SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Brazilian Center for Cultural Exchange of Sacramento is fighting for a new space after finding out their lease would not be renewed.
CEO of the Brazilian Center, Saara Burga, told ABC10 they have 17 days left in their space at CLARA Studios in Midtown where they have been for the past eight years.
ABC10 reached out to CLARA Studios Executive Director Megan Wygant about the matter. She said the Brazilian Center is being asked to leave so they can convert the space into a short-term rental for community arts groups. Under the new format, groups can request to use the space for a couple weeks at a time.
The Brazilian Center currently uses the space at CLARA Studios for a variety of dance classes, including samba, salsa and East African dancing. They also host drumming classes and kids cooking classes there. It is also known as a cultural hub for the Latino community.
Burga described it as a "home away from home."
"They come to the Brazilian Center; this is where we just all get together and express our culture. It's here where it is an open space, a safe space, to express that," she said.
Burga said she invested $80,000 of her own money into the center for the renovation and upkeep of the building.
More than a dozen members of the center went to the Sacramento City Council meeting Tuesday to speak during public comment and show their support for the center.
Burga said she plans to ask the city for the money she invested to be returned and for a new location for the center.
"I think that the Brazilian Center deserves a home. And I'm urging, if the taxpayers money is going to go to arts and culture, that we have a fair place for arts and culture. It's not what you say out there that matters, it's what you do out there in the community that matters," said Burga.
Under the current system, Wygant said they are running a deficit, so the board went forward with a strategic plan that includes leasing out the space as a short-term rental. She said they want to be able to work with more arts groups.
"The CLARA Board acknowledges that the Brazilian Center offers a robust arts program and is hopeful that the Brazilian Center will continue to serve the community from another location," Wygant said in a statement to ABC10.
CLARA Studios also has seven other organizations at a building separate from the Brazilian Center, including the Sacramento Ballet, Sacramento Prep Music Academy and McKeever School of Irish Dance.
Wygant also said while she understands that the center put money into renovations, she said the other tenants paid for operating expenses for their spaces as well.
Burga said this is not the end for the Brazilian Center. They will continue to push to find a new space.
For the full statement from CLARA, view below:
"The CLARA Board has a strategic vision to serve a wider range of community groups – with a particular focus on performing arts and cultural organizations – to expand CLARA’s commitment to fostering artistic sustainability for the Sacramento community.
To achieve this goal, the CLARA Board has approved a plan to repurpose the large and unique space that will be known as the studio Annex going forward, as a facility that can be used by many groups instead of only one arts organization in residence.
CLARA facilities include an auditorium and spaces that provide homes to seven performing arts and cultural organizations, some of which occasionally make their spaces available to others. Under oversight from CLARA this one unique and large space will be made available to local groups full time, to ensure greater access to the underserved arts community in Sacramento.
Some of the community groups that use CLARA facilities when they are made available for short-term rental include Twopoint4 Dance, Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus, WEAVE, and Stories on Stage Sacramento. The Board’s intent is to support groups like these that need occasional space.
As a result of this strategic decision, the Brazilian Center is being asked to vacate the space in accordance with the terms of its month-to-month lease. The CLARA Board acknowledges that the Brazilian Center offers a robust arts program and is hopeful that the Brazilian Center will continue to serve the community from another location."
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