Group plans to launch arts and cultural hub

A new organization that wants to foster creative and performance arts will hold its first event next month. According to its founder, Manny Valencia, the group 300seats plans to show independent movies and sponsor art events. The idea came out of a business plan Valencia submitted for Startup Weekend Baton Rouge, an event backed by the Kauffman Foundation for Entrepreneurship. “We want to create a venue that will bring a cultural hub to Baton Rouge,” Valencia says. The concept will start with the screening of two independent films at the Kress at Third and Main on June 11: Gun Hill Road and Down This Road. The directors and actors from both movies will be on hand for a discussion. Valencia plans to hold several “pop up” events across the city before getting a permanent space for 300seats. “We want to get a following of patrons who support the organization,” he says. While 300seats hasn’t decided on a permanent location, Valencia says he is targeting downtown. For more information, click here.