What Have You Done For Me Lately

A Message from Luis Purón, Executive Director

What Have You Done For Me Lately is a cool pop song from 1986 by recording artist and uber-entertainer Janet Jackson.  I have always liked the title of the top ten hit, because it poses a question and Ms. Jackson wants an answer.  As our members, you deserve to know what the Art Center has done for you lately in exchange for your membership dues.  To illustrate the answer let me recap the month of November:

We have been conducting Workshops and Classes, Pottery Studio, and Printmaking Studio time safely. Today we kicked-off one of the final workshops of the year, a photography series by wunderkind Stephen Fisher who has a tremendous local following. 

Sales in the Galleries and Gift Shop remain strong despite the pandemic.  Aside from regular sales, the Silver Meltdown (AKA the hottest ticket in Rockport this fall) was a tremendous success, surpassing income of $31,000 in one day. Sales revenue is mission centric as the majority of it is paid back to artists in consignments.

Evelyn Contreras brought her brand of Diversity and Innovative Use of Materials and Artistic Methods from Santa Barbara, California, as our 8th Artist-in-Residence.  Her exhibit was picked up by travel publications in Austin and the Hill Country. 

In a year of pervasive cancellations here and around the world, the 14th Annual Rockport Film Festival kicked off successfully. 383 people attended. The Red Carpet Party was a huge success, thanks to the screening of this year’s blockbuster, Death in Texas. 

2005 Art Festival Poster Artist, Carol Koutnik’s exhibit at the Nave Museum in Victoria helped us strengthen our Relationships with Regional Partners.  The show, Beyond the Backdoor (on view through December 20), is sensational, featuring 56 pieces of art.  

A week after the Film Festival we hosted an opening reception for Juleanna Fuller’s Thesis Exhibit. Juleanna, our gallery assistant, is graduating with a degree in Fine Arts from Texas A&M Corpus Christi, another important Regional Partner. Her show Threading Memories will be on exhibit through the end of the year. 

For the better part of the year, we have been actively working with a major donor and a nationally recognized bronze sculptor from the State of Colorado on a New Acquisition to the Permanent Collection that will become a marvelous addition to the downtown landscape late in next year. A design concept maquette will be ready at the end of December.  Full funding is already in place.

Right before Thanksgiving, Elena and the Exhibition Committee hung one of the finest Currents: All Members Show yet.  Currents is a Celebration of Local Member Artists.  An opening reception is scheduled for Saturday, December 12 starting at 5 PM.  This year’s juror is Caroline Crockett Kneese from Cerulean Gallery in Dallas, and she will be on hand to help us announce next year’s Art Festival Poster Artist.

All of these accomplishments happened in one month. Whether participation is modest, or not, there is no plan to stop the beat of our song.  At the end of the month we will be moving out of the historic Estelle Stair Gallery and moving into the Baker Law building across the street.  That will be our showroom while we build a new Art Center complex.  Come see our new digs in January, they are marvelous.

Happy holidays,
Luis