America. With new ties to the Normandy School Collaborative, a community with challenging economic statistics and diverse demographics, PAC aims to build rapport, thus expanding its network. 

PAC provides affordable visual and performing arts lessons, class and camps for low-income children and older adults. Our visual arts programs served 84 unique students in 2023, with many taking multiple offerings. Our youth music lessons served 37 students in 2023, with an additional 50 children on waiting lists. By offering arts education in a racially and ethnically diverse, socio-economic/lower income area, in an accessible neighborhood setting, PAC helps narrow the accessibility and affordability gap for our underserved populations.

PAC has grown over the last seven years from a pilot piano lessons program and parish craft class to a thriving center for arts education. PAC’s primary components are 1) year-round visual arts classes for adults and youth; 2) free performing arts camps for children; drama and dance camps for youth; 3) free private guitar and piano lessons for children ages 6-18; 4) a quilting group for senior adults.