Welcome to Shoals Art - ShoalsArt.com
The Muscle
Shoals area of Alabama is rich in history, tradition and
spirit. Nestled in the northwest region of the state of Alabama
on the beautiful Tennessee River, "the Shoals" is quite
possibly Alabama's
best kept secret. A cultural melting pot of talent;
artists, musicians, and actors abound in the area. Centrally located,
it is not far from Huntsville, Birmingham, Memphis, Tunica, and
Nashville. It's
First
Fridays Arts Festival grows in popularity every year.
The Shoals
area consists of the four cities of Florence, Muscle Shoals, Sheffield
and Tuscumbia. All are within minutes driving distance of each
other, providing a unique appeal of shops, galleries, restaurants,
colleges, churches and civic organizations.
Each unique
city attracts local, regional, national and international visitors
alike. Attractions include the W.C.
Handy Festival (Father of the Blues), W.C.
Handy home and museum, the birthplace
of Helen Keller (Ivy Green), the Frank
Lloyd Wright-Rosenbaum house, Pope's Tavern Museum, the
Natchez
Trace Parkway, Florence
Indian Mound and Museum, the Belle Mont Mansion, Kennedy-Douglass
Center for the Arts, and the Tennessee
Valley Art Center.
Please visit the City
of Florence, Alabama website to view schedules and events
for art galleries and museums in the Florence-Shoals area.
Mission
The
mission of Shoals Art is to promote the artists and art galleries
in the Shoals area, by specifically providing our visitors with
the online tools needed to answer the what, where, when, who and
how questions associated with our cities' art culture resources.
We have recently expanded our arts area coverage to include Huntsville,
Decatur, Athens, and Madison, Alabama.
Shoals
Area Artists and Events Feature Stories...
2.16.08
- Florence,
AL - Award winning author Rosalie Turner will be
touring the Shoals area February 22-23. Lectures and book signings
for Freedom Bound, a novel based on the life of Anna Kingsley,
are scheduled for Friday in Tuscumbia and Saturday in Florence.
Bestselling author Debbie Macomber says that "Freedom Bound
enslaves the heart from the very first page. The life of Anna
Kingsley, a woman of courage, grit, and determination, is a beacon
to others to rise above circumstances. Bravo to Rosalie T. Turner,
a powerful storyteller.” "Well-researched and echantingly
written" states former MS Governor William Winter of William Winter
Institute for Racial Reconciliation. For more information about
the book, visit www.freedombound.net.
Lecture/Signing Schedule
Friday, Feb 22 - On the air, WZZA Radio, The Soul of the Shoals
Friday, Feb 22 at 6pm - Coldwater Books, call (256) 381-2525
Saturday, Feb 23 at 11am - Florence Lauderdale Public Library,
call (256) 764-6564 or visit www.flpl.org
11.20.07 -
Florence, AL - The
Homemade Jamz Blues Band will be featured on CBS Sunday Morning
Show, Sunday December 2nd. Please check your area for local programming
times. The show was filmed in Florence, Alabama at the W.C. Handy
Music Festival.
9.19.07
- Orange
Beach, AL - Alabama governor Bob Riley announced at a state
tourism conference that the tagline "Sweet Home Alabama"
will be used in 2008 as part of a statewide marketing campaign.
The slogan was used in a Lynyrd Skynyrd song in 1974 and as a
movie title starring Reese Witherspoon. In 2007 Alabama art was
promoted, for 2008 it will be sports, for 2009 the focus will
be on Alabama history and for 2010 the theme will be the “Year
of Small Towns and Downtowns.” To
see the new Sweet Home Alabama logo and learn more about Alabama
tourism, click here...
9.6.07
- Lauderdale County, AL - The Florence-Lauderdale Tourism
Bureau was named the top convention and visitors bureau by the
Southeast Tourism Society. Debbie Wilson, director of the Florence-Lauderdale
Tourism Bureau, praised her staff and the relationships the bureau
has developed with local partners such as the Marriott Shoals
Hotel and Spa and the University of North Alabama. The Florence-Lauderdale
award gives Alabama claim to both the top state and the top local
tourism bureau in the 12-state region. Learn
more about tourism in Alabama here...
8.25.07
- Florence, AL - In An Elephant's Memory, these spectacular
prints capture the essence of one of the greatest collegiate coaches,
in a captivating image of reflection. Football fans in Alabama
are ecstatic over the superb attention to detail in this work;
the high quality poster prints feature the quality of the original,
which was painted on a prepared ground containing marble dust.
Two print types are available, fitting the budget of even the
cost-conscious sports art fan. More information is available online
at the Alabama artist's website: www.anelephantsmemory.com.
Prints start at only $29.99 (plus shipping).
8.1.07
- Nashville, TN - Come on down! The Shoals area is featured
as a place to visit in Nashville Lifestyles: The Magazine of
Music City. Let's give a warm welcome with our traditional
Southern charm to the fine folks visiting from the Nashville area.
Keep an eye out for those Tennessee car tags, we're seeing more
and more of them every day. Let's not forget to provide the same
exposure of Alabama tags by visiting our friendly music city to
the north. In fact, we have so much in common (both areas rich
history of music), we are for all practical purposes, "related".
Please check out the full story online at Nashville
Lifestyles website.
6.28.07
- Birmingham, Alabama - Author Karyn Zweifel to promote her
book Alabama
Arts, Friday July 6th and Saturday, July 7th in Florence,
Alabama. She will attend the First Friday arts event July 6th
from 5-8pm in historic downtown Florence. Saturday, July 7th,
she will present a brief Book Talk at the Florence-Lauderdale
Public Library at 11am with a book signing to follow, 350 North
Wood Avenue. The book, published in March by The Birmingham
News, is 129 full-color pages filled with lively arts in every
corner of our state. It is for sale at $14.95.
"Our state
has a perfect climate for growing all kinds of crops, including
artists who lead us to see the world differently," Zweifel
says. "Alabama's art reflects its 
people
and its culture, painting a picture of changing times and
attitudes. It is found everywhere, from two-lane country roads
to the state's industrial heart. Murals and monuments, galleries,
theatres and bookstores all reveal the dreams of the individual
artists, even better, they help each of us bring into sharper
focus our own beliefs and hopes for the future."
For more infomation,
contact:
Karyn Zweifel, karyn@karynzweifel.com
6.15.07
- Florence, Alabama - The
book, Two
Days of Doubt: The Gate to Pusan Was Closed to the North Koreans,
1950, was recently released by a local Florence resident.
It is a true story of Buddy and his life, including his service
in the 70th
Tank Battalion. Hugh Cort, Jr. was honored as a Distinguished
Member of the 70th ARMOR Regiment by The Secretary of The Army.
North Korea is thumbing
its nose at the most powerful countries in the world. What would
it be doing now if it had driven the U.S. out of Korea in 1950,
56 years ago? There were no reserves that 13th of August and it
seemed probable the war was lost. The 70th Tank Battalion, and
its WW II tanks without ammunition, should not have been in Korea.
Buddy should have been dead. These were the two that arrived and
made history in America's favor.
To order the
book online, visit the Two
days of doubt website.
Upcoming book
signing events and dates to meet the author are below.
Helen
Keller Festival Week - June 18th and 19th
Tuscumbia Railroad Station, Tuscumbia, Alabama
4pm to 5pm CST
Florence-Lauderdale Public Library - June 24th
Historic Downtown Florence, Alabama
2pm CST
350 N Wood Ave
(256) 764-6564
Coldwater Books - June 30th
Tuscumbia, Alabama
Corner of 6th and Main Street
(256) 381-2525
6.13.07
- Sheffield, Alabama - The
Shoals
continues to be a magnet for the film industry with the latest
production of Birth
of a Legend: Story of the Wawa. Produced
by Sheri Wiggins and directed by
Steve Wiggins, the film was a finalist at the 2007 Apalachian
Film Festival. Support Whippoorwill Hollow Films in Sheffield
by purchasing the film when it is released to DVD. For more information,
visit the official Birth
of a Legend website.
5.25.07
- Florence, Alabama - Music in the Park features bands playing
in Historic Downtown Florence at Wilson Park. Get out of the office
and enjoy fresh air, sunshine and lunch in the park, along with
some excellent music.
Wilson Park - 11am to 1pm through June
This free event is organized by the City and cosponsored by Q-107.
For more information, call (256) 760-9648 or visit the Florence
Main Street Program website.
5.23.07 - Florence, Alabama - Have you noticed a picture
from the Shoals on a Jones(tm) Soda drink? Do you have what it
takes to be seen on Jones(tm) Soda? Click
here to see a showing of local photographers who have submitted
their works for Jones(tm) Pure Cane Soda labels. You may pick
up a bottle or can at a local grocery or retail store and at Rivertown
Coffee Company in historic downtown Florence.
5.7.07
- Athens, Alabama - Mark your calendars, the second annual
Art on the Square will he held from 10 am to 4 pm in historic
downtown Athens on September 8, 2007. Local and regional artists
will showcase and sell their art in various mediums. There will
also be peforming arts children's area and local food. Admission
is FREE. For more information, contact Trisha at: artonthesquare@hotmail.com.
4.17.07
- Tuscumbia, Alabama - Local photographer/artist featured
on WZZA radio station 1410 AM, the "Soul of the Shoals".
David Messer was interviewed by Tori Bailey today; topics included
the arts, music, the use of the Internet for business promotion,
and David's latest book release, New Orleans: A Post-Katrina
Photo Essay.
Click
here to listen to the audio, Copyright
©2007 WZZA
Radio.
For more information, contact WZZA Radio at 1570 Woodmont Drive,
Tuscumbia, AL 35674. Phone: (256) 381-1862.
4.16.07
- Florence, Alabama - Hank Klibanoff, co-author of The
Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening
of a Nation, will be speaking and signing books at
the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library on Saturday, April 21,
at 11 am.
| BAMM.com
says that The Race Beat goes "behind the headlines
and datelines" of the civil rights movement to "show how a
dedicated cadre of newsmen revealed to a nation its most shameful
shortcomings and propelled its citizens to act." Books will
be on sale at the event. A native of Florence, Alabama, Hank
Klibanoff is the managing editor for news at the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution. He is a former metro reporter, national
correspondent based in Chicago, business editor, and deputy
managing editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, where
he worked for twenty years. He has also reported for The
Boston Globe, The Daily Herald, the South Mississippi
Sun (now the Sun Herald), and the Delta Democrat-Times.
|
Hank
Klibanoff acknowledges civil rights photojournalist Charles
Moore. |
Update: On 4/17/07
USA Today reported the The Race Beat: The Press,
the Civil Rights Struggle and the Awakening of a Nation,
by Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff, won the Pulitzer Prize
in the history category.
For more information, visit www.flpl.org
or call (256) 764-6564.
4.13.07
- Athens, Alabama - Dogwood Festival on the Square,
April 28th in Downtown Athens. The Annual Athens Dogwood Festival
will be held on the square with music, crafters, artisans and
food vendors.
Dogwood trees blooming
around the Courthouse Square are a sign of Spring in Athens! Come
celebrate with family and friends. Enjoy great food and musical
entertainment throughout the day; visit with crafters and artists
as they show off their wares and relax. Market Street will be
filed with activities for everyone!
For more information visit www.keepathenslimestonebeautiful.com,
e-mail KALB@pclnet.net,
or call (256) 233-8728.
2.20.07
-
MUSCLE SHOALS, Alabama
– Hackers still favored entering the final week of “Nashville
Star” voting. As the hit country music reality show “Nashville
Star” approaches its season finale, sibling finalists Angela and
Zac Hacker are still on top. This Thursday’s episode of Nashville
Star, during which finalists will perform cover songs,
will reveal who makes it to the season finale.
Last weekend, the siblings
from LaGrange, Ala. returned to the Shoals for the first time
since the premiere of the fifth season’s first episode seven weeks
ago. The Hackers gave a short acoustic performance and meet-and-greet
for fans at the Alabama Music Hall of Fame Saturday evening. Afterward,
they performed a full concert at PJ’s Club in Muscle Shoals. Fans
from the Shoals and beyond showed up to cheer the “Nashville Star”
finalists on. “It couldn’t have gone any better,” said Rodney
Hall of Fame Music Group. “I think the community really came out
with their support for Zac and Angela, and they obviously appreciated
it greatly.”
A throng of fans at
the Hall of Fame greeted the Hackers wearing “Hacker Backer” pins
and waving signs, welcoming the siblings back to the Shoals. Angela
and Zac performed original music alongside friend and co-writer
James LeBlanc of House of Fame Publishing. According to Hall,
both the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and PJ’s Club were both filled
to capacity. USA Network will air footage of the homecoming performances
and festivities this Thursday on the seventh episode of “Nashville
Star.”
The Hackers have gained
the admiration of fans across the nation with their soulful, powerhouse
performances during the first six episodes of the show. Both brother
and sister are professional songwriters; Angela is a staff songwriter
for Rick Hall Music, and Zac writes for House of Fame Publishing.
Both companies are located at Muscle Shoals' renowned Fame Studios,
where the siblings have been writing and recording during recent
years.
The smash-hit USA
Network competition offers contestants a chance to become the
next "Nashville Star." The first-place winner will be awarded
a new Chevy Silverado, the chance to perform on the Grand Ole
Opry and a professional recording contract with Warner Bros. Records.
The seventh episode of "Nashville Star" will air on Thurs., Feb.
22 at 10 p.m. EST / 9 p.m. CST on USA Network. For more information
contact Rodney Hall, Fame Recording Studios, online at www.fame2.com.
2.1.07
-
Celebrate
Mardi Gras. A
special performance by the Charlie Rose Trio (Charles Rose, pianist,
Bob Wray on bass, and Marcus Pope on drums) will accompany a New
Orleans multi-media photography exhibit at the Rosetta Stone Gallery,
305 North Court Street, from 5pm to 8pm Friday, February 2. Photo
essay books and photo exhibit prints in 8x10 or 5x7 sizes will
be available for purchase. Limited supplies of masks and beads
will be available to make this a truly festive event.
1.31.07
-
Celebrate
Black History Month with a lecture at
the W.C. Handy Museum. Dr.
Roosevelt Newson will speak at the W.C. Handy Museum on Thursday,
February 22. His subject will be the influence of music by African
Americans on the Western world. Dr. Newson’s program is part of
the University of North Alabama Speakers Bureau which is coordinated
by the Office of University Relations. The discussion will be
from noon until 1:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
Participants will be able to walk through the W.C. Handy Museum
after the presentation and learn more about the "Father of the
Blues." Bring a sack lunch and spend your lunch hour learning
about this important subject.
Dr.
Newson is Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at U.N.A.
His administrative career in Higher Education spans a period of
nearly two decades. Prior to his current career, Newson was a
full-time concert pianist who was under management in New York
City. After his professional debut at Wigmore Hall in London,
he presented a number of broadcast concerts on radio and television
and performed across the United States and Europe. A graduate
of Southern University in Baton Rouge, the Louisiana-born pianist
also studied at the Peabody Conservatory of Music and the Juilliard
School. A veteran of the Affiliate Artists Program in New York,
Newson’s biography appears in Who’s Who Among Black Americans
and the International Who’s Who in Music.
The
W.C. Handy Museum is located at 620 West College Street. Sponsored
by the Florence Department of Arts and Museums. Call (256) 760-6434
for more information.
12.30.06
-
New
Orleans: A Post-Katrina Photo Essay.
A photography exhibit will be held in Historic
Downtown Florence on January 5th, from 5pm to 8pm at 315 North
Court Street. The exhibit features a photo essay and book release
with the authors present for signings. Details
about the exhibit:
The photo essay is a capture of time and space, 15 months after
Hurricane Katrina and the breaking of two New Orleans (NOLA) levees
in August of 2005. The photographer traveled with his New Orleans
family the week of Thanksgiving through these areas and documented
the conditions as of November 2006. Although the scarcity of residents
and devastation of places of worship were overwhelmingly disheartening,
encouraging spiritual beacons rose from the ruin. More information
is available at the helping
rebuild New Orleans website.
12.5.06
- Coat
of Many Colors - a tapestry of Alabama Artists With
2007 quickly approaching as the Year
of Alabama
Arts,
what better time than to visit the Alabama Public Television and
Alabama State Council's documentary Website focusing on Alabama's
diverse arts world, past and present. Features 16 Alabama artists.
Click
here to explore the fine arts and artists unique to Alabama...
11.14.06
- Share.
Admire. Inspire. - Visit
the Shoals
Art blog and share your art stories in an online community
with those who have like interests in the arts. Feel free to post
links to your art works and bios. We're proud to help promote
the Shoals arts community one artist at a time.
10.31.06
- Alabama
artist, Tim Stevenson, releases
Ivory-billed Woodpecker painting. This
artist's rendetion is drawing rave reviews and a growing admirer
base of Stevenson's exceptional attention to detail.
A limited edition of signed prints are available. Act now
to purchase your work of this elusive and elegant bird once thought
extinct. Scientists have concluded that the Ivory-billed
woodpecker is now present in the Big Woods of Arkansas. Recent
sightings in Florida have warranted compelling evidence for a
substantial research effort with parties from Auburn University,
Cornell University, Oakwood College, The Nature Conservancy, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, the Arkansas Audubon Society, and other
members of the Big
Woods Conservation Partnership.
9.12.06
- City of Florence is a featured community
in the EPA's This is Smart Growth publication. Florence,
Alabama is a community that has turned their values, visions,
and aspirations into reality using smart growth techniques. Read
what they are saying about Downtown Florence and its "smarth
growth" development.
Visit
the EPA
Smart Growth Website to download and print the full publication
or to order free copies.
More news... (click
here for archives)
Click
here for a City of
Florence and Shoals Events calendar...
Art Quote
Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist
once
he [she] grows up. - Pablo Picasso
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