By Scott Mims
Mack Gothard’s dipping gourd and Martha Granthum’s watercolor pet portraits are among the works of art currently on display in Rose Gallery, the latest dimension of the Chilton County Arts Council located at 703 Second Ave. N., Clanton.
A grand opening and ribbon cutting was held Jan. 14 for the building, which also houses an arts library and future classrooms, all under the umbrella of the nonprofit organization.
Now that CCAC officially has a place to call home, its members are utilizing the space to allow local artists an opportunity to make their work visible to the public.
Curator Sue Anne Hoyt said her job is to make each piece look as good as it can.
“It’s like a giant 3-D art project to hang a show,” she said. “It’s very important to show the work to advantage.”
A curator can be defined as “one that takes care.” Hoyt, also a member of the CCAC Board of Directors, is responsible for the appearance of the gallery, as well as soliciting artists, setting up shows and looking after the building.
Hoyt is herself an artist with a love for colors and the abstract (see her story in the October 2012 edition of Peach Living, page 11, or in the story archive at www.peachlivingmagazine.com). She grew up in Tampa, Fla., and her parents shared an interest in painting. Hoyt graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and a minor degree in art from the University of South Florida in 1968, going on to earn her BFA in painting at Maine College of Art in 1996, and her MFA in painting at Auburn University in 1999.
Hoyt and her husband, Arthur, moved to Alabama in 1996 to be closer to her family in Chilton County.
“She is a big asset to the community, and doing this for the Arts Council is just one example of it,” said CCAC Founding Director Elizabeth Byrd.
Hoyt assumed the role of curator shortly after the tragic death of Sam Whisner, an active member of the Arts Council who had worked alongside Byrd, hanging member shows and volunteering as window decorating committee chairwoman. Whisner was killed in an automobile wreck in December.
Whisner owned and operated an antique shop in Verbena called Bits and Bobs (see Peach Living, June 2013 edition, page 6, or online).
“Sam had a generous spirit and really depicted the epitome of volunteerism,” Byrd said.
The building that houses Rose Gallery is named in memory of Rose S. Levine, hence the name. Levine’s husband, Isadore S. “Doc,” and son, Myron A., donated the building to the city of Clanton in December 1990. A plaque on the building declares her “love and devotion to Clanton and Chilton County” and adds, “It is our hope that its use will benefit this community for many years to come.”
Hoyt expressed gratitude to the Clanton City Council for allowing CCAC to use the building. The Arts Council is currently under a three-year lease.
“Getting this building was huge, and Elizabeth Byrd has worked tirelessly for years getting the Arts Council organized,” she said. “The gallery is a huge outreach to the public and really a ministry to artists. It gives them an opportunity to perhaps exhibit their work here.”
Initially, the gallery will open two days per week, most likely Friday and Saturday. The goal is to host a new show each month, Hoyt said.
“We are giving the artists a chance to travel without traveling and see other art. That’s always a good thing,” she said.
Hoyt encourages not only artists to visit the gallery but also potential volunteers to help keep the doors open. She and Byrd emphasized that CCAC is a nonprofit organization that operates solely on a volunteer basis.
“Arts are so important to a community, not only for the enrichment of culture but also for the financial aspect,” she said. “You’ve got to meet people where they live. The whole goal of the Arts Council is to encourage artists first and foremost.”