The Museum of Eureka Springs Art has a home.
The recently formed group will soon be housed in the Highlander Room at the Eureka Springs Community Center after a recent partnership between the two organizations.
Both partnering boards signed an agreement last week and announced the new museum, which will open in the new space after some renovations to the community center’s former band room.
The museum itself is a cause for celebration, according to local business owner and artist Jim Nelson.
“Our community has waited for a long time — actually it’s past due — to really recognize the great contributions made by the artists here,” Nelson said.
The founding museum board consists of Nelson, Steve Beacham, Glenn Crenshaw, Lucilla Garrett, Jim Magee, Elise Roenigk and Doug Stowe. In a short time, the group has received a non-profit 501(c)(3) status, worked with the community center board to secure the space and began discussing ways to display artworks at the new location.
The museum seeks to promote and preserve the works executed by past and present artists.
“In a town that flows with history, art is part of the stream,” said Beacham, the museum board chair. “From the early days of photography and visitor’s paintings to an art community in the wartime era, to the flowering movement of the art galleries in the 1970s to the present day, Eureka’s art is part of the lifeblood of our community.”
The new location at the community center on Highway 62 will be convenient, said Crenshaw, a local realtor.
“[The museum is] progress…another step in making the vision for the community center come true,” Crenshaw said. “I am happy to serve on two boards that work to make Eureka Springs a better place.”
Allen Huffman, board chair at the community center, said the museum is another way to bring the community together.
“The board is very excited about this partnership between ESCC and the newly formed Eureka Springs Museum of Art,” Huffman said. “We are looking forward to the additional opportunities this partnership provides to expand the campus of the community center as a place to gather and grow.”
