Arts, Hancock County President Steve Barney offering a hands-on pottery demonstration.
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The Arts, Hancock County
The Arts, Hancock County, a fast-growing, active organization that offers sponsorship and genuine support in the form of shows, classes, events, and other instructional ventures, boasts over 300 members—all of them either artists or lovers of art.
If not butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers, the organization's governing board is comprised of business owners, a photographer, an architect, a teacher, potters, a writer, and professional volunteers. This diversity reflects the spirit and fast-growing membership of a non-profit corporation dedicated to promoting art in everyday life in Hancock County, Mississippi. The vision spearheaded by Steve Barney, president of The Arts, Hancock County, and founder of the STEAMpunk Pottery Project—an educational program for children—is to “reinvent the organization to support the entire spectrum of artists and capture the artistic buzz centered in Hancock County.” The buzz goes beyond traditional forms of art to include all types of creative expression and performance. For example, the rapidly growing 2018 Arts Alive! festival, the largest annual Arts, Hancock County undertaking, highlighted the burgeoning scene of artists, makers, and performers from across the region. Happy festival-goers found a riot of live demonstrations, hands-on activities, and artist showcases/marketplaces, from musical performances to belly dancers. At hands-on MakerSpace stations, festival- goers practiced the art of screen printing and drum-making, and volunteers of all ages engaged in public art projects such as the one at Ruth’s Garden on Court Street. Other participatory art experiences include on-site painting of beach-bound trash cans and the creation of a public mural. |
At the center of The Arts, Hancock County is a 7,500-square-foot industrial building on the corner of Washington and Central, the Bay St. Louis Creative Arts Center (101 Central Ave., BSL). Since Barney purchased the dilapidated building in 2017, it has become a gathering space in an emerging art district. The building is the seat of monthly Arts, Hancock County membership meetings, the Raw Oyster Marching Club's oyster-painting central, the home of workshops from pottery to flower arranging, and even a space in which Mardi Gras floats are constructed. The most active part of the Bay Creative Arts Center, however, is the 1200-square-foot pottery studio, which partners with Lazy Magnolia Brewery and offers adult classes and after-school classes for children.
Having moved to Old Town, an historic district extending from Beach Boulevard to St. Francis Street and Washington Street to Ulman Avenue, Arts, Hancock County is tapping into the creative economy in Hancock County, expanding into Waveland and the Kiln, and exploring partnerships between local businesses and artists. As of this writing, Arts, Hancock County boasts overlapping exhibits at four business and civic entities—200 North Beach, BSL City Hall, Waveland City Hall, and the Ground Zero Museum in Waveland.
“In the early days of the organization,” Barney notes, the goal was to help artists re-establish themselves in the aftermath of Katrina. We are circling around, going back to our roots.”
To join The Arts, Hancock County, visit https://hancockarts.org/join-us. Alternatively, talk to organizational VP Ann Dinwiddie Madden, co-founder of Smith & Lens Gallery (106 S. Second Street, BSL), or Treasurer Alicein Schwabacher, owner and manager of the Mockingbird Café (110 South Second Street, BLS).
Having moved to Old Town, an historic district extending from Beach Boulevard to St. Francis Street and Washington Street to Ulman Avenue, Arts, Hancock County is tapping into the creative economy in Hancock County, expanding into Waveland and the Kiln, and exploring partnerships between local businesses and artists. As of this writing, Arts, Hancock County boasts overlapping exhibits at four business and civic entities—200 North Beach, BSL City Hall, Waveland City Hall, and the Ground Zero Museum in Waveland.
“In the early days of the organization,” Barney notes, the goal was to help artists re-establish themselves in the aftermath of Katrina. We are circling around, going back to our roots.”
To join The Arts, Hancock County, visit https://hancockarts.org/join-us. Alternatively, talk to organizational VP Ann Dinwiddie Madden, co-founder of Smith & Lens Gallery (106 S. Second Street, BSL), or Treasurer Alicein Schwabacher, owner and manager of the Mockingbird Café (110 South Second Street, BLS).