A nonprofit organization to promote Pflugerville’s art community is off the ground after two years in the works, its president, Melissa Call, said, and it might just be right on time as the city continues to grow.

The Pflugerville Arts Council formed in 2013 but was granted nonprofit status in March. The gradual rollout will help the organization plan and grow its membership in an effort to gain steady footing, Call said.

“We have started to put our name out there,” she said. “I really want to move slowly and successfully.”

The council aims to promote and support all art forms in the city, including visual and performing arts, such as poetry, music, theater and painting.

The organization sponsored a concert in August at the First United Methodist Church on Aug. 28 featuring local musician Ryan McDaniel among others in concert singing worship music. It aims to launch initiatives in the coming years, including hosting art in public places and finding a venue to regularly host art-related activities in the city.

“We just don’t have anything right now in Pflugerville other than [local store] Imaginations that is devoted to displaying art,” she said. Britta Herzog, owner of Pflugerville-based art studio and retail store Imaginations, said the store might further boost the city’s art scene by hosting painting classes in the future. Herzog said she plans on transitioning her store from a retail focus to becoming more of a venue for art.

Pflugerville Arts Council Britta Herzog, owner of retail store Imaginations and a Pflugerville Arts Council member, has painted local buildings and scenery. This is one of her works on display at the store.[/caption]

“[Art] helps round out the community as a whole,” Herzog said. “Rather than [residents] feeling like they need to go back into Austin for a more rounded cultural experience, if they have something here that we can offer them then I think that would be very good for the whole community.”

Darelle White, a Pflugerville Arts Council board member, said the city is growing rapidly and must support the interests of the community if it is to maintain a high quality of life. He said one of those interests is art. White said the Round Rock Area Arts Council’s efforts provide a good example of cultivating the creative community in a similar city.

With a booming population, the arts council has formed with enough time to build some momentum, said White, a former City Council member.

“As the community grows […] we will be able to look at this time and say it was started at the right time,” he said.