The Valdosta Public Arts Advisory Committee (PAAC) and the Turner Center for the Arts recently awarded Molly Calloway a gift certificate for winning the Military Tribute Public Art Naming Contest. Calloway’s name suggestion, “Wings of Freedom,” was selected from among dozens of entries.

“The highly-visible monument located at Freedom Park has remained nameless, since the public event for the Military Tribute Public Art, held on Nov. 11, 2019,” said PAAC Chair Bruce Smith. “Everything was literally set in stone, with the exception of its name. The PAAC voted to hold the naming contest to further engage the public in this particular piece and in the arts community in general.”

The statue, an 11-feet high mosaic work that includes historical images fired on ceramic tiles, was created by Thomasville Artist Marty Haythorn, with some additional help from the community, as tribute to the men and women who have served in the armed forces in protection of our country.

Calloway said that she decided to name the art piece “Wings of Freedom” because of the way the eagle is displayed on top of the monument with fierce beauty and strength. She said she enjoyes viewing the photos of military heros depicted in the tiles on the monument, many of them affiliated with Moody Air Force Base and those who have once served at Moody.

“’Wings of Freedom’ just came to me in seconds, and the name seemed fitting,” she said. “I’m very honored and thrilled to be a small part of a really wonderful public art piece that honors our military.”

Calloway participates in Veterans Day events every year, and said she believes it’s important to continue to pay tribute to people who continuously fight for our country.

“I think we all need to be aware of those who defend and protect those freedoms that we all enjoy, and that the freedom came at a price. I would encourage anyone who hasn’t yet seen the monument to go visit Freedom Park, because it really is a very unique piece. I hope it is a community treasure years to come.”

For more information about similar events in the arts community, contact the Turner Center for the Arts at 279-247-2787.

 

More than half a century ago, the Makonde tribe sculpted and created beautiful artifacts that were used as communication tools, to improve fishing and hunting skills, and to ward of illnesses. Today, those same artifacts are displayed at the Turner Center for the Arts where anyone can come and observe them free of charge. Read More

The Turner Center for the Arts will host Georgia author William Rawlings, Jr. for a book signing on Feb. 4, 2020, from 4-6 p.m.

Rawlings, a semi-retired internal medicine physician and the author of 10 novels, will review one of his latest books, “Girl with the Kaleidoscope Eyes,” which was released in fall 2019. His newest book “Six Inches Deeper—the Disappearance of Hellen Hanks” is scheduled to be released in spring 2020 and is the true-crime account of a murder that took place in South Georgia in 1972. Rawlings will give a preview of his latest book at the Feb. 4 book signing, along with a discussion about his life and work as an author.

After spending most of his life practicing medicine, Rawlings began fiction writing relatively late in life. His first novel, the thriller “The Lazard Legacy,” was published in 2003 when he was age 55. Set in a small Georgia town much like his hometown of Sandersville, it involves a doctor escaping big-city life only to stumble onto a nightmarish secret. Other books that followed include, “The Rutherford Cipher,” “The Tate Revenge” (winner of the Golden Eye Award), “Crossword” and “The Mile High Club.”

This event is free and open to the public. For more information about the author, visit www.williamrawlings.com. For additional information about the event, visit www.turnercenter.org or call 229-247-2787.

The Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts’ Gallery Opening Reception on Monday, Jan. 13 featured the 13^th annual DrawProject fundraiser and VSU President Dr. Richard Carvajal as the guest auctioneer. Artworks donated by area artists were auctioned at this annual event to raise scholarship funds for VSU art students that are awarded in the fall semester.

The gallery event also features the fine art works of local artists Mary VanLandingham and Christine Cabral in the Price-Campbell and Josette’s Galleries respectively. Both are VSU alumni and are enjoying their first solo gallery shows at the Turner Center.

VanLandingham’s exhibit consists of oil paintings of landscapes found in the South East United States, primarily Georgia and Florida, capturing the familiarity and beauty of the southern coast and countryside. VanLandingham’s artwork will showcase a variety of entrancing scenes of water, land and sky.

Cabral’s inspired art work features acrylic paint on canvas, while occasionally incorporating mixed media fabrics and vinyl into her paintings. Upon losing her mother in 1997, the natural evolution of grief and emotion transformed Cabral’s expression. Driven by the notion that the desire to connect and revisit one’s childhood is universal, Cabral transforms her canvas with childlike and innocent imagery touched also by the heartache of grief and separation.

“The Turner Center for the Arts is proud to participate in the annual DrawProject exhibit and in our longstanding relationship with VSU’s Department of Art and Design,” said Executive Director Sementha Mathews. “This exciting art event adds a distinctive dimension to our winter gallery reception with silent and live auctions, providing all of us with an opportunity to obtain excellent, original art at affordable prices, while also celebrating our exceptional local artists.”

The Turner Center’s East African Art and Fine European Porcelain permanent collections are also on display in the Tillman and Howard Galleries.

All exhibits will remain open for the public’s enjoyment through Wednesday, Feb. 26. For more information, call 229-247-2787 or visit www.turnercenter.org.