One Space, Many Voices
A thank you note from a frequent visitor to 3 Dots recently made Executive Director Erica Quinn stop and take stock in the life-changing impact of the community space in Downtown State College. It said, ‘I became myself by watching other people be themselves.’
“The entire note was so heartfelt, but this particular line really resonated with me,” Erica said.
3 Dots serves as an art and humanities community space, promoting local arts, hosting performances and community events, and offering an inclusive public space for civic engagement.
Through its original programming and collaborations with community groups, 3 Dots has emerged as a local leader in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). It is the home base for Opulence, Penn State’s Drag Ambassador club, and partners with local BIPOC leaders and Centre LGBT+.
“3 Dots is a space for authenticity where everyone can have a transformative experience. We get a lot of feedback about what the space means to different people, and it’s a broad impact,” Erica said.
Because of its wide appeal, 3 Dots is also a safe place for dialogue and relationship building. “One of my favorite things is watching people having conversations they might have never engaged in elsewhere. These conversations turn into relationships. People become friends,” she continued.
Events like open mic nights bring together intergenerational audiences for unexpected collaborations between hip-hop artists and folk musicians, professionals and first-time performers. An international music series exposes a local audience to music from around the world.
“From some people, we hear that this is one of the least diverse places they’ve lived, and from others that, for them, it is the most diverse. These two points of view seem incongruous, yet both are true. It’s at the crossroads of these perspectives that 3 Dots exists, engaging opposite points of view in conversation,” Erica said.
To expand its reach, 3 Dots frequently goes beyond its walls. Street events and patio-based programs make it easy to engage. Likewise, 3 Dots’ monthly $1,000 grant program offers a low barrier to entry for anyone with a creative idea to make a difference.
“These grants provide no-strings-attached funding through a simple application process, and they are open to projects county-wide,” Erica said. Past grants have funded a Black History Month concert, a pollinator garden, a local theatre company, an Ethiopian cooking class, a cross-cultural music festival, and more. So far, $63,000 in grants have been awarded—all made possible through donors and the 3 Dots board, a partnership that Erica calls the organization’s “philanthropic core.”
Generosity is, in fact, the foundation of 3 Dots. Centre Foundation funding from the Knight Foundation Fund and the Kalin Family Fund got the nonprofit off the ground in 2019 and has provided a runway for growth. Centre Gives is a cornerstone of its annual fundraising, and Field-of-Interest and Donor-Advised grants have funded additional programming and improvements to the patio.
“Beyond funding, Centre Foundation is an important mentor and advocate,” Erica said, helping to fuel exceptional growth. “This year, 3 Dots is on track to welcome between 40,000-45,000 visitors, our biggest year yet and an increase of 22% from last year.”
This success has spurred plans for expansion. In addition to continuing to support local artists and musicians, 3 Dots is planning an artist-in-residence program that will extend its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Erica described it this way: “We are looking at this program through a strong DEIB lens and hoping to secure artists with whom individuals and groups who feel othered or minoritized can connect. The goal is to help create a space for affinity where they can see themselves reflected through the work of these visiting residents. We want to engage people in the process of making art, not only in viewing the finished product, and we are focused on the equity of both art and identity.”
