In July 2019, New Orleans-based artist Zarouhie Abdalian led a four-day workshop for young adults curious about making art in public space. Six participants were guided through the process of designing temporary site-specific artworks for various locations in downtown York. Today we’re following up with a conversation between Abdalian and student artist Brunell Smith. […]
The Coleman Center for the Arts closed its first season of experimental films for the Black Belt in the Black Belt at Larkin’s Restaurant & Deli. Lunchtime patrons watched In Search of the Truth (The Truth Booth) alongside their meal. Participants from Sumter County, Selma, Uniontown, and McComb (MS) were featured in the work. […]
Panola community members are working to preserve their history of the North Sumter School. The North Sumter School was established in 1933 and was built primarily for the education of African-American children in the then legally segregated Alabama Black Belt. Coleman Center staff, Julia Brock, PhD, and the Alabama Humanities Foundation are supporting local efforts […]
On August 17, 2019, Laurel-based artist Michael Ross lead a one-day drawing demonstration and workshop. Participants learned drawing techniques, ways of looking, composition, and process. The Drawing Workshop is part of the Coleman Center’s Community Arts Workshops series focusing on creative learning experiences designed for multiple generations. These all-ages workshops encourage friends and family […]
In June 2019 Alabama-born, Minneapolis-based artist Tia-Simone Gardner began researching four homes in Alabama and Mississippi (Meridian/Philadelphia) that were inhabited by her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Gardner made a public presentation and trips to Birmingham and East Mississippi. Gardner’s work will culminate as an artist book of essays and images. This is part of […]
Coleman Center staff and Panola community members are developing placemaking and memory-keeping projects that center the North Sumter School in the Panola Community of Sumter County. The North Sumter School was established in 1933 and was built primarily for the education of African-American children in the then legally segregated Alabama Black Belt. In January […]
Have you seen our new space? Since 2014 we developed one of our two downtown storefronts. Co-Directors Emeritus Shana Berger and Nathan Purath imagined them as venues for collaboration between local makers, contemporary artists, area citizens, professionals, and students. In the winter of 2016, Pop Start’s HVAC system failed precipitating the space’s already planned […]
January 18, 2019 Filmmaker Fraser Jones and members of the Black Belt Citizens Fighting for Health and Justice shared Uniontown, a documentary film that weaves together the untold narratives of local heroes in nearby Perry County. The long-silenced southern city is continuously polluted with industrial waste and environmental racism according to devoted residents. Driven by the story […]
October 27, 2018 Community members shared knowledge, seeds, recipes, and stories at the inaugural Garden Exchange Workshop. Longtime Garden Manager Catherine Shelton led discussions on cultivating community around food and agriculture. Participants gathered for coffee, conversation, and lessons on seasonal growing in Sumter County. Shelton demonstrated winter planting techniques, strategies for saving seeds, and propagating […]
In Fall 2017, Coleman Center for the Arts launched Open Studio, a hands-on after-school art class for K-8 students. Open Studio provides materials and instruction for students to create artwork in an open-ended format. The program centers around ideas of free play, inquiry-based learning, creative problem-solving, and critical thinking. At Open Studio, students are encouraged […]