If you want to try out, develop or simply experience any kind of visual or performing arts, the Gold Coast Arts Center is for you.

“We are dedicated to promoting and supporting the arts through education, exhibition, performance and outreach” said Caroline Sorokoff, associate director of Gold Coast Arts Center in Great Neck and festival director of the Gold Coast Film Festival.

When she says the arts, she means all the arts. From painting, to ceramics, to dance, to music lessons and more, the Gold Coast Arts Center has a program for it. They have even taught classes in belly dancing and jewelry making.

Sorokoff also emphasized that the center and its events are for everyone. They have programs for any people of any age, from babies up to senior citizens. They also strive to cater to all varieties of skill levels in the arts.

“There are people who want to perfect their craft because they’re thinking of going into a career that would involve that,” she said. “Or they’re bored or they just love it, and they just want to do it all the time. And then there are people who want to do it as more of a hobby, so we can really meet the needs of whatever age you are, whatever background or skill you are.”

Additionally, the center wants to reach as many people across Long Island as possible through different events, classes, programs and more.

“We are open to anyone from anywhere,” Sorokoff said. “People often get confused and think we’re only for Great Neck. We’re not; we actually have people from close to 200 different zip codes.”

The 10,000-squitare-foot facility seems to represent the mission of the non-profit perfectly.

Immediately upon entering there is an art studio with miniature chairs for classes for the younger ages and a room that can be converted to host any type of event imaginable, from black box theater productions to Q&As with people in the arts, to Beatles cover bands.

“It’s really a whole gamut. Like almost anything you can think of, we figured out how to have it here,” Sorokoff said.

Even the bathrooms are immersed in the arts, with stalls beautifully painted by teachers at the center.

Sorokoff described why the arts and providing access to all different types of visual and performing mediums is so important.

“Arts is not just about learning how to make a bowl, it’s about learning about yourself,” she said. “It’s about learning to work with others, it’s about, you know, how there’s no right or wrong.”

She added that great life lessons can be learned through making art.

“One of the lessons that I always love is how sometimes you make art for the greater good as part of a whole,” she said as she showed me a ceramic totem pole with each section made by a different kid from a school class. “You’re creating something that’s part of a whole that’s going to beautify something else.”

As part of the center’s mission to support the arts, it also does arts education outreach programs in schools and senior centers in the region.

Additionally, as partners with the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., since 1996, the center is part of a program called Partners in Education that aims to promote educating teachers on how to incorporate the arts in the classroom.

“Sometimes it’s not enough to just be sitting all day and loading information [on them],” Sorokoff said. “Why don’t we get up and learn how the circulatory system works by using movement? Why don’t we use [makes stomping and clapping noises] to figure out how to add. Or using drama in history classes.”

The other substantial programs that the Gold Coast Arts Center run are film screenings and film festivals. Sorokoff explained how they work with local movie theaters and libraries to show independent movies or foreign films. They have one-night-only screenings and a yearly film fest, both highlighting a large variety of films.

“There’s a documentary, a slapstick comedy, thriller, a little bit of everything in there,” she said. “It’s really about having great films that you can’t see anywhere else, especially you can’t see it on a big screen.”

Sorokoff emphasized how important the arts are in bringing people together.

“People need to have fun; they need to learn. You have to keep your mind and your body stimulated, and you need to interact with other people in a positive way,” she said. “The Art Center is a place where people come together to learn together, to laugh together, to enjoy something together.”

She concluded by emphasizing that anyone and everyone is welcome at the Gold Coast Arts Center.

“The arts don’t care what color you are, what your religion is, what your political affiliation is, what your age is. Everyone is there for the same reason,” Sorokoff said. “And that’s one of the reasons, I think, why all of us stay here and work here. It’s because we believe in that.”

More information about the Gold Coast Arts Center at 113 Middle Neck Road in Great Neck and the Gold Coast Film Festival can be found on its website.