Paintings by Char Baxter, MFA in Integrative Art candidate

Paintings by Char Baxter, MFA in Integrative Art candidate Exhibit on 2nd floor Walking Gallery, ACA Visual Arts bldg. NOTE:  ACA will be closed December 15, 2025 thru January 1, 2026 for winter break.  

Alabama Center for the Arts, 133 2nd Avenue NE, Decatur, AL, 35601, United States

SALAMANDRINA, Artist Gary Chapman

SALAMANDRINA, featuring the art of Gary Chapman will open in our main gallery on Tuesday, January 6. A reception and gallery talk by Gary Chapman will be held on Thursday, February 5 at 5:00 pm in the ACA’s Main Gallery (Visual Arts Building). Gary Chapman, Professor Em......More

SALAMANDRINA, featuring the art of Gary Chapman will open in our main gallery on Tuesday, January 6. A reception and gallery talk by Gary Chapman will be held on Thursday, February 5 at 5:00 pm in the ACA’s Main Gallery (Visual Arts Building). Gary Chapman, Professor Emeritus of Painting and Drawing at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, has an extensive career marked by more than 90 solo exhibitions at institutions across the country and numerous group and invitational shows nationally and internationally. A Joan Mitchell CALL Legacy Artist since 2013, he has received multiple major grants and fellowships, including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and two Individual Artist Fellowships from the Alabama State Council on the Arts. His work has been widely reviewed and featured in over 20 publications, including four editions of New American Paintings, and 14 of his paintings are held in the permanent collections of ten southeastern museums as well as many corporate and private collections nationwide. Salamandrina is inspired by Chapman’s late daughter, Sadie, who was born with a severe heart defect, Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, requiring surgeries at 9 months and again at age 8. As a young adult, her heart began to fail, and she received a heart transplant at 19. In March 2023, her heart failed again, and she died of organ failure at age 26. SALAMANDRINA is the first painting where the salamander is used as a symbolic reference to Sadie. Almost every subsequent painting of or about Sadie includes at least one salamander representing the hope of Sadie’s survival in the fire caused by her heart defect, in anticipation of scientists developing the technology to regenerate organs, alleviating the need for a heart transplant and the threat of potential rejection. A few years before Sadie was born, the German industrial band Einsturzende Neu Bauten produced the song Salamandrina, based on the ancient myth of the salamander. This later took on meaning for the family as metaphor for Sadie. Salamandrina will close on Thursday, February 19. All events are free and open to the public. The Alabama Center for the Arts is open Monday through Thursday from 8:00 am – 8:00 pm and on Friday from 8:00 am – 12:00 pm. NOTE:  The ACA campus will be closed December 22-January 2 for winter break.

Alabama Center for the Arts – Visual Arts Building Main Gallery, 133 2nd Avenue NE, Decatur, AL, 35601, United States

Festival of the Cranes Art Exhibition

We are pleased to announce the return of the annual juried Festival of the Cranes Art Exhibit in our Walking Gallery. The show will be held in conjunction with the Friends of Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge Association’s annual Festival of the Cranes, which will take p......More

We are pleased to announce the return of the annual juried Festival of the Cranes Art Exhibit in our Walking Gallery. The show will be held in conjunction with the Friends of Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge Association’s annual Festival of the Cranes, which will take place January 9-11 in Decatur. The exhibit will be free and open to the public.   To celebrate, the ACA will be open with special weekend hours: Saturday, January 10: 9:00 am – 4:30 pmSunday, January 11: 9:00 am – 4:30 pm  All students, faculty, staff, adjuncts, and alumni of Athens State University, Calhoun Community College, and the Alabama Center for the Arts were eligible to enter the juried show. This year, 34 pieces of artwork by 21 artists will be featured in the show. All pieces of artwork featured in the exhibit were inspired by nature, whooping cranes, sandhill cranes, and other nature-related subjects. The exhibit will remain open until February 23. *ACA will also host special speakers/presentations in our Visual and Performing Arts bldgs. View the schedule of all events at www.friendsofwheelernwr.org/foc-2026. In addition to the art exhibits, the ACA will be hosting other Festival of the Cranes activities from January 10-11. Events include: SALAMANDRINA art exhibit featuring artist Gary Chapman in the Main GalleryMake & Take Art Activity by ACA Art Faculty – Paper Plate Birds and Thumbprint Critters (come and go activity on Sat.)Christopher Joe Presentation (Black Belt Birding/Ecotourism)Paul Bannick (Woodpeckers and an award winning nature photographer)Lee Hedgepeth (climate/environmental issues)Southern Exposure Film FestivalAmber Coger, “Cranes Can Dance?” (family friendly)International Crane Foundation (ICF) Crane BehaviorsTimothy Joe (Art demonstration)Jimmy Stiles (Reptiles)Dr. Andy Caven (ICF)Jessie Taylor (crane habitat)Forsberg Photography WorkshopCrane Painting Class/Workshop with Tracy Roberts McCann (Pre-registration required)Events are free and open to the public with the exception of Tracy Roberts McCann’s painting class. A full schedule of events can be found at https://www.friendsofwheelernwr.org/events. For more information about the 2026 Festival of the Cranes, please visit https://www.friendsofwheelernwr.org/foc-2026 or the Festival of the Cranes Facebook page, Festival of the Cranes at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge.  

Alabama Center for the Arts – Visual Arts Building Main Gallery, 133 2nd Avenue NE, Decatur, AL, 35601, United States

Make and Take Art Activity - Paper Plate Birds

Come and make some colorful feathered friends with the ACA Art Instructors. Let your imaginations take flight with paper plates and colors!Ages 5+ (FREE) Saturday, January 10, 202610:00 am – 12:00 pm (this is a come and go event)Room #113, Visual Arts building...More

Come and make some colorful feathered friends with the ACA Art Instructors. Let your imaginations take flight with paper plates and colors!Ages 5+ (FREE) Saturday, January 10, 202610:00 am – 12:00 pm (this is a come and go event)Room #113, Visual Arts building

Alabama Center for the Arts, 133 2nd Avenue NE, Decatur, AL, 35601, United States

Make and Take Art Activity: Thumbprint Critters

Come create adorable thumbprint critters with the ACA Art Instructors!Saturday, January 10, 202610:00 am – 12:00 pm (this is a come and go event)Visual Arts building, Lobby

Alabama Center for the Arts, 133 2nd Avenue NE, Decatur, AL, 35601, United States

Festival of the Cranes Painting Workshop with Tracy Roberts McCann

Festival of the Cranes Art Workshop!Room 113, ACA Visual Arts bldg. (main level)You must pre-pay to register!Let Tracy walk you through a 6×6 Whooping Crane painting honoring our Wheeler Wildlife Refuge.Class fee is $60 per person.A portion of the proceeds will be given......More

Festival of the Cranes Art Workshop!Room 113, ACA Visual Arts bldg. (main level)You must pre-pay to register!Let Tracy walk you through a 6×6 Whooping Crane painting honoring our Wheeler Wildlife Refuge.Class fee is $60 per person.A portion of the proceeds will be given back to the Sonny Craig scholarship fund and the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge preservation.This is a sellout every year, so register early. If you do not have Venmo, feel free to call the Studio on Bank to register or message Tracy with any questions. 256-686-1239.

Alabama Center for the Arts, 133 2nd Avenue NE, Decatur, AL, 35601, United States