Pictures of Hope art exhibit now on display

News

Thursday, 22 September 2022 08:22

Pictures of Hope, a Redemption Town Partners program, is now on display at Country Cottage. The Pictures of Hope community art exhibit has various works of art created using a variety of media. The art exhibit will be on display through the month of September. Pictures of Hope, Redemption Town Partners, and artist Sonya Clemons invite the entire community to stop by to view the various works of art. This exhibit was made possible by a continued partnership with the Alabama State Council on the Arts.

Redemption Town Partners supports, promotes, inspires, cheers, encourages, sustains, motivates, and furthers the goals and aims of the recovery community in Jackson County, Alabama, including Drug Court and Family Wellness Court. Redemption Town Partners works to identify needs in the recovery community and meet those needs. Arts education is a vital part of every community, especially in the recovery community. Art programs provide a positive form of self-expression, relieve stress, build confidence, and provide a creative outlet to participants.
Redemption Town Partners identified a need for an arts education program within the recovery community and established Pictures of Hope in May 2017, with the help of local artist, Sonya Clemons. Originally, Pictures of Hope offered art classes to children whose parents are a part of the Jackson County Drug Court or Family Wellness Court Program. Pictures of Hope has grown and now offers adult art classes and family art classes to the participants of both Jackson County Drug Court and Family Wellness Court, and members of the recovery community. Redemption Town Partners received a grant of $7,800 from the Alabama State Council on the Arts (ASCA), the state arts agency in 2022. The Alabama State Council on the Arts grant will allow 275 individuals to participate in Pictures of Hope art education classes. Overall, approximately 750 people will be impacted by the Alabama State Council on the Arts grant.

Pictures of Hope has grown tremendously throughout the years due to support from the Alabama State Council on the Arts. Pictures of Hope is fortunate to have received funding from the Alabama State Council of the Arts (ASCA) from 2018 to 2022. Alabama State Council on the Arts funding allowed Pictures of Hope to grow from 40 art students in 2017 to 319 in 2021.

This grant awarded by the Alabama State Council on the Arts is made possible through funding from an annual appropriation from the Alabama State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts. This public support enables Redemption Town Partners to reach new audiences, foster community development, provide the highest quality programming, and demonstrate the importance of arts as a component for quality of life in Alabama.

The Alabama State Council on the Arts is the official state arts agency of Alabama. The staff of the Council, directed by Al Head, administers the grants program and provides financial assistance in arts education and programming. The Council receives its supports through an annual appropriation from the Alabama Legislatures and funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.