FIRST EXHIBIT FOR NEW ARTS ORGANIZATION                  PUBLISHED IN THE TRIBUNE: MONDAY, JUNE 21, 2008

BY MARGARET GRIFFIN

The Foothills Arts Council in Elkin has announced a newly formed program called F.A.I.R.; Foothills Artist in Residence. This program has been designed to create opportunities for local artists to share their talents with the community and showcase their art at the FAC facility. F.A.I.R. members will work with the Foothills Arts Council  to offer workshops and lectures, curate special exhibits, participate in outreach projects, and coordinate demonstrations. This program free to join and is open to anyone interested in becoming involved in the Foothills Arts Council and the greater Elkin community. F.A.I.R. member and local artist Anne Gulley believes F.A.I.R. “will be a great way to slightly formalize something that is already happening informally.”

“The F.A.I.R. program is devoted to bringing the many facets and benefits of the arts into the community,” says  F.A.I.R. coordinator and Foothills Arts Council president Susan Fulcher. “We are just starting to make contacts with a variety of organizations throughout the community and there has been some real response already.”  The F.A.I.R. program, which has been developed over the past two months, already has members brainstorming ideas for outreach. Artist Judy Hancock sees “endless paths” through which F.A.I.R. can have an impact. “Not only are there many different artists out there working in different media,” explains Judy, “we each have our own niche of clientele that we wish to service.” Judy is especially interested in creating programs for handicapped adults and Alzheimer’s patients. Eddie Landry, who is new to the area and has a background in arts education has “always loved creating art, but also loves to teach other people how to express themselves.” Eddie specifically would like to find ways of working with Scouts, high-school students, and younger children. He sees F.A.I.R. as a way “not only to nurture my own art but to also bring art out into the community.”

Susan Fulcher points out that “we are very fortunate to have so many seasoned working artists and experienced art educators” living in this area. F.A.I.R. offers these people a means of organization for working with the community and directly with the Foothills Arts Council. In addition to the strong community outreach focus, F.A.I.R. is also a way for artists to use the FAC facility in myriad ways. The Foothills Arts Council is now offering a permanent gallery space for artists to showcase and sell their work. F.A.I.R. members are encouraged to participate in the curation and hanging of exhibits and are invited to use areas of the FAC building for workspace, with demonstrations open to the public.  “F.A.I.R. was created as a way to get artists working in the community, as well as here in our own building,” explains Bill Colvard, Foothills Arts Council program director.

F.A.I.R. is designed to be beneficial to local artists, the Foothills Arts Council, and community organizations.

Operating through the Foothills Arts Council facility, F.A.I.R. offers a “home base” for artists to display their work, plan programs and coordinate workshops. “The Foothills Arts Council will function as a clearinghouse for artists and arts education,” says Susan. Interested companies can contact the Foothills Arts Council and get information about arts programming offered through F.A.I.R. Being the center of operations is good for the FAC as well. Judy Hancock explains, “Recording the facts and figures is the perfect way to start going after grants and funding.” And “creating opportunities for artist involvement is a continual goal of the FAC,” says Bill Colvard.

 In essence, what F.A.I.R. offers is organization. “Everyone as artists need a little bit of employment and encouragement,” says Judy Hancock. Through F.A.I.R. “We would be able to reach people who need to find ways of expressing themselves, while gaining exposure as artists in the process.” The F.A.I.R. program will kick off with an exhibit of work by local artists, opening Friday, July 25th at the Foothills Arts Council (129 Church St., Elkin). An opening reception will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., coinciding with Downtown Elkin's Fourth Friday celebration. The show will run through August 20th. To learn more about this program, visit the FAC website: www.foothillsartscouncil.org or call (336) 835-2025.