home     alabama arts     other books     news/bio    assignments     travelwriting     essays/other writing

Alabama Arts
a comprehensive guide to art in Alabama
Published by The Birmingham News
March 2007
ISBN: 1575710188


Through 128 pages of color photos, the visual and performing arts of four regions of the state are explored in depth. Whether you live in Alabama or are just visiting, you may be surprised by the variety and wealth of our artistic heritage. From prehistoric times to the present day, Alabama is alive with visual arts, theatre, music, dance and the spoken and written word.

Our state has a perfect climate for growing all kinds of crops, including artists who lead us to us see the world anew. Meet them through the pages of Alabama Arts.

Alabama's art reflects its people and its culture, painting a picture of changing times and attitudes. It is found everywhere, from two-lane county roads to the state's industrial heart. Murals and monuments, galleries, theatres and bookstores all reveal the dreams of the individual artists; even better, they help each of us bring into sharper focus our own beliefs and hopes for the future.
Alabama Shakespeare Festival attracts 300,000 visitors every year from all 50 states and 60 foreign countries. The Wall Street Journal declared it "delightful," and the productions "uniformly excellent."
East to West, North to South.





The Coleman Center for the Arts is in Alabama's black belt, an economically disadvantaged area where just getting by can be a struggle. Outside the facility is an exuberant sculpture of a rooster, a tribute to the rural roots of York and surrounding communities. "It was commissioned by the founder of the Coleman Center, Tut Riddick," said Shana Berger, executive director. "The sculptor is a local folk artist, Jim Bird. There is a bridge nearby called 'Rooster Bridge,' and our founder believed that art is a bridge."

Making the connection between art and every day life is essential. A project in 2005 called "Streetscapes" involved teaching area children about trees and then working with them to transform that knowledge into mosaic art, which was then installed in different locations around town.

"Education is by far the most important thing we do," Purath continued....

--excerpted from Alabama Arts
In Alabama's Metropolitan Region, the Birmingham Public Library's Ezra Winter murals have been delighting library patrons for nearly a hundred years. There are some out-of-the-way treasures, too, like the folk art Miller's Pottery in Brent and the Coleman Center for Arts and Culture in York.

In east Alabama, Talladega is home to Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind, a comprehensive resource for education and rehabilitation for people who are deaf, blind or multihandicapped. On the campus of Alabama School for the Deaf (established 1858), artists Linda Kroff and Aida Saul created a sculpture titled Earth Air Fire Water. Part of the country's first collection of public art designed for people with vision and/or hearing loss, it was created in 1996. Students participated in developing the four walls spiraling off from a center column. Each wall reflects visually and tactilely the elements of Earth (rocks), Air (marble molecules), Fire (bright tiles) and Water (sea shells).


In Alabama's mountain district, the town of Ft. Payne was named for the fort built by Captain John G. Payne, who was appointed as an agent for the removal of Cherokee Indians in the area in 1838. The historic depot (c. 1891) is in the Richardsonian Romanesque style with a fanciful turret decorating the facade. Inside the depot is an eclectic collection. There is an impressive display of Native American pottery and baskets brought to Alabama by a Ft. Payne school teacher who spent her summers collecting artwork from tribes all over the country: Iroquois, Navajo, Seminole, Hopi, Cherokee, Havasupai and more. Another room holds a mind boggling collection of 90 intricate dioramas created from 1913 to 1934 by a local man. They illustrate nursery rhymes, historic events and travel scenes.

Above is the Fort Payne Depot Museum with its distinctive turret. Fort Payne is also home to a historic opera house. Early developers hoped the town would become a major source of iron ore. Unfortunately or not, the shallow nature of the iron deposits was not discovered before the developers invested in the infrastructure of the town, including the train station, opera house, park and hotel. Photo credit: Hjordis Culpepper

"We have so much," exclaimed Emma Jordan, a local historian. "Each of our collections deserve to be in a museum by itself. Have you ever seen a whimsy?" The depot museum is home to a formidable collection of these shapes and creatures blown by a glass blower with leftover material from the days' work. "All the different colors in layers," Jordan said. "They're lovely." There is a caboose full of railroad artifacts, a player piano, antique clothing and much more. "Ft. Payne is a well-kept secret," Jordan concluded. "There are so many great stories here, and the surroundings are beautiful too."


Throw a rock in Fairhope and chances are good you'll hit somebody with artistic impulses. "Fairhope's not a typical Alabama town that started up around a railroad or a cotton mill," said Robin Fitzhugh, director of the Eastern Shore Art Center. "It was founded by a bunch of intellectuals from the midwest interested in tax reform."


The town on the shore of Mobile Bay quickly became a well-known enclave of artists, writers, musicians and other creative types, and it shows. "The Eastern Shore Art Association has been here for 50 years," Fitzhugh continued. "We have close to 1,400 members." Traveling to other small towns, she comes back "realizing that art is an easy sell in Fairhope. The community buys it, gets it.


"The business community is very supportive of what we do," she said. "We have a very successful arts education program in the schools here, it's such a priority with parents in this community.


"Our First Friday Art Walk has been going on since 2003, and now it draws people from all over the region with an average five to seven hundred people. At the Eastern Shore Art Center we open new exhibits every month, to showcase what's happening locally. There's so much talent!"


--From Alabama Arts

"Bringing together friends, food and good times is something we do exceedingly well in Alabama. In fact, we do it at every opportunity. Almost every weekend, from January to December, somewhere in Alabama there's a festive gathering. The focus might be music, poetry, films or crafts; it might be shrimp, okra, gourds or pecans.

Maybe it's a celebration of heritage: African-American, Hispanic, Native American or southern. Wherever it is, you can be sure there will be friendly smiles welcoming you. Jump in and join the fun!"
--excerpted from Chapter Six: Festivals in Alabama Arts



At Chez Lulu patrons sometimes feel like they've stepped into a Fellini film.
"We've always tried to find those unlikely little jewels of entertainment," said
Carole Griffin, the cafe owner. Klezmer music, accordian music, Moroccan
Gypsy fidders, belly dancers, even professional wrestlers perform. "The
Great Kaiser is a professional wrestler and he comes in with his mask
on and sings opera. It's wonderful."
Visit their website to learn about upcoming events.

To purchase, send $14.95 plus $3.50 shipping per copy to:
Karyn Zweifel
1512 13th Street South
Birmingham, AL 35205

Or use PayPal: send your email address to the author and she will bill you.


Would you like your book signed by the author?
Include your request with your check or in your email.
If you'd like it personalized, include the name of the person
to be inscribed in the book.

home     alabama arts     other books     news/bio    assignments     travelwriting     essays/other writing