Just when it seemed safe to believe that the string of recession-based closings of art institutions was coming to an end — or at least slowing down — the Harlem School of the Arts announced last week that it would be closed until April 10, by which time the nonprofit’s board will have decided if the institution will be closed permanently due to lack of funding.

The H.S.A. has provided dance, music, theater, and visual art classes to the Harlem community since 1964, offering instruction to about 3,000 students a year, some of whom received scholarships or attended at no charge. The institution has a reputation for placing students at top arts schools like Julliard, and alumni have performed on Broadway and appeared in feature films.

Board chairman Christopher Paci said that the school will need at least $500,000 to stay open through the end of the academic year. The institution's closing comes two weeks after the school announced the layoff of five of its faculty members.

There has been some criticism voiced by community members over the H.S.A.'s management of its finances, with some teachers reporting that they had regularly been paid late.

A group of students, parents, and teachers met at the school to form a prayer circle last Thursday in response to the H.S.A's closing. Keith Lewis, who worked as a dance teacher at the school for 13 years, told the New York Times that he was shocked by the “suddenness” of the closing.

Read more at the New York Times.