MOULTRIE, Ga.  — The McCall Legacy Committee will welcome Dr. Bill Eiland, director of the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia, as guest speaker at the Celebration of the Arts Week kickoff luncheon on Sunday, April 2.  The luncheon will be an elegant catered event in the McCall Gallery of the Colquitt County Arts Center. 

Eiland will be speaking about the collection, which he has studied extensively, as well as the ongoing conservation efforts that the Arts Center has undertaken with the support of the McCall Legacy Committee to protect and preserve the Works on Paper collection for future generations. 

Eiland is a longtime friend of Jane Simpson, former curator and program director of the Colquitt County Arts Center.  

She said she is pleased that he is coming to speak at the event. 

“Dr. Eiland has been a friend of the Arts Center since the 1980s,” Simpson said. “His support has resulted in awards from the governor as well as the Georgia Association of Museums and Galleries. 

“The first conservation project on the McCall collection was conducted by Dr. Eiland. It is an honor that Dr. Eiland continues to share his expertise, recommendations and great knowledge on the McCall collection.” 

Eiland has been the director of the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia since 1992, a period of growth for the museum. He has served with professional organizations including the AAM, the Southeastern Museums Conference, the Georgia Association of Museums and Galleries, the Association of Art Museum Directors, the Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Advisory Panel for the National Endowment for the Arts and the International Council of Museums.

He is a Woodrow Wilson Fellow and has received several fellowships, including the Danforth Teaching Fellowship at the University of Virginia, a museum professionals grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and a research fellowship from UGA’s Willson Center for Humanities and Arts. 

He has edited and contributed to more than 50 publications.

The lunch will take place at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday. Seating will be limited, and reservations are still available for $20. 

Those interested in attending should contact the Colquitt County Arts Center at 229-985-1922.