Hailey Rathmann

The Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts will host the 2024 Turner Center Literary Fair on Sat., Sept. 14, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., in the Turner Center Galleries, located at 527 N. Patterson Street, in Valdosta. The Literary Fair will spotlight free ongoing literary art offerings available at the Turner Center, as well as the work of local and regional authors.

Turner Center for the Arts Ceramics Instructor Ramiro Santillan teaches five beginner-friendly Weekday Pottery Classes each week, including Mondays 10am-Noon and 6-8pm, Tuesdays 6-8pm, and Wednesday 10am-Noon and 6-8pm. In addition to his work at the Turner Center, Santillan was also a ceramics instructor for the Georgia Governor’s Honors Program in 2024.  He expressed how art classes offer students at all levels, including beginners, a needed space to create things and cultivate community.

The Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts will host the 2024 Turner Center Literary Fair on Saturday, September 14, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., in the Turner Center Galleries, located at 527 N. Patterson Street, in Valdosta. The Literary Fair will launch the Turner Center’s 5th Annual Art of Writing Contest for area youth, and the event will also highlight the Turner Center’s Young Writers League, Writers League, and other literary resources available at the Center.

The call to authors will take place through September 1. The Literary Fair will highlight local and regional writers and authors who may display, read, and sell their works. All authors will be given a vendor table with two chairs and the opportunity to also teach a workshop highlighting an aspect of the writer’s craft.

Share the Magic Foundation will provide a special reading by Malcolm Mitchell and a free copy of Malcolm’s book, “The Magician’s Hat,” to the first 150 youth at the event. Snake Nation Press and South Georgia Regional Library will also have offerings at the Literary Fair that encourage prospective and published authors of all ages.

Sponsors are still needed for this event. To apply as a vendor or a sponsor or to learn about the event details, visit turnercenter.org or contact Art Education Administrator Hailey Rathmann at hrathmann@turnercenter.org or 229-247-2787.

Beth Cundiff has rediscovered her love for art through painting classes at the Turner Center for the Arts.

Two beginner-friendly painting classes – Paints & Pastries and Paint & Sip – meet each month in the Art Annex on the Turner Center campus. Regular art education instructors include Nancy Crombie, Annette Crosby, and Hunter Pope. The next Paints & Pastries is on Mon., Aug. 12, 2024, 6-8pm. Paint & Sip will resume in September 2024.

Turner Center for the Arts Active Arts Instructor Melissa Pihos teaches a free, weekly IMPROVment® class on Mondays, 5-6pm, at the Turner Center Galleries. She described the many physical and mental benefits of dance to be gained through IMPROVment® classes.

Pihos’ class incorporates a dynamic range of dance-based exercises designed to spark creativity, while also benefiting brain and body health. The beginner-friendly class begins with seated warm-ups, and gradually transitions to standing movements behind the chair and into the open space for further improvisation, then back to the chair for a cool-down.

41 youth received a four-day experience in art education through three youth summer art camps offered by the Turner Center for the Arts. Students enjoyed participating in drawing, painting, mixed media, collage, culinary arts, and ceramics projects.

The Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts honored Debra Kantelis with the 2024 Art Educator of the Year award at the Gallery Exhibit Opening Reception on June 10.

Kathy Lane has discovered a new hobby through glass art classes at the Turner Center for the Arts.

Stained and Fused Glass Classes, as well as Glass Art Open Studios, meet regularly in the Richard Hill Glass Studio on the Turner Center campus, and will resume in July 2024. Five sessions of Weekday Pottery Classes meet each month in the Hudson Pottery Studio on the Turner Center campus.

Pottery is one of the most popular programs at the Turner Center for the Arts, and classes frequently have a waiting list. However, a limited number of spots have recently become available in Weekday Pottery Classes for those who have always wanted to study the ancient art. Available class sessions include Mondays 10am-Noon or 6-8pm, Tuesdays 6-8pm, and Wednesdays 10am-Noon or 6-8pm. Students ages 16 and up enroll in one session, and attend the beginner-friendly class for four weeks consecutively.

Turner Center for the Arts instructor Debra Kantelis teaches nearly a dozen off-campus art outreach classes for youth each month in the Valdosta community, and will be an instructor for the Turner Center’s 2024 Youth Summer Art Camps. She expressed how early exposure to and involvement in the arts shaped her own life and career.