Tiny city's art is now a big draw

Since its founding about 20 years ago, the Chattahoochee Valley Art Museum's mission has been to promote fine arts -- big-time exhibits, no folk art or country crafts

Web posted June 29, 1998

Associated Press

LAGRANGE, Ga. -- Inmates are not welcome here. Space at the old Troup County Jail is available only to painters, sculptors and photographers.

The renovated building in this west-central Georgia town showcases the work of midcareer artists from all over the Southeast.

Since its founding about 20 years ago, the Chattahoochee Valley Art Museum's mission has been to promote fine arts -- big-time exhibits, no folk art or country crafts.

``All we had was a post office box and a lot of interest in art,'' said Joyce Jackson, a painter and one of the charter board members of the Chattahoochee Valley Arts Association, which operates the museum.

``But we decided at the first meeting to `think mink,''' she said.

The museum now is one of the city's cultural jewels that is shown off to corporate officials considering a move to the area, Ms. Jackson said.

``We're very proud of our museum,'' she said. ``We think we have the best artists, the best judges and the best place to be.''

First-time visitors to the museum are often surprised by the quality of the museum's exhibits, said Keith Rasmussen, museum curator and an artist himself.

``People often say they can go to fairly large cities and not see as vital a visual arts facility as we have here,'' he said.

The museum has always gone beyond what is merely popular or conventional. Its current exhibits include a show of vitreographs -- prints made from glass plates -- that range in style from realistic to abstract.