The Alabama Center for the Arts is pleased to announce the opening of the annual juried Festival of the Cranes Art Exhibit in the Center’s Walking Gallery on Friday, January 12. The show will be held in conjunction with the Friends of Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge Association’s annual Festival of the Cranes, which will take place January 12-14 in Decatur, Alabama. To celebrate, the ACA will be open with special weekend hours on Saturday, January 13 and Sunday, January 14 from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. The exhibit will be free and open to the public.
All students, faculty, staff, adjuncts, and alumni of Athens State University, Calhoun Community College, and the Alabama Center for the Arts were eligible to enter the juried show. 49 pieces of artwork by 24 artists will be featured in the show. All pieces of artwork featured in the exhibit were inspired by nature, whooping cranes, sandhill cranes, and other nature-related subjects. The exhibit will remain open until Thursday, February 22.
This year, Dariana Dervis served as the juror of the Festival of the Cranes show. Deeply inspired by nature, Dervis delights in mining beauty from the ordinary to create the extraordinary. Paper, found objects, ephemera and thread are given new life and meaning as they are incorporated into mixed media collages. With a BFA from the University of Montevallo, she currently works as both fine artist and graphic designer in Birmingham, Alabama.
In addition to the art exhibit, the ACA will be hosting other Festival of the Cranes activities on January 13 and 14. Events include:
- Portraits of Hope art exhibit in the Main Gallery
- Wings & Flings Make & Take Art Activity hosted by ACA faculty (supplies provided)
- Junior Duck Stamp Workshop (with local art educator, Tammie Clark)
- Vicky Smith – “Batty About Bats”
- Dr. James B. McClintok: Lost Antarctica
- Stephanie Schmit: International Crane Foundation
- Make & Take Painting Class with Tracy Roberts McCann, “Birds in Flight” (pre-registration required; workshop fee is $55 per attendee)
- Jimmy Stiles Herpetologist and Nature Lover (Reptiles)
Events are free and open to the public with the exception of Tracy McCann’s painting class. A full schedule of events can be found at https://www.friendsofwheelernwr.org/events.
For more information about the 2024 Festival of the Cranes, please visit https://www.friendsofwheelernwr.org/foc-2024 or the Festival of the Cranes Facebook page, Festival of the Cranes at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge.
During normal hours, the Alabama Center for the Arts is open Monday through Thursday from 8:00 am – 8:00 pm and on Friday from 8:00 am – 12:00 pm.