Georgia Heritage Association
Center for the Arts
P.O. Box 146
111785 Highway 441 N
Tallulah Falls, Georgia 30573
http://Georgiaartists.org http://experiencegeorgiaarts.org

The Story

The Georgia Heritage Center for the Arts (GHCA) is a not for profit center promoting the artists and the art history of Georgia. The Center’s mission is to promote Georgia Artists who produce quality traditional and contemporary art and crafts, which have developed out of Georgia’s rich cultural heritage. In addition, the purpose is to enhance education about and preservation of Georgia’s crafts and related cultural traditions.

The Center is located in the Georgia Power building (Former Terrora Visitors Center) on the NW corner of “the Bridge” in Tallulah Falls. The location is high-profile because it is within the Tallulah Gorge State Park area, and on a major highway connecting Atlanta to the northeastern states.

The GHCA Education Building is located in the old historic Community Center of Clarkesville where classes and events are held. GHCA thanks both the Georgia Power Company and the City of Clarkesville for their support of the arts in Georgia. Without their generosity GHCA would not exist.

The Center is an excellent example of a 501 c-3 non-profit art center existing through the cooperation of a private organization (Georgia Heritage Association), a public corporation (Georgia Power), a division of government (Department of Natural Resources), and the City of Clarkesville.

The success of The Center is due to the vision and daily effort of the volunteer artists. We are staffed by nine resident artists who manage the day to day business tasks complemented by over 50 demonstrating artists who share their talents with us as they interact with the visiting public. Their enthusiasm has generated a love of art for many visitors.

GHCA depends upon its membership and fundraising events for its budget. The yearly budget remains low due to the fact that it is an all volunteer organization. The number of volunteer artists continues to grow and membership is around 300 at this time, September 2008, which is also the beginning of our eleventh year.

The Center strives to be a catalyst where diverging arts are featured. The Center does not judge the art or the artist rather we support them with a venue where they can share their talents and creative ideas with others.

The Center has immersed itself in the community in many ways, featuring Teacher/Youth Showcases, “Kids Art Classes”, fund raisers for the local food pantries, and featuring shows where any artist in Georgia can participate. In 2006 we organized the “Taste of the Arts” weekend promoting the local art related businesses. In 2008 it expanded to 4 counties and was renamed the “Northeast Georgia Arts Tour”. In 2009 the committee has made the tour a year round event with major promotion on our web site, artstour.org. The committee is now made up of representatives from the four counties working under the GHCA umbrella. We are also actively associated with the Creative Economies Initiative and the “Georgia Made - Georgia Grown Project.

In 2008 The Center received a Grassroots Grant to develop a web site and directory of Georgia Artists. The Directory was published the first of July and the web site continues to add artists on a weekly basis as word spreads throughout Georgia about the site. In 2009 the web site, GeorgiaArtists.org will also include a shopping cart so that Georgia artists will be able to sell their art internationally.

In 2009 we received another Grassroots Grant to produce one to three minute short videos of Georgia Artists talking about some phase and/or technique of their art discipline. These videos will be on a second web site that is geared to be educational as well as introducing the artists to people on a more personal basis. Also on this site will be fifteen minute art lessons that art teachers and homeschoolers can use as art projects.

The Center is a forward-thinking organization that realizes that what is good for one is good for us all and prides itself on sharing this attitude of abundance by sharing information with visitors about other arts venues. Being in the State Park we are privileged to bring art to many people, especially children, who otherwise would never enter an art gallery atmosphere. We strongly believe in supporting the arts and other businesses by sharing our good fortune.

Besides the education/video initiative, our future plans include an artists cookbook, a high quality juried art show in 2010, and organizing the “Northeast Georgia Quality Growth Council” headed up by the Executive Chairman of GHCA, E.H. Culpepper. The GHCA projects are being put into action by our board of directors, made up of volunteer artists who are taking an active role in promoting the arts in our community through these projects and others under the auspices of the Georgia Heritage Center for the Arts.

Submitted by:
Co-directors Jaymi Hampton and Deb Goatcher
706-754-5989
Ghca2@windstream.net