Rome Area Council for the Arts, Gateway to Rome Project Committee, and Senator Preston Smith, in partnership with the City of Rome, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts, are pleased to announce that the winning design for the Gateway to Rome public art project is Porto Futurus by the design team of E. Wright Ledbetter, Bill Jones, DeVon Michaels, Derek Bell, and Corie Dempsey, operating as Gateway to Rome, LLC.
The selected design is reminiscent of ancient Roman aqueducts with intersecting archways. The sculpture will be made of steel and rough ashlar stone.
“It was our team’s goal to create a dynamic symbol for Rome and Floyd County as we work together to face both the challenges and opportunities of being a part of an evolving community,” said Ledbetter. “Our design centers on three interpreted Roman aqueduct sections that intersect, symbolizing past, current, and future efforts to convey our community toward the future.”
The vision of the Gateway to Rome Project Committee was an iconic image that would represent the significance of the location and which would become a new symbol marking the Gateway to Rome. The committee also desired a design that would stand for generations.
"The selection committee was overwhelmed with the wide selection of entries and creative ideas for this project," said Nancy Smith, a RACA Board member and member of the selection committee. "Ultimately, I think the committee selected a final design that would represent Rome for many years to come. We only hope this is the first of many public sculptures for Rome and Floyd County."
The Gateway to Rome Project Committee members are Nancy Smith, Susan Harvey, Mike Page, Robert Weed, Blaine Williams, Sammy Rich, and Bruce Watterson. RACA Executive Director Allen Bell served as the non-voting facilitator for the committee.
"This is an exciting opportunity to build a meaningful and lasting icon marking the gateway to Rome," said Bell.
History and Process
The original sculpture, known as Sanctum I, was purchased by Rome Area Council for the Arts and moved to the A. W. Ledbetter Interchange on Highway 411 in 1996. Created by former Shorter College art professor Aaron Lee Benson, the sculpture was dedicated to the City of Rome and Floyd County on Friday, November 8, 1996.In December 2002, vandals destroyed Sanctum I, which was composed of terra cotta with a steel rebar skeleton.
Following the destruction of the original sculpture, Rome Area Council for the Arts began a campaign to raise funds to build a new sculpture to replace it. Several individuals contributed to the campaign. Pledges were also received from the A. W. Ledbetter Foundation and R. H. Ledbetter Properties. More recently, Georgia State Senator Preston Smith assisted Rome Area Council for the Arts with a successful appeal to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for a grant in the amount of $70,000 to provide funding to replace the sculpture. In addition, Rome Area Council for the Arts has received a grant for the project from National Endowment for the Arts in the amount of $10,000. This is the first NEA grant that RACA has received. In the spring of 2007, Rome Area Council for the Arts released a call for entries for the Gateway to Rome. From the call for entries process, RACA received sixteen design proposals from seven different design teams located in Northwest Georgia, metro Atlanta, and Tennessee. The Gateway to Rome Project Committee conducted a blind score of the design models whereby five semi-finalists were chosen without jury members knowing the designer who submitted the proposals. The three design teams that submitted the five semi-finalist designs were invited to provide an oral presentation and answer questions from the Gateway to Rome Project Committee. From the oral presentations, the committee selected two finalists.
The committee asked the teams that created the two remaining designs to attend a meeting to answer a second round of questions.From the two finalists, the committee chose Porto Futurus as the Gateway to Rome design.
Location
Porto Futurus: The Gateway to Rome will be built in 2008 at the A. W. Ledbetter Interchange. The Ledbetter Interchange was built in 1963. It is the earliest example of a three-tiered highway interchange in Georgia. Located at the confluence of GA 1/US 27 (from Cedartown), GA 101 (from Rockmart) and GA 20/US 411 (from Cartersville), the Ledbetter Interchange is one of the most visible locations for those traveling to and from the city and serves as the gateway into Rome from the East and the South.
Clocktower Holiday Tour of Art Spaces
Downtown Rome was host to the annual Clocktower Holiday Tour of Art Spaces in an effort to promote local artists and encourage shoppers to purchase handmade gifts during the holiday season. The tour included eight locations with work by more than 100 artists from Rome and northwest Georgia. The tour was Friday, November 30, from 5-8 pm; Saturday, December 1, from 10 am-5 pm; and Sunday, December 2, from 12-5 pm.
An opening reception for the tour was Friday, November 30, 8-10 pm, at 303 East Fifth Avenue. Refreshments were provided and entertainment included music performed by Jody Howard on fretless bass and Britton Davidson on viola.
Tour locations included Earthworks Pottery, Cobblestone Shoppe, Hawthorn Suites, City Market, Rome Area Council for the Arts, and three private homes on East Fifth Avenue. Informational brochures, which include a map and information on artists in the tour, were available at Rome Area Council for the Arts at 248 Broad Street in historic downtown Rome or by downloading the PDF document below.
Artists with work in the tour included Andi Beyer, Colleen Beyer, Gene Billian, Eva Marie Burnes, Katie Bird Cobble, Will Henry Cobble, Joe Cook, Sheila Barron Cox, Val Featherston, Suzanne Fischer, Kathy Fox, Jeri Jankovsky, Jennifer LeCroy, Sue Lee, Kelly Moore, Lizzie Moore, Gail Reed, James Schroeder, Siri Gundersen Selle, John Shulz, Lee Simpkins, Denise Spates, Jennifer Taylor, Kim Vasil, several ceramic artists from Earthworks Pottery, dozens of artists at Cobblestone Shoppe, and dozens of artists at the Rome Area Council for the Arts Gallery.
Tour artists represented a variety of media including oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, photography, sculpture, pottery, weaving, fiber, quilts, jewelry, wax, baskets, container gardens, wood, and glass.
A community collaboration between potters, restaurants, Garner and Glover Insurance Company, Chiaha Guild,and Rome Area Council for the Arts sponsoed the Empty Bowls Project which raised more than $7,700 to benefit the William S. Davies Homeless Shelter. The Empty Bowls Project dinner was be Tuesday, November 13, 2007, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at the Rome Civic Center on Jackson Hill.
Tickets to Empty Bowls were $18.00. More than 300 ticket holders received a meal and a handmade ceramic bowl. The program will also included a presentation by local musicians Phil Helton and friends, also known as the River City Ramblers. All food was donated by local restaurants.
Participating restaurants from the Rome area included: Bistro 239/T. Martooni’s, Broad Street Café, Coosa Country Club, Duffy’s Deli, Harvest Moon Café, Jefferson’s Restaurant, Kaleido Sno, Kroger, La Scala, Pick-o-Deli, Schroeder’s New Deli, Stanley’s, Two Can Do, and Victorian Rose Tea Room & Café.
Participating potters from throughout north Georgia included: Gena Agnew, Marcia Austin, Colleen Beyer, Gene Billian, Lisa Brown, Beverly Burnes, Janda Canalis, Sue Cannon, Katie Bird Cobble, Jane Grey Collier, Julie Cooper, Jason Doblin, Johnny Dobson, Tesa DuPré, John Elder, Susan Fanning, Val Featherston, Diana Gore Forster, Eric Hansen, Jeri Jankovsky, Mary Jessup, John Johnston, Jere Lykins, Karen Marks, Vicki McKenzie, Fran Myers, Sue Owens, Gwen Perkins, Connie Saunders, Robert Roller, Paige Van Cise, Jerry Williams, Julie Windler, Berry College Students, Berry Elementary and Middle SchoolStudents, Darlington Upper School Students, Earthworks Pottery Students, and Shorter College Students.
The Empty Bowls Project last year raised more than $6,000 for the Hospitality House in Rome.
Soup at Empty Bowls
Empty Bowls features handmade pottery
RACA Hosts October Poetry Night
On Thursday, October 25, RACA hosted the final Poetry Night of 2007 in their gallery at 248 Broad Street. Featured readers included Ray Marsocci, Jessica Lindberg, Clayton Jones, John Shulz, and Federica. The readings occurred during the Chiaha Harvest Fair Art Preview Exhibition in the RACA Gallery.
Established in 1987, Poetry Night celebrated its 20th anniversary this year. Free and open to the public, Poetry Night is the last Thursday of each month, January-October, at 7:00 pm. During the months of May-September, readings occur in the courtyard at Schroeder's New Deli on Broad Street. Readings are at RACA the remaining months of the year.
Clayton Jones, John Shulz, Federica, Ray Marsocci and Jessica Lindberg read at the October Poetry Night
RACA Participates in Trick-or-Treat on Broad Street
Trick-or treaters leave RACA with Halloween treats
RACA volunteer Stephanie Carson hides treats for trick-or-treaters
RACA volunteer Ada Reyes gets into the Halloween spirit
RACA volunteer Courtney Baker gets into her Halloween character
RACA and Rome Art Coterie Artists Participate in Art Walk on Broad Street
Artist Greg Price talks with Art Walk on Broad Street participants
Artist Margaret Ingram paints downtown during the Art Walk
Stained glass artist Barbara Walden works during the Art Walk
Work by Cheryl Riner Hodge is displayed inside RACA during the Art Walk
Sculptor Richard Ingram carves a piece of stone during the Art Walk
Artist Greg Price enjoys the perfect weather during the Art Walk
RACA Hosts Homecomings Photography Exhibition
Photographers Megan Ledbetter and Elona Miller-Long
Rome Area Council for the Arts hosts "Homecomings," an exhibition of color documentary photography by Megan Ledbetter and Elona Miller-Long, from September 17-October 19, 2007. In partnership with the Southern Women Writers Conference, the exhibit reception will be Friday, September 28, 7:00-9:30 p.m. Admission to the exhibit and reception is free of charge and the public is invited to attend. Gallery hours are 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday. The RACA Gallery is located at 248 Broad Street in historic downtown Rome at the corner of Broad Street and 3rd Avenue.
Megan Ledbetter is from Chattanooga, Tennessee. She has a B.S. in sociology from Auburn University and a degree in photography from Chattanooga State.
Elona Miller-Long is from Lawrenceville, Georgia. She now resides in Richmond, Virginia, where she works as a biomedical photographer in opthalmic photography. She is a graduate of the University of Georgia in Fine Art/Photography. After graduating from UGA, she interned in opthalmic photography at Emory University's Emory Eye Center. She comes from a family of artists who are very supportive of her work. Elona has enjoyed the magic of photography and capturing images from a very early age.
For more information, call RACA at 706-295-2787, email romearts@aol.com, visit the web site at www.romearts.org, or visit the gallery at 248 Broad Street in Rome.
photograph by Megan Ledbetter
photograph by Megan Ledbetter
photograph by Elona Miller-Long
photograph by Elona Miller-Long
photograph by Elona Miller-Long
photograph by Elona Miller-Long
photograph by Megan Ledbetter
RACA Hosts Eternal Spring IV: New Artists and New Works
Rome Area Council for the Arts hosts Eternal Spring IV: New Artists and New Works from August 20-September 14, at theRACA Gallery, 248 Broad Street, in historic downtown Rome. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday. Admission is free of charge. For more information about "Surviving Katrina," call Rome Area Council for the Arts at 706-295-2787 or email romearts@aol.com.
The Opening Reception for the exhibition was be Friday, August 24, 7-9 p.m., at RACA. More than 150 people attended the exhibit.
The exhibit features 55 works by 16 emerging artists, including Joel Ball, Brian Barr, Colleen Beyer, Brian "Mutt" Brooks, Ken Caruthers, Eric Dempsey, Rusty Dixon, Lee Field, Melissa Harvil, Kristi Kent, Jeremy D. Sapp, James Schroeder, Andrew Smith, M. Adam Stanley, Jessica Turner, and Levi Boz White.
RIFF 2007 Continues Success for Local Film Festival
The 2007 Rome International Film Festival wrapped with an afternoon awards ceremony on Sunday, September 9, at the historic DeSoto Theatre. The following awards were presented by the Adjudication Advisory Board chaired by RIFF Creative Programming Director Harry Musselwhite.
Jury Awards
· Animation: “A Garota,” Fernando Pinheiro, Brazil
· American Documentary: “Monster Camp,” Cullen Hoback · International Documentary: “Born Again Buddhists,” Lian Pak, Australia and Singapore · Experimental: “DVD,” Ciro Altabas, Spain · Narrative American Short: “Blue Dress,” Katie Stern · Narrative International Short: “Happy Pizza,” Shuhei Fukunaga, Japan · Narrative Feature: “Low and Behold,” Zach Godshall, USA
· Special Jury Award: "Fully Awake: Black Mountain College," Cathryn Davis Zommer and Neeley House, USA
The following Audience Choice Awards were determined by ballots completed by audience members. The winners are chosen based on the highest average score, with a minimum of 20 ballots returned from unique audience members for a film to qualify.
Audience Choice Awards · Best Feature: “Greensboro: Closer to the Truth,” Adam Zucker, USA · Narrative Short: “Swimming to the Moon,” Greg Thompson, USA
In addition to awards to filmmakers and films, RIFF presented two festival awards for achievement and commitment to the Rome International Film Festival.
Festival Awards
· Special Achievement Award: E. Wright Ledbetter
· Independent Luminary Award: Judy Taylor In addition, Musselwhite took the opportunity to thank corporate sponsors, individual patrons, volunteers, audiences, filmmakers, technicians, media organizations, local government, the RIFF Board of Directors, and the entire community of Rome for their support of the successful 2007 film festival.
RIFF 2008 is tentatively scheduled for September 4-7, 2008. Check the RIFF web site at www.riff.tv for updates.
Business After Hours with the Arts
Business After Hours with the Arts was held on Thursday, August 23, 2007, in Centre Stage at Heritage Hall on the downtown Rome campus of Georgia Highlands College.
Partners hosting the event were Berry College Department of Fine Arts, Georgia Highlands College Humanities Division, Rome Area Council for the Arts, Rome International Film Festival, Rome Little Theatre, Rome Symphony Orchestra, and Shorter College School of the Arts.
Almost 200 people attended the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce event. Catering was provided by Two Can Do. Beverages were provided by George and Ann Pullen. Musicians for the event were Marie Griffith, Gwendolyn Watson, Heather Ritchie and LeRoy Webber.
Georgia Highlands College President Randy Pierce welcomes attendees at Business After Hours with the Arts
Alan Wingard, Carla Patterson, Judy Taylor, and Laura Musselwhite congregate at Business After Hours
Harry Musselwhite and Barry Norman represent the Rome International Film Festival at Business After Hours
Sustain RACA on Broad!
Three years ago the Officers and Board of Directors of Rome Area Council for the Arts (RACA) made the bold decision to move RACA to Broad Street. The highly visible location with galleries, classrooms, meeting and office space at the corner of Broad Street and 3rd Avenue has been very successful. Thousands of people have visited the gallery from almost every state in the U.S.A. In addition, residents of Rome and Floyd County have enjoyed art exhibitions and participated in numerous RACA events.
However, keeping a Broad Street location is expensive. To improve financial stability for RACA at the time of its 31st Anniversary, the Past Presidents of the Board have launched a $50,000 campaign that they hope to conclude by September 15, 2007. The Board needs your help to keep RACA on track to achieve long-term financial stability.
Please consider sending a contribution to RACA, P.O. Box 203, Rome, Georgia, 30162. Thank you in advance for your generous and timely support.
The Rome Area Council for the Arts gallery and offices at the corner of Broad Street and Third Avenue in historic downtown Rome
