HISTORY AND MISSION
HISTORY AND MISSION
The mission of the Germantown Performing Arts Center (GPAC) is to serve the community by presenting the highest quality artistic endeavors to educate, engage, enrich, and transform.
GPAC is located in the heart of Shelby County, and serves the greater metro Memphis area of over a million people and is accessible to all members of the community.
The Highland Capital Performance Hall is an acoustically perfect, 854-seat venue featuring a sprung pine stage, an elegant patron lounge, eight spacious dressing rooms, and a large lobby for entertaining and assembling; The Grove, a dynamic outdoor venue which can accommodate approximately 900 guests in a lush outdoor setting; and the Watkins Studio Theater, an intimate black box theater. Ray Charles set the bar high when he opened GPAC in 1994, immediately defining this space as a place where excellence is the norm and where the world would come to perform. Season after season, GPAC has applauded an array of artists with extraordinary talents and showcased the broadest range of performances and art forms. GPAC presents world-renowned performing artists in a variety of genres, year-round educational activities for all ages including, the GPAC Youth Symphony Program, rotating visual art exhibits, and many community events welcoming over 100,000 visitors annually. The organization benefits from the infrastructure of a professional organization that possesses a clear direction, strong financial health, a professional and seasoned staff, and a dedicated board of directors.
GPAC is the center of our community. It’s where we go to connect, commune, and experience new things. A place where we encounter beauty—where there’s no room for the mundane or routine.
But there is room for you. No matter your age or background. No matter where you’re from or how you got here.
Come to GPAC. Come find your center.