Sementha Mathews

The Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts will be CLOSED on Monday, Aug. 5 due to inclement weather. This includes all activities and classes in any of its five facilities. The Center has also postponed the opening of its Gallery Opening Reception to Monday, Aug. 12, at 5-7pm, for the safety of all patrons and traveling artists. For more information and updates, follow us on social media.

The Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts is proud to be identified nationally as a Blue Star Museum. Through a partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts and Blue Star Families, in collaboration with the Department of Defense and museums across America, the Turner Center continues to offer free admission to the nation’s active-duty military personnel and their families, including National Guard and Reserve. 

Tina Folsom (center) was honored on May 20, 2024 at a Lowndes-Valdosta Arts Commission, Inc. board meeting for her two-year term as president. Incoming LVAC Board President Jane Burgsteiner (left) and Turner Center Executive Director Sementha Mathews (right) awarded Folsom an original glass blown art piece for her exceptional leadership role. For more information about the LVAC or the Turner Center, visit turnercenter.org.

A new partnership between Valdosta Main Street and the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts is drawing attention to the Valdosta City Center Arts District and providing year-round opportunities for Valdosta residents to engage the District. Funded by a More Than Murals grant through the Georgia Council for the Arts, the partnership promotes strong connections between artists, arts organizations, downtown businesses, and the public. 

The Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts will launch a Digital Arts, Technology, Animation and Media (DATAM) program for area middle and high school students. Funded by a National Endowment for the Arts grant and a matching grant from the Loyce & Annette Turner Foundation, Inc., the new program seeks to expose students to technical arts and potential career fields.  

The Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts and the Young Writers League (YoWL) are seeking fiction, non-fiction, and poetry entries for the 4^th Annual “Art of Writing” contest. The contest is open to middle and high school students in Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, and the surrounding states.

“If you want joy in life, be an artist,” said Dean Little, featured artist in the gallery exhibit that opens Thursday, Aug. 3, at the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts, in Valdosta. The Gallery Opening Reception from 5-7 p.m. is free and open to the public.