Explore, Learn, Engage: The LaGrange Art Museum

By Emily Webb

Contributing Writer, ’17, Undeclared

The LaGrange Art Museum recently held an exhibit featuring Annie Greene’s yarn paintings and the artwork of members of the Visual Artists Alliance of LaGrange. Greene’s exhibit-Georgia Farm Life in the 1940’s: The Farm in Yarn-included her nostalgic recollections from the two full summers she spent at her grandparents’ farm in Adel, Georgia. The VAAL exhibit featured oil and acrylic paintings, mixed media works, photographs, and digital photos by local artists.

Melinda Clair, exhibition coordinator, says that it is important to display local artists’ works because “it brings people in that don’t usually come, and the community sees local talent.” One hundred and fifty people attended the opening of this exhibit, held on August 23.

Since the Troup County School System has been forced to cut funding for the arts, the LaGrange Art Museum has an important role. The museum holds art classes, available for all ages. The number of students who participated in the summer classes increased since the budget cuts. Mrs. Clair states that the school board is interested in a partnership in order to preserve art related curriculums.

The museum’s Education Director, Sallie Keith, is a retired teacher. Her responsibilities include education within and outside the museum. She teaches some classes and leads tours at the museum. She hires and trains teachers for the camps and classes, and she is in “charge of developing and implementing the outreach programs and curriculum,” including the camps, Super Saturday, LaGrange Housing Authority, Boys and Girls Club, Circles, Boy Scouts, Vernon Woods, and Poplar Creek. This August, the museum introduced its new curriculum for 5th graders. The program is called “Our Town: Art, Textile, and Science,” and will allow teachers to bring art from the museum and into the classroom. The program is a collaboration between the museum, the Troup County Board of Education, and the Troup County Chamber of Commerce.

The museum also provides activities specifically designed to entertain children. There is a children’s gallery with questions accompanying each of the pictures in order to educate and challenge kids. Every third Saturday of the month, the museum hosts “Family Super Saturday” from 1 to 4 pm. Families can experience the current exhibit, and then join an activity in one of the Center for Creative Learning classrooms. On the 19th of October, the museum held a Jack-o-Lantern carving contest. Winning participants were given awards for the best pumpkins.

Over the past five years, the museum has held more than twenty-six exhibits such as competitions, architecture, sculpture, photography, printmaking, and themed exhibits. The museum makes it a priority to display local artists’ works, but has also hosted the works of well-known artists such as Andy Warhol, Françoise Gilot, Noel Rockmore, and Douglas Kirkland. Gilot and Kirkland both came to the opening nights of their shows, and Mrs. Clair believes their presence made those exhibits some of the best.

The museum’s next exhibit is Under the Prairie Sky: A Look at the American West. The exhibit opened October 11 and will run until January 31. It features Andy Warhol’s “Cowboys and Indians” collection, Native American artifacts, Senator Barry Goldwater’s black-and-white photography, and Keith Rasmussen’s lithographic landscapes. It also displays traditional paintings and sculptures that draw attention to the geometric shapes and dramatic colors usually found in Native American items. The works are from private collectors. The exhibit is a 100-year reflection on the West and its changes. LaGrange College, along with five other companies, sponsor this exhibit.

The LaGrange Art Museum is a valuable asset within the community. The museum is free for Troup County residents, and only $5 for those who live outside Troup County. It provides important education to the children and students, especially when people are losing their appreciation for art.