foray+to+Hudgens+Center+in+Gwinnett

Twenty-five years ago, six women gathered together and set up the Gwinnett Council for the Arts. Their facility is located on the campus of the Gwinnett center in Duluth, right next to the new Gwinnett Arena. It is called The Jacqueline Casey Hudgens Center for the Art. The council receives no funding from the county and is dependent on donations from private citizens and sponsors. The facility is relatively new and is amazing. To help with funding, the admission to the gallery is seven dollars. Along with a gallery, the Gwinnett Fine Arts Center also houses The Children’s ARTs Museum and Al Weeks Sculpture Garden. The Children’s ARTs Museum has galleries displaying professional art created for children, interactive art exhibits, a big harp to pluck, and a puppet playhouse. It is an exciting experience for children to enjoy. While I was there, Peter Lis, a children’s book illustrator, was showing his work. The Al Weeks Sculpture Garden has a fountain, reflective pool, and space for more than a dozen three dimensional art. Unfortunately, on the day I went, it was raining so I did not get to visit the garden. I am sure on a beautiful spring day it is a wonderful experience. In the fine arts gallery, the traveling exhibition “Picasso: 25 Years of Edition Ceramics” was showing. This is the first national show for the center, and they are hoping it will bring attention as being an achievable part of the art scene in Atlanta. The board members want to bring at least one big show a year to the center. This task proves to be difficult because these shows are expensive. If they are able to continue to fundraise to bring these big shows to the center, I do believe this center will become an art venue in Atlanta that everyone will know about and enjoy.