News

In celebration of National Clean Up Month, Turner Center for the Arts is hosting a campus beautification day on Saturday, September 7, from 7am – Noon. Check-in is at the main Turner Center Galleries, 527 N. Patterson Street.

Some of the projects include general area cleanup, trash removal, tree-brush cleanup, trim hanging branches and general landscaping. Every pair of hands makes a difference, so your contribution is greatly appreciated whether you can join us for the entire duration or just for a short while. In addition to the clean-up, lunch will be served to our volunteers.

For further information and to sign up for this event, please call the Center at 229.247.2787 by Friday, September 6, before 4pm. Thank you for your support, and we look forward to seeing you there!

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 has entered a partnership with Mercer University to provide Visualization Training for Mercer’s third-and-fourth-year medical students. The Turner Center joins art establishments in Savannah, Macon, and Columbus in providing this innovative clinical training that uses the arts to build visual literacy, enhance clinical observation methods, encourage collaboration, and boost communication skills.

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.

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.

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.

The Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts will hold a new gallery exhibit reception on Mon., August 5, from 5 to 7 p.m., at 527 N. Patterson Street. The Center will feature the works of Sherry Allen, “Wildlife Encounters,” Natalia Andreeva, “Vivid Visions: Capturing Life’s Beauty,” Teresa Cook, “See Jacksonville x Valdosta,” and the re-installation of the East African Artifact Permanent Collection. Admission is free and light refreshments will be served.

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. 

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.