Editor:

As I complete my 10th year at the Eastern Shore Art Center, and as the Art Center has faced its most challenging economic times and we have reached out to the community for support, I have really had to evaluate what we are asking for. What do the arts, and the Art Center in particular, mean to this very special place we all call home? Why does it matter that we’re here, have been here since 1952, and are working every day to keep the doors open and the lights on? If you’re not an artist, why should you care if we’re here or not?

The short answer is quality of life. Fairhope and the Eastern Shore are made up of two kinds of people, those who were born and raised here and those who chose to make this their home. If you’re a native, you and your family helped to carve out the unique character of this artists’ and writers’ and free thinkers’ community. You have stayed here because the bay, the land and the founders of this community have fostered a creative spirit among its residents that is unique. If you moved here to raise your family or to retire, you chose the Fairhope area for its natural beauty, its good schools and a cultural life unmatched by very few small towns in America. Whichever group you are part of, you know that art, music, and good writing are essential parts of a viable community and that they are readily available year-round on the Eastern Shore.

Having had the good fortune to be associated with the Eastern Shore Art Center for a decade, I have observed first-hand what this place means. I have seen hundreds of retirees take their first art class, or at least their first one since Art I in high school, and seen the glow of accomplishment as they complete their first painting or pottery bowl. I have seen hundreds of children come every summer to Art Bash, making new friends and learning skills from some of our most talented local artists and announcing loudly as they pass my office on the way out “I love my art class — look what I did today!” I have walked the streets lined with decorated pelicans and watched tourists taking pictures of their families in front of their favorite bird. I have stood in the lobby on First Friday as hundreds of visitors have poured in the door every month for the last nine years, watching old friends catch up and newcomers making friends as they take in the new art that month. I have been thanked by local businesses for bringing ArtWalk and Grand Festival of Art and Outdoor Art Show to town, all of which bring shoppers and diners and overnight guests to our area. I have seen our Community Outreach grow from free instruction in local schools to include art classes for local nursing homes, facilities for the disabled, and support for other non-profits like Weeks Bay Foundation, The Haven, Mercy Medical, the American Cancer Society and Very Special Arts of Alabama. I have proudly shown off Painters Paradise,the coffee table book of local artists work that advertises the beauty of the Eastern Shore around the world. And though I’m at the back and not the front door of the building, I always enjoy walking through our galleries, knowing that in this time of money shortages and international angst, the Art Center provides a free visit and respite for locals and visitors alike to come enjoy the beauty captured on canvas and in clay by the best local and regional artists.

So yes, I have a passion for what goes on here. Art as beauty, art as healing, art as economics, art as encouragement, art as God’s gift to a troubled world. I am so grateful to everyone who has supported what we do for so many years and I would like to encourage anyone who has chosen to live on the Eastern Shore for some of the year or all of the year to help us keep up the good work. Yes, we need your monetary support and your helping hands, but you need art as part of your life, too. We want to be here when your company comes to visit, or your grandchildren come to spend the summer, or when your budding artist’s art class is cut at school, or when you are finally ready to take that art class you’ve promised yourself for years. We want to make life richer in your hometown. Come by and see us, or call 928-2228 or go online at www.esartcenter.com and take part in the arts — you’ll have a happier new year if you do.

ESAC Director