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It has been ten short years since the organization now known as Arts in McNairy first launched. There was a long period of discussion and planning but by early 2001, an infrastructure to carry out the AiM vision was finally beginning to take shape. The first board of directors was appointed in March of that year and the rest, as they say, is history; not history in the sense of something long ago and half forgotten but living history which is, even now, shaping the future of this community. This is how Arts in McNairy is known.
I was fortunate enough to be involved in those early stages and have remained active in AiM since that time. In reflecting on the accomplishments of the last ten years, I am humbled to think how many people, in this community, have actually had a hand in shaping and refining that original vision. Initially, four project committees were appointed to address programming in music, theatre, visual arts and literature. Had one of these succeeded we would have been very lucky, but it so happens that the capable committee chairs and dedicated volunteers in each group have insured that all of these art forms are now accessible in wonderful ways to everyone in McNairy County and the surrounding area. We have unparalleled programs in community theatre, community band and chorus, literary appreciation, visual arts, music presentation, public art, and much, much, more. As if all this wasn't enough, several other committees have been added along the way to encompass folk art, handcraft, and those interested in understanding and preserving the region's traditional culture.
I can say, without reservation, that Arts in McNairy is one of the finest organizations of its kind, not just in Tennessee but anywhere. To all those who have encouraged, shared the vision, reached in their pockets, attended events or labored in the trenches, I can only say thank you. When Joanna and I first began talking about some kind of local arts organization over our morning coffee, we never dreamed how many wonderful people would take up the banner and make a simple idea into an incredible reality which has touched the lives of literally thousands of people. In the truest sense, you are Arts in McNairy and we owe each of you our deepest gratitude.
In characteristic fashion, Arts in McNairy, is moving on to bigger and better things. Early next year, AiM and our partners at MRA will settle into the Latta Building turning the page onto the next chapter of both organization's histories. There has already been a fruitful partnership between the county's leading community and cultural development agencies but 2012 will certainly mark the beginning of something truly special. We can't wait to see what the future holds in store for us all. Stay tuned! You will not want to miss this.
Dr. Shawn Pitts
Founding Director/Honorary Board Member, AiM
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The Rented Christmas November 11-13 | |
The second offering of the Arts in McNairy theatre season opens this weekend as The Rented Christmas takes the stage for three performances. Show times are 7:30 PM Friday Nov. 11 and Saturday Nov. 12. There will be a Sunday matiness at 2:00 PM, Nov. 13. All shows are at the MCHS Little Theatre and tickets will be available at the door for $10 (adults) and $5 (students). The show is under the direction of Jared A. Walters.
John Dale hasn't experienced a "real Christmas" in years so he decides to rent one from the rent shop. Shop owner, Anne Weston, is at first flustered by the daunting task of finding a Christmas tree with presents, carolers and a family to fulfill Dale's requirments. At first she thinks she's solved the problem but when the local actor's guild fails to provide the spouse and five children, in desperation, Ann contacts the local orphange and steps into the role of mother herself. Based on the short story by J. Lillian Vanderver, the story of how John Dale's rented Christmas turns into a new life for all concerned makes a heartwarming theatrical adaptation just in time to kick off the holiday season. |
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Latta Building Construction Moving Ahead on Pace | |
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Ongoing construction is transforming the former Latta Ford Motor Company building into a first class welcome and cultural center. |
Once construction finally got underway at the Latta Building it has moved along with very few hitches. Even the casual observer can tell that things are proceeding at a nice pace. Work crews finished up most of the demolition, installed a new roof, added new HVAC units, and updated the electrical and plumbing through the fall. Interior walls, are now being constructed and crews are hoping to finish up most of the outside paving and give the building a facelift before inclement weather sets in. With new windows and doors in place, fixtures, theatre construction, lighting and finishing details can be added through the winter months. The building is slated to open as a welcome center staffed by McNairy Regional Alliance and a cultural center home for Arts in McNairy in the spring. Tentative plans are being made for a grand opening at the 2012 Rockabilly Highway Revival in June. |
| "Mural Mob!" Are You Ready? | | 
Join the Mural Mob! Some time between now and the end of November, you can be part of history. How often can you actually say that? Volunteers are needed to help prep the wall for the new Brian Tull mural at the corner of Court Ave. and Front Street in Selmer. The wall has already been pressure washed (much thanks to the Selmer Fire Department) and is ready for a layer or two of base paint. Mural Mob will be the group to get it done. Follow the Rockabilly Highway Revival, The Rockabilly Highway Mural, McNairy Regional Alliance or Arts in McNairy on Facebook and watch for the announcement. When the time comes, these FB sites will post, "Mural Mob is on!" All you have to do is show up ready to paint. Supplies and paint will be provided and a supervisor will be on hand to coordinate the efforts. Coffee and snacks will be provided. Mural Mob members will also receive free tickets to a local, spring concert featuring Eileen Rose and Rich Gilbert, the visual inspiration for the new mural! |
| Final Book Club of 2011 - The Christmas Box | |
The Arts in McNairy Book Club will meet Thursday, Nov. 17 to discuss the last selection of 2011, The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans. The club typically meets monthly at the Jack McConnico Memorial Library in Selmer at 7:00 PM. There are no participation fees and reservations are usually not necessary. This months meeting is the exception. Since the last meeting of the year includes a holiday party with food and is hosted in one of the club member's home, reservations are necessary so to insure that the appropriate amount of food is prepared. Everyone is still welcome, but must notify Literary Chair, Leanne Emmons of their plans to attend at: 731-610-3013.
Suggestions have been compiled, through the fall, by the AiM Literary Committee and the 2012 reading list will be announced at the November meeting and the complete schedule will be published in the January edition of Taking AiM. Book club selections make great Christmas presents for the reader in your family, so the first several books of 2012 will be prepublished on the AiM Facebook page. |
| Littlejohn Recordings Being Placed in County Archive | |
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Waldo Davis and the Midnight Ramblers Band are among the local acts captured on the Stanton Littlejohn and Johnson Gooch family recordings. Both will soon be availabe through the archives |
The archives, in the basement of the McNairy County court house, are a great resource for those doing historical and genealogical research. Nancy Kennedy and the staff maintain an amazing collection of census records; local periodicals; historical photos and documents; area merchant ledger books; marriage, birth and death records to name just a few items of interest. Though these already constitute a tremendous record of life in McNairy County, an upcoming addition will mark a first for the archives.
A collection of original audio recordings will soon add another dimension to the resources available to the public at the county archives. All of the recordings were either made in McNairy County or have a county connection. In total, there will be almost two hundred tracks of music, voice recordings and radio broadcasts on a collection of six CDs along with detailed logs of their contents. More will be added to the archive as they become available. The bulk of the collection is recordings made by Stanton Littlejohn of Eastview, TN from the mid 1940s through the mid 1950s. Along with his family and friends, Littlejohn captured some of the most notable local musicians and vocalists in the area on acetate discs during the period. Gospel groups, string bands, square dance calls, vocal performances and instrumental solos can all be found in the diverse collection of recordings. Familiar local names such as Pap Whitten, Arnold English, Waldo Davis, Con Crotts, Ocie Humphrey, Virgil Murray, Milton Banks, Rob Richard, Paul Taylor, Charlie Cox, George E. Knight and many others are all part of the collection. There are even a handful of songs by a young Carl Perkins which are thought to be among the first ever captured on record.
The recordings are being made available by a music preservation project initiated by Arts in McNairy more than two years ago. The organization's Heritage and Culture committee first became aware of the Littlejohn recordings as part of its ongoing cultural assessment efforts. The collection had remained in the Littlejohn family for over sixty years but the fragile acetate discs were deteriorating quickly. Marjorie and Don Rayburn Richard were instrumental in bringing the project to fruition by cooperating with AiM and Middle Tennessee State University's Center for Popular Music to get the contents of the discs transferred to digital media and restored to improve the sound quality. The Tennessee Arts Commission enthusiastically endorsed the project by providing a Commission Initiative Grant to fund the restoration. A second, small, batch of vinyl and acetate discs, provided by the Johnson Gooch family, have also been restored and will be added to the archive. These contain two complete radio shows and miscellaneous recordings by Waldo Davis and the Midnight Ramblers Band of Selmer. The Con Crotts family, David Killingsworth, Harold Richard, Harold English and Bill Wagoner provided additional background information that significantly aided the project.
Forty more local recordings are currently at MTSU awaiting preservation but these are thought to be mainly interviews and voice recordings. The first installment of recordings is expected to be placed in the archives in November and Arts in McNairy is currently exploring more ways to make this treasure trove of McNairy County music available to the public.
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| Art in Motion Ends Successful Run, Comes Full Circle | | |
 Art has been in motion for more than a year now in McNairy County! The traveling art show, Art in Motion, opened last fall at Selmer City Hall and has been on a whirlwind tour of the county ever since. The show recently closed out its popular run at the place it got its start. A few pieces are still on display at the UTM Selmer Center and participating artists are encouraged to pick these up as soon as possible as the show concludes this month.
According to AiM Visual Arts Chair and Art in Motion coordinator, Vicki Cowan, the show was a huge success involving more than twenty artists and viewed by thousands of residents, students and visitors at ten locations around the county from Selmer to Adamsville. "We felt like we accomplished our goal with Art in Motion," concluded Cowan. "We wanted to take art to the people rather than have them come to us. Since the whole point was accessibility, introducing local artists to the community in the places that are frequented by everyone just seemed to make sense." Banks, insurance agencies, schools and government buildings were among the most popular locations for the traveling show. Cowan went on to say that several artists were able to sell some of their work and were looking forward to doing more local showings once AiM was settled in the Latta Building.
Art in Motion began with a handful of artists and organizers hoping to find enough interest to continue the project into the spring of 2011. They knew they had a winner on their hands when new painters, potters, sculptors and glass artists started coming out of the woodwork. A backlog of businesses wanting to host the show soon developed so the show ran more than twice as long as originally planned and eventually had to be split into two installations, with one show remaining at the UTM Center and another traveling to the various locations. Organizers also noted that Art in Motion was regarded as a success since it put them in touch with previously unknown or uninvolved local artists. |
| Community Band Concerts in Selmer and Adamsville | | |
The AiM Community Band will be performing two concerts for the Christmas season, one in Selmer and another in Adamsville. The tenative dates are Decemeber 16 and 18 but times and locations are still pending. They will be announced on the AiM and Community Band Facebook pages when plans are complete. Please come out and support the community band!
It is not too late to participate. If you are a musician in search of a cause, the community band wants you! Rehersals are ongoing at 6:30 PM every Tuesday at the Selmer Middle School band room. Bring your own instrument and a friend. Musicians of all ages and skill levels are welcome. There are no fees for participation. You can get more details about the community band and see rehersal schedules by checking out the band's website at the link below.
Click Here for the AiM Community Band Website |
| Help Pick the Next Specialty Arts Plate Today! | | |
Politicians may be gearing up for next fall but patrons of the arts have a great opportunity to vote right now! You can make your voice heard for the next specialty plate that will help support the arts in Tennessee. Simply click on the link below and follow the instructions to see the ten finalists, each conceived by a Tennessee artist. You will be asked to rank each artist's concept on a scale of 1-5. Online voting will help determine which plate is selected for production.
Tennessee is fortunate that the proceeds generated through the specialty plates support the sponsoring organizations as well as many Tennessee Arts Commission grants and programs. Arts in McNairy encourages all of our members and supporters to vote and purchase specialty arts plates.
Click Here to Rank Your Favorite Plates! |
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