OUR HISTORY

The Foothills Arts Council began operation in September 1977 with the stated purpose of providing arts programming and cultural development for the 15,000 citizens of Elkin and southwest Surry County. Evie Good was the first president of the group, which included twenty-four charter members, as recorded in the archives of the Elkin Historical Collection. Today the membership has grown and the facility has moved from a two-room office to the current house and garden on Church Street.

Through the years the FAC has sponsored a wide variety of arts experiences for children in the Elkin City Schools, from puppeteers to sumi ink painters, as well as the community in general, including Doc Watson, the North Carolina Symphony, and a Chinese acrobatic circus. The FAC also partnered with the Friends of the Elkin Public Library at Streetscene every April to provide a children’s theater performance, and with the Foothills Nature Science Society to offer S.P.L.A.S.H.! (Summer Programs Linking Art-Science-History) for several summers.

With the move and renovation of the Salmons house at 129 Church St., the FAC has a facility that can be used for concerts and recitals, poetry readings and art shows. The gallery space exhibits two juried shows annually: Images, a photography show, held during the Yadkin Valley Wine Festival in May and the Clifford Morrison Memorial Show, a multimedia show, held during the Pumpkin Festival in October.