Celebrating Contemporary Art in Alabama, the Nature of Being Southern

The Johnson Center for the Arts will be filled with extraordinary works of art by Alabama artists. The exhibition, Celebrating Contemporary Art in Alabama, the Nature of Being Southern is comprised of the works of 41 recipients of prestigious Alabama State Council on the Arts Individual Fine Art and Craft Fellowship Awards, all of whom represent the “best of the best” in Alabama. This will be the first major exhibition of the combined works of these Fellowship recipients, some of whom have gone on to be named “Alabama Masters” in the publication bearing that name, published in 2008 by the Alabama State Council on the Arts. The Fellowships are the most prestigious of grants awarded to individuals by ASCA. They are based on merit of work, career achievement, career potential and service to the state. The awards recognize excellence as well as professional commitment and maturity. This three-month exhibition will celebrate the first anniversary of the opening of the Holman & Ethel Johnson Center for the Arts. Richard Metzger, the Center’s executive director, working with the Alabama State Council on the Arts, has contacted all past visual arts Fellowship recipients for their commitment to submit 2-3 works each for this group exhibition, and has obtained a commitment from those who wish to participate in gallery talks and workshops about their work during the exhibition. A catalog of the exhibition will be produced in conjunction with Troy University’s Department of Art & Design. This exhibition is important in that it will strengthen our organization’s mission of Cultural Enrichment of the Lives of all Citizens through Exposure to the Arts in this primarily rural community.