CHAUTAUQUA — Anyone who believes you can’t have both brains and beauty should visit the Chautauqua Institution in southwestern New York.

Built along the shore of glimmering Lake Chautauqua, the institution is an enclave of bucolic wonderment, full of marvelous architecture, lovely gardens and stately old trees.

In addition to eye-catching, soul-nourishing beauty, the institution is also a place where arts are celebrated with regularly scheduled performances and events that encompass music, dance, opera, film, theater and the visual arts.

Adding to the institution’s reputation as a place of cerebral stimulation, is the fact that Chautauqua invites in some of the leading thinkers of our era to speak about important and vital contemporary issues.

One new addition this year to the institution’s art scene is the opening of the Fowler-Kellogg Art Center in a recently renovated, 129-year-old Queen Anne-style building.

“Over the years, the three-story building served a number of purposes — everything from the headquarters for the Women’s Christian Temperance Union to office space for the Chautauquan Daily newspaper,” said Don Kimes, a 1975 Westminster College graduate and artistic director of Visual Arts at the Chautauqua Institution for the past 25 years.

In the early 1900s, the venerable building had been moved several blocks from a site on Bestor Plaza to a new location on the corner of Ramble and Pratt, where it remains. Besides repainting the building in glorious beige, tan, white and light and dark blue colors, the renovation added a spacious new porch out back, large enough to hold tables and chairs and a food counter that serves sandwiches, salads and coffee beverages.

“Visually, the porch connects the center with the Strohl Art Center across the street,” said Kimes. “So far, the reaction to the opening of the Center has been phenomenal,” Kimes said. “We went from operating under the radar to becoming the main topic of conversation and interest this year.”

Part of the center’s newfound topicality comes from its location on the same cultural corridor as the Bratton Theater, home to live drama, and Norton Hall, home of the Chautauqua Opera.

Inside, the art center features 3,600 square feet of gallery space on two floors. The first floor is spacious with high ceilings and russet-brown Brazilian cherry flooring and the original wooden ceiling whose color almost matches that of the floor. Three smaller galleries occupy the second floor.

“One of the problems of installing galleries in a Victorian building is that you have to deal with a lot of windows, which reduces exhibit wall space,” Kimes said. “To solve the problem, we installed free standing partitions about 18 inches from the windows, which throw a reflected ambient natural light throughout the room.”

The initial exhibit at the Fowler-Kellogg opened June 27. Titled “Don Kimes + Five,” the exhibit celebrates the artistic director’s 25 years at Chautauqua and also features the work of five of his students in the second floor galleries.

Original works by students of the Chautauqua Art School will be displayed in the Center through Aug. 5. Four other exhibits will round out the center’s nine-week 2010 season with six additional exhibits scheduled for Strohl.

Fundraising for the visual arts at Chautauqua started seven years ago with a goal of $4 million. Interest proved stronger than envisioned, and the campaign went on to raise $8 million. As a result, all three facilities — the Strohl Center, the Fowler-Kellogg Center and the Chautauqua School of Art — have seen recent renovations.

Visual Arts at the Chautauqua Institution also maintains a garden in a lovely, park-like area in back of Strohl that presents sculpture and art installations by several contemporary artists on a rotating basis. Throughout the nine-week season, it also schedules a series of visual arts lectures by art professors and artists from around the country and beyond.

Dave Zuchowski writes for the New Castle (Pa.) News. CNHI News Service distributes his column.

 

IF YOU’RE GOING ...

• For a complete schedule of Visual Arts of Chautauqua Institution exhibits and events, call (716) 357-6301 or visit www.ciweb.org/vaci.

• For a schedule of Chautauqua Institution arts programming, call (800) 836-ARTS or visit www.ciweb.org.

• For a place to stay, Peek ’n’ Peak Resort, 1405 Olde Road, Findley Lake, N.Y., offers two championship golf courses, full service spa, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, sauna, tennis, fitness center, miniature golf, games arcade, restaurant and bar with live entertainment some evenings. The Sunday brunch is not to be missed. Call (716) 355-4141 or visit www.pknpk.com.

• For a place to dine, Blue Bananas Café, 43-45 S. Erie St. in Mayville, opened June 25 with a spotlight on Jamaican and Caribbean cuisine. Owner/chef Rod Millwood left his architectural career for one in the restaurant industry where he recreates the food he learned to cook from his mother and grandmother. Every meal starts with a sampling of his mango salsa and chips. From there, diners can get adventurous with dishes like oxtail stew, curry goat, brown chicken stew, jerk chicken and more. For less audacious palates, the menu includes codfish fritters, steak, salads, quesadillas and the catch of the day. Call (716) 753-2103 or visit www.bluebananascafe.com.