Year-round residents on Cape Cod enjoy a wealth of cultural amenities found nowhere else but the Cape.
It’s no secret that Cape Cod is an art colony that has attracted and celebrated artists for generations. But it’s worth noting that into this arm-shaped stretch of land ranging from just 1 to 20 miles wide is packed with an amazing variety of art galleries, museums, performing arts groups, music festivals, and art centers.
In this post, we’re taking a look at a few Cape Cod art centers that stand out for their wide focus on fine arts and performing arts or a combination of the two.
Not an artist? You don’t have to paint or make art to enjoy these Cape amenities. Exhibits and events are open to the public. Many Cape Cod art centers offer programs from cooking demos to music classes.
Looking for real estate on Cape Cod? With offices in Pocasset and Sandwich, Jack Conway agents can help you find the Cape Cod home of your dreams. Contact us today to start your Cape Cod home search.
Cape Cod Art Center
- Location: 3480 Route 6A (Main Street), Barnstable Village
- Hours: 9 AM to 4 PM Mondays through Fridays
Founded in 1948, the Cape Cod Arts Center focuses on the fine arts in a wide variety of media and exhibits. CCAC holds exhibits all year, sometimes two a month. All exhibits are open to the public free of charge. CCAC also offers classes is studio art, photography, digital art, and youth art. Taught by some of the most experienced instructors on and off Cape Cod, classes and workshops are held year-round, with classes being held in six-week sessions.
Cape Cod Museum of Art
- Location: 60 Hope Lae, Dennis
- Hours: 10 AM to 4 PM Wednesdays through Saturdays and 12 PM to 4 PM Sundays. The first Thursday of each month is Artfull Thursday with extended hours from 10 AM to 7 PM and free admission from 4 PM to 7 PM.
A major cultural hub for the Cape region, the Cape Cod Museum of Art has seven galleries, a sculpture garden, and a film screening room. Founded by artists in 1981, CCMoA preserves the artistic heritage of Cape Cod through its permanent collection as well as juried exhibitions.
CCMoA’s mission includes promoting the performing arts as well as fine and visual arts. Their annual concert series showcase such musical genres as jazz, bluegrass, and classical.
Cotuit Center for the Arts
- Location: 4404 Falmouth Road
- Hours: Gallery and Box Office, 10 AM to 4 PM Wednesdays through Saturdays. Administrative Office, 10 AM to 5 PM Mondays through Fridays
With a mission of making art “accessible, nurturing, and thrilling to all,” Cotuit Center for the Arts hosts over 35,000 visitors annually at free and paid events. Visitors can attend year-round art exhibits, live theater, concerts, classes, workshops, and film screenings.
Founded in 1993, Cotuit Center for the Arts today operates from a campus that includes a main building with a gallery and theater. Always bustling, the center averages 120 hours of weekly programming. A typical year features eight mainstage shows, 11 Black Box shows, about 40 class offerings, 12 gallery exhibits, and about 40 special events.
Classes at Cotuit Center for the Arts cover subjects from art to DIY to dance to music.
Cultural Center of Cape Cod
- Location: 307 Old Main Street, South Yarmouth
- Hours: 10 AM to 5 PM Tuesdays through Fridays, 12 PM to 5 PM Saturdays. Classes and events as scheduled.
The Cultural Center of Cape Cod got its start in 2000 when a group of residents raised funds to renovate the long-vacant Bass River Savings Bank. Seven years later, in 2007, the doors were opened to what is now a major cultural hub for Barnstable County. In 2016, the Cultural Center opened a newly constructed Education Wing that doubled its campus.
Today the Cultural Center of Cape Cod is a place where members and visitors can view art, see live performances, and take classes on everything from the culinary arts to music. The Education Center houses artist studios, a culinary arts center with a commercial kitchen, a recording studio, a ceramic studio, and a woodturning maker space.
Events at the Cultural Center include a diverse program of live performances, including dance parties, jazz concerts, folk music, Afro pop artists, readings, and lecture.
Falmouth Art Center
- Location: 137 Gifford Street, Falmouth
- Hours: 9 AM to 4 PM Mondays through Fridays, 10 AM to 2 PM Saturdays, 1 PM to 4 PM Sundays
Dedicated to the visual arts, the Falmouth Art Center got its start when the Falmouth Artists Guild was established in 1966. Since 2009, the center has been housed in their Gifford Street facility.
Open year round, the Falmouth Arts Center hosts monthly exhibits in three galleries along with art classes for adults and young artists.
A 2014 expansion added a lower level with facilities for weaving, printmaking, and ceramics, as well as for children’s classes. In 2016, the upper level of the art center was opened, adding a large studio for classes and workshops and a fiber studio.
Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill
- Location: 10 Meetinghouse Road, Truro
- Hours: April through October, 9 AM to 5 PM Mondays through Fridays; November through March, 9 AM to 5 PM Mondays through Thursdays
Founded in 1972, Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill is powered by a faculty of artists and writers that support students of all ages and ability levels. Castle Hill offers exhibitions, classes, workshops, artist residencies, special events, lectures, and live music and dance performances.
Celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2022, Truro Center for the Arts maintains a campus that includes the barn where it first opened. From its Cast Hill and Edgewood Farm campuses, the center offers about 200 summer workshops as well as year-round programming.
