The Belleville Arts Foundation, Inc.
The mission of the Belleville Arts Foundation, Inc. is to preserve, maintain and improve the Belleville Meetinghouse and to use it as a venue for arts education and performance alongside its long-standing historic uses.
The Belleville Meetinghouse traces its roots back to 1761, when a Congregational Church was first organized in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The current building was dedicated on December 24, 1867, and houses a magnificent organ that is still used. For more than 150 years, the Belleville Meetinghouse has served as a center of religious life and also as a community meeting space.
In 2005, a group of musicians approached the church about using The Meetinghouse for concerts and the Belleville Roots Music Series was born. The series draws music lovers and performers from far and wide and has become an important pillar of the Newburyport cultural scene. Since its beginning, the series focused on educating audiences about roots music and has incorporated local performing arts schools into its events.
Prior to the Meetinghouse’s closure for renovations, the well-respected Newburyport Choral Society has valued the building’s superior acoustics and has brought Handel’s Messiah to Newburyport each holiday season and cherished choral performances each spring.
The foundation envisions expanding its educational roots to include a space for local theater and music schools with lesson rooms and an updated facility for performance. Existing performance series will continue and include an educational component such as school field trips and other unique learning experiences through the exploration of music and performing arts.
With the support of the Belleville Arts Foundation, the historic Belleville Meetinghouse will continue to be a hub for community arts education, performance, religious services and weddings.
Our address is Belleville Arts Foundation, Inc.
300 High Street
Newburyport, MA 01950.
BAF is a nonprofit 501c3 organization and its tax id is 88-4322621.
Board Members
Marcia Shoemaker, President
Philip Smith, Clerk
James Samuelson, Treasurer
Lynn Varney, Director
Lisë Reid, Director
Ken Irwin, Director
Donna Wilson Irwin, Director