MOULTRIE, Ga. — The Moultrie Service League is producing a coffee table book that will highlight Moultrie artists in celebration of local art — and in support of the Colquitt County Arts Center’s capital campaign for renovations. 

“Moultrie Masterpieces: A Local Art Collective” has been crafted by members of the Moultrie Service League. It is described as a collective of artwork and photography from artists who are from Moultrie. 

In an interview on June 3, the president of the Moultrie Service League, Carrie Lasseter, and the chair of the Arts Center’s book committee, Erin Ricks, described the process of gathering artwork and photography from artists in the Moultrie community.

“This is all Carrie’s idea for sure,” Ricks stated. “She had the idea to do a book and try to get all this information together because that had never been done before, you know, to reach out into the community and try to find artists, bring them together and do a collective.”

Ricks went on to explain the criteria of the book, which she said was selective. 

“We’re in the thick of it right now. We’ve been contacting artists. We had over 80 artists on our first list, and from that we’ve gotten many of them to participate,” Ricks continued. “We’re collecting artwork, photographs and we have some design concepts down for the book.”

“It’s going to be a really nice, professional piece,” Ricks concluded. 

Members of the Moultrie Service League and others who contributed were also credited as having helped in different areas so that the book could be promoted well and serve its purpose of educating the community. 

In addition to using the book as a way of education and celebration of local art, part of its sales are to be used to benefit the Arts Center and the Kaleidoscope Museum. 

“We are planning to earmark specific money to go towards the capital improvements. We do raise a lot of money in the community, and it all does go back into arts education,” Lasseter said. 

“We have a full time instructor and bring all the second grade and fourth grade students in the county for a full-day field trip of arts education. We pay that salary, buy those supplies and maintain that gallery. So as a fundraising effort this year, and to celebrate our local art, we decided to create this book,” Lasseter said. 

Members of the renovations committee, Chas Cannon and Marie Brown, were also present in the interview and explained the process of planning the renovations, which are still in the proposal stage. 

The building that now houses the Arts Center was built in 1928 and served as Moultrie High School until the 1970s when Colquitt County High School was built on what’s now Veterans Parkway. 

The seed for the Arts Center itself was sown by Barbara Fallin in a 1977 letter to the Moultrie Service League. The building underwent renovations following a fundraising drive by the Service League before the Arts Center could move in.

The building was further renovated 25 years ago with the addition of a ballroom, McCall Gallery and a board room.

More recently, the Arts Center has redone the cupola and fascia board. However, they are planning to complete heavier renovations before the building’s centennial anniversary. 

The new renovations will include exterior projects such as landscaping, lighting and parking areas and interior projects such as the educational wing of the Arts Center, which has been underutilized due to air conditioning issues as explained by Cannon and Brown.

“It’s an old building. There wasn’t any central air when they first built it. You have to add that stuff over time,” Cannon stated.

With the completion of new renovations, they are hoping to open up the educational wing and expand programs such as dance, music and art classes for children and adults. Because the renovations will be extensive, they are expected to be completed in phases with the exterior being first, Cannon and Brown said. However, the Arts Center is expected to stay open during the process. 

The proposal will be shared with entities who annually donate to the funding of the Arts Center so that everyone will be aware of the use of their contributions. It will also be shared with the building and grounds committee where it will go through its first review. Then, it will be presented to the Arts Center board. If any changes need to be made to the renovations proposal, the renovations committee will make the changes and present the final proposal for approval.

Along with the architectural and building pieces of the renovation plans, there is the financial piece which has been planned.

“We have funds set aside already, but we will raise more funds for maintenance…The first renovation they did, they also set aside funds to maintain the integrity of the Arts Center,” Brown stated. “We’re a separate entity, but we will do the same thing. We will pay it forward for our future kids to be able to maintain.” 

With the book completion and renovations proposal under way, the Moultrie Service League has pre-sold over 100 books — with the presale being available until Sept. 1. Only a limited number of books will be available after Sept. 1, according to the book’s website.

Each book costs $75, and sponsorships of $100 may be purchased as well. These sponsorships will go towards the print cost of the high quality book since it is a small production. Each sponsorship submitted by Aug. 1 will result in the sponsor’s name being listed in the book. 

The Moultrie Service League expects to distribute the books in December, and a reception is planned for that same time for those who have purchased, sponsored, or contributed artwork with the book. 

If you are interested in pre-ordering a copy of “Moultrie Masterpieces: A Local Art Collective” or contributing a sponsorship,you may visit the website, https://my.cheddarup.com/c/moultrie-masterpieces?cartVisible=0.