Community Foundation Helps Bring the Raclin Murphy Encore Center to Life

It was a celebration several years in the making when the Raclin Murphy Encore Center officially cut the ribbon at the Morris Performing Arts Center. The stunning, 20,000-square-foot addition caps off the second phase of the Morris 100 project, the largest capital campaign in South Bend’s history – raising an incredible $30 million to celebrate one of the city’s most beloved cultural institutions.

The Encore Center is designed to deepen local connection to the arts for generations to come, and the Community Foundation is proud to have played a meaningful role in making this vision a reality with a $1,000,000 gift to help fund the space.

The Encore Center features expansive gathering areas, a bar and lounge, a sensory room, an exterior balcony, and a dedicated Equity in the Arts event space — a community-focused gallery that will host free exhibits, workshops, and partnerships with local schools and artists.

The Community Foundation has a long record of supporting local arts and public spaces, and the Encore Center is a shining part of that well-established legacy.

For Aaron Perri, the opening of the Encore Center was a full-circle moment. It was 2020 when Perri, then Executive Director of South Bend VPA, applied to the Foundation for funding for the project. Six years later, as the Foundation’s Vice President, Community Impact, Perri remembers the audacious goal they began chasing as the Morris neared its 100th birthday.

“We knew the historic building needed work, but we dared to dream bigger,” says Perri. “So we took care of the old, planned for the present, and with the Encore Center, we celebrate the future.”

We’re excited for you to experience the Encore Center, and when you do, remember that this is what it looks like when a community invests in itself. We’re thrilled that your generosity allows us to be a part of it.