Pickens Arts & Cultural Alliance awarded ‘Vibrant Communities’ grant from Georgia Council for the Arts   Pickens Arts & Cultural Alliance (PACA) was awarded a Vibrant Communities Grant from Georgia Council for the Arts, the Georgia Department of Economic Development team specialized in empowering arts and culture, for fiscal year 2026. PACA will utilize the grant to bring paper and textile marbling workshops to children at no cost, as well as discounted workshops to adults. The project will celebrate Pickens County’s marble heritage as the Marble Capital of Georgia and will utilize a professional marbling artist. The Vibrant Communities Grant supports a variety of arts programming throughout the state, including murals, artist residencies and performances in schools, community theater productions, festivals, and concerts. As part of this year’s Vibrant Communities awards, 55 entities in 41 counties will receive $230,000 in funding. “Georgia Council for the Arts is excited to support arts programming across the state that expands educational opportunities for students, attracts tourists who support small businesses, and cultivates vibrant communities,” said Georgia Council for the Arts Executive Director Tina Lilly. “These grants are vital in areas of the state that do not have local arts organizations, and help communities harness the long-term benefits of the arts and improve quality of life for residents.” Georgia Council for the Arts received applications from schools, libraries, cities, historical societies, community theaters, Boys & Girls Clubs, and arts and other related organizations. In an effort to support projects across the state, Vibrant Communities Grants were awarded to entities in counties in which no organization had already received Georgia Council for the Arts funding for the fiscal year 2026 grants cycle. “Pickens Arts & Cultural Alliance is deeply grateful to the Georgia Council for the Arts for supporting this project,” said PACA President Angela Reinhardt. “We’re especially excited to be able to offer these workshops to children at no charge, and to adults for a discounted rate. The project connects directly to our community’s marble heritage, which we will highlight at each session. By exploring the craft of paper and fabric marbling with a professional marbling artist, participants will be able to celebrate Pickens County history in a unique way.” PACA will make announcements about workshop dates, which will take place in the first quarter of 2026. PACA is partnering with several local organizations, including the Boys & Girls Club, Pickens High School, and the Pickens County Library, to bring these classes to children in the community. Funding for these grants is provided through appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly.   About Georgia Council for the Arts Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA) empowers the arts industry in Georgia and artists around the state to cultivate healthy, vibrant communities that are rich in civic participation, cultural experiences, and economic prosperity. As part of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Georgia Council for the Arts provides grant funding, programs, and services statewide that support this vital industry, preserve our cultural heritage, and create increased access to meaningful arts experiences. Visit gaarts.org for more information.   About GDEcD   The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) is the state’s sales and marketing arm. It is Georgia’s lead agency for attracting new business investment, encouraging the expansion of existing industry and small businesses, and locating new markets for Georgia products. As the state’s official destination marketing organization, it drives traveler visitation and promotes the state as a location for film and digital entertainment projects. GDEcD is responsible for planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development, fostering innovation and the arts to drive opportunity from the mountains to the coast. Visit georgia.org for more information.

As the weather cools down, the leaves begin to change color, and we all get ready for the busy holiday season, I wanted to take a quick moment to tell you about a few exciting things Pickens Arts & Cultural Alliance has going on for the remainder of 2025. We are happy to announce that we will again be awarding grants for arts and culture projects and initiatives in Pickens County. We have committed to at least $10,000 in grants this year, but have changed things up a little by adding an application process. I urge your non-profit, organization, group, or even individuals who have initiative that will benefit our community to apply. The deadline is Wednesday, Oct. 29. Our grant winners will be notified in November, and will receive special invitations to our Annual Meeting in January.   Also this month, we invite you to our PACA Kids Club Halloween event at the Pickens County Library, where we will have fun fall and Halloween crafts, treats, and music on October 20th. We are excited to foster a relationship with the library to bring free events to our community. Stay tuned for updates!  And finally, on November 8th, we will host our OpenHouse & Gallery Show, which will feature artwork by Pickens veteran Kent Mosley, who served as a page under General MacArthur. His family generously donated his works to our organization, and they will be for sale as a fundraiser for PACA and the Pickens Historical Society. We are honored to display his work, some of which was inspired by his time overseas, and will have information about his life displayed during the event. We are excited to host the Open House in conjunction with the Downtown Development Authority’s Soup Bean Festival, which is a fundraiser for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, held just a few days before Veterans Day. Come see the upgrades we’ve made to our office, and enjoy the work of a beloved former Pickens County resident.  I would like to thank everyone who has been a part of the PACA journey this year, from volunteers for ArtWalk and workshops, to our board members, and others. We have been able to accomplish so much — and we have much more on the radar for next year. If you would like to be involved with us as we head into 2026, please get in touch.  Just like the chrysanthemum-crowned figure in Alphonse Mucha’s Autumn, I hope you all take pleasure in this beautiful season, which is filled with the rich colors and beautiful vibrancy of nature. Angela Reinhardt- Pickens Arts and Cultural Alliance, Board President ** Art work by local artist Carol Cosgrove

Pickens County has a very rich history that offers so many interesting facets into our mountain communities. Without the love and appreciation of Pickens County history, our culture would not thrive as it has since the county was created when it was formed from portions of the southern part of Cherokee and the northern part of Gilmer Counties in 1853. Pickens County is renowned for its exceptionally pure marble. The deposit is five to seven miles long, one/half wide and as deep as 2,000 feet. This marble was known and used by the Indians as early as 800 AD. Henry Fitzsimmons, came to America from Ireland c1819. He was the first man to introduce the sale of Georgia Marble on the present site of the Southern Company(Now Georgia Marble) and established the first marble quarries and the first marble mill in the 1830’s. The Georgia Marble Company was organized in 1884 and leased all of the Tate Marble lands. The coming of Marietta & North Georgia Railroad into Pickens County in 1883 opened outside markets for Georgia marble.

The Pickens Arts and Cultural Alliance is the only organization that joins art lovers like you with arts organizations, artists and art professionals to support culture in our area. Through arts advocacy, education and community outreach, the Alliance takes on challenges that no single organization or artist can face alone. If you are an artist of music, photography, dance, paintings or any other specialty, we celebrate you! For fifteen years the Pickens Arts & Cultural Alliance has been a source for arts and culture. The Alliance is committed to not only advocating and supporting all arts and culture, but seeks ways to connect artists, performing arts organizations, and cultural organizations with the business community, each other and most importantly our community.   Performing Arts Like theater? Be sure to check out the Tater Patch Players Theater! Tater Patch Players is a community theater group founded in 1977. They are a registered 501(c)3 organization.   ART FOR SALE To purchase the items shown in this gallery, contact Larry Wilson at (770) 893-8141.       Stanley Ferguson John Sperry Steve Turpin Steve Turpin Jason Smith Chris Hubbard Robin Bird Smith Mike Williamson Mike Williamson Mary & Dan DeFoor Geraldine Smith Christy Buchanan

The Pickens Arts & Cultural Alliance is a non-profit organization whose mission is to connect the arts to our communities throughout Pickens County. Established in 2007 and housed in the one of the oldest buildings in Jasper, the Pickens Progress Newspaper building, PACA provides accessibility for talented artists to gather and perform and continues to find innovative ways to expose children and seniors to the arts. PACA regularly sponsors a variety of music and theatre performances, art and music classes, and educational workshops to help enrich the lives of the citizens of Jasper and the surrounding communities. Photo credit: Barry Edelman

ASO PRINCIPAL HARPIST PERFORMS ON CASUAL CLASSICS SERIES Elisabeth Remy Johnson, principal harpist with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, will perform on the Monday November 7, 2022 concert of the Casual Classics Concert Series. The concert is at 7 pm at Fellowship Presbyterian Church, 389 Bent Tree Drive, Jasper GA. There will be an opportunity to mingle over coffee and other beverages provided by Red Bean Coffee before the concert from 6:15 pm, and during intermission. Principal harpist of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra since 1995, Elisabeth Remy Johnson performs nationally and internationally in solo and chamber music recitals. An avid recording artist, her recent solo album, “Quest,” spotlights works by women past and present, and has been acclaimed internationally, Gramophone calling it “an exquisite demonstration of the harpist’s art laid out in virtuoso swirls of colour, pearls of elegant nuance and audiophile sound.” She performs as principal harpist with the Grand Teton Music Festival, and teaches at Emory University, Georgia State University, and Kennesaw State University. Ms. Remy Johnson is a graduate of Harvard University, Phi Beta Kappa, where she majored in Music and French. Winner of first-place awards in competitions of the American Harp Society and the American String Teachers Association, she was an NFAA/ARTS awardee. In 2018, she founded The Merian Ensemble, a chamber group dedicated to performing and commissioning chamber music composed by women. The Merian Ensemble has received a travel grant from Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation USArtists International; commissions have been funded by grants from the American Harp Society, the PRS Foundation, and Agnes Scott College’s Kirk Fund. Ms. Remy Johnson recently published two volumes of transcriptions of works by female composers; additional transcriptions of works by Mel Bonis are published by Éditions Billaudot. Ms. Remy Johnson was co-founder and artistic director (2000-2010) of the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble, serving students from the Atlanta Public Schools. She has received Atlanta’s Channel Eleven Community Service Award, the TBS Pathfinder’s Award, and the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s “Up & Comers Award.” She is a 2022 awardee of New Music USA’s Creator Development Fund for her project Estrelas with composer Clarice Assad and visual artist Xuan, exploring the roles of women in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics. In 2022, she was elected Governor for the Recording Academy’s Atlanta Chapter. She serves locally as co-chair for the Education Committee and nationally as a member of the Classical Membership Committee. There is no charge for admission, although contributions are gratefully received; donations from the series’ patrons cover the expenses of these concerts. Donations can also be mailed to Casual Classics Concert Series, P O Box 67, Marble Hill GA 30148. Casual Classics was established in 2007 by Suzanne Shull, then a resident of Bent Tree and member of Fellowship Presbyterian Church. Over the years, the series has featured many soloists and ensembles associated with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, faculty at Kennesaw State University, and emerging artists. With Suzanne’s move to Atlanta, Calvert Johnson stepped up to be the new Concert Manager, beginning with the 2018-19 season. Members of the Board of Directors include Kelly Lohman, Lloyd McDonald, Marc Unger, Richard White, and Suzanne Shull as past director. The next concert will be Monday March 27, 2023, featuring the Eurasia Piano Trio. For additional information, contact Concert Manager Calvert Johnson at calvertjohnson@gmail.com or 404-373-0748.