What a day to kick off the 40th annual Mulberry Street Festival! Mulberry Street in Downtown Macon was abuzz with vendors from across the country and thousands of visitors browsing the 200+ stands of arts and crafts.

Could we have asked for a more perfect day? Blue skies and warm weather with a cooling breeze kept the crowd full of enthusiasm - and our MSF Director, Peter Nishanian, with his band of incredible MGAA volunteers, kept peace to the festivities (along with the incredible help of the Macon Police Department... those men in blue get a huge thank you from us today!)

If you were unable to join us in Downtown Macon, you have one more chance to stop in on Middle Georgia's OLDEST arts and crafts festival. Tomorrow the festival continues from 10am - 5pm. Do not miss out on this landmark event. Come rain or shine we will be there - and we hope to see you there, too!

Not Just Junque

In the mood for a little more JUNQUE in your life? Head over to the MGAA Gallery on Ingleside this upcoming Friday night for the opening reception of the Macon Iron "Prehistoric Creatures" Junque Yard Sculpture Show in conjunction with the "Rising Stars" Collegiate Show.

Entering its 11th year, Macon Iron provides scrap metal materials for college students to create extraordinary creatures to be on display at the MGAA Gallery. Students from such schools as Mercer University and Georgia Southwestern State College & University participate for the opportunity to receive generous scholarship funds given by Macon Iron. Other awards will be presented by the Middle Georgia Art Association for our annual "Rising Stars" Collegiate Show.

The show will continue through April 9 at the Gallery. Hours are: Tuesday - Friday, 12 - 5pm, and Saturday, 12 - 3pm. For more information call 478.744.9557.

From the President

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist as he grows up."

- Pablo Picasso

In celebration of March being designated National Arts Month, Middle Georgia Art Association is sponsoring exhibits for students of all ages.

We opened the Youth Arts Festival on First Friday (March 5th) at Market City Cafe with a reception and cash awards for middle through high school students. Regretfully we did not have any submissions from artists in grades 6 - 8, however the high school artists that submitted work are very talented and it is a show to not be missed.

The next scheduled exhibit at our Ingleside gallery is the annual Macon Iron Junque Sculpture show featuring "Prehistoric Creatures" made from scrap iron. This exhibit is being held in conjunction with the annual "Rising Stars" exhibit. Both are invitationals for college and university students. The opening reception will be held on March 19th at 6pm. We hope you will come out and support the emerging artists in our area.

Please keep in mind that all artists are lifelong students. We should always be growing and learning. If not we lose that creative spark that shows up in our work!

Ready to Make a Difference?

It's quite easy... making a difference, that is. You can do it tonight simply by taking a few minutes of your First Friday revelries to stop by Market City Cafe in Downtown Macon. Your time will be well spent when you congratulate the students whose phenomenal artwork will be hanging on the gallery walls there. See... easy, right?

With all of the craziness that is occurring in our educational system, we must take the time and stop to see the light that is breaking through a lot of this darkness hanging overhead. That light comes in the guise of our future artists, ranging in age from twelve to eighteen (you can probably spot them with the big grins on their faces for being apart of such a remarkable art show!) The opening reception in honor of these student-artists will be from 6:00 - 7:00pm and will include an awards ceremony.

The difference comes from your support... your support comes from you being there. Are you ready?

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