Community. Sustainability. Support. Empowerment. Discovery. Celebration. Safety. Creative Space-Making.
Upcoming Events
Poetry Open Mic
Poetry Open Mic every Wednesday 7pm-9pm, at the 717 Arts Community Center, 25 S 3rd St, Harrisburg. A co-production of 717 Arts, Inc. and Cultivated Chaos Entertainment.
“On Wednesdays we wear poetry.”
Original poetry. Slam poetry. Underscored poetry. Classic poetry. All poetry. If you believe it’s poetry…
Sign up to read 1, 2, 3 poems. Come back and sign up for more if there’s room on the list. Uncensored, but list any content warnings so we can warn the audience in case people need to know.
Free to enter. Concessions and beverages available for a reasonable price.
717 Arts Gallery: Autumn Spirits
Now through November 29
Free Admission during open Gallery Hours
From dark and haunted to whimsical and cozy, Autumn Spirits features the work of over 40 artists exploring the theme of “autumn.”
Clothing and Story Swap with Liz Curtis
Sunday, November 1, 11am-3pm
Free admission
Socialize and downsize [your closet]! Bring any wearable, unwanted clothing you may have and peruse apparel other folks bring to give away! If any garments up for grabs have any interesting tales or special sentiments… Did you wear that dress on a great date? Were you wearing that hat when you met a celebrity? Has that scarf brought you luck? …host Liz Curtis and other swappers would love to hear! Who knows, maybe you’ll talk yourself out of parting with that pair of pants!
This is a completely free event and there is no obligation to bring items in order to take items.
717 Writers' Group
Tuesday, November 3 (first Tuesday of every month)
6:00-8:00pm
Are you looking for a supportive community of local writers to share your work with?
Join the 717 Writers' Group on the first Tuesday of every month!
Share your writing, get feedback, and generate new work.
Facilitated by:
Ashley Cowger, award-winning author and English professor at Penn State Harrisburg.
Damien Cowger, Managing Editor of the internationally distributed literary magazine New Ohio Review.
Birds of Paradise, Week 6, Good Luck
Saturday, November 7
Doors at 5:30pm, Show at 6:00pm
Tickets - $15, $10 students
This pop-up indie rock show will feature three Elizabethtown-based bands: Birds of Paradise, Week 6, and Good Luck.
public feeling press Zine Release and Poetry Open Mic
Friday, November 13
7:00 - 9:00pm
Free admission, suggested donation of any size to 717 Arts
Join public feeling press for the release of vol. I, the first volume of this tiny, handmade poetry zine, which will be available to the public for the first time. The evening will feature readings from contributors featured in the new volume, then we’ll open the mic to anyone who wants to share their own work. Come hear some poems, read something if you’d like, and take home a little folded piece of public feeling press.
The World on Edge, Memory Veins
Saturday, November 14
Doors at 6:30pm, Show at 7:00pm
Tickets - $10
Memory Veins is the collaboration of New York-based artists Shona Masarin and Andrew Hurst. For this performance, the duo is making ambient music together, with Masarin working through a range of instruments and effects. The duo will perform against a self-produced video as a backdrop to their set.
The World on Edge is a cinematic post-rock band of guitarists Cody Moyer and Mike Rathfon, drummer Paul Roman, and bassist Alex Harner. The band builds widescreen, largely instrumental music out of atmosphere and tension, and its debut album, LP1, is out now. The band will be performing selections from their Fringe set, Chromostereopsis, as well as new, improvised songs. Visual artist Jeff Copus will again project reactive video during the performance; the visuals will respond to the band as the songs rise and fall, drift and coalesce to make it a full sensory experience.
Clowning Workshop for Actors with Kim Greenwalt
Sunday, November 15
1:00 - 4:00pm
Workshop Fee - $30
Explore character-driven physical clowning techniques rooted in European traditions.
The Scryptitch Wood
Friday, November 20
7:30pm
Tickets - $15 in advance, $20 at the door
Conceived by puppet artist Annajane, The Scryptitch Wood is an interactive, experimental feminist fairytale puppet show. You’ll encounter unusual creatures, explore unexpected sides of yourself, and become part of the story.
Educational Workshop Proposal Form
Apply for consideration for an arts education workshop in the 717 Arts Community Center. All visual and performing arts welcome.
Workshop proposals will be reviewed and responded to by 717 Arts’ educational committee. Review and response will take some time, please be patient.
CASA-717 Arts After School Program 2026-27
CASA students and parents:
Feel free to contact us at 717.arts.org@gmail.com if you have any questions, would like to receive the information sheet about the program, or would like the link to register a student for the program.
Thanks!
Opening Announced:
717 Arts Community Center, SoMA Hbg
link to Central Penn Business Journal article
717 Arts Community Center will open at 25 S. 3rd St during Harrisburg Fringe Festival, July 16-19.
Center will feature live performances, art gallery space, community resources and more.
HARRISBURG, PA - 717 Arts Inc. is proud to announce that it will open the 717 Arts Community Center at 25 S. 3rd St. in Harrisburg’s SoMA district, in partnership with Harristown Development Corporation. The 717 Arts Community Center will be open to the public for the first time during the 4th Annual Harrisburg Fringe Festival, held on July 16-19.
717 Arts Community Center will be home to hosting live performances, workshops and visual art exhibitions. Additionally, the Center will be available for use as a dynamic multi-use space.
“The arts community in Harrisburg is thriving, and artists and performers are continually seeking out places to make art happen,” said Brianna Dow, Harrisburg Fringe Festival Producer and President of 717 Arts. “With the 717 Arts Community Center, our goal is to meet the community where they are, providing a safe, supportive and welcoming space.”
As a 501c(3) nonprofit organization, 717 Arts has made collaboration and community partnerships central to its mission of being a resource for artists and arts organizations throughout central Pennsylvania. Through its partnership with Harristown Development Corporation, 717 Arts is able to fully embody that work, creating a physical space for the community to create and enjoy the arts.
717 Arts will open in the former site of Found Collab, a vintage store that closed last year. The art nonprofit joins several other businesses in SoMa (south of Market Street), including Boneshire Taps, JoJo’s Barbershop, SCC Tattoos, Agape Elixer Bar and more. Before its years as Found Collab, the storefront was home to longtime arts tenant Walker’s Art and Framing. The 717 Arts Community Center will continue the space’s arts-focused legacy forward.
“We are thrilled to welcome the 717 Arts Community Center to SoMa,” said Brad Jones, president of Dewberry, L.L.C., an affiliate of Harristown Development Corp., which owns the building. “Having artists visiting and using this unique space adds energy to this area and increases the vibrant character of the SoMa neighborhood.”
During the upcoming Harrisburg Fringe Festival, 717 Arts Community Center will serve as the Fringe Hub, providing information and support to festival attendees and performers. Additionally, it will be the home of the Visual Fringe, the festival’s visual arts exhibition. For more information about the Harrisburg Fringe Festival, visit www.hbgfringe.com.
Logo by Ryan Spahr, 2021
A nonprofit arts organization based in Harrisburg, 717 Arts takes inspiration from our local and regional community to keep building for the future.
Mission:
717 Arts serves to create and grow accessible space and support through sustainable practices for artists, companies, and communities on the margins and fringes, celebrating uniqueness with locally-inspired spirit and joy.
Our flagship programming:
The Harrisburg Fringe Festival, inaugural festival July 6-9, 2023 (and repeated annually since).
The HFF has annually brought about 2,000 audience members to see 35-40 shows over 4 days by 100+ artists (most of whom have local ties) in 6-10 venues all over downtown and midtown Harrisburg.
The HFF is non-juried, uncensored, and gives its producing artists 100% of their ticket sales, as Fringe Festivals in Europe and Canada routinely do according to international norms established by the world-famous Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the oldest and largest such Festival in the world.
The HFF is a large-scale community project involving many local artists, venues, organizations, and businesses working in partnership.
717 Arts is proud to be spearheading and producing this initiative, delighted to be establishing so many community partnerships through the work, and glad to be bringing accessibility and empowerment to artists with the Fringe experience.
We fundraise and rally volunteers so that artists in our community can get paid, not be gatekept, and have a chance to find, hone, and champion their artistic voice.